Ian Hunter, or, Why Does YouTube Annoy Me?

SONGS

 ARTISTS

ALBUMS

Do you notice a pattern here? And, understand why YouTube annoys me. The algorithm is supposed to find music you like and when an algorithm is applied to my surfing it takes me away from what I want to hear. Unless I'm doing research for a podcast episode when listening to YouTube I only what to hear Ian Hunter-related music. The only exception to Ian Hunter based on YouTube's tracking is a Clash song and it still is related to Ian's first professional band, Mott The Hoople. The Clash were huge Mott fans and it inspired them to start musical careers themselves. 

The Doctor of Digital Podcast (Unedited transcript) Podcast: Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 1 CII 5-Minute Lesson Digital Brownbag - The Doctor of Digital™ GMick Smith, PhD

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 Podcast: Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 1 CII 5-Minute Lesson Digital Brownbag - The Doctor of Digital™ GMick Smith, PhD

hello hello hello and welcome once again to an exciting episode of doctor digital podcasts on this particular episode

upgrade your Facebook marketing strategy want better results on Facebook. are you taking advantage of all of the platform has available. in this episode you discover 5 ways to supercharge your Facebook strategy number one include short form content create short form video for Facebook reels borrowing another Instagram first feature

Facebook launch reels in late 9/20/21. the short form videos made a splash when they re in glossed on Instagram a year earlier

so it's no surprise that they've already begun to generate buzz on Facebook Facebook reels can last up to 30 seconds and can include a mix of video audio and creative effects similar to stories they appear in your own dedicated panel at the top of users Facebook feeds integrated into news feeds

and even in Facebook groups although reels don't have the linking capabilities of stories they're ideal for driving discovery as well as growing audiences and building communities

because Facebook is currently testing additional options like sharing reels from Instagram advertising in reels and monetizing reels

this is a feature you'll want to watch. to create Facebook reels for your business. open the mobile app and navigate to your page tap the real button at the bottom of the screen and create up to 30 seconds of video

use the creative tools to add music insert special effects or adjust the speed before publishing to your page

compose Facebook stories have you tested this feature out on first bank first feature on Facebook yet for that got from Instagram

although Facebook stories exist for just 2004 hours before disappearing from view. they become many marketers go to solutions for generating engagement improving visibility and creating a more authentic content yet scheduling Facebook stories has always been tricky making creating and publishing them a challenge for busy social media marketers

although some third party apps that allow brands to plant stories scheduling them to publish automatically hasn't been an option

at least it wasn't possible until Facebook long story scheduling via business suite. in mid 2021. now you can take advantage of the benefits of stories while still planning ahead with Facebook business suite mobile apps creating and scheduling stories is easy

open the app navigate to your page and tap the blue plus icon to create new content select story from the pop up menu and start creating with newly produced a video or pre existing content from your gallery

then add text graphics interactive stickers to make your story more engaging. you can also add a link that followers can tap the visit your website. buy a product or download a freebie. when you're done creating your story tap the weight share on button in the lower right corner

choose whether you want to publish to Facebook Instagram or both. then tap the schedule for later option and set a time after your stories go live take time to review the analytics identify the best times to publish so you can keep scheduling stories when your followers are most likely to engage number to incorporate third party content

source. N. share user generated content on Facebook. when you think of user generated content. U. G. C.. there's a good chance Facebook isn't the first social media channel that comes to mind. instead hashtag driven channels like Instagram Twitter and tick tock are much more widely known for their UGC capabilities however

Facebook has become a key channel for finding and sharing UGC which can enhance virtually any businesses social media strategy

when you incorporate UGC injure publishing routine. you can share authentic content that resonates reinforce relationships with customers and potentially even reduce your production costs to find UGC on Facebook

your best bet is to set up a simple workflow. your Facebook inbox create labels for potential and approve you G. C. at a potential U. G. C. label to any mentions of reviews that contain consumer created content you want to share

reach out to the original creator to get permission to share the photo or video. once you confirm permission replaced the potential label with an approved label. when you share the original post or content on Facebook. mention the creator in the caption to give them full credit. that's it for this particular episode got more on updating your Facebook marketing strategy that'll wait till next time

at least for this time

The Doctor of Digital Podcast (Unedited transcript) Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 2 CIII 5-Minute Lesson Digital Brownbag - The Doctor of Digital™

