Let’s ease into the week with a song you probably know and a backstory you might not. Tod Perry follows “Different Drum” from a Monkees gag to Linda Ronstadt’s breakthrough. Then a family spots a hardworking UPS driver and makes room at the cookout, while Emily Shiffer introduces us to Amelia Earhart’s lesser-known career in fashion.
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In 1966, Mike Nesmith played a goofy country song on The Monkees. Linda Ronstadt made it a hit. | ||
What first appeared as a throwaway gag would become Ronstadt’s breakthrough song. | ||
By Tod Perry | ||
The Monkees are one of the most unique stories in pop culture history. They were a band of actors and musicians put together for a TV show. The band had massive hits written by other artists and performed by session musicians. But eventually, like Pinocchio becoming a real boy, they fought to write and record their own music, resulting in a number-one album, 1967’s Headquarters. | ||
Before joining The Monkees, Michael Nesmith (best known for his wool cap) was a country singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas, who released a few singles as Michael Blessing. As a Monkee, Nesmith pushed to have the band record his songs and play them on the show. Producers rejected one of his early pitches, a mountain-folk song called “Different Drum,” which he wrote in 1964. | ||
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“I’m grateful you did it for me.”
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Family sees exhausted UPS driver working hard and invites him to ‘make a plate’ at family cookout | ||
“Everybody family around here.” | ||
By Emily Shiffer | ||
UPS drivers are always on the grind delivering packages around the clock, even on holidays. And one family took notice of the hard-working UPS driver in their neighborhood who had his nose to the grindstone as they enjoyed a cookout together. Rather than simply let him pass by, they decided to flag him down and extend an invite to join them in a move that proved community and hospitality are still alive and well. | ||
TikToker @1fanto shared a touching video with his followers from Easter weekend 2025 when his family invited a UPS driver making rounds in their neighborhood to come to their cookout and ‘make a plate.’ | ||
“Everybody family around here,” he captioned the video. “Everybody invited to the cookout.” | ||
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An Upworthiest Quiz
That tiny pocket inside the front pocket of jeans was originally designed to hold what?
Last Week’s Results
In Friday’s issue, we shared a McDonald’s employee’s paycheck that put everyday expenses in perspective.
And we asked: What was the biggest lesson from your first job? For 58.2% of you, a good boss made an enormous difference. Years later, we still remember who made the shift bearable.
Being on my feet all day is hard work (15.2%)
Customers can be a lot (11.4%)
A good boss makes an enormous difference (58.2%)
Money disappears much faster than I earn it (15.2%)
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Amelia Earhart designed a fashion line that was ahead of its time in 1933. | ||
In 1933, Amelia Earhart revolutionized women’s fashion by creating aviator-themed activewear | ||
At a time when women’s activewear was extremely rare, her clothes featured parachute silk and airplane hardware. | ||
By Emily Shiffer | ||
Amelia Earhart’s accomplishments in aviation made her a household name in the United States by 1928, when she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by airplane. Her feats in flying continued to stack up. | ||
In 1932, she became the first woman to fly nonstop solo across the United States. By 1933, she had begun a new entrepreneurial venture: designing a women’s fashion line. | ||
Before the influencers of today, Earhart endorsed many products throughout her public career. But her personal love for design and unique personal fashion culminated in a first-of-its-kind activewear collection for women that changed the way clothes were worn (and sold) for years to come. | ||
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