Dean's Still Singing !

Finally! The election's over and we can get back to a little normalcy. We can sit, relax and enjoy getting our brains fried again, watching meaningful TV like "Friends" reruns, rather than being glued to nightly political discussions on the various News stations, interrupted every 5 minutes or so by those mind numbing Political ads. That's as political as I'm ever likely to get here on Senior Speak.

Today's post was going to be about the approaching Holiday Season, but a couple things happened this morning that has steered me in a different direction. While driving back from a store up in Muskegon, an Oldie came on my radio; Dean Martin was singing "Memories Are Made of This". Then, when I sat down to write, I glanced at my last post and the picture of that '59 Oldsmobile caught my eye. I just had to switch gears. So, I hope you'll join me in enjoying a little walk down Memory Lane.

The late 40's and the 50's, when many of us were in our teens, are especially dear to me. Those were softer, gentler times. Time moved more slowly, it seemed. There was a sort of grace to our lifestyle. It was, by most counts, a more innocent time, possessing a certain naivete'. I'm hoping that some of the things I'm going to share with you now, will take you back for a few moments, and regenerate some of those old wonderful emotions.

Remember Flexible Flyers ? Remember "Belly-Floppin'"? You'd hold the sled in both hands, run a few steps and flop on your belly on top of the sled, and away you'd go, down the hill. Great fun, unless you hadn't cleaned the rust off the runners. In that case, you'd flop and stop and do a full face plant. You could get the same effect if you weren't careful to keep the tow rope curled up nicely on top of the sled, and it slid under the runners.


Actually, the only kids that had Flexible Flyers were the ones whose parents were a little better off than we were. The Flyers were the Cadillacs of the sled world, and you could steer them with the handle bars. The handle bars on our cheaper sleds didn't turn, so you had to steer by dragging your feet in the snow; drag your left foot for a left turn, and your right foot for a right turn. I can't tell you how many pairs of 4-Buckle Arctics I ruined steering my old sled. Steering with your feet wreaked havoc on the buckles. My Dad would tie the buckles back on with binder twine, until I was down to the last buckle, then he'd be forced to buy me another pair. I never thought to try and reason with him that if he'd just get me a Flexible Flyer, he'd probably save more than the difference in the price of the sled by not having to replace boots.


Those Pre-TV years were great. Kids spent a lot more time outdoors. Even after TV's were more commonplace, there still wasn't a lot of afternoon programming for kids, so we'd be out until supper. (When did supper change to dinner?) But, after supper, the old upright Zenith was king. The family would gather round to "watch" the Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Superman, Our Miss Brooks, Henry Aldrich, Fibber McGee and Molly, Baby Snooks, Beulah, Red Skelton and a host of other great shows, each one of us with our own images of the characters in our heads. Occasionally, if Dad wasn't paying close attention, we'd catch an episode of The Creaking Door and then be too scared to go to bed.


But TV did happen, and so did Rock and Roll, and then, as we approached our teen years, the greatest invention of our lives was introduced: the 45 RPM record. We convinced ourselves that we couldn't do homework without music. Every Saturday, the ritual was to grab the bus for downtown, and head for Grinnell's or Kresge's, to the record counters, and into the listening booths. We greased back our hair into Ducktails, or DA's (we weren't allowed to say the DA word), or stiffened our Flattops with Butch Wax, and the Top 40 Charts were our constant companions. We were never far from a radio or record player, and thank goodness, somebody had enough smarts to invent transistor radios. They became our constant companions. Wolfman Jack and Dick Bionde from WLS in Chicago were absolute necessities.


Some genius found out that records could play at 33 1/3 RPM and came out with LP's, and another genius thought up Hi-Fi, and no gathering of three or four was ever complete unless somebody toted along their portable Hi-Fi. Of course, we had to have a mixture of both LP's and 45's, so another millionaire in the making dreamed up 45 RPM adapters, so we wouldn't wear ourselves out changing records after each 2 1/2 minute song. It's incredible that after all of those years of switching from Little Richard to Perry Como, then on to Chuck Berry followed by Doris Day, that our ears weren't totally destroyed, and our minds scrambled. Well, at least my ears survived.





We managed to get through it all. I for one, wouldn't have missed it for anything. It's so enjoyable to take a moment, now and then, and let those yesterdays take over from the pressures and problems of the todays, and let the memories that Dean sang about consume us. But, just for a moment.


Remember these ?





Cushman Scooter

Lambretta Scooter

Top Hits of 1956


Memories Are Made of This Dean Martin

Band of Gold Don Cherry

Memories Are Made of This Gail Storm

Tutti Frutti Little Richard

See You Later Alligator Bill Haley and His Comets

Great Pretender The Platters

Why Do Fools Fall in Love Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers

Rock and Roll Waltz Kay Starr

Lisbon Antigua Nelson Riddle

Poor People of Paris Les Baxter

No, Not Much The Four Lads

I'll Be Home Pat Boone

Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley

Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom) Perry Como

A Tear Fell Teresa Brewer

Blue Suede Shoes Carl Perkins

(You've Got) The Magic Touch The Platters

Moonglow and Theme From Picnic Morris Stoloff

Moonglow and Theme From Picnic George Cates

Be Bop A Lula Gene Vincent

I Walk The Line Johnny Cash

The Wayward Wind Gogi Grant

Ivory Tower Cathy Carr

Standing on the Corner Four Lads

On the Street Where You Live Vic Damone

I'm in Love Again Fats Domino

Born to Be With You Chordettes

More Perry Como

I Almost Lost My Mind Pat Boone

I Want You, I Need You, I Love You Elvis Presley

My Prayer Platters

Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog Elvis Presley

Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) Doris Day

Allegheny Moon Patti Page

The Flying Saucer (Pts 1 & 2) Buchanan and Goodman

Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2) Bill Doggett

Tonight You Belong To Me Patience and Prudence

Canadian Sunset Hugo Winterhalter and Eddie Heywood

Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love) Pat Boone

Just Walking in the Rain Johnnie Ray

Love Me Tender Elvis Presley

The Green Door Jim Lowe

True Love Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly

Singing the Blues Guy Mitchell

Long Tall Sally Little Richard

In the Still of the Night (I'll Remember) The Five Satins

Goodnight My Love Jesse Belvins (R&B)

Have yourself a wonderful day, because it's a wonderful day out there !

Later,

Don Lehr