Making Spirits Bright

I saw a thing on Facebook that made me laugh.  It said, “It only snows in November because people decorate early for Christmas.” Blame me if you wish, but we needed to brighten things up over this way! 

There has been a lot going on in my life, some of which I have shared and some I have kept to myself. We’re all processing a variety of emotions. With the passing of my sister-in-law, there is an extra bit of sadness. Like the song says, “We need a little Christmas!” So we decided to put up the Christmas tree this weekend.

The older the kids get, the more fun this becomes. Andrew was just a couple months old last year, so he was especially excited to see the tree and the lights. He and Ella both “helped” handing me lights. They were both extra giddy.

I had the lights plugged in as I walked around the tree with them. That way I could make sure they were placed evenly and all areas has the proper amount of lights.

Andrew, as you know, is everywhere. He gets into everything! So we debated waiting until closer to Christmas to put ornaments on the tree. We also debated not putting any on at all. We did decide to put the tree topper on, and Andrew was the perfect helper!

My dad commented on a picture of the tree on Facebook. He said he was taking bets on who was going to know the tree down – Ella, Andrew, or the cat! For the record, the cat has yet to get near the tree, which is really odd.

We brought up the baby gate and set it around the tree. It’s the “look, but don’t touch” gate. The kids can still touch it, but the probability of the tree coming down is a lot less.

I decided that certain ornaments had to go up on the tree. As ridiculous as it looks, all the ornaments are on the tree from about a foot higher than the top of the baby gate and up to the top. In total, there are maybe 12-20 ornaments on there.

Every year, we got to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth to get an ornament that represents a big even from the year. We got one for our engagement, or marriage, the birth of both kids, etc. We went early this year and at the time, didn’t really have an “event” to get an ornament for. We opted instead for a plaque for the door with a snowman family on it.

When my sister-in-law, Grace, passed away I decided I was going to get Sam and her folks a memorial ornament for the tree. I had seen a few designs in the Bronner’s catalog, and chose this one.

I had hoped to save it until closer to Christmas to give it to Sam, but I can’t control my face. Let me explain.

I took the kids with me to Bronner’s on a day Sam was home sleeping. I kept the ornaments in my car so she wouldn’t see them. Then a day or two later, she was getting ready for work and said, “I was thinking about getting a Christmas ornament with Grace’s name on it for my mom.”

I must have stood there dumbfounded. My face obviously giving away that I had already done it. Instead of just saying, “That’s a great idea. We should do that.” I knew that she would just go and do it. So I walked out to the car and brought inside.

I’m glad it’s inside and I’m glad it is on the tree. Grace already has a special place in our hearts, and now she will have a special place on our tree every year.

If my tree being up brings snow your way, I’m sorry. We needed something help brighten the season, even if it is early.

Another thing I saw on Facebook this week said, “Don’t you just love it when the Christmas tree is the only light in the room?”

Yes. Yes, I do!

A Remembrance Day March

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day. Facebook will filled with photos and stories of men and women in uniform yesterday. It made me proud to know so many friends who served in the armed forced. At the same time, I was saddened to see photos of those who lost their lives while serving our country – grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, and other relatives.

Yesterday was also Remembrance Day. I had forgotten that Remembrance Day also falls on November 11. It is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honor armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

I was reminded of a musical story. It is sort of a “behind the music” sort of story and I hope it is ok to post this a day late.

This man is Frederick Joseph Ricketts. He wrote music under the name Kenneth J. Alford. (He wrote under this name because he was serving in the military and it was frowned upon to have a side job writing music!) He was considered by many to be the “British March King.” So, he was the John Phillip Sousa of Britain if you will. He was Bandmaster in the British Army and the Director of Music for the Royal Marines.

