Saturday 9: Bye, Bye Blackbird

I'm joining in with Sam and the gang for the Saturday 9 this morning. Please join in the fun with us if you enjoyed the questions. This week's song is one I'm pretty familiar with as it's one I play often at the nursing home. In fact, we just listened to it yesterday during our sing-along time.

Saturday 9: Bye, Bye Blackbird (1957)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Julie London complains about all the "hard luck stories" people are handing her. Did you more recently listen to someone else's problems, or share your own?  With all that is going on at work right now with the job terminations, management resignations, working without enough staff, running short on supplies...it's a mix of both. I've listened to those who've lost their jobs vent, staff from different departments rant because they don't have enough help, and I've shared some of my own frustrations, as well.

2) She promises to arrive "late tonight." What time do you think is too late to drop in on someone?  I wouldn't "drop in" without calling at 8:00 and I wouldn't "drop in" at all after 9:00. People have to work and need their sleep...and because they work, they need to relax at home. I also tend to think it's just plain good manners and being considerate to always call first.

3) Julie's nickname was "The Liberty Girl" because she was Liberty Records' first successful artist. The second was singer-songwriter David Seville, who had a couple novelty hits as "The Chipmunks." There were three singing chipmunks. Without looking it up, can you name them? Yes, I can. Alvin, Simon, Theodore.

4) Julie's love of music was shared by her mother. When Julie was a little girl, mother and daughter would listen to Billie Holiday records together. What recordings did you enjoy when you were very young?  This is when my very eclectic musical tastes were formed. I grew up listening to my parents' country music and big bands. Hee Haw and the Lawrence Welk Show were staples as were Elvis, Glenn Miller, Ricky Nelson (who was about as rock 'n' roll as my parents got), Roger Miller, Benny Goodman, Patsy Cline, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Bing Crosby, Bobby Vinton, and Jim Reeves. I enjoyed all of those, but my first musical preference that was all mine was he of the purple socks...Donny Osmond.

5) She began modeling when she 17. Julie was working as an elevator operator when a talent agent saw her and decided she would photograph well. With the advent of push-button elevators, elevator operator is a job that doesn't exist anymore. Can you think of another job that was once common but now is rare (or non-existent)?  Gas station attendant. I really miss those guys. I'd be more than willing most days to pay a few cents extra per gallon to have my gas pumped for me and my windshield cleaned. A few others are milk man, bathroom attendant, paper boy, telephone operators...

6) Julie recorded more than 30 albums and was named "most popular female vocalist" by Billboard magazine in 1956. If you could see any entertainer -- male or female -- in concert, who would you choose?  These days I have it in my head that I'd really, really like to see The Steve Miller Band in concert. I liked Steve's music as a kid, but he wasn't really a favorite. Now it seems my older adult brain remembers his music quite fondly.

7) She appeared in Westerns on both TV and in the movies. Have you ever dreamed of being a cowboy/cowgirl?  Oh, yes! I crushed on all the cowboys when I was a kid and I was all about horses for many years so I definitely went through a period of thinking "cowgirl" would be the ultimate career. I still think it would be pretty cool.

8) For six seasons, Julie played Dixie McCall R.N. on the show Emergency! The series was about Los Angeles paramedics and firefighters. Do you often hear sirens in your neighborhood?  They aren't exactly in my neighborhood most of the time, but the neighborhood sits up on a hill above the town and a good bit of the surrounding countryside...sound seems to carry up to us very well. Also, the hill is kind of surrounded by all the major roadways in the area and the ambulances and fire trucks have to use those to get where they are going. 

9) Random question: You're pulled over for speeding. Do you think you'd have an easier time talking your way out of it if the officer was a man ... or a woman?  It wouldn't matter, because I wouldn't try to talk my way out of it. Even if I knew I was in the right, pulled over on the side of the road is not the time to argue. I'd go to the hearing and argue it there if I really thought I could win.

*FYI*  If you have me in your blogroll from previous weeks of Saturday 9 or Sunday Stealing, please change the blog address if you haven't already. Something went horribly wrong between my blog and computer last Saturday and I have been unable to access my old blog no matter what corrective measures I've tried. I finally had to concede defeat and started this blog.