One of The Rolling Stones‘ underrated ballads, “Memory Motel”, was written before hitting the road to go on tour, with Mick Jagger having penned the lyrics based on a reported romantic encounter.
By 1975, the rock band was in the spotlight nonstop, and creating music was at the forefront of everything they did behind-the-scenes. That year, they decided to take a small break before finalizing their North American tour and cutting their next album. Jagger and Keith Richards decided to stay at Andy Warhol‘s Eothen estate in Montauk, New York.
According to SongFacts, the Memory Motel was a real-life location that was near the estate and one of the only places with a pool table and piano. The rock stars spent a lot of time there as a result. Believe it or not, the motel owner wasn’t too happy with the rockers being there and wasn’t a fan of their music. Jagger would start writing “Memory Motel” before returning to go on the road and finishing the track.
“Memory Motel” is considered one of the Rolling Stones’ classic ballads that was never released as a single. As only part of the Black and Blue album, the track never entered the Billboard charts. It was also one of the first tracks to have Jagger and Richards sharing lead vocals, and one of the band’s longest at over seven minutes.
When it came to the track’s lyrics, many believed Jagger’s “Hannah baby” was referring to singer Carly Simon. The two were reportedly romantically linked around the time the track was created, with fans theorizing Simon’s “You’re So Vain” had been about a one-night stand with the rocker. Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner once claimed photographer Annie Leibovitz was behind the song, as she covered the band and was “sleeping” with Jagger.
Christopher Lawrence of Avenue Magazine reported that he found “Hannah” by accident and proved she was the one-night romance “Memory Motel” is about. The woman explained how she was walking her dog down on the beach below the compound when she ran across the property to reach a private road.
There are many things people can probably remember doing at age 12 — recording a song that would end up a No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit isn’t on the list. In fact, it isn’t on many lists, because when Stevie Wonder accomplished the feat as a pre-teen, he made music history.
The longtime talent’s track, “Fingertips,” helped him get his first mainstream pop hit when the song entered the charts on June 22, 1963, according to uDiscover Music. Wonder also made history by becoming the youngest artist ever to top the chart—a record he still holds today, 63 years later.
Written by Hank Cosby and Clarence Paul, it was recorded for his debut album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, released in September 1962. But it was a chaotic live recording, now known as “Fingertips Pt. 2” that took over the airwaves. The live version of the single—featuring opening drums by fellow young Motown artist Marvin Gaye—was included on the album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius.
The live performance was too long to be one song, so it was “somewhat clumsily” split into two sections, the music outlet shared. “Fingertips Pt. 2” was picked up by radio stations and debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 85, making it all the way to the top by August. (He had just turned 13 when it made it to No. 1.) It didn’t hit the R&B chart until a week later, June 29, entering at No. 26, before also topping that chart. The album additionally became a No. 1.
“All of this was recorded by accident; I never thought it would be a single,” Stevie later said about the spontaneous track, per Far Out.
THE ZIMBAWE MAIL notes more on Stevie:
Music legend Stevie Wonder is preparing to make a long-awaited return to the recording scene with a new studio album titled “Through the Eyes of Wonder,” scheduled for release in 2027.
The announcement marks a major moment in popular music, as the project will become Wonder’s first full-length album in 22 years, ending one of the longest gaps in the career of one of the most celebrated artists in music history.
Wonder revealed that he is currently putting the finishing touches on the highly anticipated body of work, which will feature four newly recorded tracks added to the album’s final production phase.
Known for his groundbreaking contributions to soul, R&B, jazz and popular music, Wonder has spent more than six decades shaping global music culture with timeless classics and innovative songwriting. His last studio album, “A Time to Love,” was released in 2005 and featured collaborations with artists including India.Arie and Prince.
THROUGH THE EYES OF WONDER? I cannot wait for that release. Liz Phair released an amazing album in 1993. Richard Chachowski (PARADE) notes:
Often described as one of the greatest and most influential albums of the entire 1990s, Exile in Guyville marked indie superstar Phair’s first foray into the mainstream music industry after a few short years spent self-publishing her own work.
Recorded in 1992 and 1993 by Phair and Brad Wood, the album was soon released on June 23, 1993 by Matador Records. Upon its debut, Exile in Guyville earned standout acclaim from average listeners and veteran critics alike, with both Spin and Village Voice placing. it as the number one album of the year in their respective critics poll.
Envisioned by Phair as a track-to-track response to the Rolling Stones’ iconic 1972 album Exile on Main St., Exile in Guyville combined Phair’s penchant for indie rock with her candid observations about the world around her.
