Saturday 9: Beyond the Sea

Saturday 9: Beyond the Sea (1959)

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

1) This song mentions golden sands. When do you think you'll next visit the beach?

A. It will be at least a year, maybe two. Maybe never. We've started vacationing elsewhere as we've aged.

2) Shortly after "Beyond the Sea" hit the charts, Bobby Darin  met and married movie sweetheart Sandra Dee. Her squeaky-clean image is spoofed in the song, "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee," from Grease. Can you name another song from Grease?

A. Hopelessly Devoted to You. And now that song is stuck in my head.

3) Years earlier, Bobby had an ill-fated romance with singer Connie Francis. According to Ms. Francis, Darin wanted to marry her, but her father forbade it. Have you ever had a relationship that your parents disapproved of?

A. I suspect I was the relationship that other parents disapproved of, actually. At least as far as some of my friends were concerned.

4) Bobby was a Renaissance man: Grammy-winning singer, Oscar-nominated actor, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and an excellent chess player. Are you good at chess?

A. I haven't played chess in a very long time, so I don't know.

5) A car buff, he drove a 1960 custom car that was so unique and spectacular it's now in a Detroit museum. The bright red paint was mixed with ground diamonds to ensure that it sparkled in the sun. Each of the four bucket seats had its own ac/heat control and radio speaker. The steering wheel was slightly squared for easier handling. What features would your dream car have?

A. I don't have a dream car. My Camry, however, could use a little more storage space up front and all of that Blue Tooth crap and things that hook into your cell phone could vanish and I'd never miss it.

6) Beyond the Sea is also the name of the 2004 screen biography in which Kevin Spacey played Bobby Darin. Who would you choose to play you in the story of your life?

A. Kathy Bates for now, Drew Barrymore when I was in my 30s. Maise Williams as a teenager.

7) When he was just 8 years old, Bobby Darin was stricken with rheumatic fever, and the disease left him with a dangerously weakened heart. Did you spend much time in the hospital when you were a kid?

A. I had a mole on my chest surgically removed when I was 5 years old. At that time they used ether to put you under. The scar the surgery left is huge - when I was in middle school I used to tell my teachers I'd had heart surgery to get out of gym class when I didn't feel well. If they didn't believe me, I'd just pull up my shirt and show them this big scar. Terrible, wasn't I?

8) In 1959, when "Beyond the Sea" was popular, Alaska became our 49th state. What comes to mind when you think of Alaska?

A. Bears.

9) In 1959, Conair introduced the first hair dryer developed for home use. Is there a hair dryer in your bathroom right now?

A. Of course.

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