Articles from Coronet Magazine
Here is a moving account of the meteoric rise of Johnny Mathis (b. 1935) – from an impoverished child of the San Francisco slums to the last of the great-American crooners.
Johnny Mathis is just 23 years old , though he appears a hungry , vulnerable 17. When he sings a romantic ballad in high falsetto, his large eyes gaze out over the heads of the audience as if in search of someone.
Before December 7, 1941, the average American regarded the Jap as a comical little fellow who bowed deeply from the waist and said, ‘So sorry.’…[and] as a fighting man, the Jap was obviously a joke. His army hadn’t been able to to lick poor old broken-down China in four years… This picture was destroyed forever by the bombs that fell on Pearl Harbor… But what makes the Jap so brave? Briefly, the Jap has two words for it. The first is Shinto and the second bushido,
Pieced together from the captain’s log as well as various first-hand observations that were called to mind by the 29 surviving crew members, this article presents a blow-by-blow account as to how the U.S. Navy dirigible Shenandoah was overwhelmed by turbulent winds over Eastern Ohio and torn in two.
As they climbed into the hull, the ship began spinning counter-clockwise on its keel, then lifted its nose and shot upward. Girders groaned and wires snapped. Then came a crunching, sickening roar as the girders parted. The ship had broken in two. Another rending crash and the control car plunged earthwards, carrying Lt. Commander Landsdowne and seven other men to their death.
More than any other president in our history, John F. Kennedy was the public image of the United States of America. Unlike the initial acclaim accorded the stately Roosevelt or the revered Eisenhower, many nations viewed the election of Kennedy in 1961 with alarm. It was not difficult to understand; he was born to great wealth, he was very young and he was inexperienced. Could any country that elected such a man be respected?
Click here to read about Jackie Kennedy’s life after leaving the White House.
A single page history essay concerning the most popular hairstyle of the 1920s.
Of all the jazz musicians who link yesterday’s ragtime with today’s dance music, Duke Ellington is the dean. In his 27 years as a pianist and composer, the Duke has played alongside every great brass, reed, and rhythm man of his day. Now he picks those music makers who, ‘on the basis of their over-all contribution, their all-time record, consistently good performance, and love of music,’ constitute 1951’s All-American jazz band.
Duke Ellington made a list of his favorite eleven musicians; some of the names may surprise you.
Here is an article about the legendary Marilyn Monroe (né Norma Jeane Mortenson: 1926 – 1962), her painful beginnings, the cheesecake pictures, the bit-parts and her enormous popularity as a star are all woven into a narrative that never lets the reader forget that her unique type of appeal was something entirely new.
Here is one of the few histories that explain the Star-Spangled Banner that seldom mentions its author. This short column will tell you about Sam Smith, the Militia general who kept the flag at Fort McHenry waving throughout that perilous fight.
Appearing in 1944, this article listed numerous reports relayed to the FBI by amateur spy-hunters of all the imagined foreign agents who they stumbled upon daily. Some of the accounts ended up being true and lead to actual confessions, but most were just plain silly – either way, the G-men had to investigate each account.
In this article, the controversial author and prominent chemist, Otto Eisenschiml (1880 – 1963), recalled the events that unfolded at Ford’s Theater as Lincoln lay dying. A good deal of information is dispensed concerning the physical damage that was wrought by Boothe’s derringer (pictured) – as well as the various life-prolonging measures that were implemented by the 23 year-old doctor who was first on the scene.