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 Podcast: Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 2 CIII 5-Minute Lesson Digital Brownbag - The Doctor of Digital™

hello hello hello again this is a doctor digital podcasts on continuing an episode here with upgrade your Facebook marketing strategy part to manage influencer partnerships and this is the number 2.that I picked up from the last episode influencer partnerships are also increasingly important for marketing your business on Facebook

fortunately Facebook has brand collabs manager a built in tool to streamline influencer marketing. it offers a variety of helpful features from finding the right creator for a project to disclosing your relationship correctly to access brand collabs manager navigate to your pages monetization tools in creator studio

from there you can find influencers to work with. make sure your audiences align with yours. an approved partners. you can also share project briefs and review analytics from influencer collaborations without having to ask for reports

but be aware that Facebook may be planning substantial changes to this tool. if you're serious about influencer marketing keep an eye on the new partnership features that Instagram announced in 10/20/21

as face a Facebook could adopt a similar approach in the future. Instagram is testing a DM folder for partnerships and influencer finder from tool for businesses which could significantly improve the experience for both creators and brands

number 3 invest in on platform community if you've noticed a declining organic reach and engagement on your Facebook page creating reels and stories may help you turn those numbers around

but publishing Miller content on your page. isn't the right solution for every business. instead Facebook groups are in becoming increasingly important for brands looking for more creative solutions for driving engagement

what's the difference between groups and pages essentially pages are ideal for promoting your business while groups are designed for building a community around your business

you certainly can have both but it's important to know how to differentiate the 2. why your business has complete control of the content on a page groups rely much more on contributions from members to help your group reach its full potential

think about how you can encourage participation such as by asking thoughtful questions or hosting weekly events you can also invite members to create posts and start discussions to give your group

a life of its own. to make your group as visible as possible link it to your page. open your page and business manager and navigate to the settings click templates and tabs and turn on the groups tab then click on the new tab and link an existing group or create a new one

for example the at elemental or Facebook page features the brand's official elemental or community on its groups tab

the group complements the page by allowing members to ask questions share tips and even seek re sources for hiring experts using the brand's web design software

no matter how you organize your group. be sure to use all the available tools and keep an eye out for new ones

11/20/21. Facebook announced several new features for including community chats fundraisers and shops to help admins do more with their group's number 4 increase your revenue from Facebook host a paid online event with Facebook live

are you looking for even more ways to improve reach and engagement. Facebook live continues to gain steam largely due to the authentic appeal of live video. the engagement potential of Facebook live is no joke. a social insider study shows that live video engagement surpasses pre recorded video engagement sometimes by more than double

once you master the art of hosting Facebook live events for live streaming via third party web in our tools

consider taking advantage of Facebook's newest monetization option. Facebook now allows creators to host paid online events. so you can recoup some of the expenses from your hard work to get started navigate to your pages events tab in Facebook business manager and click paid online events

you'll need to apply for monetization and create a payout account after processing you can create your first paid online event

business manager creator studio. click the blue create page online event button. give your event a name and description and set the date and ticket price you can offer early purchase discounts to incentivize attendees or limit attendance

for a more exclusive event. you can also host your event on Facebook live or via an external link

The Doctor of Digital Podcast (Unedited transcript) Podcast: Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 3 CIV Digital Lesson The Doctor of Digital Podcast™

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 Podcast: Want to Upgrade Your Facebook Marketing Strategy? Part 3 CIV Digital Lesson The Doctor of Digital Podcast™

hello hello hello . once again. so let's get started for free. Facebook doesn't collect fees for online free 1 that 100 percent of what you are all the more reason to starting in 2023

for calling the error rate that is competitive with other sell products via Facebook. if your business sells products online there's never been a better time commerce with Facebook. the social channel supports economic plight. E. commerce platforms like Shopify big commerce and woo commerce so that you can easily connect your online store

