O’Connoradioland for February 6, 2012
Happy February to you and welcome to Week 38 of our little semi-literary effort here, brought to you by the Institute for Creative Utilization of Spare Time. Oh, speaking of Feb, on Feb 2nd we were going to ask our resident groundhog Claflin Clyde at KVGB about his weather predictions for the rest of the winter, but we found a note outside his burrow saying “Gone to Florida until May. Find me on Facebook.” So I don’t know what to tell you. At least we sure got some good moisture over the last few days.
With all the political activity already this year, I got to thinking about the Presidents in my lifetime and how I would rate them. I wanted to be totally non-partisan about this, because they all had some good points (and plenty of bad). After I give you my little summation here, I would love to hear about your favorite President and maybe a reason or two why. And don’t worry, you’re not going to hurt my feelings if you call my choices crazy.
I think the best one in my memory would be Eisenhower. He was a good manager, and having been through the horrors of World War II, he knew better than to get us into another war. Yes, he had to carry on the Korean War, which began during the Truman administration, but he did the best he could with the resources he had available. He got the Interstate highway system going, which contributed greatly to economic growth. He also kick-started a renewed emphasis on science and technology education after Sputnik was launched by the Russians in 1957.
Who else was good? Hmmm, a tough one. Lyndon Johnson got civil rights legislation and social programs passed, but he also got us bogged down in Vietnam. Jimmy Carter turned out to be a better ex-President than an office-holder. Remember those 20 percent interest rates on home loans in the late 70s? Carter will be better remembered for all the good he did after he was out of office. George H.W. Bush was pretty successful; the jury is still out on his son. Nixon opened communication with China, then got himself into big trouble with Watergate. Reagan was a nice calming influence, but he raised taxes several times after promising he wouldn’t. Which actually was not all that bad, because sometimes you just gotta face facts and realize that you need more revenue. Gerald Ford did a basically good job and certainly provided a lot of material for Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live. As for Bill Clinton? A competent administrator, but lots of problems ‘behind the scenes.’
As for people who never got to be President, I would have liked to have seen Bob Dole in office. Like Lyndon Johnson he was a great legislator and compromiser, and given his own wartime experiences, he probably would have kept us out of any other foreign ‘adventures.’
Well, that’s enough for now. Who is your top-rated Prez? Tell me.
Okay, before we get to Trivia, here’s my latest Five Tunes from my all-time favorites list:
1. ‘Basin Street Blues’ by Jack Teagarden. This is an old New Orleans classic that’s been recorded by just about everyone. I like Teagarden’s version for its authentic old-timey feel. Teagarden was a great trombone ace who occasionally took a shot at singing, which he does on this version. Smoky nightclub stuff at its best. Listen, and you too might feel like you’re “livin’ in the land of dreams.”
2. ‘The Streak’ by Ray Stevens. Man, that’s a whiplash turnaround from the song above, huh? Oh well, I’ve never been accused of being too consistent. Stevens had a funny mind and recorded dozens of novelty songs over 30 or more years, and I LOVE my novelty songs. Everything from ‘Gitarzan’ to “It’s Me Again, Margaret” to ‘The Streak’ (Don’t look, Ethel!) was always perfectly in tune with American pop culture. Get a copy of his Greatest Hits and smile awhile.
3. ‘Wipeout’ by The Surfaris. This monster hit from ’63 by the cleverly named Surfaris has been a staple of wedding bands and DJs ever since. It’s also one of those songs that inspires young men out on the town to think they can do just as good (or better) a drum solo on the table top at their favorite watering hole. It’s amazing how much talent you think you have after a few beers. I hasten to add that I know this only by observation of others. Ahem.
4. ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ by Chris Kenner, also Cannibal and the Headhunters, and of course, the best version, by the great Wilson Pickett. Kenner had the first release, but Pickett’s crazed over-the-top version is the best. The man nearly had smoke comin’ out of his ears when he performed. Lots of energy. Pickett also had success with ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘(In The) Midnight Hour.’ Funny thing about those two songs: neither of ‘em made it into Billboards Top 20 when they were released in the 60s, but they’re the ones you always hear on the oldies stations. Maybe they think ‘1000 Dances’ is just too strenuous for people ‘our age.’
5. ‘You’re No Good’ by Linda Ronstadt. Linda took a medium-size hit by Betty Everett from the 60s and took it to the top in the 70s. She uses her big ‘flamethrower’ voice to good advantage on this song. The woman sounds MAD. Ronstadt was really versatile and could do everything from big rockers to soft romantic songs like the old classic ‘I’ve Got A Crush on You.’ Most of her hits, except for her first one ‘Different Drum,’ were remakes of earlier hits.
Alright, who’s got the winning hand in Trivia this week? Congratulations go out to Vince B who got the music question: The Association with their big hit ‘Windy.’ Terry Keenan answered the sports question: the guy who had the funny comment about catching a knuckleball was Bob Uecker, former catcher, Brewers’ broadcaster and sitcom star. I used to hear him doing Brewers games when we would travel to Wisconsin, and he was always interesting and funny. And thanks to Joe Boley for his comments on the Babe Ruth ‘head-cooler’ system.
No answer yet on the Great Bend question, so let me re-state it here: This business started out in the 1600 block of Main, right across from what is now Landmark Bank. It is now located on the courthouse square, but not on the north, east or west side. Hope that helps.
Here’s a new sportie question: Since the Giants just won the Super Bowl, what Giants quarterback had one of the most unusual names in sports history?
As for music, in the early 80s this ‘one-hit wonder’ group had a big number one song with the name of a jungle creature in the title. Name the song or the group.
Have a mighty fine week. See you here next Monday.
John