Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

Saturday 9: Baby Love (1964)

With my mom a few years ago.

1) When this song was popular, the Supremes were known for their elaborate hairstyles, make up and full-length gowns. When was the last time you got dressed up? I hate to be a “Debbie Downer”, but it was at my mom’s funeral two weeks ago. She was 94 and had been the Martiarch of our family since her mother died. Her siblings all died over twenty years ago, except for her “Irish Twin” sister Helen who died a few years ago.

2) “The girls,” as they were known to the engineers and executives at Motown Records, were Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross. They began singing together when they were high school classmates. Are you still in touch with any friends from your high school days? For WTIT’s 50th Anniversary three of four of my group came. Two I am always in touch with, the other I see for sporadically. That’s strange since he was my bestie, but now we are so different.

3) Mary Wilson was born in Mississippi and her family moved a great deal before settling in Detroit, where she fatefully met Florence and Diana. Were you uprooted often when you were a child? Or did you spend your school years in the same neighborhood? My folks built our house when I was seven and I lived there until my ill-fated first marriage.

4) The Supremes began as a quartet called the Primettes. In addition to Mary, Flo and Diana, there was Betty McGlown. In 1960, Betty left the group to get married and was

Rock & my pub photo

replaced by Barbara Martin. In 1962, Barbara left the group to have a baby. They quit trying to replace the fourth voice, soldiered on as a trio, and made pop history. Have you ever found yourself in a position similar to Betty’s or Barbara’s, where you had to make a difficult decision and choose between your personal life and your career? One of my best friends agreed to try to get a job as a morning team. The one station that wanted us only wanted one. I took it since I was the DJ and my buddy had only been on WTIT. We would have been great. But I took the job. Fortunately he understood.

5) Thinking of babies and “baby love,” is anyone in your life expecting a baby in 2018? My nephew Tug is expecting his first, the third grandchild of my brother’s.

6) With twelve #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, The Supremes remain America’s most commercially successfully recording group, and this song (along with “Stop! In the Name of Love”) is one of the most popular karaoke songs. If we handed you the mic this morning and absolutely insisted you perform, what song would you choose (any song, any genre)? “Bad Leroy Brown” is a song in my range. I am not enamored by the song but I can sing it.

7) Original group member Florence Ballard left the group in 1967. She died of cardiac arrest in 1976 at the age of 32. Since February is National Heart Month, it seems appropriate to ask: Is anyone in your life battling heart disease? I have had heart disease since 2004.

8) Florence Ballard’s brother, Hank, wrote Chubby Checker’s famous dance song, “The Twist.” When did you last dance? Other than at home with my lady, I don’t recall. Probably at a wedding.

9) Random question: Close your eyes and visualize the most beautiful place you’ve ever been. Now describe it to us. It was St. Martin. The two cultures, the beautiful beaches and the people were all spectacular. They say it won’t ever recover from being wiped out be a hurricane.
Have a terrific weekend. Join us again. Same time. Same blog. Hopefully funnier.

-30-

Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

Saturday 9: I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

1) Bette Midler sings about the storm that’s raging outside. How’s the weather where you are today? It’s fucking 6 out there today. I am not leaving the house without portable heaters everywhere. And no, I don’t if the make battery operated heating units either. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but occasionally my wife has me on her YouTube program for comic relief. This is the first video that I did for her by myself. Other than she filmed it, help write it and produced and directed it. It’s here.

2) She mentions her gloves. Tell us about your favorite pair of gloves or mittens. I love me my Klingon gloves. Other than those, they just have to keep me warm.

3) Does your home have a fireplace to keep you warm? No. The house we sold had a great one. It’s one of the few things that we miss. But I don’t miss paying for heat.

4) Bette’s father, Fred, supported his family as a house painter. Have you ever held a job that kept you outdoors a great deal of the time? Only in college. I worked for Park & Rec after my freshman & sophomore years. In my junior year I got my first radio job and left the Park Dept. without notice. They were cool about it…

5) Her mother, Ruth, was a talented seamstress. How about you? Can you sew on a button? Raise a hem? Darn a hole? Right. I’ll get some of my people on that.

