I suppose the ol' C. Dickens cliché just about describes our New Years Day. We got off to a rather rocky start but at least we had a clear, pain-free head and knew exactly where we were when we woke up. It wasn't always so on New Years Day in the way-back and we're glad those days are well and truly behind us. Sorta.
We did the Bowl thing yesterday... pretty much all day, actually... and we don't wanna talk about it. Or rather, we don't wanna talk about two specific games involving teams from the state of my former residence and to which I retain misplaced loyalties. Let's just say we've done pretty well as far as Bowls go this year, with Air Force and ND winning their games. I'm authorized to root for three college teams according to The Rules, and like Meat Loaf once sang: "Two out o' three ain't bad."
There IS one more football-related thing: How 'bout them Horned Frogs? That was the ONLY game that made going bowling worthwhile. YMMV, of course, most especially if'n you're an SEC homer.
I did watch the Winter Classic, too, and the best part of that was watching the Flightless Birds lose. Second best was thinking I'm glad I wasn't there, as sitting in a stadium for three hours while enduring a 48-degree drizzling rain ain't MY ideer of a good time. I'm thinkin' the game was MUCH better viewed in a warm house with a cold beer or three. And two ceegars.
―:☺:―
We searched the archives this morning looking for that post about college ball rules and came upon this lil divertissement from a couple o' years ago that merits a re-run. It's fun if nothing else, and might give ya some interesting memories if'n ya chase the link and look up what was hot when YOU graduated from high school. It's a meme and without further ado...
The rules:
A) Go to Music Outfitters
B) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline or italicize your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember or don’t care about (ed: that's me: I don't care about 'em. But I remember ALL of these, surprisingly).
OK… I did. I thought about cutting this down to only 50 songs, coz “The Top 100” takes up a lot of space. But I didn’t, mainly because a lot of my favorites from this pre-historic time (ahem) are in the lower ranks, popularity-wise. And the year? 1963, Gentle Reader. 1963. Gad!
You might note a trend in the list below, if you’re familiar with the music. OTOH, this stuff is SO old I don’t much expect many of you to recognize more than five or six of these songs… some of which are most definitely classics. But, to emphasize the obvious… I was a BIG rhythm and blues fan. Not so much on the white-bread stuff, like Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Lesley Gore, The Four Seasons (aiiieee! White Boys singing falsetto! aiiieee!), et al. What krep. And I have more than one favorite from this list, too, italicized and underlined.
1. Surfin' U.S.A., Beach Boys (OK, so I lied about White Boys)
2.Sugar Shack, Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs
3.The End Of The World, SkeeterDavis
4. Rhythm Of The Rain, Cascades
5.Hey Paula, Paul and Paula(This song had some small kitsch value to me much later in life, as TSMP's name is Paula. There were times when I'd break out in a "Hey...Hey.. PAULA... I wanna marry you!" Omigawd. Really. I'm embarrassed to reveal this, but...there ya go. Something I'm sure ya didn't know. I had to explain it to her the first time I did it, too, as she was only seven years old in 1963. Something else I'm sure ya didn't know, unless your name happens to be "Paula," aka TSMP.)
