A friend posted this on Facebook and it really made me think. I am unsure if this is true, but after trying to research the author, Caitriona Loughrey came up. I hope that is the case, because I want to give credit where it is due.
As a man now in my mid-50’s, this was so powerful to me:
Barely the day started and… it’s already six in the evening. Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday. … and the month is already over. … and the year is almost over. … and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed. … and we realize that we lost our parents, friends. and we realize it’s too late to go back… So… Let’s try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time… Let’s keep looking for activities that we like… Let’s put some color in our grey… Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.And despite everything, we must continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. Let’s try to eliminate the afters… I’m doing it after… I’ll say after… I’ll think about it after… We leave everything for later like ′′ after ′′ is ours. Because what we don’t understand is that: Afterwards, the coffee gets cold… afterwards, priorities change… Afterwards, the charm is broken… afterwards, health passes… Afterwards, the kids grow up… Afterwards parents get old… Afterwards, promises are forgotten… afterwards, the day becomes the night… afterwards life ends… And then it’s often too late…. So… Let’s leave nothing for later… Because still waiting, see you later, we can lose the best moments, the best experiences, best friends, the best family…
The day is today… The moment is now…
We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone what needs to be done right away.
I’m adapting this post from a few years ago because of a couple recent articles on MSN about TV theme songs. I clicked on one about the Top 30 best TV Theme songs, and that lead to MSN offering up many other “TV theme song” articles and lists, naturally. At any rate, back when this blog was in its infancy, I wrote a blog about them and I thought maybe it was time to revisit since I have many new followers.
Today, many shows don’t even bother with a theme song. You see the credits scroll on the screen while the show is in progress. This is sad. To me, a TV theme song kind of sets the mood for the show. Usually, it will be a song with catchy lyrics or a melody that you can hum along with. Using that as my criteria, lets go back and look at some of my favorite theme songs from TV’s past. When we’re done – tell me your favorites that I may have missed.
The 50’s
Two of the earliest themes on my list come from shows considered classics. First, The Andy Griffith Show. This catchy tune is one that you can whistle along with. Even without looking at a screen, whistling it makes you picture Andy and Opie walking with their fishing poles to the lake.
Second, The Dick Van Dyke Show. What’s not to like about this one? You only have to wonder whether or not he’s gonna trip over the ottoman when he walks in the house.
Then there is the Twilight Zone. The haunting guitar part that plays those same four notes over and over is scary as hell! As a kid, I remember freaking out when it was on. Today, as I listen to it, it is perfect for the show. It was the perfect music to play while Rod Serling explained that we were entering another dimension. I can’t tell you how many times something obscure happens and I start humming the theme song!
One of the great 50’s themes is also one of the most recognizable is from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He is known for his movies, naturally, but his TV work was right up there with the aforementioned Twilight Zone.
Another one of my favorites was the theme to Perry Mason. It was written by Fred Steiner who said he wanted to capture Perry’s sophistication and toughness. The song is actually called Park Avenue Beat and it is a bluesy “piece of symphonic R&B”. The song was re-recorded for the Perry Mason TV movies and was used by the Blues Brothers band while out touring.
Another theme song that I absolutely love, has a Blues Brothers tie in, too. Peter Gunn is a private eye. The initial base line accompanied by low brass instruments screams sleazy private eye. It’s a great piece. The song actually plays in the first Blues Brothers movie as the brothers are driving through Illinois. They do a fine cover of it.
The 60’s
The shows of the 60’s and 70’s had some of the best theme songs!
The theme to Mission: Impossible is instantly recognizable. It was composed by the great Lalo Schifrin. What’s neat about the song is that it is in 5/4 time. From the opening note – you can see the fuse light up and begin to burn. It’s such a cool piece of music. I was glad that they used it in the movies with Tom Cruise (even though I disliked them).
Wanna sing along with the theme to Batman? You only need to sing the word “Batman” and you got it! Neil Hefti, who was a composer and arranger, composed the theme with it’s simple guitar lick and vocal. It was a hit for Hefti, The Ventures, and the The Marketts.
William Dozier, creator of Batman, also created the Green Hornet. Even though the show didn’t last long, the theme song is memorable for a few reasons. First, it is based on the classical piece, The Flight of the Bumblebee. Second, playing the trumpet on the song is the great Al Hirt! Classic! One that you will hum for days.
Who can forget the theme to the Monkees? “Here we come, walking down the street. We get the funniest looks from, everyone we meet….” Hey! Hey! They’re the Monkees! For this show, they gathered 4 guys with little or no musical experience and made them a band. The show appealed to kids and adults alike. It was fast paced with quick jokes and 4 lovable characters who featured many of their hit songs on the show.