6) 2017 was a big year for Bette. At the age of 72, she opened on Broadway in the revival of Hello, Dolly! and won a Tony. As we kick off 2018, what would you like to accomplish this year? There is that book I need to finish. And then there’s this guitar Kathy bought me that I’ve yet to tune…

7) Bette and her husband Martin have been married for nearly 34 years. Their

Not us.

wedding was officiated by an Elvis impersonator. Are you looking forward to any weddings in 2018? None that I’m aware of. My nephew got married in NYC a few months back with the reception at a beautiful restaurant at Central Park. Our wedding was officiated by a witch. True was that.

8) Bette and Martin are very proud of their daughter, Sophie, now 30, who graduated from Yale in 2008. Do you expect to attend any graduation ceremonies in 2018? Nope. Those days are done. My oldest granddaughter (Lauren, 15) is in her freshman year in high school. Ask me in 3 years…

9) Random question: Yesterday, who did you spend the most time with? The only person I was with yesterday was me lady, me wife.
I hope you survived amateur night. I switched Sunday Stealing back to its old look. Let me know which you like better. We will return. Same time. Same blog.

-30-

Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

Saturday 9: Sign Of The Times. Harry Styles (2017)

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

1) In this song, Harry sings, “We don’t talk enough, we should open up before it’s all too much.” When you have something serious on your mind, who do you share it with? As with most things in life, it depends on who I have the problem with. Before he passed, my dad was the one that I would tell relationship problems or work stuff or friends shit. Now it’s my sister or my wife and usually the latter. Kathy is a great listener and fairly objective if it’s not our own problem. But we still see a marriage councilor, which is down to once a month. This dude helped save our marriage. Now he’s seeing Kathy also privately from issues from her upbringing. She doesn’t trust easily so the job he did with us allows her to be comfortable confiding in him.

2) As a kid, Harry wanted to be a lawyer because he can see “both sides.” Are you good at seeing both sides of an argument? Yes. In fact you might remember the story of the breakup I had with my high school girlfriend Sally. I hitchhiked from Boston to Burlington VT to spend the weekend with her. After a 5 hour ride I get to her place and she states the “Let’s talk” routine. In a nutshell she told me that “God” didn’t want us together. Now I’m an athiest that still calls himself agnostic. I was then at 17 as well. I asked her how she knew this. It was a long and complicated story that as you can well believe, it made ZERO sense. She had asked not that long before if I’d raqise our kids Christen. I stated that my dad was an atheist and I was raised Catholic and it all worked out. “But you aren’t Catholic anymore!”, she exclaimed. “‘Cause I got smart,” I replied. This did not help my case, my argument or the relationship.

Studio 33 1/3 in 2016. Billy, me & Rock with Greg in the rear…

3) He can’t decide which is favorite color — orange or blue. Help Harry out: which of those colors do you prefer? As a kid I always said “blue” was my favorite color. At present it is “hunter green”. The WTIT Studio is hunter green and I love it. My previous studios were either paneled (1967-1973) or painted a neutral color (1974-2012). But the studio in my house happened to be hunter green. My wife said, “No worries – I’ll repaint it”. The killer is now I love hunter green. Today I signed the lease on our new apartment. After the signing and paying I asked, “Any problems if I paint my radio studio hunter green?” He smiled and said, “I’ve got to (by state of CT law) repaint after you move out, so nope. Go for it.” So that studio will resemble this one by a lot. But it’s not our “Windsor Studio” that I had previously implied. We pulled out of that one for lack of space. This one is two bedrooms as well, but the laundry (washer-dryer) are in our kitchen! It’s one level and in a two family home. We are on the first floor. Our rent will be $549 less than our mortgage and heat is included. So we will save much $$$ and stretch our retirement money further. The apartment is in Rockville, CT. So it will be known as our “Rocking Rockville Studio…”!