6.Blue Velvet, Bobby Vinton
7. He's So Fine, Chiffons
8. Fingertips II, Little Stevie Wonder
9. Washington Square, Village Stompers
10. So Much In Love, Tymes
11. Can't Get Used To Losing You, Andy Williams
12. My Boyfriend's Back, Angels
13. Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto
14. She's A Fool, Lesley Gore
15. It's All Right, Impressions
16. Puff (The Magic Dragon), Peter, Paul and Mary
17. Blowin' In The Wind, Peter, Paul and Mary
18. Wipe Out, The Surfaris
19. Deep Purple, Nino Tempo and April Stevens
20. I'm Leaving It Up To You, Dale and Grace
21. I Love You Because, Al Martino
22. Wild Weekend, Rebels (GREAT guitar… trend setting, it was)
23. You're The Reason I'm Living, Bobby Darin
24.Walk Like A Man, Four Seasons
25. Mockingbird, Inez Foxx
26. I Will Follow Him, Little Peggy March
27. Pipeline, Chantays
28. Surf City, Jan and Dean
29.It's My Party, Lesley Gore
30. Blame It On The Bossa Nova, Eydie Gorme
31. You Can't Sit Down, Dlovells
32. Heat Wave, Martha and The Vandellas
33. Denise, Randy and The Rainbows
34. Walk Right In, Rooftop Singers
35. If You Wanna Be Happy, Jimmy Soul
36. Surfer Girl, Beach Boys
37. If I Had A Hammer, Trini Lopez
38. Everybody, Tommy Roe
39. Easier Said Than Done, Essex
40. Ruby Baby, Dion
41. Maria Elena, Los Indios Tabajaras
42. Our Day Will Come, Ruby and The Romantics
43. I Can't Stay Mad At You, Skeeter Davis
44. Hello, Stranger, Barbara Lewis
45. Be My Baby, Ronettes
46. Mean Woman Blues, Roy Orbison
47. South Street, Orlons
48. Days Of Wine And Roses, Henry Mancini
49. The Monkey Time, Major Lance
50.Candy Girl, Four Seasons
51. Still, Bill Anderson
52.Blue On Blue, Bobby Vinton
53. Cry Baby, Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters
54. Two Faces Have I, Lou Christie
55. Busted, Ray Charles
Dang, 1963 was long ago and far away!56. Da Doo Ron Ron, Crystals
57. Foolish Little Girl, Shirelles
58. Memphis, Lonnie Mack
59. In Dreams, Roy Orbison
60. More, Kal Winding
61. Fools Rush In, Rick Nelson
62. Losing You, Brenda Lee
63. Our Winter Love, Bill Pursell
64. I Wanna Be Around, Tony Bennett
65. You've Really Got A Hold On Me, Miracles (apropos of nothing: ANYTHING by Smokey Robinson.)
66. Sally Go 'Round The Roses, Jaynetts
67. Little Red Rooster, Sam Cooke
68. Then He Kissed Me, w Crystals
69. (You're The) Devil In Disguise, Elvis Presley
70. Those Lazy-hazy-crazy Days On Summer, Nat King Cole
71. Baby Workout, Jackie Wilson
72. Pride And Joy, Marvin Gaye
73. Walking The Dog, Rufus Thomas
74. From A Jack To A King, Ned Miller
75. Up On The Roof, Drifters
76. What Will My Mary Say, Johnny Mathis
77. Mama Didn't Lie, Jan Bradley
78. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Bobby Vee
79. Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby, Little Eva
80. Ring Of Fire, Johnny Cash
81. (Down At) Papa Joe's, Dixiebelles With Cornbread and Jerry
82.Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp), Allan Sherman
83.Judy's Turn To Cry, Lesley Gore
84. Just One Look, Doris Troy
85. Mickey's Monkey, Miracles
86.Donna, The Prima Donna, Dion
87. That Sunday, That Summer, Nat King Cole
88. Another Saturday Night, Sam Cooke
89. Painted, Tainted Rose, Al Martino
90.Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, Roll Harris
91.Go Away Little Girl, Steve Lawrence
92. Take These Chains From My Heart, Ray Charles
93. Talk To Me, Sunny and The Sunglows
94. Come And Get These Memories, Martha and The Vandellas
95. Bossa Nova Baby, Elvis Presley
96. Do The Bird, Dee Dee Sharp
97. Shut Down, Beach Boys
98. One Fine Day, Chiffons
99.Little Town Flirt,DelShannon
100. 500 Miles Away From Home, Bobby Bare
So… Do ya know any of those, Gentle Reader?
I counted fifteen that I recognize by title. Of course, I was born in 1966.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that there are more that I would know if I were to actually hear the tune. But I'm not that industrious.
Damn, I just looked, 1972...
ReplyDelete...I'm the happiest girl in the whole USA...zippity-doo-dah...
No wonder I can't get laid...
I got so much of this stuff in my brain, my eyes aren't blue anymore, they're brown.
...Rocket Man! Burning out his fuse out here alone...
Yea, my fuse, poor thing, the fuse is all wet... I think my depends are wet...
All great music! I put in 1961, brings back a lot of great memories of Kalamazoo Central!
ReplyDeleteI was nine.
ReplyDeleteI went to hear the Fireballs in Raton, NM - hometown boys - in about 1990. I think I know more songs from 1963 than I do 1976. KC in the Sunshine Band - good grief! One song that I remember very well when it came out was
ReplyDelete"Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover." The radio disc jockey must have played it about 100 times the night one of my old boyfriends did me wrong. Yuck night.
BR: There are a lot of classics on this list.
ReplyDeleteAnon: 1972. Lessee... I think I was in Orygun... Klamath Falls, to be exact.
Ed: '61 was pretty cool, too!
Glenn: Is that a complaint?
Lou: '76 was a GREAT year for me. It was the year after I met TSMP, we were still in Japan, and we were deep in lust/love. Epic.
In 1963, I was 9, and was forced to listen to the "Scandinavian Hour" and Nat King Cole by my parents. Ack, I do love the button accordion though...
ReplyDeleteOne memory I have at age 9 was pushing the starter button of a 1950 Ford. A teen neighbor called Eddie had his head under the hood. It was in gear, so it ran over his foot. I still feel pretty bad about that, but it was like the button (chrome) was calling me!
Eddie later survived Vietnam, but my running over his foot was the horror he told everyone in the world about, ha. I can still feel the bad ribs he nearly broke kicking my ass.
wv: ingshyse seems like a german swear word.
Ah my year was 1981 and oh dear lord - the music just sucked. Air Supply? Eddie Rabbitt? Diana Ross? Juice Newton?
ReplyDeleteIt is to weep.
I crossed out more than I didn't and bolded very little. The ones I did bold were more because of memories than the songs themselves.
The 60s were THE time for the true classics. No doubt.
Some timeless, great stuff you have listed.
ReplyDeleteConcur on the Smokey tunes!
Funny thing; there are some tunes you listed which were done again in '78. Good stuff can be recycled over and over.
Whew! I had never seen "The Rules" before, but I'm happy to report that I have been in compliance. I root for Boston College, period.
ReplyDeleteI am saving all of my rooting strength for The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on January 9th.
Yup. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Wheeeeeeee!
I was *3* in '63, but I recognize a large chunk of your list.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to go look at *my* list. I grad-gee-ated in 1978.
No one should have to see *that* list! ;)
...was forced to listen to the "Scandinavian Hour" and Nat King Cole by my parents.
ReplyDeleteMom never had to force me to listen to Nat King Cole, I love him to this day. But I drew the line at frickin' Lawrence Welk, though. But that was my grandmother, not Mom.
Kris: I hear ya about '81. But: what I said at your place.
Darryl: On the list: Just timing and fate, that's all. I personally think the '70s were better than the '60s.
Jim: Your rooting history comes from being rooted. Heh.
Thimbelle: Hey! '78 was a GREAT year, seein' as how that was the year TSMP and I got married! I wouldn't mind a "do-over" on '78... and I mean that in a positive sorta way.