Saturday 9: Without You

Sam’s Saturday 9: Without You (1972)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…
I'm driving home this morning so I will be replying to your posts in the afternoon.

1) Nilsson sings that he can't forget this evening. Did anything happen this evening (or last night, if you're answering during the day) that you expect you'll recall for a long time?

Nope, just another typically boring night.

2) In the 1960s, he worked in a very "un-rock-star" job: computer programmer in a bank. Looking over your career, have you more often worked in or out of an office setting?

I worked in a factory most of my life, except for a couple of years when I was a junior engineer.

3) He fibbed to get the job, telling the bank he'd graduated from high school when in reality, he was a drop out. Have you ever fudged a fact on your resume?

Nope… that is ground for an immediate dismissal.

4) The bank found out the truth but was so pleased with Nilsson's personality and performance they kept him on. Tell us about a friend or loved one's misbehavior that you have overlooked.

A couple of friends are conservatives.

5) Before finding success as a singer, Nilsson was a songwriter. He composed "Cuddly Toy," recorded by the Monkees. Do you have a favorite Monkees song?

I think number one is "Pleasant Valley Sunday" followed by "Last Train to Clarksville" and honorable mention is "Daydream Believer."

6) In 1976 Nilsson married Una O'Keeffe. They met in a New York restaurant, where she was a waitress. He asked her about her accent -- she was from Dublin -- and a romance ensued. While the waitress and the rock star seemed like an unlikely couple, they remained together until his death in 1994 and had six children. Do you know how your parents (or grandparents) met?

I know exactly how they meet… I read it in my mother’s diary. My father went to work in a land surveyor office how they just hired a nice looking college man for a summer job.

7) Nilsson was a night owl and found he felt most creative late at night, right before he fell asleep. When are you at your best: morning, noon or night?

Around 4 or 5 in the morning.

8) In 1972, the year "Without You" was a hit, Alice Clark Browne made history as the first African American aerialist to perform with Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus. Did you ever attend the circus?

Yes. But you have to remember Connecticut has some of the strictest laws in the country for circus tents due to the circle fire, "The Day that the Clowns Cried."

Where I have my car serviced is right by the winter quarters for the Coleman Brothers circus and in high school a friend’s parents had high wire act and they practiced in their backyard.

9) Random question -- Think about last week. Would you prefer this week to be more exciting, or more boring?

Well it all depends… if like “The World According to Garp” where the plan flies into the house? No thanks. If you mean a marching band goes by my house, than maybe.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!