Saturday 9: Cadillac Ranch

Saturday 9: Cadillac Ranch (1981)

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

1) In this song, Bruce Springsteen sings about taking his father and his aunt to see The Cadillac Ranch. Have you recently taken a road trip? If yes, where did you go?  I haven't been anywhere different.  I go to my mom's house on Fridays to pick up her mail and I go visit her at the assisted living facility.  The summer isn't over though.  We will see. 

2) The Cadillac Ranch is real. It's an outdoor art installation in Amarillo, TX. Tell us about a statue, mural, or other piece of outdoor art in your community.   I live in a small town.  There are none.  Springfield and Branson would be the closest to find these things.

3) Not only is Bruce singing about a real place, he mentions three real people. The first is "James Dean in his Mercury 49." That refers to the 1949 Mercury driven by James Dean in his first starring role, Rebel Without a Cause. Though he remains a legendary star, Dean made only three movies before his death at age 24. Have you seen any of his films?   I saw Rebel Without a Cause.

4) The second is "Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Caroline." Junior Johnson was a folk hero, famous as a NASCAR driver and notorious for running moonshine through North Carolina. He was the inspiration for "Midnite Moon," an animated old Ford in the 2017 Disney movie Cars 3. What Disney movie did you enjoy when you were growing up?  Beauty and the Beast...Cars was mentioned above.  We live close to Route 66 (Springfield) and we drove that to Joplin one day with Josh.  That was fun.  I would do it again, but go more north toward St. Louis.

5) The third man Bruce sings about is "Burt Reynolds and his black Trans Am." This is a reference to Burt's biggest hit, 1977's Smokey and the Bandit. Burt also had success as a restaurateur. He co-owned Burt and Jack's, a popular steakhouse at Port Everglades, right on the water. Tell us about a restaurant that offered both good food and a memorable view. We do not travel much, but when we visited Orange Beach, AL, we ate at Lulu's in Gulf Shores, which had a nice Gulf view and served seafood.  This is about where we sat, so by the water.

6) For decades, Cadillac was the gold standard of luxury. For example, an eatery referred to as "the Cadillac of restaurants" would be best or most prestigious. Think about your neighborhood. Tell us about a restaurant, hotel or business that is "the Cadillac" of your community.  Not much here, but I will say Dollar General for me.  We have a restaurant just down the road from us called the Double E (we live off a road called EE HWY and we live near a bar called Wacky Jacks.  There are some other things here, but those are probably the most visited besides the gas station.  There is not a big item here.  If you travel to Springfield, you will find the original Bass Pro Shop and if you go toward Branson you will find Silver Dollar City, the lakes and music shows.  It is quiet where I live.  Here is a picture of Wacky Jacks.  I do not drink, but they have good food.

7) Since he's been singing about America and cars for decades, it should come as no surprise that Bruce Springsteen has a collection of classic American cars. For the cover of his autobiography he chose a photo of himself leaning on his favorite, a 1960 Corvette convertible. Think about your favorite photo of yourself. What are you doing?  My favorite pictures are from Orange Beach, one of Josh and I on the dolphin tour and some at Lulu's.  There is another one taken at the top of the Pensacola Lighthouse. This picture is Josh and I on the dolphin tour.

8) In 1981, when Bruce released this recording, Dolly Parton had a hit with "9 to 5." What's your favorite Dolly Parton song?  I love most of her songs, but I will say I Will Always Love you and her version.

9) Random question: When did you last DIY and fix something around your home or yard?  It has been a while, Karl typically fixes things, but every now and then I fix something.