Admittedly, his most famous piece is the Colonel Bogey March. You may not know it by name, but I assure you that you will recognize the melody. Give it a listen:

Wikipedia says, “While there are several speculations of how the march was begun, the most accepted is probably from a note written by Ricketts’ widow to the publishers in 1958:

“While playing golf on the Fort George course, one of the members whistled the first two notes (B flat and G) instead of calling ‘Fore!’, and with impish spontaneity was answered by my husband with the next few notes. There was little sauntering—Moray Firth’s stiff breezes encouraged a good crisp stride. These little scraps of whistling appeared to ‘catch on’ with the golfers, and from that beginning the Quick March was built up”. Was the original whistler the colonel? We’ll probably never know for certain, but the title Colonel Bogey gives us a clue.

During World War 1, he wrote several marches which he dedicated to the fighting forces. Those marches included The Great Little Army, On the Quarter Deck, The Voice of the Guns, and a song that I remember playing in while in high school – The Vanished Army.

I remember before we began rehearsing this song, our band director (Tom Shaner) read us a story about the song. During the first few months of the war, the British Army saw the loss of 100,000 soldiers in combat. This was obviously quite a shock to them and the British public at the time. Ricketts wrote the song and dedicated it “to the first 100,000.” The song’s subtitle was “They Never Die.”

The song is a somber march, which is odd. Many marches are uptempo and bright. The Vanished Army is a march to remember those who lost their lives. The muted trumpet throughout was a very prominent thing. I don’t recall exactly what Mr. Shaner said, but he eluded to the fact that it represented the echoes of the troops that had vanished and represented their bravery and heroism.

Almost every video I found on YouTube of the song was done a little faster than “march tempo” or about 120 beats a minute. I recall playing it just a tad slower, which made it sound a bit more poignant and stately. The following version is about as close to the tempo we played it. While somber, there are still many “march” qualities to the song.

Frederick Ricketts joined the military in 1895. He became well-known and well-liked as leader of the Band of the Royal Marines. He retired from the Royal Marines on June 1, 1944 because of ill health and died at his home in Reigate, Surrey, on May 15, 1945. He had given almost 50 years of distinguished service to the Crown.

Friday Photo Flashback

It is time for another Friday Photo Flashback. This week, it is a bit different. In the past installments, I have picked on photo and written about things in it, or the memories connected to it. Today, however, is Veteran’s Day and I have a few photos that I want to share. The camera at the top of the blog is a 1967 Polaroid Land Camera. I chose this particular camera because of the context of the photos below.

Veteran’s Day is a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all US military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who have died while in military service.

I’d like to especially thank my dad, and all of the great Vietnam veterans I’ve had the chance to meet because of him. Here is a photo of him either just before or just after basic training.

My dad served in the 9th Infantry.

He sent many photos home from Vietnam. He sent them to my grandparents, and my mom (long before they were married).

These photos were in albums for many years and there was a time that my dad didn’t talk much about his time in Vietnam. It was war after all, and he saw things and witnessed things I cannot imagine.

I knew from a shadow box that held his name tag, bars, patches, and his Purple Heart that he was in the infantry and was wounded. It was years later that he told me about that.

The above photo was one I don’t really remember. It is possible that this was one that my grandma had at her house in her albums. I’m going to guess that my dad is 21-23 in this photo.

The title on this scan was “R&R,” so my dad might be on leave in this picture. It is another one that I have a vague recollection of.

A father will usually boast about being proud of their children, but I would like to turn the tables and say that I am proud of my father. I am honored to be this hero’s son. Thank you, Pop, for your service to our country.

Before wrapping up, let me remember my grandfather, Henry Davidson, who fought in World War II and my Uncle Tom (my Godfather), who also served in Vietnam.

I love this picture of my dad and my uncle. There were friends since childhood and remained friends until my uncle passed away. What an amazing friendship they shared.

Today I thank those who have served in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines and all branches of the military. Thank you for your service to this country and thank you for the freedoms that I have, the freedoms that my family and friends have, and for the freedoms of every American citizen. You make me proud to be an American.