even if you don't have any E. commerce site. you can still set up Facebook shops and sell directly through your page because Facebook is wave standard selling fees through June of 2022 and doesn't charge a subscription fee you don't have to worry about additional overhead to set up Facebook shops go to Facebook commerce manager and choose a checkout method

in addition to low friction checkouts like Facebook or with Facebook or Instagram you can complete checkouts through messenger what sap or a third party site

then you can add your product catalog link your website and add shipping and return policies once your face bookshop is alive

you can feature it on your page for added exposure as you park post content on your page you can also tag products so customers can browse and check out seamlessly

plus if or when Facebook eventually makes life shopping widely available to all pages you'll be ready to start selling via live stream

for example this at Frank's red hot Facebook post includes shoppable products in take a look at that online when customers click on the interactive icon

they go right to the brand's Facebook shop. from there they can click to browse or make a purchase on the brand's website last point here on this is the third part of the series

and that's point number 5. enhance one to one messaging with customers. chatbots. whats app and messenger are seeing an increase and option by brands looking to create faster customer service and marketing channels with consumers consider these 3 options to update your communications

in the coming months set up automated responses in Facebook messenger. to link your what's app business account with your Facebook page open business manager and navigate to page settings

what. click on the what's app tab and enter the phone number associated with your business account to complete the connection

if you want to get whats app messages via organic content. open your page and business manager. click the gets what's app messages button to add this call to action or CTA to your post and publish your content when it's live followers will see what sap prompt below your post to generate even more results create a paid messages campaign in Facebook ads manager select what's app is your messaging app of choice and launch an advertising campaign designed to designed to start conversations and engage with potential customers

conclusion. and this is the last of the 3 part series on what's up when it comes to Facebook messaging and advertising and marketing

this is the last of them. the last of the 3 episodes with the you are getting the results you want from your pager just want to optimize your approach these Facebook marketing trends can guide your future planning throughout the new year

from live in short form video to community building and monetization options. Facebook has tons of opportunities to help you stay on the cutting edge. you want to consider all of these. and that's it for the last of the 3 episodes. 5 points to help you with Facebook. we enjoyed the services. Dr digital signing all. be sure to subscribe like in review

The Doctor of Digital Podcast (unedited transcript): What FB Ad Metrics Must You Track? CV The 5-Minute Lunch Lesson Digital Brownbag The Doctor of Digital Podcast™

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 Podcast: What FB Ad Metrics Must You Track? CV The 5-Minute Lunch Lesson Digital Brownbag The Doctor of Digital Podcast™

you are listening to the doctor digital podcast. and this is another episode . once again the so let's get started. Facebook ad metrics much track overwhelmed by all the metrics inside baseball Mets manager wondering which ones to focus on

in this episode you'll find important important metrics to use when analyzing the Facebook ads. plus you'll discover how to track them with a custom report tracking Facebook ads metrics. when it comes to Facebook ad metrics we could broadly characterized to default the default metrics already exists in S. manager and you can simply select them when creating your custom report custom metrics on the other hand those you create using different formulas to display data that isn't available as standard in your ad account

it's easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of Facebook ad metrics you can analyze and your ad account reach impressions frequency results click through rate that CTR quality score conversion ranking and return on ad spend

R. O. A. S.. keep those acronyms in mine. I'm going to talk about them some more. to name just a few. and with the ability to create custom metrics. the options become endless. the measure the real impact of your Facebook advertising on your business and how it's generating new sales and customers

I'm gonna walk you through how to add core metrics both default and custom to a customer report

one. create a canoe custom report in Facebook ads manager to start. you're going to need a build a custom reports you can add all the default custom metrics

I'm going to cover into one data view. this will allow you to look at all these metrics across your campaigns ad sets and ads with ease

let's assume you're using Facebook ads to generate sales for your business. using the conversions campaign objective optimizing for purchases. the goal of your campaign is to generate a purchase action which represents the sale of your product or service

this would be tangible like in an E. commerce business running through Shopify or sell a product for information business running through could job you percent car to build a custom report open your Facebook ads manager dashboard and click on the columns button on the far right of the screen you'll then see a list of all the default metrics with performance selected by default

