Saturday 9: Rollin' Stone

 

Rollin' Stone

Saturday 9: Rollin' Stone (1958)

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

 

1) The title comes from the proverb, "a rolling stone gathers no moss." What do you suppose that proverb is trying to teach us?  That if we move all of the time we will not have lasting relationships with friends/family or jobs.  We would have less responsibilities or duties because we are always moving on.  I feel like I was a bit like this for a short time after college.  I moved a lot and lived a carefree life.  It was a good experience for me as a young person, but I would not want to live like that now.

 

2) The lyrics warn us not to be lazy stay-at-homes but to go out and learn about the world around us. Tell us about a place you haven't visited yet but would like to.  I would love to go to Hawaii, London, France.  So many places.  I haven't been hardly anywhere.

 

3) Karen and Cubby were Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club, a TV show which ran from 1955 to 1959. Then, from 1962 to 1967, local TV stations reran it in syndication. In 1989, there was a Mickey Mouse Club reboot, which launched the careers of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara. So The Mickey Mouse Club has entertained generations of kids. What shows did you enjoy as a child?  The Smurfs, Looney Toons, The Wonderful World of Disney.  Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers.

 

4) Karen was Karen Pendleton, among the youngest of the original Mousketeers. Producers discovered her at a local dancing school. Have you ever taken dance lessons?  Unfortunately, no.

5) When The Mickey Mouse Club ended, Karen left show business. She went to public school, graduated, got married, and had a daughter. When she was in her 30s, she was involved in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Still, she went back to college, earning first her bachelor's and then Master's degrees in psychology. Have you considered continuing your education? What subject would you pursue?  I have considered that, but I am close to retirement.  I would just get my master's in education.

 

6) Cubby is Cubby O'Brien, a drum prodigy who began playing professionally when he was just 8 years old. After the Mickey Mouse Club he went on to The Lawerence Welk Show. As he entered his teens, he prioritized school over TV. He later returned to television as musician on The Carol Burnett Show. He also performed in concert behind The Carpenters. Do you have a favorite Carpenters song?  I like Rainy Days and Mondays, but I sang "We've Only Just Begun" as a duet with a friend in high school.  It was a goodbye to high school.

 

7) In 1958, when kids were watching the original Mickey Mouse Club during the day, adults were watching Westerns. The most popular TV shows of that year included Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and The Rifleman. Have you ever fantasized about life as a cowboy/cowgirl?  not really

 

8) Also in 1958, Dwight Eisenhower became the first President to appear on color TV. Not many Americans saw him in color, though. It wasn't until 1972 that color TVs outsold black-and-white sets. Did you ever own a black-and-white TV?  I have never personally owned a b&w tv, but my parents were given a 2nd tv that they kept in a spare bedroom when I was young.  I would watch it sometimes on the weekend.  I was always wondering what color things were though.  We had a color tv as our main tv.

 

9) Random question -- Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try?  Yes, I did.