November 10, 1975 – On The Big Lake They Called “Gitche Gumee”

It was 47 years today that the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in Michigan’s Lake Superior. The wreck inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a song which will no doubt play on some of the local stations throughout the day today.

I don’t think they ever really taught much about it in school growing up and All I really ever knew about the wreck was because of the lyrics of the song. It wasn’t until 1999 that I learned much more about it – and got to see a piece of it up close and personal.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum can be found in Paradise, Michigan. It is a small museum, but was absolutely fascinating. I truly enjoyed my visit there. Their website (www.shipwreckmuseum.com) says this about the Fitz:

The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. Whitefish Point is the site of the Whitefish Point Light Station and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) has conducted three underwater expeditions to the wreck, 1989, 1994, and 1995.

At the request of family members surviving her crew, Fitzgerald’s 200 lb. bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society on July 4, 1995. This expedition was conducted jointly with the National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, Sony Corporation, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The bell is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.

There was a movie showing in the museum about the Edmund Fitzgerald that told the story of the wreck. It made looking at the bell even more real.

According to the museum’s Facebook page, there will be a live stream later today as they “pay our respects and remember the 29 men who were lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald 47 years ago. Join us live at @shipwreckmuseum.com and our stream will be on our front page starting at 7pm (est).”

Here is the Gordon Lightfoot classic:

The last radio communication from the Fitz took place at 7:10 p.m.

Jessie B. Cooper, the captain of the nearby cargo ship the SS Arthur M. Anderson, asked how the Fitzgerald was weathering the storm and Captain Ernest M. McSorley replied, “We are holding our own.”

It is believed that the Fitzgerald then sank suddenly at about 7:15 p.m. without sending out any distress signals.

After conducting an initial futile search of the area for survivors, the Anderson sought safe harbor in Whitefish Bay in the early hours of Nov. 11, according to records.

The U.S. Coast Guard then requested the Anderson to reverse course and assist in conducting another search for the Fitzgerald, according to USCG records. They also asked U.S. vessels William Clay Ford, Armco, Roger Blough, Reserve, Wilfred Sykes and William R. Roesch; Canadian vessels Hilda Marjanne, Frontenac, John O. McKeller, Murray Bay and fishing tug James D.

No survivors were found nor any bodies recovered.

The Anderson sighted one piece of a lifeboat at 8:07 on Nov. 11 about 9 miles east of where the Fitzgerald disappeared and an hour later sighted the 2nd damaged lifeboat about 4 miles south of the first one.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was later found in Canadian waters 530 feet below the surface of Lake Superior. The ship had broken into two pieces.

One line from that Lightfoot song reads “Superior, they said, never gives up her dead” and the bodies of the 29 were never recovered.

They are:

Michael E. Armagost, 37, Third Mate from Iron River, Wisconsin

Fred J. Beetcher, 56, Porter from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas D. Bentsen, 23, Oiler from St. Joseph, Michigan

Edward F. Bindon, 47, First Asst. Engineer from Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Thomas D. Borgeson, 41, Maintenance Man fromDuluth, Minnesota

Oliver J. Champeau, 41, Third Asst. Engineer from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Nolan S. Church, 55, Porter from Silver Bay, Minnesota

Ransom E. Cundy, 53, Watchman from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas E. Edwards, 50, Second Asst. Engineer from Oregon, Ohio

