Saturday 9

Saturday 9: I Get Around (1964)

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

1) 60 years ago this month, the Beach Boys were singing that having a cool car and helped them get girls. In your teen years, what did you drive? I was barely still in my teens when my family decided I'd get over my aversion to driving if I had my own car. I was given a massive old Impala. I hated it because every time it rained the car would cut out at stop signs and stoplights. I'd have to restart it with all the other drivers honking at me. (Where were all these people going in such a hurry anyway?) My dad would insist there was nothing wrong with the car. OK, then, it's me. I'm not only clumsy with steering, I can't figure out how to operate a car. I gave up. The bus was just easier. I still don't drive.

2) They are searching for a new place to party. This weekend, will you be visiting any bars, theaters or restaurants? Restaurants for sure. I have nothing defrosted so there will be few home-cooked meals this weekend.

3) When Brian Wilson was forming the group, he turned to his friend Al Jardine, his brothers Dennis and Carl, and his cousin, Mike Love. Though most of their songs were about cars, beaches and surf, only one of those founding members was a surfer: Dennis. Do you enjoy the beach? Are you good on a surfboard? I'm not a big beach girl, though I like to swim in pools, and I can't imagine myself on a surfboard.

4) They were originally from Hawthorne, California. Hawthorne was the early childhood home of Marilyn Monroe. Since Marilyn was one of the most iconic women of the 20th century, we know you recognize her image. Have you seen any of her movies? I've seen most of them. Just last night I re-watched part of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

5) "I Get Around" is included in Endless Summer, the greatest hits compilation released in 1974. Influential music critic Robert Christgau said Endless Summer should be part of any basic record library. What's one of your favorite CDs? This is one of my go-tos. Jann Arden's cover of "You Don't Know Me" is a highlight.

Let's look at the summer of 1964.

6) The #1 film of the summer of 1964 was Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. Have you seen it? Only about a gazillion times. It truly is practically perfect in every way.

7) President Lyndon Johnson accepted the Democratic party's nomination at the August 1964 convention in Atlantic City, NJ. Atlantic City is known for casinos and gambling. Do you often play the lottery, bingo, or any other game of chance? I buy Illinois State Lottery tickets at least once/month.

8) Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was still a baby in the summer of 1964. What was in your most recent Amazon delivery? I'm awaiting my fave Body Shop moisturizer. I always bought it "buy 2, get 1 free" and realized I was down to my last container early in March. Instead of ordering it then and there, like I would have when I was working full-time, I decided to wait a couple weeks until I'd saved a little more discretionary income. Well, hell! By the time I had the money in late March, The Body Shop filed for bankruptcy and shut down their website! I discovered a "Body Shop Store" on Amazon but shipping takes for freaking ever! That's what I get for trying to be sensible with money.

Get here already!

9) Another little one born in '64 is Mariska Hargitay. The star of Law & Order: SVU is the daughter of a well-known movie star. Without looking it up, do you know who her mother was? Jayne Mansfield. I don't believe I've ever seen any of her movies, but she was on the game shows -- Password, To Tell the Truth -- when I was a little girl.