This morning

I'm branching out from the 50's on satellite radio and listening to 60's, 70's and 80's.  Today on  my way to work I put on the 70's and a song called, The Year of the Cat came on.  It was vaguely familiar and I was really enjoying it.  I saw that it came out the year I was born and for some reason the lyrics were making me think that this is what my mom must've felt like with a newborn me.  American Pie came on right after that and I switched it immediately to the 60's and The Walker Brothers were on!!!!!!  I laughed like a wild woman.  It was all right, kind of standard sounding whatever that means.  The DJ came on after it was over and said that the Walker Brothers weren't related and that none of them had the last name Walker.  He also said that one of them died recently so that's why I'm having these Walker Brother coincidences.  Later at work, I looked up the lyrics to The Year of the Cat....the lyrics have nothing that to do with what a mother would feel about her first year journey with her baby child!!  I laughed like a demented fool.  I texted my mom inquiring of her memories of that song and she replied, "How about that I hated that song".  I laughed like I spit my drink out.  Then I asked her if she ever heard of the Walker Brothers.  She loved them!

Al Stewart sort of doesn't care pose
It kinda sums up the album title

Also, yesterday I jammed out to Monkey by George Michael.  I totally forgot about that song!

Dip da dip da dip

I'm coming near the end of my satellite radio promo and have been listening to 50's on 5.  The playlist of songs make it seem like 50's were a surreal time.  Lots of songs about clothing, dying, angels, heartbreak, cars, random native american and wilderness themes with a good helping of Fatz Domino, a dash of Harry Belafonte and one shot of Sukiyaki.

Betty Lou got a new pair of shoes is solely (oh my god) about Betty Lou getting a pair of new shoes.
"Well she walked in the shoe-store, picked out a shoe 
Tried on a twelve, but that wouldn't do"

Some guy sings about his black slacks:

When I go places
I just don't care
You'd know why if you'd see what I wear
Black slacks pegged fourteen
Black slacks really are keen
Black slacks make a cool Daddy-o
When I put them on I'm a-rarin' to go 

Slacks were hip in the fifties.  This says a lot.

Eddie Fisher croons about a Dungaree doll painting her initials on his jeans, pasting his picture on her sleeve and wearing his beat up orange sweater.

I really love Mama look at Bubu by Harry Belafonte, in fact, I think I'm going on a Harry Belafonte kick.   

I thought Sukiyaki was from the 60s.  Somehow I heard it on the radio when I was little in the late 70s maybe...I guess it made a come back?

I just looked up!  It IS from the early 60s.  50's on 5 are trying to slip one by...Granted, the early 60's still have some of the 50's flavor.  Culture doesn't change overnight!  I still don't understand how I heard it as a kid.

I have regaled songs that I loved from my youth like, Running Bear loves little White Dove.  I have been introduced to new old songs like North to Alaska and a bizarre song about a fellow in Custer's army that had a premonition that he wouldn't make it through the battle.  "Please Mr. Custer!  I don't want to go!"  I'd love to hear how this song came to be.

"Okay, okay, what about this?  What if a guy in Custer's army is afraid to fight with him, like he knows, yeah, he KNOWS, that he isn't going to make it, that this is a bad idea and he pleads with Custer, he doesn't want to go!?"  

"You know what, Larry, I think you got something there!  We could have Indians grunting in the background and you do a mean arrow sound.  Ooo!  Get this, at one point the man can be bewildered, at the bridge, and say 'what am I doing here?!'"

"Yes!  Yes!  Throw in some derogatory slang for Native Americans and let's get to work on this right away!"

I actually like the way the song sounds and the oddness of it makes me laugh.  I do not condone the disregard for decency, humanity and dignity toward anyone and especially indigenous people that were nearly made extinct by a dominant culture.

  I love this!

This morning right when I got in the car and thought about the song Come on baby let the Good Times Roll, with a connection to the movie, Stand BY Me (that's how the announcer would say it on a recording from television we had on a VHS tape growing up).  When I turned the radio on it was mid-song, the next song had that familiar down beat, and I said aloud by myself "oh my god".  Come on baby let the good times roll!  Come on baby let me thrill your soul!  Let me thrill your soul.  You did, thanks!
  Thrill my soul all night long!