Russell G. Haskell, 40, Second Asst. Engineer from Millbury, Ohio

George J. Holl, 60, Chief Engineer from Cabot, Pennsylvania

Bruce L. Hudson, 22, Deck Hand from North Olmsted, Ohio

Allen G. Kalmon, 43, Second Cook from Washburn, Wisconsin

Gordon F. MacLellan, 30, Wiper from Clearwater, Florida

Joseph W. Mazes, 59, Special Maintenance Man from Ashland, Wisconsin

John H. McCarthy, 62, First Mate from Bay Village, Ohio

Ernest M. McSorley, 63, Captain from Toledo, Ohio

Eugene W. O’Brien, 50, Wheelsman from Toledo, Ohio

Karl A. Peckol, 20, Watchman from Ashtabula, Ohio

John J. Poviach, 59, Wheelsman from Bradenton, Florida

James A. Pratt, 44, Second Mate from Lakewood, Ohio

Robert C. Rafferty, 62, Steward from Toledo, Ohio

Paul M. Riippa, 22, Deck Hand from Ashtabula, Ohio

John D. Simmons, 63, Wheelsman from Ashland, Wisconsin

William J. Spengler, 59, Watchman from Toledo, Ohio

Mark A. Thomas, 21, Deck Hand from Richmond Heights, Ohio

Ralph G. Walton, 58, Oiler from Fremont, Ohio

David E. Weiss, 22, Cadet from Agoura, California

Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52, Oiler from Moquah, Wisconsin

For more on the famous shipwreck – check out this article:

https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/11/wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald-photos-of-the-great-lakes-most-famous-ship.html

Thanks, Kevin!

I have made it no secret that I love to read the “educational” portion of the newspaper. I am referring, of course, to the comics! A few years ago, when I started my blog, I even devoted a blog to them and talked about many of my favorites. You can read about that here:

The Comics

One of my favorite strips is Drabble by Kevin Fagan. I feel like I have been reading it since it first came out (1979), and that may very well be true. As I stated in the above blog, I found that I related to those characters a lot. The relationship between the father (Ralph) and the son (Norman) reminded me a lot of the relationship I have with my dad.

Over time, I have found that I relate a bit more with Ralph now. Kevin has drawn some very funny strips about golf featuring Ralph. They always seem to be very close to an experience I’ve had while golfing.

I don’t recall when I found that Kevin was on Facebook, but I sent him a friend request and he accepted it. He and I even had some brief conversations on messenger. I was really surprised that he would chat with me.

Since becoming friends on Facebook, I have learned much about him. He shares a lot of great stories, most of which I had never heard before. He was friends with Charles Schulz, the creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang. You can read that story in a biography for gocomics:

https://www.gocomics.com/blog/2810/kevin-fagan-drabble

Fans of the strip can subscribe to the “Daily Drabble” where Kevin features old strips from the past. He shares a lot of the background inspirations for those strips and talks about the evolution of the characters, too. I have loved seeing so many of those really early strips. They are still funny!

He has a brand new book out that features the Drabble’s dog, Wally.

Subscribers to the Daily Drabble had the opportunity to receive a copy of the book from Kevin. He was more than happy to autograph them for subscribers. Today, mine came in the mail. He even drew a picture:

How very cool to have this! What an honor it is to call Kevin a friend!

For 43 years, Drabble has been making readers laugh. It remains fresh and funny today. Just like a good sitcom, I connect with the characters and enjoy the various story lines. I’m happy to add another Drabble book to my library and encourage you to pick one up for yourself!

The world seems to grow a bit darker every day with war, inflation, political nonsense, death, disease and many other depressing things. It is nice to know I can count on a laugh from Ralph, Norman, Wally and the gang on a daily basis. Thanks again, Kevin for a comic institution.

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

This past weekend was the end of Daylight Saving Time. It is hard enough for people on a normal schedule to adjust to this twice a year, but as a midnight person it makes it very difficult!

So many people were bragging about getting an extra hour of sleep, that meant nothing to our family. As a matter of fact, the time change has just played havoc on us all. For example, Sam just happened to be working over night on Saturday Night. What did that mean for her? An extra hour of work. Urgh!

The kids normally get up at 6 or 7am. That means that they are now getting up at 5 or 6am! That in itself is difficult, but it also screws up nap times and bed times. They get crabby an hour earlier now. It’s not always easy to push through for one more hour when they are tired. It makes it extra difficult for Sam and I.