In the 60’s the guitar played a big part in theme songs. Think about this, The Munsters theme had such a catchy lick that was sampled for the song Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy. It was cool enough to sample for one of today’s hit songs.
One of those great guitar theme songs was to Get Smart. The opening sequence changed a little from season to season, but it always included Don Adams walking through a corridor with sets of doors one right after another until he finally makes it to the payphone that gets him into CONTROL headquarters. Love this song and it never fails, if I am ever walking down a long hallway – I will almost always start to hum this song.
I mentioned the Ventures earlier, and they have one of the coolest theme songs – Hawaii 5-0. It was a huge instrumental hit for the band. It’s a great balance of guitar and horns. The use of the tympani drum and the pyramid effect by the horns in this song is masterful! It’s one of those theme songs you instantly crank up.
Maybe it’s the marching band guy in me, but I always loved a good march. That’s what you get as the theme song for Hogan’s Heroes. We played this in our alumni band one year.
The 70’s
Disco was in and some theme songs were just “funky”. Two examples of this are Barney Miller and it’s spin-off, Fish. The funky bass in the two theme songs is prominent and sets the tone for the them. The guitar melodies blend in and make them two themes that you could listen to over and over. The horns in Barney Miller continue to crescendo to the end of the song itself. It started slow and funky and ends in such a way that when it’s over you are disappointed cause you want more. The Twin Towers stand proudly in the opening scene as well.
It’s funny to listen to the Fish theme song again, because I realize how much it sounds like the theme from Night Court.
Norman Lear was a staple of 70’s TV. He created All In The Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and the list of his credits goes on and on. I have featured the Sanford and Son theme as a separate blog before, because it is one of my favorites. Here it is again, just because.
The Jeffersons was a spin-off of All In The Family. George Jefferson is “moving on up” to a bigger and better life and that’s where the theme song sets you up. It tells you the story. The theme song was written by Ja’net Dubois (of Good Times) and Jeff Berry and sung by Dubois and a gospel choir. Her vocal is amazing and so is the song.
How do I describe the theme song from What’s Happening!!? As the show opens, the main characters are running down a sidewalk bouncing a ball. The music kinda sounds like a ball is bouncing and then the soprano sax jumps in. It’s odd, but it’s catchy. It’s also written and composed by one of the most respected men in music – Henry Mancini!
The 70’s introduced us to the superhero Wonder Woman. I do not know a boy alive who did not have a crush on Lynda Carter. Much like the Batman theme, this theme repeats the character’s name a few times, but then expands on how wonderful she is. There is a funky little bass line that drives the song and I can’t really remember much more because I was watching Lynda Carter run ….
Welcome Back, Kotter was the show that introduced us to John Travolta. It was a comedy about a guy (Gabe Kaplan) who goes back to his old neighborhood to teach. The show was originally going to be called Kotter. The title was changed, however, because of the theme song. It was written and recorded by former lead singer of the Lovin’ Spoonful, John Sebastian. The song hit the charts and went all the way up to #1. This song give you the feel of the “folksy” 70’s.
Ok, I have to include the theme from a show that I watched faithfully every week as a kid. I was introduced to many stars and a lot of songs by watching this show. How can I not include The Muppet Show
The 80’s
There are so many great theme songs from the 80’s! Let’s start with Night Court. Night Court’s theme song throws me back to the 70’s because of that funky bass open – even more so now that I have listened to the Fish theme! You also have that soprano sax melody. It’s not a long theme, and when it’s done, you wish that you could find somewhere an “extended club mix”.
I just wrote about this next show for a Blogathon and did an entire blog on it as well. Police Squad only produced 6 episodes and it was cancelled. It starred Leslie Nielson as Lt. Frank Drebin. At the time, the network didn’t think that a show like Police Squad would be something an audience would want to watch (so they could catch all the jokes – remember, this was done by the guys who gave us the movie Airplane!). The theme song was accompanied by a voice over announcer reading the credits. He would also announce tonight’s guest star (who would always die during the credits) and give the name of the episode (which never matched with the title read on the screen). Thankfully, when the Naked Gun movies were made, the kept the theme song.
In 1980, Urban Cowboy hit theaters and country music was all the rage. It only made sense that we’d have a country comedy show on TV. That show was the Dukes of Hazzard. Talk about big name singers – Waylon Jennings sings the theme song, and he was also the show’s narrator. The song was released as a single in August of 1980, and it went to #1 on the Billboard Country Charts! Yee-haw!
