Posts Tagged With ‘ Sonny Melendrez ’

In 2016, after his courageous battle with Alzheimer’s, we said goodbye to a real teen idol: Bobby Vee, who, in the 60’s, according to Billboard magazine, had thirty-eight Hot 100 chart hits, ten of which reached the Top 20, and six gold singles in his career. My connection to Bobby begins at the concession stand of the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio. My mother had seen an article in the paper about a Teen Fair of Texas that would feature many of my favorite recording stars. I was just out of high school and got a job making lemonade for the 10 days of the fair. Money was not my motive. I knew... Continue Reading

As the story goes, 5th grade teacher stood in front of her class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. She said she loved them all the same. In the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy, and that he constantly needed a bath. Mrs. Thompson would take delight in marking his papers with a big “F” at the top of his papers. She was required to review each child’s past records.Teddy’s first-grade... Continue Reading

Did you know that 80 million Americans listen to at least one podcast a week? A podcast is described as an audio program made available to each listener, on-demand. So, who invented podcasting? I did. It was long before the Internet, smart phones or even, personal computers. By age 13, my vision of “being on the radio” was crystal clear. I dreamed about it while listening to my favorite station on the transistor radio under my pillow: KTSA. I could not wait to grow up to take to the airwaves. And so, with my portable recorder and record player, I created 5 minute shows, playing music and talking,... Continue Reading

When our youngest son, Bono, was 4 years old, he was playing in his room while I was hanging a picture around the corner in the hallway. “Dad?!” he yelled. “What is it?” I called back. “I love you!” he replied. “I love you!” I reassured him. This was a common exchange at our house as our boys were growing up. Now, don’t get me wrong. There was plenty of yelling, scolding and even, crying going on at our place, as well. That’s all part of the soundtrack of family life, yet, to this day, my wife Linda and I cannot tell our, now grown, boys enough, how we feel. When we spontaneously... Continue Reading

During his time in England, he received a call from his friend. It was a call that would allow Sandy to keep his side of their pact. Garfunkel explained that he wanted to drop out of architecture school and record his first album with Paul Simon. However, he needed $400 to do so. The post Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: The touching story behind Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” appeared first on Award-Winning Texas TEDx Motivational Keynote San Antonio Speaker, SONNY MELENDREZ.  Continue Reading

Want a way to make someone and yourself truly happy this Thanksgiving? There’s a method of practicing gratitude that you may not have heard about: The Gratitude Visit. It’s a concept created by the man considered to be the Father of Positive Psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman, and a moving way to express your deep appreciation to someone who has made a big difference in your journey. Here’s how it works… First, you think of someone who had a hand in moving your life in a positive direction somewhere along the way. Someone enormously important, who is still alive, and whom you never properly... Continue Reading

Albert Einstein once wrote on a chalkboard:9 x 1 = 99 x 2 = 189 x 3 = 279 x 4 = 369 x 5 = 459 x 6 = 549 x 7 = 639 x 8 = 729 x 9 = 819 x 10 = 91 Suddenly chaos erupted in the classroom because Einstein made a mistake. Obviously, the correct answer to 9 × 10 isn’t 91. And all his students ridiculed him. Einstein waited for everyone to be silent and said:“Despite the fact that I analyzed nine problems correctly, no one congratulated me. But when I made one mistake, everyone started laughing. This means that even if a person is successful, society will notice his slightest mistake. And they’ll... Continue Reading

She looked at me and said, “Sweetheart, I don’t know what to say!” “Don’t worry mom, just answer the questions.” The post Let Me Call You Sweetheart appeared first on Award-Winning Texas TEDx Motivational Keynote San Antonio Speaker, SONNY MELENDREZ.  Continue Reading

I was 11 years old when I discovered that I had an uncanny ability to mimic voices I heard, especially cartoon characters. My favorite show was Yogi Bear. That was my first voice, then his little friend, Boo Boo and a little duck named, Yakky Doodle. It was then that I began to dream about what it would be like to “be the voice of cartoons.” Little did I know that the people who do those voices are professionals and have been doing it for years. All I knew was that I would do that one day! That dream came true when my radio career took me to Los Angeles and, while on-the-air, one afternoon,... Continue Reading

When Aleah Ryder was a 3rd grader at Windcrest Elementary, in San Antonio, she walked into the principal’s office and asked if she could do the morning announcements like a radio show. She was told, “No!” Aleah dreamed of one day, “being on the radio”, sitting across from me and having great fun, having listened to my show growing up. That was the story she told my wife, Linda who met her by chance, a few years ago. When Linda relayed Aleah’s childhood dream, I knew there was only one thing left to do! A few weeks later, Aleah, (now in her 30’s) fulfilled that dream, accepting our... Continue Reading