4) Harry says he prefers older women, but would never go out with someone older than his mother. Do you think age disparity matters in romance? It can. In the 90s I was selling ads for a Hartford radio station. One account insisted that I DJ his bar on Friday nights. Now since it was a comedy club, I basically warmed the crowd up for the jokers and after the show I played dance music. As a club DJ you are always hit on by women. Now at this point in my life not only was I single, but I welcomed the shot of meeting women as a DJ again. (My last go round was in the 70s.) I had this woman come in the DJ booth on new Years Eve. Everyone had dates (naturally) and the woman stopped in to request a song. I started kissing her. After 10 minutes she said she should get back to her date. I agreed so IF she gave me her number. She was 21. I had recently turned 40. On our first date she stated, “I know that you are older than I. But I need to know how much older.” I asked “Why?” She explained that her dad was 39 and if I was his age, she’d see it as a problem. So I asked his age, she explained, “39”. I’m thinking, “Holy shit!” but I say, “He’s nowhere near my age,” I stated to her delight. We dated some six months. So yes, age is relative…

5) He admits to a big crush on Adele, who is six years older than he is. Who are you crushing on right now? (It doesn’t have to be a celebrity.) Just my lady, my wife Kathy.

6) It makes Harry’s skin crawl when he sees people use their teeth to open bottles. What creeps you out? 21 year-old women who give a shit if you’re their dad’s age.

7) When he’s on the road, his go-to food is tacos. Do you like Mexican food? Some. I hate refried beans. I love tacos, fajitas and a lot of their food. But NO FUCKING BEANS!

8) Harry has never smoked. Have you ever been a smoker? If you quit, how did you successfully kick the habit? I started smoking at 12. I quit as a junior in college at around 22. After my first divorce oin 1991 I started the bar scene where everyone smoked. It did not take long until I was doing 2 packs a day again. I developed heart decease in 2004. I quit for good then.

9) Random Question: As she pulls out of her parking space, an elderly woman in an old car scrapes an expensive car. Then she drives away. You witness the whole thing. Do you make a note of her license plate and leave it for the owner of the expensive car? Or do you just mind your own business? My own business would be to report her. So uncool, so yes, I’d take action.

We did Trekonderoga 3. It was my third, Kathy’s second. James Cawley, an Elvis impersonator by trade, started one of the longest running Star Trek fan films called “Star Trek: New Voyages”. What he did was reconstruct the original sets of the 1960’s show down to the wall hangings. The shows are available to watch on YouTube. They were all filmed in Ticonderoga, New York. The first year I went alone and had a mind blowing experience. Last year I returned and brought Kathy. I decided that at some point I’d do the costume thing. It was my second year in the getup. I have a fantastic Klingon head piece you might have seen before, I’ve never had the full thing before last year. Costumes were tough. Either I got the cheap one for $40 on Amazon or I could spend hundreds. I started reading reviews of the cheap one. They all complained that the head piece sucked. That, I figured, didn’t matter because I didn’t need one. So I ordered it. The head wear did suck moose and also the belt did. It was just a costume piece with a picture of a belt. The uniform was bland. But I looked at it and saw possibilities. I found a company that sold the belt buckle made from the same mold as the show for just $15. I also bought a Klingon medal for the same price. After the event I bought real boots, pants and more metals to really jazz it up. Last year Kathy went as a redshirt. This year she covered her uniform with…wait for it…tribbles! I loved getting stopped and being asked to take my picture with whoever. I met a few other Klingons, but I was the best. What Kathy did with my make was unbelievable. If you’d like to watch the video of it all, click here. I’m in it! So if want to see me walk & talk – watch it! Otherwise, I will see you next week! Same time. Same blog.

How about this shot? Yes that’s really Nichele Nichols (Uhura) & Walter Koenig (Chekov) along with Carl Sheldon as Scotty with me in my Klingon full uniform!

Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

Saturday 9: Sgt. Pepper (1967)

1) The Beatles recorded this after they had taken a three-month hiatus from working together as a band. Do you find you’re sharp after taking time off? Or does it take you a while to get back into the swing of things in your day-to-day life? It takes me a while to get into the “swing of things” as you can see from this lame fucking response. Although since I have not worked a day since breaking my neck, I may not be the right person to ask.