Tonight was the first night that I had to drive to work after the time change. This is the time of year where I really struggle. It is dark when I drive to work AND dark when I drive home from work. As I drove in tonight, I actually found myself questioning if I was going the right way!

I KNEW I was heading the right way, however, it was so dark that I wasn’t seeing the normal landmarks I would see in the light. As stupid as it sounds, I looked at the Interstate signs more than once to make sure I was driving South!

My drive is just over an hour each way. When you are already sleep deprived, that drive can be terrifying. There is always the possibility of “highway hypnosis” or “white line fever,” which is when a driver has been driving for too long. Staring at the lines in the road can produce a hypnotic effect. One website states: A driver experiencing highway hypnosis may be able to operate and control the vehicle in a normal, safe manner – yet he or she will have no recollection of doing so later. Driving on autopilot is a form of highway hypnosis. Allowing highway hypnosis to take over could result in serious or fatal car accidents.

That in itself is scary! It also becomes a bit more easy to want to fall asleep while driving. There have been times where I have pulled over to nap for 10-15 minutes before driving again. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens. Usually, I can call my wife and just talking to her will help me stay awake. When you factor in other dangers (deer, snow & ice), this becomes the time of year I hate driving.

Both hands on the wheel ….

Turntable Talk #8 – Best Year In Music?

Once again, Dave from A Sound Day has asked some of us music lovers to participate in another round of Turntable Talk. This time around was a bit of a challenge for me. Dave’s e-mail stated:

“Put your thinking caps on and go through your stacks of records (or scroll thru that I-pod) and … come up with what you think the best year for music was. A tough call of course, thankfully there have been more than a few good ones! I’m interested in what you pick and don’t worry if yours duplicates someone else’s , you still have your reasons which might be different.” He goes on to say, “I think I have a guess on a couple of years that might come up more than once, but we’ll wait and see.”

This particular blog will be one of the last ones to be featured and I do not know if my year will be or has been featured. I plan on writing this KNOWING that the year I have chosen very well may be one that comes up in another post. Before I tell you the year I picked, let me tell you that I had a very difficult time narrowing it down.

My first thought was to go with 1956/1957 because those years were always so unique. You had the birth of rock and roll mixing with pop standards. When I worked at Honey Radio, I loved doing the Top 12 at 12 show when those years popped up because there was such a big variety in what was played. You could go from Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis to Pat Boone or Nelson Riddle. When I looked at the list of songs, however, were they really the BEST? No.

The same thing can be said for some of the years in the 70’s decades. I looked through many lists and while there were many great songs, there were also a lot of really crappy songs! I just couldn’t really come up with the conviction to pick a year in that decade as the BEST.

One year kept coming up every time I started thinking about it – 1964.

I want you to know before I continue that I was dead set AGAINST 1964 when I read Dave’s e-mail. Why? Well, I felt that it would just be too Beatle heavy and loaded with British Invasion stuff. And it is. On the Top 100 Chart, The Fab Four nabbed 9 spots. 18 spots were held by other British Invasion acts. In total 27% of the Top 100 were British acts. When I really looked at the chart, the more and more I felt like this WAS the year.

1964 really was the year of the Beatles, so let’s discuss them first. They were present almost right from the start as their “Introducing The Beatles” album was released in America on January 10th of that year.

This album preceded Capitol Records “Meet the Beatles” by 10 days and there was a lawsuit surrounding that whole issue. Capitol Records won an injunction and Vee-jay Records was not allowed to put out any more Beatles recordings.

In February of 1964, the Beatles arrived in the US and appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show three times (2/9, 2/16, and 2/23). In March of 64, Billboard magazine stated that the Beatles were responsible for 60% of all single record sales! In a feat that has yet to be matched, on April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the Top 5 spots on the Billboard chart!

A week later, the boys held 14 spots on the Hot 100 Chart! That broke the previous record of 9 spots held by Elvis Presley in 1956.