2 and 4 metrics to assess website traffic from your Facebook ad. the first 4 metrics you want to add your report will help you determine what the traffic generated from your Facebook ad is getting to your website and how much it's costing you start by adding these 3 metrics link clicks CPC cost per link click landing page views

you can use the search bar at the top of the screen to quickly find the metrics you want to add these 3 metrics are important on platform metrics that measure the drop off between people who click on your ads

and those who stay to load your website. this is one of the first things to look at when running Facebook ads because it indicates how much of the traffic

clicking on the ads is actually getting to U. U. R. L.. destination. one reason for the drop off between link clicks and landing page views is slow page load times

if you get 100 link clicks but you only see the landing page views. that means your website is loading too slowly. and you've got a big issue on your hands. you just double the cost of your traffic because only one in 2 people are staying to load the page and set of everyone who clicks on your ad

another important metric you need to measure because it determines your CPC is CTR specifically the link CTR added after landing page views metric

the better your CTR click through rate. the more Facebook will reward you as an advertiser giving you a lower CPC as there is a direct correlation between CPC and CTR

for example you can benchmark CTR is based on the temperature of your audience. you'll see a lower CTR for cold audiences like look alikes and interest based ones. because these are new people who don't know your business yet. aim for at least a one percent CTR for these type of audiences for warm audiences up Instagram engagers

you'll see a higher CTR so aim for a minimum of 1.5 percent. and for a hot audiences a website traffic or e-commerce standard events such as. add to cart. strive for at least 1.75 percent CTR. 3 and 4 purchase space. Facebook ad metrics. I'm gonna move on to purchase based metrics. you want to add these 4 metrics to your reporting column. total number of purchases purchase value giving purchase conversion value cost per purchase giving cost per acquisition purchase

R. O. A. S.. after you add these metrics. be sure to deselect the check boxes under each purchase metric in the right hand column

these give you a further break down you don't want. as you're looking at the metrics. as a whole figure. the 4 purchase metrics of both will tell you everything you need to know about the number of sales you're generating

how much revenue you can attribute to the sales. your cost per acquisition. and your R. O. A. S. giving you the profitability of your Facebook ads. number 4. add to custom metrics to track. average order value in sales page conversions. now you're going to build 2 custom metrics that will give you additional insight beyond the default metrics that Facebook gives you

average order value. the first custom metric you want to create is average word order value. A. O. V.. and the customize columns window click the create custom metric link what's safe cost you $15 to get a purchase

and the. a greed is $45. your R. O. A. S.. is it 3 times. because $45 divided by $15 equals 3. you're going to use the following formula for Facebook to calculate your AOV purchases conversion value plus purchase

next to the name of your custom metric select numeric from the format drop down menu

then in the formula section. start typing in purchases conversion value and select it from the menu that pops up. next click the division symbol and then type in purchases at the inventor the formula. click create metric that now shows you the AOV. the next step to add to this custom metric T. report. in the middle column select a will be in the custom metrics section alias super important because you're analyzing ad you'll find some ads have better on Facebook metrics like a better CTR

however there are a ask might not be as good because they're A. O. V. is not as high

understanding what ads deliver the highest A. O. V.. and therefore the highest. R. O. A. S.. it's critical to measuring your Facebook ad success and knowing that next steps whether that's further testing

optimizations or scaling sales page conversion rate. the other custom metric you want to create a sales page conversion rate. it's critical to know your sales page conversion rate. because you can then see which Facebook ads convert better not just from the C. T. R. perspective which is an on Facebook metrics

but using an off Facebook metrics like sales page conversion rate to set up this custom metric

click on create custom metric again type in sales page conversion rate for the name of this metric and shoes percentage as the format

this is going to be a customer. R. O. A. S. report with which you can measure your campaign's effectiveness. you'll be able to choose it from the columns drop down menu in your ads manager dashboard

conclusion. these are the key metrics that you need to track on Facebook or at least some of them

default ones plus custom metrics that you can create. they're going to be fundamental to evaluating your success on the platform. by using on Facebook metrics such as link clicks and landing page views. you can measure the effectiveness of the traffic being sent to your site. then using the office book metrics. the purchase ones in custom metrics you can measure the real impact of your advertising on your business and how it's generating new sales and customers

hope you enjoy the episode. that's it for this particular episode docuseries masonic Dr digital signing all be sure to subscribe like and review the doctor digital podcast that doctor vigil podcast like cotton candy for your new year's day is