The 90’s
It is here that we begin to see the decline in the use of the TV theme song. As a matter of fact, it became a habit to edit them down to 10-30 seconds from the already short 60 seconds. There are some that stand out for me though from this decade.
Tim Allen’s Home Improvement was a show based on his comedy act. His grunts and vocalizations intermingle through the theme song, almost as if they are a part of the musical score. The theme song almost sounds like a “work” song, both in sound and in tempo.
Seinfeld was one of those shows who used a theme song for a while, and used it at the end of the show, but often times especially in the show’s later seasons, it was shortened. The bubbly, poppy, twangy bass, and silly feel will forever be associated with the show about nothing and it’s silly characters.
From the opening guitar of “I’ll Be There for You” by the Rembrandts, you are in New York with Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Monica. The theme to the show Friends was an international hit. It was a song that was requested on radio and used at wedding receptions to introduce bridal parties. The song is heavily influenced by the Beatles (I Feel Fine) and the Monkees (Pleasant Valley Sunday). It was originally just one minute long, but the band went in an recorded an extended version, which became a radio hit.
Who could forget It’s Garry Shandling’s Show? The show, in itself, was silly. Garry interacts with the cast, but often will interact with the studio audience as well. It was just so weird. The theme song is just as weird. It’s a bouncy song that basically references itself (this is the theme to Garry’s show) and tells you how it came to be (Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song) and then asks how you like it (we’re almost halfway finished how do you like it so far?). The melody is so catchy, you can’t help but want to sing (or whistle) along with it.
One that I loved singing along to was the theme to That 70’s Show. The first season’s version was done by Todd Griffin, but from season 2 onward the group Cheap Trick sang the theme song. It rocked a bit more that season one.
2000-2010
There were only a few shows that I really enjoyed watching by this time. One that made me laugh out loud all the time was Arrested Development. This ridiculous silly theme song seemed so out of place, but I loved it
I really loved the show House MD. The theme song is actually a song that has a vocal called “Teardrop” by the group Massive Attack. If you hear the vocal version, you wonder how or why anyone would think to use this as the theme to a medical show…
The medical comedy Scrubs was a very good show which reminded me a lot of MASH. The theme on the show is only like 20 seconds long. However, I found the full version by Lazlo Bane called, “Superman.”
Another really short theme which I loved came from another show that made me laugh. 30 Rock. This cast was so good and the theme conveys the craziness that the characters experience while trying to put on their show. There is a couple full versions of the theme which can be found on the official soundtrack, but here is the TV version.
Wrapping up
I know I’m going to go back over this and think about many others I forgot to mention, but for now, I will stop here. So think about this for a minute:
With the TV theme song becoming more and more absent from TV…what are your thoughts? Which ones did you love growing up? Which ones do you still sing? Which ones did you hate?
Now it’s your turn – I look forward to seeing your comments.
Today is the 80th birthday of Diana Ross! She was born in Detroit, Michigan and naturally is one of the greatest artists to come out of our state! Fun fact: when she was born, she was named Diane, but a spelling error on the paperwork led to Diana.
As a member of the Supremes, they enjoyed amazing success and a dozen number one records, including the song I picked to feature today. What’s the connection between the Supremes the Lee Marvin/Ernest Borgnine movie The Dirty Dozen, and the hit TV series The Brady Bunch? The answer is film and television composer Frank DeVol. He was behind those theme tunes among many others, and joined Holland, Dozier and Holland as the co-writer of the Motown trio’s tenth US pop No.1, “The Happening.”
The song was written for the Anthony Quinn film of the same name. The film flopped, but the song soared to the top of the charts in just 5 weeks! They have the honor of bumping Frank Sinatra out of the top spot (His duet with Nancy, “Something Stupid”). Admittedly, the song is a bit more “peppy” and less “soulful” than many Supreme songs, but I think that’s why I like it so much.
According to Songfacts.com:
This was a milestone song for The Supremes. It was:
1) Their last hit released under the name “The Supremes.” Later in 1967, they became “Diana Ross & the Supremes.” They reverted back to “The Supremes” in 1970 when Ross left the group.
2) The last of their 10 #1 hits written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. They left Motown a year later in a dispute over royalties.
3) Their last hit with Florence Ballard, who was fired soon after and replaced with Cindy Birdsong.
For you music lovers who like to hear things a bit differently, I will post two versions of the song. First, from the 20th Century Masters collection:
Now listen to the 2003 remix from “The Number 1’s” collection. What I love about this remix is that the background instruments are much more clear. You hear the playful call and answer between the vocals and the background in an entirely different way. If you can, listen in headphones.
Happy 80th Birthday, Diana Ross!!!
