Remember hood ornaments?  Remember when you could I.D. a car by the hood ornament or tail lights?  Remember when cars were entirely re-designed each year?  Whatever happened to all that???

I can remember sitting on our front porch calling out the names of the cars as they passed by.  That's a Ford, that's a Pontiac . . . oh that's the new Caddy!  My girlfriend would say . . . Oh that's amazing John . . . how do you know all that??  Easy, I just don't know anything else!  I mean, what's important anyway?

That, of course, worked until the Germans came along with the Volkswagen Beetle!  Oh they were doing the Beetle long before it became popular in the US.  I think the Beetle first showed up in California in the late 50's or early 60's.  Anyway, I do know that if today you saw a 1949 Beetle, you could still see the resemblance between that and  the newly released 2015 Beetle.  How Dull!!!

See how many of the hood ornaments, taillights you recognize in the following clip.  There's a lot of exhaust in this clip so take a deep breath before you start the video.

Ok!  So one of the reasons there are no hood ornaments anymore is because guys like us . . . well maybe not exactly like us . . . but certainly guys our age, decided that, all that "fluff" was not necessary, and took it off their cars.  We called that "customizing". 

As soon as the big car company's "caught on" they stopped putting those neat hood ornaments on our cars.  They called that "Profit".  

Our idea of a car was a place to sit down, behind the biggest damn engine we could run without getting burned.  The perfect example turned out to be the "Little Deuce Coupe"

What's really going on here?  Why were cars being redesigned every year!

Was it about the excitement surrounding the flashy new designs? Was it about everyone knowing you are in a "Brand New Car"? Might it have been the "New Car Envy" factor?   

Well any car manufacturer will tell you it was all about profit!
They knew that by redesigning their cars each year they could increase sales.  IT WORKED!

How abut customizing?  What was that all about???  Well, interestingly, I think that was all about fun!     

In this little gal's life it was all about Fun! Fun! Fun! That is until her daddy took her T-bird away!  A loss for her, but "opportunity" for us. We could always pick her up in our "Little Deuce Coupe"  (with no hood ornament)  Of Course!!

Till Next Week

Harv

Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed byFrancis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school in 1960. The film was written by husband and wife team Jerry Leichtling and Arlene Sarner. wiki

Cast Members:

• Kathleen Turner as Peggy Sue
• Nicolas Cage as Charlie Bodell
• Jim Carrey as Walter Getz
• Helen Hunt as Beth Bodell

In "Our" 1960 Class I picture Westy as Charlie (Nicolas Cage) and Bill Ohde as Walter (Jim Carrey).  Seems to me that in HS there was a rumor going around that  Westy and Bill were forming a singing group to replace Dion and the Belmonts with "Dion and the Westmonts"???  One might also see Sharon in the part as Peggy Sue!  What do you think?  

The movie comes "highly recommended" by Pete Christensen. 
Pete says "Watch this Movie!  It's mostly 1960 . . the music, the clothing and especially the cars, are alone worth the effort."

When Pete first heard about the movie he just went on line and bought it.  I'm pretty sure he's watched it many times since then. Joan and I watched it last night.  It's really a fun trip back in time. 

 So  "brush up" on the 60's before our big "1960" Class Reunion.  Get the movie and start having fun!!  And while your at it grab
 a tequila and listen to this blast from the past!!!

Till Next Week 

Harv

   Say Goodby to Percy Sledge

Percy Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B andsoul singer. He is best known for the song "When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 pop and soul hit in 1966. It was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA.

Having previously worked as a hospital nurse in the early 1960s, he achieved his strongest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of emotional soul songs. In later years, Percy received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Career Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.  wiki

See you Monday on the Turntable

Harv

"Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and racing driver. One of the most popular and successful country and western singers of all time for most of his near four-decade career. Robbins often topped the country music charts, and several of his songs also had crossover success as pop hits." wiki

"In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in 35 career NASCAR races with six top-10 finishes,[5] including the 1973 Firecracker 400.[6] In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels.[7] Robbins was partial to Dodges, and owned and raced Chargers and then a 1978 Dodge Magnum. His last race was in a Junior Johnson-built 1982 Buick Regal in the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982, the month before he died. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420. He was also the driver of the 60thIndianapolis 500 Buick Century pace car in 1976."  wiki

"He ran many of the big super-speedway races including Talladega Superspeedway in 1972, when he stunned the competition by turning laps that were 15 mph faster than his qualifying time. Apparently, in his motel room, Robbins had knocked the NASCAR-mandated restrictors out of his carburetor. After the race, NASCAR tried to give him the Rookie of the Race award, but Robbins would not accept it, admitting he was illegal because he "just wanted to see what it was like to run up front for once." wiki

"Marty Robbins' discography consists of 52 studio albums, 13 compilation albums, and 100 singles. In his career, Robbins has charted 17 Number One singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as 82 Top 40 singles.

Robbins' highest charting album is 1959's Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. It charted to #6 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's first single, "El Paso", become a hit on both the country and pop charts, charting to Number One on the Hot Country Songs as well as the Billboard Hot 100. Although being his only pop Number One, in 1957, "A White Sport Coat" charted to #2, and in 1961, "Don't Worry" charted to #3.

Since his death in 1982, four posthumous studio albums have been released, although they didn't make an impact on the charts.

His final Top 10 single was "Honkytonk Man" in 1982, which is the title of the film Robbins had starred in, however, he died shortly before the release of the film."  wiki

Till Next Week 

Harv

No room for spectators.  We all sing 10,000 strong!
10000 singing Beethoven – Japan Posted on March 24, 2012 by Mare Cromwell

“The performance of “Daiku”, “The Ninth”, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with 10000 (amateur) chorus singers is a Japanese highlight every year in the end of December. Here is the last movement, recorded at the 2011 concert in Osaka, this year dedicated especially to the memory of the victims of the disastrous tsunami in March.”

Absolutely amazing. I would love to know more of the details behind how this performance is organized. Could they have all practiced together? I rather doubt that. And then there is the question of where is the audience? Only on TV? On the far side of the arena? (youtube review)

Till Next Week

Harv