This is a story about an occasional performer who wrote songs for the American version of the satirical TV show "That Was the Week That Was," which originated in Britain. TW3, as it was called, aired in the United States on NBC from 1963 to 1965. If you don't remember it, perhaps your parents will. Or your grandparents.

Anyway, the aforementioned performer, Tom Lehrer, was a musician, satirist, songwriter, mathematician and university lecturer who chose to step away from the limelight in the early 1970s. He's still remembered for his humorous and often political songs that were popular in the 1950s and ’60s.

One of those songs was “The Elements,” which consisted mostly of Lehrer singing the names of all the chemical elements known at the time. Here, you can watch him perform live in Copenhagen in 1967.

The portrait of Lehrer in the thumbnail shows him in 1957. Attributed to Paul Winik of Boston via Wikimedia Commons, it's accessible by going here.

In the chapters, there’s another public domain photo, this one showing Lehrer in 1983. The latter is by an unknown author and is attributed to WorthPoint, an online database for researching antiques and collectibles values. The photo is available here. For more information about WorthPoint, visit the website.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own someday. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

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

It seems appropriate to lead with Ozzy Osbourne's wild persona because he did, after all, bite off the head of a bat. He also played kind of a regular family man on the reality TV hit "The Osbournes."

Co-founder of the influential heavy metal band Black Sabbath, Osbourne enjoyed a lot of success in his career. He also abused some heavy-duty substances.

You'll hear more about him in this short story. And you can find various versions of "Crazy Train," the highlighted song in this episode, on YouTube. Here's an official version.

The photograph in the thumbnail shows Osbourne in 1970 and is credited to Warner Bros. Records. Published in Billboard magazine as a trade ad for the "Black Sabbath" album, the photo is an excerpt from a shot of Osbourne with fellow band members. It's available on Wikimedia Commons.

In the chapters, you can see the full photo, also available on Wikimedia Commons.

Also in the chapters, there's a 1975 shot of Osbourne on the cover of Circus Magazine (attribution: Circus Magazine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). That file is available here.

The art that frames two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own someday. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

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

As a musical 10-year-old, future Grammy winner Chuck Mangione took up the trumpet after seeing the 1950 movie "Young Man With a Horn." Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film had an all-star cast: Lauren Bacall, Kirk Douglas, Hoagy Carmichael and Doris Day. It's available on Prime Video. The picture that accompanies the Amazon listing also appears in the chapters.

Along with that movie, Mangione's mom and dad had an influence on their son's career too. Find out how in this short story about the jazz star.

Mangione's biggest hit was "Feels So Good," the title track of one of his more than 30 albums. It reached No. 2 on Billboard's Album 200 list. The song itself was No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

If you search YouTube for "Feels So Good," you'll find plenty to choose from. Here's a link to the full version, which was cut down considerably for the single.

In this episode, you'll hear, interestingly enough, that Mangione credited a bit of that song's success to the Bee Gees. You'll also hear about his 13-year stint as a TV actor in an animated series.

The photo in the thumbnail shows Mangione in Washington, D.C., in 1998. It's credited to John Mathew Smith and celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, Maryland, and is available on Wikimedia Commons under the license CC BY-SA 2.0. You can access the photo file here. This photo is in the chapters too.

According to the free encyclopedia, the correct pronunciation of Mangione's name is man-JOH-nee.

The art that frames two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

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