Celebrity Mother vs. Daughter: Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain

How bad does a mother/daughter relationship have to be when it seems their main form of communication is Twitter? That seems to be the current state of the relationship between rocker Courtney Love and her only child, Frances Bean Cobain. Frances Bean hasn’t had an easy life. Her father, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, killed himself in 1994, when she was just two-years-old. For some reason, his ashes weren’t scattered until 1999, when a then seven-year-old Frances Bean scattered them into McLane Creek in Washington. Frances Bean was raised by her mother part of her life, but because of Love’s … Continue reading

Amy Winehouse Joins the 27 Club

This past weekend, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her house in London. While I was not surprised to hear this news, I was certainly saddened. Winehouse, for all her demons, was truly a talented singer. She released her debut album Frank in 2003 when she was just 20 years old. Her style was influence by jazz, Sinatra, and girl groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s. She would only have one more studio album before her death, but it blew up the charts. Back to Black was released in late 2006 and hit number one on every chart except … Continue reading

Meet a Families.com Blogger – Libby Pelham!

Today we are joined by another fabulous Families.com blogger, Libby Pelham. Libby, I’m so glad you could join us today. How long have you blogged for Families.com? Since time began…no, wait, since its inception in January 2006. What topics do you blog about? I used to blog in Food, and then switched to Pop Culture. What is your favorite thing about blogging for Families.com? I’ve always been a Pop Culture fanatic and I love being able to blog about stuff I love and give my opinion. What do you like to do when you’re not blogging? This sounds sad, but … Continue reading

Forever 27: The Others

So we know that Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain all died tragically at the age of 27. But there are more members of the infamous club who never reached the superstardom of the ones I have already mentioned. Here is a list of the other musicians who died at the age of 27: Louis Chauvin Chauvin was a ragtime musician who died in 1908 of syphilis. Jesse Belvin Belvin was an R&B singer/songwriter who died in a car accident in 1960. His biggest hit was “Goodnight My Love,” which reached #7 on … Continue reading

Forever 27: Kurt Cobain

After the shock of losing four icons within two years, you would think musicians smartened up a bit. Nah, not so much. There were still many musician deaths in the 70s, its just that none of the more famous were the infamous age of 27. Cass Elliot, known as Mama Cass, rose to fame with the Mamas & the Papas, a folksy pop group from the 60s. After the group broke up, she had a successful solo career until 1974, when she was found dead in her hotel room at the age of 32. She didn’t choke on a ham … Continue reading

Madonna’s Daughter Caught Smoking

It seems like I’ve read that teen smoking is down. But, that may not be the case if you are the teen of a celebrity. Just this week, Madonna’s 15-year-old daughter Lourdes Leon was photographed smoking with friends. Now, I’ve never smoked, but some who have may be thinking “What’s the big deal? It’s what you do when you are that age.” Part of the problem is at only 15; Lourdes shouldn’t be smoking for several reasons. First, she cannot legally buy cigarettes until she is 18. And second of all, we all know – smoking is bad for you. … Continue reading

How Def Leppard Managed to not “Fade Away”

Def Leppard’s hit “Rock of Ages” from 1983’s breakout album Pyromania started out with these lyrics: Alright, I got something to say Yeah, its better to burn out, Yeah, than fade away Of course, Def Leppard was only referencing the Neil Young song “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) which also said, “It’s better to burn out/Than to fade away.” The cry of burnout out before fading away became a bit of a slogan for rockers, including Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who quoted that in his suicide note. However, Def Leppard managed to stay hot all these years, … Continue reading

Infamous Hotel Rooms – Part 1

I saw an AOL article the other day and knew it was just up my alley – infamous hotel rooms! So, I decided to start doing a little research and low and behold, I found many infamous hotel rooms all over the country: Room 871 – Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C. This is one of the most recent “infamous” hotel rooms, now known as “The Governor’s Room.” It was the one in which former New York governor Eliot Spitzer stayed when he met with a call girl. The room is elegant with its dark wood furnishing and patterned carpet and the … Continue reading

Wait, Are You Sure that They Aren’t Still a Company? – Part 1

There is a weird thing that happens as you age – you forget that things change! Oh, I know that my son is getting older, I know the president changes from time to time and I know that my favorite television show “Sex and the City” is no longer broadcasting new episodes. But, there are companies that I grew up with that aren’t companies anymore and sometimes I just forget. I mean I still remember when Nissan was Datsun! I forget that companies go bankrupt, get bought out, etc. And some, I was so used to having around, I knew … Continue reading

Gone Before 30

As the world still tries to recover from Heath Ledger’s untimely death, some are remembering others who died young. ABC News did a segment on stars that died before they reached age 30. I have already blogged about many of the people on the list. Some died because of violence such as the Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur. Some took their own lives like Kurt Cobain. Still others succumbed to drug use like Brad Renfro, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and River Phoenix. When I first heard of Heath’s death, I immediately thought of River. Talented yet troubled, both gave us … Continue reading