In May, The Beatles Second Album was released and in July, they would release A Hard Day’s Night in theaters. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” wound up being the #1 song for the whole year of 64 (“She Loves You” was #2) To say that they played a small part in the music of 1964 would be a huge understatement.

Among the other artists that came over from “across the pond” in 64 were Manfred Mann (Do Wah Diddy Diddy), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (Little Children and Bad to Me), The Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over, Because, Do You Love Me), Peter and Gordon (A World Without Love), The Animals (House of the Rising Son), The Honeycombs (Have I The Right), Dusty Springfield (Wishin’ and Hopin’), Gerry & The Pacemakers (Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and How Do You Do It), Chad and Jeremy (A Summer Song), The Kinks (You Really Got Me), and the Searchers (Don’t Throw Your Love Away and Needles and Pins). It is interesting to note that the Rolling Stones debut album was released this year, but no songs appear in the Top 100 for the year.

Once you move away from the British artists, the chart has a nice variety of pop, rock, folk, country, soul, and even a few novelty songs. I think that is what made me ultimately choose this particular year.

It was nice to look over the Top 100 and see Motown represented with some classics. The Supremes hold two of the six Motown songs (Where Did Our Love Go and Baby Love), Motown was female heavy as Mary Wells (My Guy) and Martha and the Vandellas (Dancin’ In The Street) grabbed the next two spots, and the male gender was represented by The Four Tops (Baby I Need Your Loving) and The Temptations (The Way You Do The Things You Do).

While they were not “oldies” at the time, there were some classic songs that are still in hot rotation today on the oldies stations across the country. Roy Orbison had a smash with Pretty Woman in 64, and also had a hit with It’s Over. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons grabbed three of the Top 100 with Rag Doll, Dawn and Ronnie. The Beach Boys only entry in the Top 100 was I Get Around.

1964 brought us classics like The Drifters Under The Boardwalk, Chapel of Love by the Dixie Cups, Suspicion by Terry Stafford, It Hurts to Be In Love from gene Pitney and Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay and the Americans. Johnny Rivers had a hit with Chuck Berry’s Memphis, Bobby Freeman invited us to C’mon and Swim, Detroit’s Reflections offered up Just Like Romeo and Juliet and the Shangri-Las told us the story of the Leader of the Pack.

Car songs were well represented in 64! Ronny and the Daytonas had GTO, while the Rip Chords sang Hey Little Cobra, and the Hondells had Little Honda. Jan and Dean told us the stories of The Little Old Lady from Pasadena and Dead Man’s Curve, while J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers told us the tragic story of a Last Kiss.

Soul music is represented by The Impressions (I’m So Proud and Keep on Pushing), Joe Hinton (Funny How Time Slips Away), The Tams (What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am), Jimmy Hughes (Steal Away) and Nancy Wilson (How Glad Am I). If you throw Blues into the “Soul” mix, the great Tommy Tucker song “Hi Heel Sneakers” was out in 1964.

Instrumentally, Al Hirt had a monster hit with Java, The Ventures had Walk Don’t Run 1964, The Marketts had The Outer Limits, and Robert Maxwell had the incredibly cheesy lounge version of Shangri-la. While novelty songs included Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (Haunted House), The Trashmen (Surfin’ Bird) and Roger Miller (Chug-a-Lug).

While Rock was dominant in 1964, there were still some pop (and even folk) songs that made the Top 100 – one of them, doing the “impossible.” Two of the biggest pop hits of the year couldn’t be more different from each other. The third biggest hit of the year belonged to Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and his Dixieland hit “Hello, Dolly!” Barbra Streisand (who won Album of the year at the 1964 Grammy Awards) had the 11th biggest hit of the year with “People.”

Pop/Folk was also represented by Gale Garnett (We’ll Sing in the Sunshine), The Ray Charles Singers (Love Me With All Your Heart), Dionne Warwick (Walk On By), Al Martino (I Love You More and More Every Day), and Andy Williams (A Fool Never Learns). But the biggest surprise came from an artist who hadn’t had a top 40 record since 1958!

