“The only thing better than singing is more singing.” — Aretha Franklin

1948 Cactus
1948 Cactus

My singing voice is somewhere between a drunken apology and a plumbing problem. – Colin Firth (www.brainyquote.com)

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Some of the wise boys who say my music is loud, blatant and that’s all should see the faces of the kids who have driven a hundred miles through the snow to see the band… to stand in front of the bandstand in an ecstasy all their own. –  

 Stan Kenton

1949 Redskin, Orchestra Leader Stan Kenton
1949 Redskin, Orchestra Leader Stan Kenton

“When Your Throat Feels Scratchy As An Old 78”

LIFE597Up003

LIFE597Up004

To be honest, I had a 7-Up for breakfast (my tummy was unsettled), and I have to say that this colorful ad was more refreshing than the actual drink. The taste was meh at best (fake lemon-limey), and several hours later, life is certainly not a song. Unless the song is that “I’d like to teach the world to sing” ditty for Coke. I drank a Coke for lunch and feel infinitely muchor mejor.

But this ad is such fun. Her sassy response to his implied inquiry (“Actually, I do know how to work the hi-fi, thank you…), the conversation behind closed doors, her poofy braid pony, the Glenn Miller album askew on the wall, his tolerant look (like he should just humor her until the sun goes down and it’s time to trade green soda bottles for brown Hamm’s beer bottles), how his wool sweater looks as scratchy as the throat the ad references, and all the woody orange-yellows! Cheers!

Living/Not Living

"Science for Work & Play"
“Science for Work & Play”

Living things: 99-year-old author Beverly Cleary

http://oldfloridabookstore.blogspot.com/
http://oldfloridabookstore.blogspot.com/

Things not living (even though he was last month): Abe Vigoda on Late Night With Conan O’Brien.

http://www.nydailynews.com/
http://www.nydailynews.com/

Who is the oldest person you know? A WWII veteran? A great-aunt? How old do you want to live to be?

Once Upon A Time, In My Wildest Dreams

El Rancho 1974
El Rancho 1974

Confidence goes a long way toward getting chicks, and this lion’s-maned manmeat has it in spades–or checkers. The trousers can’t be Sansabelt because there is most definitely a belt, in all its gleaming white glory.

It’s such a shame that I was in cloth diapers when these handsome hotties from 1974 were swinging and single. How could a gal ever choose just one?

Those mutton chops, that ‘stache, the white groin pockets, the button fly–it all means business.

74ElRanchoPancho

My stars, evidently the candy man can with his supersized camera. I feel like we caught him in the middle of a shuffle ball change.

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All I know is he mixes it with love, and makes the world taste good.

Early Sobriety Tests

LIFE Jan 3, 1944
LIFE Jan 3, 1944

Betty Beach is one of the country’s thousands of women who’ve recently gone into necessary civilian service to release a man to fight. And she loves it! It has meant telescoping her life…making the most of every minute. For her beauty care, she’s sticking to DuBarry Beauty Preparations…first introduced to her in the Famous Success School Course.

LIfeJan3-44010

I don’t get it. She uses make-up to keep her nose “pretty” so that the pilot will find her attractive? What on earth?

You Dropped Your Lip Gloss

credit: Chris Johns
credit: Chris Johns

The most vexing part of this picture to me is not the dangerous Footloose scene that comes to mind; it is the fact that it is midnight. Yes, this was the “midnight sun” in Anchorage, Alaska during the summer months of 1988. Broad daylight be damned, denimed young people were still making bad decisions, not the least of which was jacking up their trucks, as well as inviting passengers to sit in lawn furniture with the tailgate down. Courting disaster.

http://basementrejects.com/
http://basementrejects.com/

Where Sombreros Are Born

Ever wonder how it is that every full-service Mexican restaurant has ample sombreros to place upon each birthday patron’s head? Now you know.

Mexico City 1911, Underwood & Underwood
Mexico City 1911, Underwood & Underwood

These milliners are ankle deep in straw hats of different weaves. Do you own one, tucked into the back of your closet? No? Have you ever been the lucky sap beneath the hat at a Mexican restaurant? I have. At the place we patronize each Sunday after church, they chant a generic name to the birthday boy or girl. “Happy BIRTH-day, Panchito, Happy Birthday to you!” And then Panchito gets complimentary fried ice cream.