The Happening
Hey, life, look at me I can see the reality ‘Cause when you shook me, took me out of my world I woke up Suddenly I just woke up to the happening When you find that you left the future behind ‘Cause when you got a tender love You don’t take care of Then you better beware of the happening
One day you’re up, then you turn around You find your world is tumbling down It happened to me, and it can happen to you
I was sure, I felt secure Until love took a detour Yeah, riding high on top of the world It happened, suddenly it just happened I saw my dreams fall apart When love walked away from my heart And when you lose that precious love you need To guide you Something happens inside you, the happening
Now I see life for what it is It’s not all dreams, ooh, it’s not all bliss It happened to me and it can happen to you
Once Ooh, and then it happened Ooh, and then it happened Ooh, and then it happened Ooh, and then it happened
Is it real, is it fake Is this game of life a mistake? ‘Cause when I lost the love I thought was mine For certain, suddenly I started hurting I saw the light too late When that fickle finger of fate Yeah, came and broke my pretty balloon I woke up Suddenly I just woke up to the happening
So sure, I felt secure Until love took a detour ‘Cause when you got a tender love you don’t Take care of, then you better beware of the happening
We had quite a bit going on this week and even into the weekend. Andrew had a doctor appointment on Friday and I am still trying to process all that came of it. I went to work late on Friday and only worked a half day, which was probably a good thing.
When I got home, I still had a lot on my mind. As per usual, when I want to avoid thinking about things, I find something to do. Thankfully, the pictures we printed had arrived, so I went to work on our living room wall. We had not been good about printing pictures to hang, so we had like 4 years of photos to go through. Sam wanted to have four rows of five photos each. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not, but in the end, it looks good.
There are a couple canvas photos on the way for another wall. The older family photos will move into the front hallway.
Sam took Daisy to the groomer Friday morning. She was shaggy and Sam wanted her shaved. I wasn’t sure about that, but she truly looks good!
Since losing our one cat, our older cat Maizey has become more and more snuggly. I can always count on her jumping up on the bed at bedtime to be petted. She will often flop right next to me as I pet her. Many times, I fall asleep while I am petting her, but she’ll stay right there. She’s a good cat.
And finally, some junior high school humor to wrap with …
I was folding clothes today and stumbled on a pair of my son’s underwear. I joked that he either has some really bad toxic gas OR their is something wrong with our washer/dryer!
Of course, in reality, the dog probably chewed them up!
This blog is my contribution to the 10th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode Blogathon which is hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts. I have taken part in this Blogathon in the past and have missed a couple of them because of…life. I was glad to have had some time to prepare for it this year and participate.
Back in 2022, for a TV Show Draft, I posted about the entire series Police Squad. The “entire series” consists of only 6 episodes (and only 4 actually aired). If you are familiar with the Naked Gun movies, this series was the predecessor. It was the seed that grew into the movie series. The series itself spawned from a 1980’s classic comedy movie – Airplane!
In 1980, Airplane! was a major hit at the movies. One of the reasons I think it was such a hit was the fact that you had actors and actresses known for playing dramatic roles in this comedy film, playing it completely straight! Watching Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, and Peter Graves saying completely ridiculous lines as serious as possible only added to the humor of the film. How they kept a straight face with everything else that was going on in the background always amazed me.
To me, Leslie Nielsen was perfect for this movie. His role as Dr. Rumack is fantastic. His booming baritone voice saying those lines in all seriousness is just hilarious. No wonder he was the one who David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker approached him to play the lead, Detective Frank Drebin, in this TV series.
The series was basically a TV version of Airplane! There would be straight dialogue, silly jokes, word play, and all kinds of sight gags to watch for in the back ground. It was going to spoof cop shows. As a matter of fact, much like Airplane! (which was almost a line by line copy of the movie Zero Hour), Police Squad lifted a plot and even dialogue from the TV show M Squad. It also drew from the show Felony Squad. The opening credits are very similar to M Squad (which starred Lee Marvin).
The Naked Gun movies were direct spin offs of the TV show. Alan North played Ed on the show, while George Kennedy played him in the movies. Peter Lupus (who is brilliantly funny on the show) plays Norberg on the show, while OJ Simpson plays Nordberg (yes, spelled differently) in the movies. Many of the scenes from the movies were adapted from scenes from the show.
Honestly, each of the episodes of the series makes me laugh out loud no matter how many times I have seen it. To pick just one was difficult, but after thinking about the gags in each episode, I picked Season 1 Episode 2.
One of the running gags of the show was that the title of the episode would appear on screen (in this case “Ring of Fear”) and the announcer would call it something different (“A Difficult Assignment”). The title of the episode would appear after the episode’s special guest star was introduced and then dies before the episode even gets underway (another running gag).