Is R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Antidote to CRT? TuneSmith Series Z - The Doctor of Digital™ GMick Smith, PhD

In the new MGM feature film Respect, Aretha Franklin (portrayed by Jennifer Hudson) and her backup singers produce yet another soul hit with musicians and producers at FAME Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Photo: Quantrell D. Colbert

Respect detonates three core tenets of Critical Race Theory:

a) Whites are racist oppressors.

b) African-Americans are downtrodden victims of white bigotry.

c) Cultural appropriation is evil. Each race should horde its aesthetic and stylistic offerings among its own people. Whites, especially, must keep their greedy hands away from anything aesthetic that lacks European roots.

At some level, all culture involves appropriation.

The magic that Tuscan and Milanese chefs craft with pasta would not exist had Marco Polo not brought noodles from China to Italy in the late 13th Century.

John Coltrane, Maceo Parker, and Clarence Clemons are just a few of the black men who would have blown hard into their empty hands, had the saxophone not been invented in Belgium in 1846.

And black authors from the Harlem Renaissance’s Langston Hughes to Nobel laureate Toni Morrison would have attracted far fewer readers had they written in Yoruba rather than English — a language rooted in overwhelmingly white Great Britain.

Likewise, many of Respect’s musical numbers show blacks and whites using instruments, rhythms, and songs borrowed from each other’s backgrounds and then polished even further.

The gospel-music-tradition from which Aretha emerged had a major influence on rock music since its inception and on specific acts who dipped their buckets into that deep well.

The Doobie Brothers’ hit song “Jesus Is Just Alright” began as a 1966 gospel tune by Arthur Reid Reynolds of the Art Reynolds Singers.

The Byrds gave the tune a test flight in 1969. The Doobies’ 1972 cover added electric guitars and a Hammond B-3 to these two, lighter arrangements.

The result? A chart climber, an enduring classic-rock staple, and the source of lush royalty checks to “A. Reynolds,” whom the Doobie Brothers credited on the song’s label.

Similarly, Paul Simon himself wrote “Loves Me Like a Rock.” This 1973 song’s unmistakable gospel flavor sprang from the breathtaking, Sunday-choir vocals of the Dixie Hummingbirds, a black spiritual quartet launched in Greensville, South Carolina.

This song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a certified gold record — great news for Rhymin’ Simon and the Hummingbirds, both recognized on the old 45 RPM single.

What CRT proponents condemn as “cultural appropriation” is what normal humans praise as inspiration. And these are just two among millions of artworks in which black culture weaves into white culture, white culture blends into black culture, and beauty happens.

Aretha Franklin earned four platinum records, 14 gold records, and scored 20 No. 1 R&B singles among the 75 million units she sold. She won 18 Grammy Awards and was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1994, Aretha became the youngest person selected for the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2005, G.W. Bush bestowed upon Franklin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967] (Aretha's Original Version)

https://youtu.be/6FOUqQt3Kg0

Aretha Franklin - Respect Song written by Otis Redding Album: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You [1967] _________________________ RESPECT (oo) What you want (oo) Baby, I got (oo) What you need (oo) Do you know I got it? (oo) All I'm askin' (oo) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit) Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit) mister (just a little bit) I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone Ain't gonna do you wrong (oo) 'cause I don't wanna (oo) All I'm askin' (oo) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit) Baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit) Yeah (just a little bit) I'm about to give you all of my money And all I'm askin' in return, honey Is to give me my propers When you get home (just a, just a, just a, just a) Yeah baby (just a, just a, just a, just a) When you get home (just a little bit) Yeah (just a little bit) ------ instrumental break ------ Ooo, your kisses (oo) Sweeter than honey (oo) And guess what? (oo) So is my money (oo) All I want you to do (oo) for me Is give it to me when you get home (re, re, re ,re) Yeah baby (re, re, re ,re) Whip it to me (respect, just a little bit) When you get home, now (just a little bit) R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me R-E-S-P-E-C-T Take care, TCB Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me) A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me) Whoa, babe (just a little bit) A little respect (just a little bit) I get tired (just a little bit) Keep on tryin' (just a little bit) You're runnin' out of foolin' (just a little bit) And I ain't lyin' (just a little bit) (re, re, re, re) 'spect When you come home (re, re, re ,re) Or you might walk in (respect, just a little bit) And find out I'm gone (just a little bit) I got to have (just a little bit) A little respect (just a little bit)