Dean Martin didn’t care for Rock and Roll. With the British Invasion in full swing, there was very little chance of him ever having another hit. His kids loved the new artists. His son, Dean Paul, loved the Beatles. Dean told his boy, “I’m gonna knock your pallies off the charts!” On August 15, 1964 – he did just that with a song that became his NEW theme song, “Everybody Loves Somebody.” (It replaced That’s Amore as his theme song)

The song knocked the beloved Beatles A Hard Day’s Night out of the number 1 spot! It went on to stay at #1 on the Pop Standards Singles Chart for 8 weeks. It also became the theme to his weekly television show in 1965.

I picked 1964 for a few reasons. Despite my initial worry about it being British act heavy, it was the year that introduced us to the Beatles (who changed the music scene forever!). It is also the year that one act held the top 5 spots on the charts (a record that remains in place). It is also the year that my favorite singer of all time bumped the biggest group in music out of the top spot.

It is also a year that encompasses such a vast variety of music. While there may be better songs that appeared before and after 1964, it truly represents a unique time in history. America was still recovering from the loss of a beloved president, there were still Civil Rights issues, and a war in Vietnam. The music of 1964 was a welcome escape from so many things.

Was it all good? No, and that is true of every year. However, as I look at the 100 biggest songs of the year, there are a lot of great songs that have gone on to become classics. There are so many songs that are still looked at as pivotal in the music scene. The fact that many of these songs are still getting airplay today is a statement to just how good they are.

Thanks again to Dave at a Sound Day for allowing me to be a part of this feature. I can only hope that my contribution is worthy of an invite to participate in the next round.

Everyone Knows It’s Windy

We have a high wind advisory in effect for the area tonight. The temperatures are still nice, so I opened the windows to enjoy the breeze.

The TV is on in the background and the kids and I are on the floor playing when I hear this huge wind gust. It was big. That was followed by a very loud bang, which scared all three of us.

I got up from the floor and looked out the window to see that the wind had rolled my barbecue about 6 feet. It also flipped open the lid, which is what cause the bang. I had been meaning to put the grill in the garage for the winter anyway, so I told the kids I’d be right back. I went outside to move it into the garage and that’s when I saw the funniest and sort of frightening thing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement in the dark. As I look over, I realize that is is the trampoline “walking” along the grass at about 4-5 mph! That thing was at least 40 or 50 back from where I saw it and the wind was “pushing” it.

Panic hits me. We had one trampoline end up in the street a few years back. When that happened, I bought those screw -in-the ground spikes for dog chains and bought some heavy duty chain. I screwed it in to the ground and that helped keep it still. However, the last couple times I mowed the grass, I moved the trampoline and didn’t secure it again.

As I am watching the wind push that thing across my yard and toward a variety of things (swing set, neighbor’s house, trees, my car, and the road) the panic tells me, “You’ve got to stop that thing!!” I ran toward it, looking for the screw spike things. I see one in the dark and grab for it. I stick it as hard as I can in the ground and twist.

The wind is strong and despite the one spike being in, the trampoline still wants to be airborne. I have to find the other spike, so I run to the other side. That spike was rusted, so there wasn’t much silver to see it easily. I finally see the chain in the leg and follow it to the spike. I jab it into the ground and twisted.

Now “secure” I do a walk around and see the legs in the front are kind of buckling under. Not sure it’s going to be salvageable. The wind is still gusting, so I wonder if I have anything in the garage that I can put on the rest of the legs to prevent it from going anywhere else.

I walk into the garage and see I have four 50 pound bags of lime I didn’t use on the lawn. So now I am running from garage to trampoline with those bags. I throw them down and go back inside to my kids who have probably just watched the most ridiculous thing ever from the window.

As I write this, the wind is still kicking up and is knocking limbs off trees, taking care of any leaves hanging on to its tree, and blowing any plastic play toys across the yard. When I wake up in the morning, I will hope that the trampoline is still where I left it. I will also sleep lightly in case the local police knock on the door at 3 or 4 am….