This particular episode opens with a boxing match. The boxer is reminded that he is to “take a dive” because the fight is being fixed by a gang of criminals. Instead of taking the dive, the boxer knocks out his opponent, which is the catalyst for the remainder of the episode. When the fight is over, the manager informs the boxer that the boss isn’t happy and he’s in for it.
When the manager leaves the boxer’s locker room, a big man carrying guns, and axe, bombs, and all kinds of other weapons tries to get in to see the winner of the fight. A security guard with bad eyes tells him no one is allowed entry, to which the big guy says he is a member of the press. He goes in and there are gunshots, explosions, screaming, and such (The guard obviously is hard of hearing, too!). After all of that, the big guy exits the room (which is billowing black smoke) and whistles as he walks away.
Enter Leslie Neilsen as Frank Drebin. He arrives on the scene and is filled in by his boss as to what happened. He is told that they are currently “dusting for prints” and upon entering you see a French maid with a duster (one of many sight gags.) The police captain asks Frank to go under cover because there is talk that the fights are being fixed.
Frank arrives at a gym and finds a boxer named Buddy Briggs, who is shadow boxing. He tells him he wants to be his new manager. Buddy tells him he’ll have to talk to a guy named Cooper who holds his contract. Cooper is in the back room playing poker, so Frank goes to have a chat with him. As he walks away, Buddy knocks out the shadow on the wall he is boxing (another funny sight gag).
As Frank walks in the back room, he is asked by Cooper what he wants. The following conversation takes place:
Frank: I’m a manager. I wanna take over Buddy Brigg’s contract.
Cooper: What are you, some kind of a wise guy?
Frank: Yeah, I’m a wise guy. With a lot of long green.
Poker player: You manage Lorne Greene?
Cooper: I’ll trade Buddy for Lorne Greene.
Frank: No, no, I mean I got cash.
Poker Player: You manage Johnny Cash, too?
Cooper: Wait a minute. Who are you?
Frank: Kelly. Bob Kelly [puts a roll of cash on the table]
Frank: Mind if I sit in a few hands?
Cooper: Your money’s good here.
Poker Player: Goodyear? You got the blimp, too?
[Playing poker, the pot has grown very large]
Cooper: That’s a lot of dough-re-mi, Kelly. I’m outta cash. What about these?
[Holds up fuzzy dice]
Frank: No dice. But there is something else I’m interested in.
Cooper: What’s that?
Frank: Buddy Briggs’s contract!
If you look closely at the above photo, you will see an uncredited Tony Sirico (of the Sopranos) as one of the poker players.
Frank wins Buddy in the poker game and goes to see Buddy to get him a fight against the current champ. He lives is a dumpy apartment and he seems disinterested in what Frank is telling him.
During his visit, Mary, Buddy’s wife played by Tesse Richarde, stumbles in drunk and tells Buddy they are through because he will do whatever the crime gang tells him to do. She knows he’s better than that and should stop throwing fights.
She tells him they are through and stumbles out the door. After she leaves, Frank asks Buddy about the champ.
Frank: [as manager Bob Kelly] Now do you think you can beat the champ?
Buddy: I can take him blindfolded.
Frank: What if he’s not blindfolded?
Frank tells him that he’ll get Buddy a fight with the champ and he’ll help him and Mary “get out of this sewer.” Which leads to Frank leaving the apartment ….
After the fight is set (with newspaper headlines that read “Chump to fight Champ”) we see Buddy in his locker room playing a saxophone. Frank pulls the sax away and reminds Buddy, “No sax before a fight!”
The crime boss, Martin, comes in and tells Buddy that he needs to take a dive and throw the fight because they have kidnapped his wife.
Martin: We’ve got Mary.
Buddy: What?
Frank: [still posing as Kelly the manager] You’re bluffing.
Martin: Oh yeah? [pulls out a scarf]
Buddy: Mary’s scarf!
Frank: You could have gotten that anywhere. [grabs the scarf and throws it away]
Martin: How about this? [pulls out a knitted purse]
Buddy: Mary’s purse!
Frank: There are millions of purses like that. [grabs purse and throws it in a corner]
Martin: How about this? [pulls out a toaster]
Buddy: Mary’s toaster! [two slices of bread pop out]
Frank: Oh my God…
Not knowing where Mary is, Frank goes to Johnny the Shoeshine guy. Johnny has all the answers to everything (heart surgery, how to put out a chemical fire, etc…). He even helps out Tommy Lasorda, Dick Clark, and Dr. Joyce Brothers!
