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Whenever I want to stump someone with a pop music-related trivia question, I ask:

“Who was the youngest person to have a Top 10 record?”

Answer: Barry Gordon.

We’re cousins. My father and his father were “best men” at each other’s weddings.

He was seven years old when “Nuttin’ For Christmas” hit the charts. Somewhere I must still have my copy, with “Santa Claus Looks Just Like Daddy” on the flip side.

I’d listen to this as a kid, and I still remember the subtle “uh-oh” that follows “I spilled some ink on Mommy’s rug.”

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FROM MY HOUSE TO YOURS: A PERSONAL VIDEO

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HEARTFELT HOLIDAY GREETINGS WITHOUT THE EFFORT

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WHERE WAS THIS PHOTO TAKEN?

You see that photo of me, to the lower left? Where I’m pretending to smile?

I’m very non-photogenic, and it’s the only photo taken of me during the past 10 years in which I don’t look completely terrible.

Hint: It wasn’t taken in the U.S. And it was somewhere you really would never expect to see me.

The first person to correctly identify the setting will win…Uh, five bucks.

And I might award a prize to the person with the most creative (albeit incorrect) guess.

So go nuts….


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HOW TO WRITE A HIT LOVE BALLAD

This is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever heard: the perfect blueprint for writing the kind of pop love ballad that radio stations love to play.

It’s the creation of Da Vinci’s Notebook.

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Thanks to Paul and Storm for giving me permission to share this with you.

My favorite moment is at 3:31, on the word “modulation.”

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