Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Chains (1962)

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

1) The song is about a woman who is in love with her boyfriend, but still attracted to someone else. Do you believe a woman can be in love with more than one person at a time? Yes. It's not wise, but it's possible and probably not unusual.

2) What about the male of the species? Do you believe a man can be in love with more than one person at a time? Yes.

3) This lyrics were by Gerry Goffin and the music by Carole King. Carole was a favorite guest of David Letterman's. When she appeared on his show, he often commented on how impressed he was by her firm handshake. She credited her memorable grip to time spent milking goats on her Idaho farm. Have you poured goat milk on your cereal? Eaten goat milk yogurt or cheese? Not that I can recall.

4) When it first came out, "Chains" was a favorite of 18-year-old George Harrison. It was at his recommendation that the Beatles added it to their early stage shows and even recorded it on their first album. When you were in high school, what was one of your favorite songs? I listened to this cut from Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player over and over (and over). I had a crush on my English teacher. He had the most divine head of black curls. I just Googled him -- he now only has a ring of white around a bald head.



5) In 1962, when this song was released, epic movies were popular on the big screen. The Longest Day was three hours long, and Lawrence of Arabia ran more than three hours and a half hours. Today's most popular movies are nowhere near that long. Do you think the average American has a shorter attention span today than he did in 1962? No. If our attention spans were short, we wouldn't be downloading and bingewatching entire seasons of shows. Instead, I think today's theater owners are more business savvy. Shorter movies mean more showtimes. More showtimes mean more tickets -- and Goobers and Twizzlers -- sold per day.

6) In 1962, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy went on a two-week goodwill tour of India and Pakistan. She received a ceremonial "welcome necklace" in India. Made without jewels or precious metals -- just beads, sequins and paper -- it was valued by the First Lady for its delicate appearance and craftsmanship, and today it's on display at the John F. Kennedy Library. Tell us about a piece of jewelry that means a great deal to you, and why. I often wear a charm like this one as a pendant. It's a recreation of one of the coins found on the Atocha, a Spanish ship that went down just off Key West in the 1600s. The charm is made from scrap silver that went down with the ship. Amazing to think of, isn't it? Metal that rested for hundreds of years at the bottom of the sea! 

The pendant means a lot to me because it reminds me of my favorite uncle, who loved Key West and collected Atocha coins -- he acquired one worth thousands of dollars -- and of my dear friends, Reg and Henry, who live in Key West today.

Click here for more about the Atocha

7) In Pakistan, Mrs. Kennedy made headlines by riding a camel. Have you ever ridden a horse, donkey, camel or elephant? I've ridden horses and once, while at the San Diego Zoo, I rode an elephant. An elephant has very coarse hair.

8) Also in 1962, the New York Newspaper Guild went on strike, so the nation's largest city went 114 days without a single daily paper. In 2018, how do you get your news? I read the paper on the train in the morning and I have cable news on throughout the day.

9) Random question -- Complete this sentence: Before I go to sleep, I always turn off the bathroom light.