With the help of some money, Johnny tells Frank where Mary is and he is off to rescue her. Frank finds the big guy (Luca) who killed the boxer at the beginning of the episode guarding Mary. Frank busts in and a chase through the gym ensues. The climax of the chase ends in the gym’s steam room with a shoot out (which contains some very funny dialogue).
In the meantime, Buddy is fighting and he is getting beat pretty bad. He is knocked to the ground and as the ref is counting him out, Mary and Frank enter and she screams his name. At this Buddy leaps up and knocks out the champ.
The epilogue of each episode always ends with a freeze frame as the credits roll. The joke, however, is that only the main characters “freeze.” They continue to blink and things continue happening in the background as the credits roll. In this episode, they bring in Martin. Here is the credits from this episode:
The entire series is available on DVD and remains my “go-to” when I really need to laugh. It is a shame that it only got 6 episodes. Why was it cancelled? The dialogue is so quick, and the gags were so frequent on the show it is one of the reasons people believe the show was cancelled. Nielsen once said in an interview, stated that ABC said “Police Squad! was canceled because viewers had to pay close attention to the show in order to get much of the humor.” In other words, people had to WATCH the show to get it. TV Guide stated that was “the most stupid reason a network ever gave for ending a series.”
It is interesting that the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening said, “If Police Squad had been made twenty years later, it would have been a smash. It was before its time. In 1982 your average viewer was unable to cope with its pace, its quick-fire jokes. But these days they’d have no problems keeping up, I think we’ve proved that.”
Thanks to Terence over at A Shroud of Thoughts (https://mercurie.blogspot.com/) for again hosting this blogathon. I’m excited to read the entries of the other participants!
I have rarely heard anyone say a bad thing about Henry Winkler. This book was a joy to listen to. It was, of course, read by the author. This in itself is quite a task, because Henry has been very open about his dyslexia in recent years. You’d never know it, though, as you listen.
As I listened to this book, I felt like he was just sitting next to me telling great stories and sharing some very deep stuff about his life. You hear his excitement and his fears as he tells his stories. It was quite a journey for him and worth a read or listen.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.
Henry Winkler, launched into prominence by his role as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you.
Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s revealed himself as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work.
Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself.
I loved listening to this book. My love and respect for Winkler doubled after reading this book. Did you know that they wanted to change the name of Happy Days to “Fonzie’s Happy Days” and he flat out refused because he knew it was an ensemble show and he didn’t feel it would be fair? Did you know he and the late John Ritter were really close friends? Did you know that Henry played a key role in MacGyver getting on the air? Did you know that he is the author of the critically-acclaimed Hank Zipzer series, which follows the everyday adventures of a bright boy with learning challenges? These are just a few of the things I learned from the book.
In speaking about children with challenges in the book, he said something that really hit me square in the eye:
“It has always struck me that our emphasis on the top 10 percent of a class says they are more valuable than the bottom 3 percent. If this country is going to remain strong, we need every child to be great at what it is they can do.”
Amen, Henry! Amen!
Let me know what you think if/when you read this one.
Yesterday was our 6th wedding anniversary. Sadly, we didn’t get to spend much time together. My wife worked the night before and came home and grabbed a nap while picked the kids up from their sleep over at Nana’s house.
I came home and got the kids their lunch, showered and shaved, and got ready for work. I waited until the last minute to wake her up so that I could head into work. I quickly gave everyone a kiss and left. What my wife didn’t know was that I had ordered flowers right down the road and I had to go pick them up and bring them back home so I wouldn’t be too late for work.
The florist did such a wonderful job! I think in this day and age, we tend to go t he “easy route” too often and grab a simple bunch from the grocery store, but those flowers really lack the touch of a florist! These were simply beautiful!
According to the “anniversary gift list,” the gift for anniversary number six is iron. It is supposed to represent the fact that you have made it through the first five years and the iron represents the strength of your marriage. So I wanted to get her something along those lines.
Years ago, I bought her a small wind chime that a nice windy day destroyed. I found a simple metal wind chime that sounds so pretty. She loved it.
The inscription reads, “A house is made of walls and beams. A home is made of love and dreams.”
The original plan had been to go into work early and leave early so we could have some time together. However, a week or so ago, they scheduled the farewell party for our director at work on that same night. My wife insisted that I be at the work party because our director has always been a big supporter of me. My wife has never been the “take me out to an expensive dinner and buy me expensive gifts” kind of person. She is happy just getting time together. So we will find a day to spend together in the coming week.
I am so thankful to have been married to my soulmate for the past 6 years. I cannot wait for the years ahead! I love her now and forever!