2) During those three months off, John Lennon made a movie called How I Won the War. What’s the last movie you watched? Did you view it at a theater, on TV, or from a device like a computer or tablet? “Rouge One” is now on Netflix and that’s when we saw it. Not terrific, but compared to those awful computer generated first chapters, it was brillant.

3) Paul McCartney and George Harrison both used their time off to make new and different music. Paul composed instrumentals for a movie soundtrack while George studied sitar with Ravi Shankar. Ringo Starr spent those three months with his wife and their two little boys. If you had three months to spend doing anything you wanted, and money was no object, would you try something new (like Paul and George) or just kick back and relax (like Ringo)? I’m 65. There’s nothing better than relaxing. I cannot wait to close on the sale of our house and settle into our apartment. From a 4 bedroom 3 bath home to a two bedroom apartment. But this will make my money last longer when I officially retire.

4) Paul recalls what fun it was to dress up in Edwardian-era costumes for the album cover. When did you last attend a costume party? What did you wear? I’m a Klingon.

5) Paul says he came up with the name “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” when Beatle friend Mal Evans told him about this great San Francisco band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Paul hadn’t heard their music yet, but he loved the sound of their six-word band name. Soon everyone would hear of Big Brother. Do you know who Big Brother’s famous lead singer was? Janis. The Queen of Rock.

6) Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band appeared on the Billboard charts for 175 weeks. Is this album in your collection? I have the American vinyl. I have the English vinal. I have the 2009 remastered edition. This was the best album of all time.

7) The Beatles are among the top-selling artists of all time in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Would you like to visit Africa? I watch a ton of nature films of the big cats of Africa. That said, I don’t think I’d love to contend with the heat or the insects.

8) 50 years ago, when Sgt. Pepper was first released, the average price for gas was 33¢/gallon. When did you last fill up your gas tank? Do you remember how much it cost? $2.32.

9) Random question: Are most of your married friends happily married? It’s split. Johnnie and Captain are single, the rest of us are happily married. Happy as far as I know.
I have never felt more shame as an American as I did this week when our president went all in for racism. What a horrible man. He needs to resign. I am part out The Resistance.
On that note, enjoy your weekend. We record for the last time in this house and Studio 33 1/3. We have verbally agreed to an apartment and unless something falls through, the next studio will be known as The Windsor Studio. Peace & love.

Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

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

Saturday 9: Wouldn’t It Be Nice (1966)

It’s been a while since we’ve chatted. A lot has been going on. I told you folks all about the 50th Anniversary Show & Party of WTIT. What I didn’t tell you that about the story of  one of my friends that I flew in from out of town. About $500 out of pocket. His first night here my wife forgot we had company and fell asleep leaving our bedroom door open. His flight had brought him in around midnight. After some serious drinking, he went up to bed around 2:30 AM. Since that bedroom door was open, he went in, got in bed and hugged my wife and told her how glad he was that we got back together. She woke to what she thought was a bad dream. Besides the obvious, what he did was act as though we had just got back together. But, Kathy returned in February of 2016, more than a year and a half before he returned. Could anyone do anything creepier?

I knew it had happened, but I decided I’d wait until he left to discuss it. I knew he was drunk. What Kathy hadn’t told me was that when he got out of bed to pass out he said to her, “Keep leaving this door open. I like that.” She knew I wouldn’t wait to confront him and it was his first of 9 days with us. I wrote it up to how drunk he was and I didn’t know about the “leave the door open” comment, because Kathy wanted the week to be about the 50thg for me.

