Saturday 9

Saturday 9: For You (1963)

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

1) In this song, Rick Nelson tells us he'd give his girl the stars from sky or a string of pearls. Have you more recently given or received a gift? What was it? June 3 was the first birthday of my great niece, Violet. I sent her a package of gifts and got a pair of adorable photos in return. Violet didn't care much about the clothes, but she liked the board book and was so cute as she shared it with the family cat. It made her happy that her feline buddy likes to lie on it. (If you have a cat, you can imagine this scenario.)

2) By the time this record was released, Rick was already a show business veteran. He had been a regular on his family's sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, since it began airing on radio when he was just 8. Most of us weren't child performers but many of us had chores around the house. When you were young, did your parents give you an allowance? Yes, but I remember little about money in those days. It just wasn't a serious concern for me. Now when my allowance stopped and I had to get by on my babysitting money, THAT I remember!

3) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet moved to TV, where fans saw Rick grow into a teen who drove a 1932 Roadster. The car really belonged to Tony La Masa, who collected classic cars and rented them out to TV and movie producers. Have you ever earned or raised money with your hobby? No.

4) Paul McCartney has called Rick Nelson an "underrated singer who could really carry a song" and said Rick was one of his influences. Who do you believe you have influenced, professionally or personally? My twenty-something nephew. It's no accident that he's a progressive Democrat, a major Chicago Cub fan, and his favorite song is "Rosalita" by Bruce Springsteen. It quite humbling that he has paid so much attention to me. I consider myself fortunate that he still enjoys spending time with me.

 

5)  This week's song was already an oldie by the time Rick performed it. "For You" was recorded the first time by Casa Loma Orchestra in 1933. In those days, most records were 78 rpm discs, thick and usually only able to hold 3 to 5 minutes of sound per side. Most record companies stopped producing them in the 1950s. Have you ever seen a "78?" I'm not sure. I do remember that my early record players allowed me to play discs at three speeds: 33-45-78. It was fun to play records at 78 and hear everyone sound like Alvin and The Chipmunks.

 

 

6) The lyrics to "For You" were written by Al Dubin. After Al left college he supported himself as a singing waiter. That's really two jobs in one. Which would you do better at: singer or server? If those are my only two choices, I'm afraid I'll starve.

 

7) The music was written by Joe Burke, whose last hit song was "Rambling Rose," recorded in 1948 by Perry Como. Have you ever heard of Perry Como? Yes. He seemed quite irrelevant to me when I was a kid, but when my baby sister (born in 1966) was a toddler she saw him on commercials for his holiday special, and then on the show itself, and loved him so much she named her plush mouse Como. This cracked me up. As a pre-schooler, I believe she was Perry Como's youngest fan.


8) In 1963, when Ricky's recording was on the charts, the Zip Code was introduced. How many different Zips have you lived in? Four.

 
9) Random question: When you were in high school, were you taller or shorter than your classmates? Or were you the average height? I've always been one of the shortest. I was a shade under 5'2 when I reached my full height. I believe I'm barely over 5' now.