Music in this video

Song

Artist

Album

Writers

Licensed to YouTube by WMG (on behalf of Atlantic Records); CMRRA, LatinAutor - UMPG, The Royalty Network (Publishing), PEDL, ARESA, Warner Chappell, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA - UBEM, LatinAutorPerf, BMI - Broadcast Music Inc., UMPG Publishing, LatinAutor - Warner Chappell, UMPI, LatinAutor, BMG Rights Management (US), LLC, LatinAutor - SonyATV, and 15 Music Rights Societies

Obama Promoted Critical Race Theory in 1991

Obama Promotes Critical Race Theory in 1991 A video recording surfaced years later as he supported Derrick Bell's nomination as a tenured professor. 

Cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3qShugQ9I

Derrick Bell

Bell and other legal scholars began using the phrase "critical race theory" (CRT) in the 1970s as a takeoff on "critical legal theory", a branch of legal scholarship that challenges the validity of concepts such as rationality, objective truth, and judicial neutrality. Critical legal theory was itself a takeoff on critical theory, a philosophical framework with roots in Marxist thought.

Bell produced one book for a respectable publisher among his numerous works. In higher education, it is unusual for someone to obtain tenure without producing high quality work; however, Bell was appointed when controversy about diversity wracked Harvard. 

Bell also wrote science fiction short stories, including "The Space Traders", a story in which white Americans trade black Americans to space aliens in order to pay off the national debt and receive advanced technology such as environmental decontaminants and alternatives to fossil fuels. His story maintained that whites act to protect their own white self-interest. Bell explained "[It's] better [to] risk the unknown in space than face the certainty of racial discrimination here at home."^[26] The story was adapted for television in 1994 by director Reginald Hudlin and writer Trey Ellis. It aired on HBO as the leading segment of a three-part anthology entitled, Cosmic Slop, which focused on Black science fiction.

Education Union to Target Those Opposing CRT: Florida Mom Says ‘Bring It On’

Cf. https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/education-union-to-target-those-opposing-crt-florida-mom-says-bring-it-on_3889534.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-07-07-1&mktids=d17bc471f612566d28e139d9c5769f53&est=UxHfezKB9FKjzHDy2%2BmipCM4zBiL0rRcyYmIcYEI0ymhJf%2FPurtfEPidj%2BoZ1QBX

Why Did the Teenagers Rock 'n' Roll During the Pandemic of 1957? “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” Huey “Piano” Smith The TuneSmith Series M

In the America of 1957 one of the biggest pandemics of the modern era broke out. Not coincidentally, a

 hit of that year was “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” by Huey “Piano” Smith (no

 relation) & the Clowns.

Smith's musical legacy stands alongside that of fellow New Orleans legends and hundreds of artists have recorded his songs. A rhythm and blues pianist, he incorporated boogie styles as well as jazz stylists. Smith became known for his shuffling right-handed break on the piano that influenced others. When he was 21 he became the piano player with Little Richard's first band for Specialty Records. `Pneumonia & Flu’ was a breakout Top Five R&B hit and the record sold over a million copies. The addition of Bobby Marchan as lead singer in 1957 gave his band the Clowns its own distinctive sound and with `Rockin' Pneumonia’ they hit # 52 pop, # 5 R&B. Smith concentrated on humorous songs with nonsensical lyrics and a heavy New Orleans rhythm that was perfect for dancing but no matter they managed to capture the enthusiasm of good time music. And on stage they were even better. The Clowns were really something to see, pulling a series of vaudevillian stunts and generally stirring up the audience.

The flu pandemic of 1957-58 deserves to be much better known, not just because the public health threat was a closer match to our own but because American society at the time was better prepared—culturally, institutionally and politically—to deal with it.