I decided to wait until I was less angry to call him. We’ve been friends for nearly 50 years and while this was not a deal breaker, I needed to have that discussion. I even talked with his ex-wife to see if she had insight. The man is not right. And there are 10 other odd stories about his visit I could tell you about. His day is like this: He awakes at 4AM and watches cable news. At 3PM he states it’s 5 o’clock somewhere and starts shot of Cuervo. By 6PM he passes out. At 8PM he wakes up and deals with dinner. He cracks the tequila again. He passes out at 11PM. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

So his ex-wife lets his daughter know what I dealt with. This 30 something writes me a two page email apologizing for him. ‘Geez” I thought. I wanted to know if his family knew how fucked up he was, but I did not mean to cause his daughter anguish. I wrote her back and said that I loved her dad, but was worried. But it was something I needed to deal with and she needn’t concern herself.

So last week I finally call him. He had been texting and asking me why I wasn’t returning calls. Then he started calling other WTIT DJs to see what was up. What I found out was he knew what was up. When I confronted him he stated firmly, “That did not happen, Bud. Period.” He was prepared. So, do I trust the drunk or my very sober who always said she liked him. My first and second wives did not like him at all. She had NO reason to make it up. She even held back stuff so the visit wouldn’t suck. I said this to him. “Sober wife or drunk friend? That’s a dome scratcher.” I just said, “I can’t talk to you anymore.” I hung up and have never heard from him since.

If it were not for him WTIT would have ended on our 15th Anniversary in 1982. He helped me recruit and navigate all the changes that followed. He would not have been here had I not paid for the flight. I didn’t get any thank you other than a verbal one when I dropped him off at the airport. I know I will probably never see him again because he lives 2,000 miles away and is broke. I even said at one point, “I know you were drunk and maybe you don’t remember” trying to give him an out. He repeated, “DID NOT HAPPEN, BUD.”

Enough. On the bright side, our house is under contract. Which means we sold it, but we haven’t gone through all the preliminaries, but short of a catastrophe, we’re out of here. Yes! We just started looking at rentals. Frankly, I’m sick of owning. I want to call a landlord if something goes wrong. But the problem it solves is me with stairs. My neurosurgeon saw me yesterday. He said, while you’ve improved – you can never do that job with liquor again. I already knew that, but it still was strange to hear.

Sorry to return and dump my shit on you. But we are friends, right? And because this isn’t Facebook or twitter, we have enough freedom to be real. That’s what I’m doing. Thanks for listening.

Saturday 9: Wouldn’t It Be Nice? (1966)

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

1) In the video for this song, the Beach Boys dive into the pool with all their clothes on. Have you ever ended up in the water while fully clothed? If yes, were you pushed? I don’t remember that happening. I could tell some stories about skinny dipping, but you didn’t ask about that.

2) In this song, Mike Love sings he wishes “every kiss could be never ending.” Where did you receive your first kiss? Was it wonderful, or awkward? I was 12. It was 8th grade and it was awkward on a scale of 10 out of 10. By 14, I was pretty good at it.

3) Brian Wilson was the creative force behind the Beach Boys. It’s possible that the group’s legendary and unique sound came from a incident of bad parenting. Brian’s father hit him so hard with a wooden plank that he is deaf in his right ear. Which of your senses is sharpest — sight, hearing, smell or taste? I guess hearing. I’ve never had a good sense of smell – which has served me well. So many times someone has said, “Can you smell that? It’s disgusting!” I’d reply I couldn’t smell it. They’d inevitably say, try harder. I’d say, “Why would I do that? It’s you that’s got to deal with it.” As far as vision, I need reading glasses. It happened almost to the day of my 40th birthday. Most folks say they were 40 when they started needing cheaters. I cannot believe that it was 25 years ago. How did I become 65? People think I’m goofing them when I tell my age. Flattering, yes. But realistic, nah. I am 65 and I need to own it.

4) Brian’s brother Dennis was the cutest member of the group, and also the only one who could surf. Have you been to the beach yet this summer? Nope. Kathy hates the beach and it’s never been important to me. I prefer pools. I hope our apartment has a pool!

5) Dennis was also the Beach Boys’ most colorful member. In 1968, he struck up an unfortunate and dangerous friendship with Charles Manson. Is there anyone in your life that you worry has bad taste in friends/lovers? Certainly not to that extent. My sister’s relationships with girlfriends and now her wife, have always been one sided. She waits on them hand & foot while being the breadwinner who makes serious money. She does not see this. Not a clue.