For two solid years Dave Ruch from A Sound Day has been hosting a monthly feature called “Turntable Talk.” Each month he provides a topic to me and other musical bloggers to write about. I have been honored to have participated in every one of them. Each of the participants look forward to not only writing our piece, but anxiously await reading the other contributions.
As I stated in a previous blog, this month is International Women’s Month. Dave offered us an easy topic to write about this month. His instructions state “we’re going to turn our tables and sights to the women of music. Pick one you like and write about her. Whoever you want (that might sound creepier than I intended it), singer, songwriter, band member, the lady on the ‘Breakfast in America’ cover, whoever.”
I wrote a blog that teased this topic earlier in the week. In that post, I said, “I really struggled to pick one (female singer). I even posted on Facebook asking my friends to offer up their three favorite singers. I guess I hoped that they would offer up someone that I hadn’t considered (and they did). The results surprised me. The singers that came up the most were (1) Stevie Nicks, (2) Etta James, and (3 – tie) Pink and Karen Carpenter. Etta was the only one that was in my list of considerations. After looking at the list (and the suggestions) I finally chose who I am writing about and NO ONE mentioned her.“
Along with Etta James, I featured a song from my other considerations: Ella Fitzgerald, Alison Krauss, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Dusty Springfield, Sarah Vaughn, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Linda Ronstandt, Pat Benatar, Peggy Lee, Jewel, and Keely Smith in that blog. So how did I finally come up with my choice?
My friend, Dawn, from high school actually helped me make my decision. She said, “There are so many talented vocalists, I’d have a hard time picking. if you’re going to write an impactful piece, I think you have to go with somebody you admire because they knocked down boundaries or overcame obstacles. That’s how I’d pick my vocalist.” That really struck me. Now, I am not saying that the ladies I mentioned already did not knock down boundaries or overcome obstacles – heck, Jewel was living in her van before she made it big!
My featured female singer is a talented woman named Diane Schuur.
I was introduced to Diane Schuur back in the late 80’s. I was talking about music with a gal I was dating at the time. We started talking about jazz singers and she asked if I had ever heard of Schuur. I hadn’t. If memory serves me correct, she loaned me a cassette (or maybe a CD) with some songs on it and I really enjoyed it.
One of her biographies online says this: “Diane Schuur is as eclectic as she is brilliant.” In my opinion, this statement could not be more true. While many of her songs would fall into the jazz category, she could easily be filed in the blues or pop categories, too. While preparing to write this, I picked a playlist on YouTube and it was fun to hear the different sounds of each of the songs.
My friend Dawn said to pick someone who “overcame obstacles.” Diane certainly has done that! She was born prematurely in 1953. She has been blind since birth because of Retinopathy of Prematurity. This disorder affected premature newborns who received high-oxygen therapy during neonatal intensive care. This was a standard practice until 1954.
She learned to play piano by ear. She would listen to Dinah Washington songs and began to pound out the melodies at age 3. Dinah was a big influence to Diane as she began singing her songs as a toddler and worked on her own vocal style. She once stated, “As far back as I can remember, singing was in my blood. My parents loved music, and I loved to sing. I was scatting at an early age.” She scats right up there with Ella and Mel Torme’! She also has perfect pitch!
Blindness was not her only obstacle. When she was a young adult, she began drinking and struggled with alcoholism. She also battled an eating disorder. Those obstacles were so much that she actually contemplated and attempted suicide. Thankfully, her brother-in-law stopped her from jumping out a third-story window. She got help and has been sober for several decades.
Diane got her big break when she was 22 years old. She auditioned for drummer/bandleader Ed Shaughnessy (of the Tonight Show Band) after he finished a concert with Doc Severinsen. Ed said, “this young blind girl comes in and sits down at the Fender Rhodes keyboard and starts singing the blues. Well, my hair stood on end!”
He hired her to be the vocalist in his orchestra. This led many other musicians to hear her. Those included Dizzy Gillespie and the great Stan Getz. Stan was so impressed that he became an advisor and coach to her. She stated that it was Stan who taught her that “less is more.” This was important because she had many critics that said she often “oversang” when she first started out. Stan once said, “She’s just like Sarah (Vaughn) or Ella (Fitzgerald) to me. She’s taking from the tradition, and what comes out is her own conception and advancement of the tradition.”
In 1985, she met B.B. King at a music festival in Tokyo. The two really hit it off and later made an album together entitled “Heart to Heart.” It was released in 1994 and it entered the Billboard Jazz Charts at number one!