Despite its massive success and certified gold status by 1998, Phair continues to hold a complex view of the album, believing it to be a decent enough project, but perhaps not worthy of the standout celebration it often receives.
However, the album has since gone on to be frequentlyey referenced as one of the greatest albums of the decade, with Rolling Stone even featuring the project favorably on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"
A widening military conflict with Iran entered a dangerous new phase this week, spooking energy markets and sending global oil prices to $100 a barrel. The anxiety spilled into gas prices, which topped $4 a gallon in much of the country, according to AAA. And the tumult coincided with the return of Mr. Trump’s trade brinkmanship, as the White House formalized a slate of new tariffs on dozens of countries on Friday.
The duties apply to some of the largest U.S. trade partners, including the members of the European Union, and they are expected to be the first of more to come. Tariffs are taxes that apply to imported goods, so again the president’s actions threatened to raise costs for some American companies and consumers.
The forces, taken together, complicated the nation’s economic outlook in familiar ways. Once, economists figured that an end to the hostilities in the Middle East would spell a gradual return to normal. Instead, the renewed fighting cast those assumptions into doubt, leaving the nation’s long, hard fight against inflation as vexing as ever.
“The longer the war is in place, at this current level of intensity, the worse it is for consumers,” said Olu Sonola, the head of U.S. economics at Fitch Ratings.
Four House Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday in a vote to restrict President Donald Trump’s war powers as the Iran conflict drags on.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Barrett (R-MI) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) crossed party lines and supported the war powers resolution which calls for a halt to the war. The Senate is also expected to consider a similar resolution later in the day.
The House resolution, calling for congressional approval for the war, passed in a 214-208 vote.
CNN’s Lauren Fox reported on the vote and noted that support for these resolutions is largely symbolic and non-binding and used to send a message to the White House. She added that Republican lawmakers are growing concerned with the unpopularity of the war and how it will influence their reelection chances.
Midterms
are often viewed as a referendum on the sitting president, and the
party in the White House historically suffers losses. President Donald
Trump saw Democrats flip 47 House seats in the 2018 midterms during his
first term in office.
Trump’s approval rating has slipped since his return to the Oval Office as poll respondents cite cost of living as a top concern. In the Emerson poll, for instance, Trump’s approval rating sat at only 39 percent, while 57 percent disapproved of his job performance.
Democrats believe the sliding approval gives them an opening to win back swing voters and flip control of both chambers.
President Donald Trump recently threw a curse-riddled temper tantrum inside the Oval Office over his own failure end the war in Iran, according to an inside source.
Trump called Iranian leaders "scumbags" and lunatics" and was heard "unleashing a series of expletives," the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday night.
Trump is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he once thought would be over in a matter of weeks has dragged on with no end in sight," the Wall Street Journal reported.
"Some of Trump’s advisers now worry that the war—which has resulted in higher prices, falling approval ratings and the deaths of more than a dozen U.S. servicemembers—is consuming his presidency."
Trump's frustration stems from his growing fear that he cannot negotiate the lasting peace he promised the American people after launching a war without Congressional permission he promised would only last would last “four to five weeks,” the Journal reported.
President Trump went to war with Iran in part to force compliance with two longstanding American demands: Tehran must stop enriching nuclear fuel for at least two decades, and it must allow international inspectors to go anywhere and see anything to verify the country is not producing a bomb.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump took the reverse approach to Saudi Arabia, its close ally in the region. To seal a deal for Westinghouse and other American companies to seize a big piece of the business in building two nuclear reactors on Saudi territory — and more to come — it opened the door to allowing the kingdom to begin enriching its own nuclear fuel after two years.
And it gave in to the kingdom’s demand that it not have to abide by an inspection agreement that applies to more than 140 other countries. Those rules, the Saudis said, are just too intrusive.
Now Mr. Trump will have to make the case to Congress, and to allies throughout the Middle East, that in loosening the nuclear standards for one close ally, he is not ushering in a new age of proliferation, especially in a region of the world already on fire. If the daily missile exchanges with Iran finally give way to resumed negotiations, there is no question Iran will seize on the concessions made to Riyadh and insist on the same.
The Senators’ Right to IVF Act reintroduction comes nearly two years since Donald Trump promised free IVF for all, which he’s still failed to deliver
***WATCH and READ: Senator Murray’s remarks at a press conference introducing the Right to IVF Act***
Washington, D.C. — Nearly two years after President Donald Trump promised free IVF for all Americans on the campaign trail, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are reintroducing the Right to IVF Act, a sweeping legislative package that would make it easier to access in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) for the millions of hopeful parents who depend on it to build their family. This pro-family legislation would establish a nationwide right to access IVF, lower the costs of IVF treatment, expand IVF coverage for military families and require all employer-sponsored insurance programs to cover IVF.
