1)
This week's song is a spooky one about a young man who breaks into the
bedroom of a troubled girl named Angie. Their encounter doesn't go well
and he's never seen again. Though there's been gossip, no one knows for
sure what happened to him. Does your town have any scary legends that
have been passed down through the decades? Every kid in Chicagoland knows about Resurrection Mary. There are many versions of the story, but this is the one I always heard. It's late at night. You're driving past Resurrection Cemetery. A teenage girl appears by the side of the road. Even though it's dark, you can't miss her because she has white blonde hair and she's wearing a white party dress. It can't be safe for her out here alone so you stop, roll down your window and offer her a ride. She wordlessly shakes her head. You roll up the window and pull away but somehow she suddenly appears in front of your car! You can't stop in time and are sickened by the awful thud when you hit her. You jump out of the car to see if you can help her but ... there's no one there! Yes, you just (literally) ran into Resurrection Mary. The "real Mary" (if there was one) attended her high school prom in the 1930s. Her boyfriend "got fresh" and she ran out of the ballroom to hitch a ride home. She was killed by a hit-and-run driver and buried at Resurrection, where she haunts drivers to this day. BOO!
2)
Songwriter Alan O'Day said he drew upon aspects of his own childhood to
come up with "Angie Baby." He was an only child who often stayed home
sick from school, with only Top 40 radio for company. What do you recall
about when you think about sick days as a kid? My mom was big on checking my tissues to see the color of my snots. I thought it was gross, but I get it now. Green, yellow, clear, bloody ... the residue on my Kleenex were clues as to how I was doing. Poor moms. They check toilet bowls and examine tissues and do all kinds of other icky things as they care for us.
3)
Helen Reddy said she enjoyed hearing what her fans thought happened in
"Angie Baby." Can you think of another song that is open to
interpretation? Exactly what was thrown into the muddy waters off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
4)
When Helen and her husband/manager Jeff Wald heard "Angie Baby" the
first time, they immediately agreed she should record it. She went into
the studio that afternoon and in less than 10 days, disc jockeys were
playing it and "Angie Baby" became an international hit. When were you glad you acted on impulse? I'm going to see Sir Paul next month. As soon as I heard he was going to end his international tour here in Chicago right around my birthday, I just acted on emotion and decided I was going. He's 83 now. He's not going to keep doing this forever. The fact that it's the last stop of his world tour and two days after my birthday ... well if that's not a sign from the universe I was meant to go, I don't what is. It took me forever, watching the website and waiting for Ticketmaster to give me a chance to buy a seat. I didn't know what it was going to cost and I didn't care because I would find the money somewhere (OK, so now my kitchen remodel will be a new faucet) and I am so glad I did it.
Questions inspired by Halloween ....
6) In 2024, more Americans than ever dressed their dogs up for Halloween. Have you ever taken your pup with you trick-or-treating? Nope.
7)
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the award for highest number
of jack-o-lanterns in one place went to Keene, NH, where in 2013 there
were 30,581. Did you carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year? Nope.
9) Some Elvis fans insist his ghost hovers in the trees over Graceland. Have you ever seen a ghost? Nope. I don't believe in ghosts. But if I'm wrong, I hope my girl JBKO haunts a certain ballroom.
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| Graphic from the JFK Library |