“Excuse me for waking you, sir, but is that your trampoline!?*

Friday Photo Flashback

Its time for another edition of my Friday Photo Flashback. I stumbled upon a photo that brought back many memories making me happy and sad at the same time. Take a peak:

If I was going to put a date on this, it is probably around 1996 or 1997. It looks like it was taken at a home I lived in with my then girlfriend and future ex. It is a terrible picture of me, as I am obviously caught by surprise here. I still have hair and am still wearing glasses. I’m also sporting one of the T-shirts I had made for my DJ business. But it is not me (or the big honking computer monitor) that catches my attention – it is the stuff I can see in the background.

A lot of it I can make out just by looking at it. However, I viewed it by zooming in and a lot caught my attention. The bookshelves alone are full of fantastic memories! The book shelf on the left side of the picture holds a boat load of VHS tapes. On the top shelf I can make out some Soupy Sales Show videos and some videos we must have recorded off TV (hand made lables). On the shelf below that I can make out the VHS tapes of the Three Stooges shorts, Jack Webb’s Dragnet movie, and the Jack Palance version of Dracula. Each shelf would hold two rows of VHS tapes. So I can only see the front rows of what is on the shelf. It seems like the third shelf down is also holding video tapes, but the three hole punch on top of the computer monitor is blocking it.

This photo is obviously taken after 1994. That is when Honey Radio went off the air. Honey stuff is all over this room! Right above the three hole punch, you can make out a black and gold Honey Radio coffee mug. On the top shelf of the right book case, I can see the the Billboard Top 100 Chart book and Pop Singles book. These were part of the Honey on air studio. Behind me on the wall is a chalk caricature that was drawn of me while I was out doing a remote broadcast. I LOVED that thing, and it is long gone now. (This may be the only photographic evidence of it). Next to that is a wooden sign with the Honey Logo on it. Below that sign are two frames. One contains one of the last Honey Happenings newsletters (which has my picture in it) and the other is a shot of me and my old morning show partner.

On the wall behind me in the photo is a beautiful framed photo of the Three Stooges. I received that for Christmas one year from my parents. Under that is the top of a Blues Brothers concert poster. At one point, I used that when my partner Steve and I would don our Blues Brothers hats when we DJ’d. And right below that are the Three Stooges dolls I wrote about in a previous Friday Photo Flashback. You can see the tag on the Curly just behind my ear.

Heading back to the bookshelves. The bookshelf on the right has SO many books that I wish I still had. There is a book on Bugs Bunny, a book on World War II that I had given my grandpa, a few books with Three Stooges scripts, an amazing biography on Curly, and the wonderful Ted Sennett book on the Art of Hanna Barbera.

On the second shelf, I can make out the Milton Berle Joke books I used when I was on the radio, biographies on Stan Freberg and Jackie Gleason, and books I had forgotten about. One example of this is when Thomas Chastain offered up a new Perry Mason novel –

Another example is the books by William Harrington series with Columbo as the star –

The next shelf contains books about movies and TV shows. I had books on Get Smart, Batman, Perry Mason, The Munsters, and more. The coolest of the TV show books were two with trivia and scripts from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

There are other little trinkets and treasures on the shelves I can see, but the ones on the top of the book cases are ones I wish I still had. I can see my prom glasses up there (yes, they gave high school kids in 1988 wine glasses!), I had two because I went to prom with a gal in my junior year and then my senior prom.

On the left, you can see the boxes that contained limited edition Blues Brothers dolls. I had both Jake and Elwood.

Also on the top of the shelf are Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton figures – limited editions, as well.

I had no idea there was an Alice figure that went with those two until I was searching for pictures.

Finding the photo with all of these memories was such a treat to me. I am sad to remember so many great books and things that are no longer in my possession, but the memories of them remain.