“Republicans are not pro-family and they won’t lift a finger to help families get IVF—the Texas Republican Party just recently made banning IVF a part of their official party platform,” said Senator Murray. “I have fought for a long time to make sure at least servicemembers and veterans, especially wounded warriors, can get the IVF care they need to build a family. But the reality is that we have a Republican Speaker of the House who believes an embryo should have the same rights as an adult woman with children who count on her. America’s pro-IVF majority should wake up to the fact that Trump could not care less about IVF—he broke that promise and he is happy to let Republicans attack IVF and all of our reproductive rights. Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting to make sure all Americans can access and afford health care to build their families.”
“Almost two years after promising free IVF for all Americans if he were elected, Donald Trump has still failed to deliver,” said Senator Duckworth. “Trump and Republicans’ ‘support’ for IVF is nothing but lip service. They want us to have more babies, yet they’ll do nothing to actually help make it easier for the millions who struggle with infertility to start and grow their families. The Right to IVF Act would immediately make IVF treatment more affordable for millions of hopeful parents across the country. From middle class families, to our brave servicemembers and Veterans, to federal employees and more—every American deserves the right to access the treatment and tools they need to build the family of their dreams without burning through their savings. If Republicans really support IVF, then let’s get this done. No more delays.”
“For millions of American families, IVF isn’t politics—it’s hope,” said Senator Schumer. “Donald Trump ran on a promise that he would make IVF free, and yet he has done nothing but attack women’s reproductive rights and undermine access to fertility care—another lie in his long list of broken promises to American families. Our Right to IVF Act is essential to putting a deeply personal health care decision back in the hands of American families. While Donald Trump and Republicans erect barriers between hopeful parents and IVF, Democrats will never stop fighting to protect access so that every family can build the future they dream of.”
“No one chooses infertility,” said Senator Booker. “It’s a medical condition that leaves too many families and individuals feeling alone long before they ever seek treatment. When people turn to IVF, they’re choosing hope. They’re choosing the chance to build the family they’ve always dreamed of. But that hope comes with a price tag that is simply out of reach for far too many. The medications, procedures, and cycles can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Families and individuals already carrying the emotional weight of infertility are then hit with financial barriers that no one should have to face trying to bring a child into this world. We have to change that. We have to remove those barriers and make IVF affordable and accessible to everyone who needs it. Because the ability to build a family should not be reserved for the wealthy or the lucky, it should be within reach for us all.”
Companion legislation is being introduced in the House by U.S. Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), James Walkinshaw (D-VA-11), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Laura Gillen (D-NY-04).
“Like so many people in our country facing fertility challenges, my husband and I turned to IVF as our last hope to have kids. After years of appointments, injections, and setbacks, and thanks to our remarkable physicians, we have two beautiful daughters,” said Rep. Trahan. “No one should lose the chance to start or grow a family because of their zip code. The Right to IVF Act guarantees the right to family-creating fertility care in every state and puts it within reach for the millions of families who need it.”
“Deciding when and how to build a family is a deeply personal choice that belongs to families, not politicians,” said Rep. Walkinshaw. “For millions struggling with infertility, IVF offers hope and a path to parenthood. I’m especially proud the Right to IVF Act includes my legislation requiring IVF coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, ensuring the federal government leads by example. I’m honored to join Senator Duckworth, Congresswoman Trahan, and this coalition to protect IVF nationwide and expand access for servicemembers, veterans, federal employees, and working families.”
“For many Americans, fertility treatments like IVF are essential to start families of their own,” said Rep. Larsen. “This comprehensive legislation will guarantee access and expand coverage for IVF and other fertility services. The legislation also includes my bill with Senator Murray, the Veteran Families Health Services Act, to ensure fertility treatments are included in servicemembers’ and veterans’ health benefits. I will keep working with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to make sure that women and men in uniform and working families do not have to sacrifice their dreams of having a family.”
“There are few experiences as hard as wanting to start a family and not being able to,” said Rep. DeLauro. “That is why I am fighting to ensure Americans have access to IVF treatments when they want to start one. I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Right to IVF Act – because building a family in the United States should never be difficult.”
“I am proud to help lead this critical bill ensuring millions of Americans can access IVF to build their families, no matter where they live,” said Rep. Gillen. “Families struggling to conceive go through indescribable heartbreak and stress. The last thing they should worry about is legal challenges to IVF delaying or outright halting procedures. Infertility is not a partisan issue. I will continue to work across the aisle in Congress to protect access to IVF and adjacent reproductive technologies that have helped countless individuals experience the joy of parenthood.”