In 1988, Frank Sinatra asked her to sing with him at a benefit concert when Liza Minnelli was unable to perform. She was a guest at Sinatra’s home and also performed at a concert with him and Quincy Jones. Frank gave her an abstract oil painting that he had created for her afterwards. When Frank passed away, Schuur recorded a tribute album for her late friends (Frank and Stan).
Other inspirations to Schuur include George Shearing, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles who are all blind as well. She has said that one of her fondest memories was performing with Ray Charles in 1998 for a PBS concert (some of which is available on YouTube).
Her career has brought her two Grammy awards – both for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (1986 & 1987). She is still recording and touring today. She says, “For the future I plan to continue my reading of American song, paying respect to celebrated writers and polishing the gems in the jazz tradition.”
I’ve never had the chance to see her in person, but there are some fantastic live albums available.
All About Jazz says, “Ms. Schuur surely is among the very best jazz vocalists, and she exemplifies, if not redefines the “diva” category with her warm, often humorous and relaxed interactions with the audience and the musicians. Her mere presence is enough to make for a memorable evening.” I hope to be able to see her perform one day.
I will include just a couple of my favorite cuts at the end of this blog, but before I do, I want to again thank Dave for hosting this monthly feature. I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. I love that with each topic, I am not only enjoying old favorites, but I am introduced to new songs and singers. Perhaps this blog is your introduction to Diane Schuur?
Here is a classic – Come Rain or Come Shine
Another favorite – All Right, OK, You Win!
I just love her take on Moonlight and Shadows
One more – Her swinging version of I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love With Me
For Tune Tuesday, I thought I would celebrate the 69th birthday of Actor/Singer Bruce Willis. I don’t recall just how I stumbled upon this album, but if I had to guess, it was probably playing in my local record store and it caught my ear.
Despite the album being called the “Return” of Bruno, this is actually Bruce Willis’ debut album. It was released in 1987 on the Motown Label, and it featured some R&B, Blues, and Soul music. It also featured some powerful musical guests like The Temptations, Booker T Jones, and The Pointer Sisters!
The album was released to coincide with an HBO “mockumentary” that followed the career of Bruno Radolini (Bruce Willis). The special was nominated for a CableACE Award for writing. The album received mixed reviews.
The first single from the album was Respect Yourself. Bruce did a duet with June Pointer (and the rest of the Pointer Sisters on background vocals) and the song was a hit. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The other singles that followed never broke the Top 40.
The song that always stuck out for me was one called Jackpot (Bruno’s Bop). It begins with Willis toying with the band and doing a little question and answer between band and harmonica. When the song finally kicks in, it just takes off running. It’s a driving jump blues tune with cool sax and harmonica interplay and a gravelling vocal by Willis. If anything, the band and Bruce are sure having fun!
Happy Birthday, Bruno … er, Bruce!
Jackpot (Bruno’s Bop)
Grampa always gave me good advice A fine lookin’ woman is like a pair of dice When she flashes her snake eyes You gotta pay the price I’m all grown up, the game is goin’ my way Grampa’s good advice still holds today Hey, when I get frisky I gotta play
Why not? I’m hot Jackpot-tonight!
When you gamble with love, you spin the wheel Cross your fingers, make your best deal What you can’t beg or borrow you gotta steal
Now a gamblin’ man’s gotta make ends meet When the odds get even, they’re tough to beat But tonight I feel it, I’m on a winning streak
I saw many folks posting photos on social media yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day with shirts saying “Let the Shenanigans Begin!” Why is it that we only seem to hear this word around March 17th? It’s a great word that can be used in so many situations outside of an Irish “holiday.” I encourage you to use it at some point in the next two weeks!
Anyway, rather than going out and whooping it up with green beer and dancing a jig, I stayed home. I posted on my Facebook:
Today I will be doing the Wearin’ O’ the green, watching the Silence O’ the Lambs, and doing the Cuttin’ O’ the cheese …. (A line I used on our morning show more than once!)
I also found a hilarious filter to make me look like a Leprechaun
I got the kids dressed in their green shirts and tried to get some of them both smiling. I ended up having to get creative. I took two pictures and combined them so that they could both be smiling in it! LOL
We spent the morning with my long time friend Margaret.
She came with loads of stuff for the kids, as always! She brought them a very cool reusable sticker book. The stickers can be moved around and used again. They loved it! She also brought them some coloring books and a pillow for each of them.
You can bet your next paycheck that they had to be sure they slept on them last night!
Andrew has been potty training and yesterday, he went #2 on the toilet! It was a pretty big deal for sure! We promised that if he did that we would go to the store and he could pick out a toy. He made his Pa proud when he picked out a new took box! LOL
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 