Despite the pandemic, people thronged the beach and boardwalk at Coney Island in July 1957. No masks, no social distancing, no lockdowns occurred. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The “Asian flu”—as it was then uncontroversial to call a contagious disease that originated in Asia—was a novel strain (H2N2) of influenza A. It was first reported in Hong Kong in April 1957, having originated in mainland China two months before, and—like Covid-19—it swiftly went global.

The age group that suffered the heaviest losses globally were from 15-24 years old or the prime marketing target or early rock ‘n’ roll. Unlike Covid-19, however, the Asian flu killed young people and in terms of excess mortality relative to baseline expected mortality rates the rock ‘n’ roll generation suffered the losses that were 34% above average mortality rates.

The most recent research concludes that between 700,000 and 1.5 million people worldwide died in the pandemic. A pre-Covid study of the 1957-58 pandemic concluded that if “a virus of similar severity” were to strike in our time, around 2.7 million deaths might be anticipated worldwide. The current Covid-19 death toll is 3 million, about the same percentage of world population as were killed in 1957–58

Cases also appeared among the 53,000 boys attending the Boy Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge, Penn. As Scout troops traveled around the country, they spread the flu. It was the start of the school year that made the Asian flu an epidemic. Younger people experienced the highest infection rates.

The year 1957 was in many ways the dawn of the American teenager. The first baby boomers born after the end of World War II turned 13 the following year. Summer camps, school buses and unprecedented social mingling after school ensured that between September 1957 and March 1958 the proportion of teenagers infected with the virus rose from 5% to 75%.

The policy response of President Dwight Eisenhower could hardly have been more different from the response of 2020. Eisenhower did not declare a state of emergency, no state lockdowns, restrict travel, close borders, or recommended wearing masks, and, despite the first wave of teenage illness, no school closures. Sick students simply stayed at home. Work continued unabated. Dad went to work every day and his factory stayed open. 

In 1957 Dad went to work every day at Gubelman's factory in Newark, N.J.; he was 21 and at the highest risk of contracting the influenza.

The CBO described the Asian flu as an event that “might not be distinguishable from the normal variation in economic activity.” Experts from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) concluded that “there is no practical advantage in the closing of schools or the curtailment of public gatherings as it relates to the spread of this disease.” Hospital admissions were only for the sickest patients….Most were advised simply to stay home, rest and drink plenty of water and fruit juices.”

A striking contrast between 1957 and the present is that Americans today appear to have a much lower tolerance for risk than their grandparents and great-grandparents. As one contemporary recalled, “For those who grew up in the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing unusual about finding yourself threatened by contagious disease. Mumps, measles, chicken pox and German measles swept through entire schools and towns….We took the Asian flu in stride. We said our prayers and took our chances.” Perhaps a society with a stronger fabric of family life, community life and church life was better equipped to withstand the anguish of untimely deaths than a society that has, in so many ways, come apart.

There were no lockdowns since the U.S. working population simply did not have the option to work from home in 1957. In the absence of a telecommunications infrastructure more sophisticated than the telephone (and a quarter of U.S. households still did not have a landline in 1957), the choice was between working at one’s workplace and not working at all.

In 1957—even with a serious risk of infectious disease (and not just flu; there was also polio and much else), life was jovial. By contrast, to be young in 2020 was—for most American teenagers—rather hellish. Stuck indoors, struggling to concentrate on “distance learning” with irritable parents working from home in the next room, young people experienced at best frustration and at worst mental illness.

Huey “Piano” Smith captured the celebration of the rock ‘n’ roll Generation despite the pandemic.

No masks, no social distancing, and kids mingled freely: 1957 Boy Scout Jamboree, Valley Forge, PAThe pandemic hit the schools in September but they remained open with no social distancing, and no masks, or separation: high school students in Washington, D.C., September 1957 EVERETT COLLECTION

Stores remained open and crowded; this is a Sears parking lot in 1957.

People congregated freely for family celebrations: my parents bought their first new car, a 1957 Buick Special, and the car was used for my Uncle "Sonny" and Aunt Anita's wedding in October, 1957.