Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, achieved fame at 15 with the hit song "Leader of the Pack." Her personal life wasn't easy, though, and she put a lot of her own emotions into the song.

The Shangri-Las had their very first hit in 1964 with "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." Weiss was 14 at the time. By 1968, the group had disbanded amid legal disputes.

The photo of Weiss accompanying this episode was cropped from a group publicity shot taken in 1964 and distributed by Red Bird Records. It's available on Wikipedia.

If you want to hear "Leader of the Pack," you can find a version on YouTube.

Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Weiss is one of 40 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these life stories for other years, as well. You can listen to the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

David Soul was known for his role as Hutch in the TV series "Starsky and Hutch," although his first love was singing. He had his first hit song, "Don't Give Up on Us," at the peak of his acting fame. It was a Billboard number 1 hit in the U.S. He was even more popular in England, where he later lived. He had four top 10 hits there, including "Silver Lady," which reached number 1.

The photo accompanying this episode is a 1975 ABC Television publicity shot of Soul as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in "Starsky & Hutch." It's available on Wikipedia.

"Good Morning America" aired a segment on "Remembering David Soul" shortly after the singer-actor's passing. You can find it on YouTube. The segment references "Don't Give Up on Us." To hear the entire song, go to the YouTube video.

Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Soul is the first of 40 stories that the longtime journalist has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written these life stories for other years, as well. You can listen to the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.

Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

For 2025, I'm offering a version of The Lord's Prayer that I learned a long time ago and also wishing you a wonderful new year.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

This holiday season, I'm offering a simple recitation of the 23rd Psalm. As I mention in the introduction, this psalm is a good reminder that we're not out here alone in the "jungles of time and space," as New York Times bestselling author Mike Dooley describes life on Earth. Dooley, who is also a widely known speaker and teacher, has published many books including "An Adventurer's Guide to the Jungles of Time and Space."

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

In this episode, I do my best to explain my "What if" series which, so far, includes three essays on themes related to spirituality: divine connection (#1), our grand adventure (#68), and fairness (#71).

Apart from the series, I've also published a few similarly themed essays: Episode 55, "Smile on a Summer's Day," and Episode 57, "Picturing a Kinder, Gentler World," and Episodes 30 and 69: "Less Stress, More Happiness" and a follow-up to Episode 30 titled "Less Stress, More Happiness: An Afterthought." Just saying in case you want to check them out too.

Most of all, I hope these musings offer something worthwhile to think about.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

This short essay about fairness is the third in a series. If it intrigues you in any way, please check out the first two "What ifs," which are Episode 1 and Episode 68. I explain the long gap between the two in the description for #68.

I also have other essays related to this theme. In case you want to check them out, they're Episodes 55 and 57: "Smile on a Summer's Day" and "Picturing a Kinder, Gentler World," and Episodes 30 and 69: "Less Stress, More Happiness" and a follow-up to Episode 30 titled "Less Stress, More Happiness: An Afterthought."

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

A food and wine extravaganza in Michigan becomes so much more when every friend matters, and everyone's story counts.

Learn more in this short episode inspired by Jackie Stevenson's book, "Someday We'll Live Like Horses: Authentic Presence in Leadership and Life."

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.

This is a follow-up to Episode 30, titled "Less Stress, More Happiness." In that episode, I talk about a simple daily practice that I learned from a friend. To do it, all you need is to take a moment to breathe in and out, and then say or think one simple statement.

For all its simplicity, this practice is incredibly useful in lifting one's focus from stressful thoughts to higher, happier ones.

I have found, though, that adding a few words to the original statement gives it context and can make it more understandable, so that's what this follow-up episode is all about. I use both versions.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.