Last Congress, Senate Republicans shamefully blocked the Right to IVF Act, exposing the hollowness of Republicans’ empty claims to support IVF for the millions of Americans who rely on it to build their family. This marked the fourth time Senate Republicans blocked Duckworth-led legislation that would protect access to IVF nationwide, with previous instances including her Access to Family Building Act that builds on previous legislation she introduced in 2022.
While Senate Democrats continue their efforts to protect IVF and reproductive freedom, Senate Republicans continue making it abundantly clear through their anti-choice extremism and record Medicaid cuts that they would rather undermine access to basic health care for millions of Americans than make it easier for their constituents to start and build a family.
Building on the lawmakers’ previous efforts to protect and strengthen access to IVF, this pro-family, pro-freedom legislative package includes:
- Senator Murray’s Veteran Families Health Services Act, which would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care to include—among other things—the option for individuals to cryopreserve their gametes (freeze their eggs or sperm) ahead of deployment to a combat zone and IVF for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance.
- Senator Duckworth’s Protect IVF Act, which would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other ART services, a right for doctors to provide IVF treatment in accordance with medical standards as well as a right for insurance carriers to cover IVF without prohibition, limitation, interference or impediment. By establishing a statutory right, this would pre-empt any state effort to limit such access and ensuring no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow a family.
- Senator Booker’s Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, which would increase affordability of fertility care—including IVF—by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and public insurance plans to cover fertility treatments. Additionally, it would standardize a baseline of high-quality fertility treatment coverage under private health insurance plans, while protecting Americans against excessive out-of-pocket costs.
- Senator Duckworth’s Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, which would require Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program—the largest employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the world—carriers to cover IVF and ART to help more hardworking Americans start and grow their families.
In addition to Murray, Duckworth, Booker and Schumer, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—and advocating for women veterans and their access to reproductive health care has been a longtime focus for Senator Murray. Senator Murray called on VA to provide abortion care to veterans early in the Biden administration, and she applauded the Biden administration’s announcement later in the year that would begin to provide abortion care for veterans and their eligible dependents to protect the health and life of the individual and in cases of rape or incest. Murray has helped lead the charge in calling out Republicans for their attacks on, and attempts to undo, this limited and commonsense policy.
Senator Murray leads the Veteran Families Health Services Act, comprehensive legislation that would expand fertility treatments—including IVF—and family-building services for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance, and she has sought unanimous consent to pass the legislation on multiple occasions. She introduced new legislation last summer with Senator Duckworth to help cover IVF costs for servicemembers and military families—and slammed Speaker Johnson for working behind the scenes to strip an amendment mirroring that legislation from the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. Senator Murray voted against the NDAA earlier this month, citing—among other things—the failure to include her provision to expand IVF care for servicemembers and veterans. Senator Murray slammed the Trump administration’s initial move to ban abortion care at VA in August, and sounded the alarm again in December when the Trump administration quietly implemented a near-total abortion ban at VA.
Full text of the legislation can be found HERE.
The Right to IVF Act is supported by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association, Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD Law), Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, Stand with IVF, AllPaths Family Building, American Association of People with Disabilities, American Atheists, Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, Society for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Society of Reproductive Biologists & Technologists, Society for Reproductive Surgeons, California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, Endocrine Society, Equality California, Families USA, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, Guttmacher Institute, Hadassah, Human Rights Campaign, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Indivisible, Justice + Joy National Collaborative, Legal Momentum, Military Family Building Coalition, MomsRising, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Council on Jewish Women, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Women’s Political Caucus, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Reproductive Freedom for All, Service Women’s Action Network, Silver State Equality, What to Expect Project and Women’s March.
“The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) welcomes the bicameral reintroduction of the Right to IVF Act, which would achieve accessible and affordable fertility care for all Americans,” said ASRM Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer Sean Tipton. “This visionary and comprehensive effort would protect patients’ ability to build their families through safe, evidence-based treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF). By safeguarding access to assisted reproductive technology (ART), preserving the physician-patient relationship, and expanding coverage for the individuals and families who need it most, this legislation reflects the standard of care that all patients deserve.”
“No one should have to wonder whether they’ll be able to access the care they need to build their family,” said Danielle Melfi, CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association. “By safeguarding the right to IVF and expanding insurance coverage for veterans, federal employees, and the individuals and families who need it most, this legislation reflects a comprehensive commitment to helping more people build the families they dream of. RESOLVE applauds Senator Duckworth and the bill’s sponsors for continuing to put patients and families first.”
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