Saturday 9

 

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here are today's questions!

Saturday 9: Big Spender (1966)

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

1) In this song, Peggy Lee invites a gentleman to join her for fun, laughs, and a good time. What will you be doing for fun this weekend?

No plans.  Just staying at home.

 

2) Peggy was blessed with perfect pitch. It's estimated that just 1 in 10,000 has this gift. Tell us about something that comes naturally to you. 

Nothing like perfect pitch, but as soon as I learned the letters on a typewriter keyboard, it seemed that it just comes naturally and I was the best in both of my typing classes and have been typing ever since (though I am much less accurate as I get older).

 

3) Peggy was an influential performer whose fans included singers as diverse as Carly Simon, Petula Clark, and Joni Mitchell. Bette Midler even did a Peggy Lee tribute album. What songstress do you listen to most often?

I don't listen to music much any more but probably the female singer I listen to the most is Judy Garland.

 

4) Paul McCartney was also a big Peggy Lee fan. In the 1970s he was invited to meet her in her London home. He arrived with a carefully chosen hostess gift: a bottle of champagne and an original song ("Let's Love") which she recorded and he produced. Have you more recently given or received a gift?
I got lovely gifts for Mothers Day.  I gave a great cup to my friend Char "just because."

5) Cy Coleman wrote the music to "Big Spender." Unlike Peggy Lee, who never took a music lesson, Coleman was classically trained and studied composition, conducting, and orchestration at New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts and at the New York College of Music. If you could take classes in anything that interested you, what would you choose to learn more about?

I would immediately sign up to take a class that studied elephants and their families.  The history of theater is also a fun subject to learn more about.

6) Coleman met lyricist Dorothy Fields by chance, at a party. Though Fields was more than 20 years his senior, they hit it off immediately and he invited her to work with him. Their collaboration resulted in two Broadway shows including Sweet Charity, which featured "Big Spender." Think about the person you spent the most time with last week. Were they older, younger or about the same age as you?

I spend most of my time with my son Ned, who lives in our house and who is such a big help around here.

 

7) In 1966, when disc jockeys were playing this record, consumers were discovering garage door openers. These transistorized devices weren't cheap. Typically about $150 in 1966, that would be more than $1,000 in today's dollars. These days garage door openers are far more affordable and common. Can you think of something that was a luxury item when you were a kid that today you take for granted?

Cell phones and phone calls.  I remember when you had to pay for every call you made and received.

 

8) 1966 found Jacqueline Susann atop the best seller list with her steamy novel, Valley of the Dolls. Though it was savaged by critics, countless Americans enjoyed the book. Do you have a similar guilty pleasure? Is there a book, movie, TV show or song you enjoy, even though you know it has little artistic merit?

Probably Criminal Minds at the moment.  I watch some of it every day on Hulu because it helps me nap in the afternoon.  I also love Monk.

9) Random question: When at a Mexican restaurant, what's your go-to order?

Chile Relleno

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Our apple tree is covered with apples.
I wonder how many of them the squirrels will let us harvest

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