6) Lead singer Mike Love is the grumpiest Beach Boy. He refuses to perform if the concert promotional materials refer to the group or their songs as “oldies.” Does it bother you to hear the songs, TV shows and movies of your youth described as “classics” or “oldies?” No. I just mind if they call ME an oldie.

7) This song has appeared on soundtracks for movies as diverse as Shampoo (1975), The Big Chill (1983),  50 First Dates (2004) and It’s Complicated (2009). Do you own any movie soundtracks? Yes.

8) In 1966, the year this song was popular, the Miranda Warning became law. Without looking it up, can you recite any of the Miranda Warning? Yes, but NYPD Blue is one of my favorite all time dramas. I just bought the series for $105. I’m watch me a lot.

9) Random question: The local college is pleading for models of all ages and sizes to pose for the life drawing class. Would you help the kids by volunteering to pose in the nude? HA! HA!

Till next we meet. Same time. Same blog.

Thanks to The Gal for authoring this meme. Click on the Sat-9 title of song on the next line below to play.

Saturday 9: Too Fat Polka

1) Have you ever danced the polka? Every day. I get up in the morning and wake my wife and say, “Honey, It’s Polka Time!” We jump into our Polka outfits and dance to our favorite, “Beer Bottle Polka.” (I’m the one in the dress.) Then we flap our arms to fly away.

2) The centerpiece of a traditional Polish polka band is the accordion. The accordion is a substantial instrument. Have you ever tried to play it? Right after I broke my neck I said to my wife, I gotta learn an instrument. Where can a get a great accordion?

Who the fuck would drive this?

3) The plump lady of this song cannot fit into the singer’s car. How many passengers does your car comfortably seat? One.

4) Would you like to lose a few pounds? No thanks. I’d find them again.

5) In the long ago 1940s, this song was considered amusing. Do you think it’s still funny today? You thought I listened to a polka? Why bother? They all sound the same. At my first radio gig I had to engineer a two or polka show. Two guys who only spoke Polish hosted. If I put on the wrong song they’d come in yelling. I’d smile. They yelled louder. Then I’d bow.

6) Arthur Godfrey, who recorded this song, was a popular radio and TV host from the 1930s to the 1970s. Before this week’s Saturday 9, had you ever heard of him? Of course. I’ve been alive long enough to wonder why anyone would watch the dude.

7) One of his more popular radio shows was Talent Scouts. A 1940s-50s version of American Idol, this show gave previously unknown singers their first national exposure. Godfrey could point with pride to having helped discover Tony Bennett and Patsy Cline, but he made a mistake by rejecting Elvis Presley. Tell us about something you’d do differently if you could get a “do over.” Quite a bit. Got six hours?

8) In 1953, Godfrey made news by having one of the nation’s very first hip replacements. Have you ever been/would you be part of a clinical trial, either for a new drug or a new medical procedure? I already did. I had a staph infection in 2003 from a back operation. My doctor tried three anti-biotics that didn’t work. He said there was a new drug he hadn’t ever tried. He said if it didn’t I’d have to put my affairs in order.

9) RANDOM QUESTION: You and a friend are shopping. She tries on an expensive sweater and enthusiastically asks what you think. You think it looks awful. Do you tell her the truth? Of course. It isn’t like she wore it to work and asked you. I’d add, “But you’re so ugly that it would take folk’s attention away from your big nose and ugly teeth. So yea, I love it…”

Here’s hoping life is good with you. We’re selling the house and I forgot how stressed out that you get. I’m gonna see my mom today. She’s in hospice, I think I’ve told you that. Two week’s ago she said, “I may not see you again. I want you to know what a truly wonderful son you are.” We hugged as I cried”. But I did see here again last week with my son Ben. It’s a surreal time. I may be back for Stealing. But, I will be back. Same time. Same blog.

-30-