Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Do You Know the Way to San Jose (1968)

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

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

 

1) In this song, someone moves to Los Angeles looking for "fame and fortune" but ends up with a job "pumping gas." Today, the majority of service stations are self serve, so very few people pump gas for a living. Can you think of another job that used to be common but doesn't exist anymore?

Going the way of the dinosaur are bank tellers.

2) The San Jose travel bureau advertises "300 days of sunshine" every year. How is the weather where you are today?

Beautiful… the days are so nice that I am delaying my return home until tomorrow or Monday.

 

3) Lyricist Hal David became fond of San Jose when he was stationed there while in the Navy. Tell us about a place you visited that you have affection for.

Ops... I forgot to answer this one. My answer was West Point chapel. (Updated @ 9AM)

 

 

4) Composer Burt Bacharach grew up and worked primarily in New York until his marriage to actress Angie Dickinson. She had to live in Los Angeles for her career, so he relocated and remained a Californian for the rest of his life. Where do you feel most at home? (It doesn't have to be a city. It could be your favorite chair.)

Well I lived in the same town for over seventy years! So I guess I’m a homebody.

5) Dionne Warwick thinks this week's song is "dumb." She won her first Grammy for "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and, decades later, still sings it in concert, but she has not changed her opinion of the song. What is something everyone else seems to like but you just don't get?

Sadly it is Trump. I do not get why anyone likes him. A liar, a womanlier, an adulterer, a crook, a convicted felon, and he is certainly not a roll model for children

6) Now in her 80s, with more than 60 years in show business, Dionne still enjoys performing. She told a reporter that she loves looking out into the audience and seeing an arm go around a shoulder, or a couple begin holding hands, when they hear her sing "their song." What song reminds you of a special romance?

Well it was “Rain Drops Kepp Fallen on My Head”

7) In 1968, when this song was popular, The Doris Day Show premiered. The show was, initially, a surprise to its star. Her manager/husband died suddenly without telling her he had committed her to a weekly sitcom. She was not pleased but honored the contract. Think of the last time you were surprised. Was it a happy or sad surprise?

It was a bad surprise!

8) According to the Social Security Administration, the most popular baby names of 1968 were Lisa and Michael. Are there any Lisas or Michaels in your life?

Yes, I know a number of people with those names.

9) Random question: What are you looking forward to this week?

Going home and closing up the cottage for the season. The 2025 season will go into the book.

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I am slowly getting out of my funk, I've been out with my camera...