Saturday 9: Cinderella Rockefella

Saturday 9: Cinderella Rockefella (1968)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a book that a friend wrote the title is The Enemy Within by William Brett, I gave it to my brother and he has started to read it.

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

1) This record and video were inspired by popular tunes of the 1920s. Looking over your lifetime, which decade produced more of your favorite songs?

Well I’m from the classic rock generation, the late sixties to the early seventies.

2) "Cinderella Rockefella" topped the charts in England, yet barely broke into the Billboard Hot 100 here in the States. Still, the number was known to American audiences, performed as a duet on variety shows like The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Tommy and Kate Smith), This Is Tom Jones (Cher and Tom) and The Dean Martin Show (Nancy Ames and Dean). Do you remember watching musical-comedy programs? Did you have a favorite?

I liked them all The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,  The Dean Martin Show, Rowan and Martin Laugh-In, and The Carol Burnett Show were also from my generation.

3) It was written by Mason Williams, a prolific composer and comedy writer, as well as a talented guitarist. He is best known for "Classical Gas," his 1968 instrumental. Do you enjoy instrumentals? Or does a piece of music need lyrics to become one of your favorites?

Yes.

I like both.

4) This week's featured artists, Esther & Abi Ofarim, were considered the Sonny & Cher of Europe. A married couple, they had hits in the 1960s in both the UK and Germany and were depicted in magazines as the perfect young husband and wife. Fans were disappointed when, in 1969, they quit performing together and divorced in 1970 after 12 years of marriage. Can you think of a couple you knew in real life whose split shocked you? Or can you usually see it coming?

Well almost all of the couples that I know haven’t been divorced.

5) Comparisons to Sonny & Cher are apt because, as with the Bonos, the wife's show business career fared better than the husband's, post-divorce. Esther's BBC specials were "appointment TV" in the UK during the 1970s. Today, with the advent of streaming and DVRs, viewers don't have to make sure they're in front of the screen when their favorite show airs. Tell us about the last show you watched. Was it live, streamed, on DVR or DVD/Blueray?

Live PBS's Death In Paradise.

6) She had a solo hit with Esther in Kinderland, a collection of children's songs. Can you recall the lyrics of a favorite song from childhood?  Where did you learn it (home, church, Scouts ...)?

No, that was a very long time ago and I don’t remember any of them.

But…

Saturday on the ferry over to Orient Point on Long Island, there was a toddler on the ferry as soon as the ferry pulled away form the dock the baby started waling with all the strange noise and rocking. Well the parents started playing “If You’re Happy And You Know It” for the entire hour and a half voyage but the baby stropped crying. I don’t know what was worst the endless song or if the baby kept crying.

Another but...

My cousin's recorded children CDs Snow Day...

7) Abi continued performing after the split, but more often worked behind the scenes as a record producer and music publisher. Would you say you have a good head for business?

A fair head for business but mainly as an engineer I didn’t need any business skills.

8) After they finished school, both Abi and Esther served in the Israeli Army, and Abi saw combat. Have you served in our military? Did you ever consider enlisting?

Are you kidding? It was the peak of the Vietnam war.

9) Random question: How many keys are on your key ring, and do you know what each one is for?

My brother’s house key, my house key, my cottage key, and my car FOB.

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!