Saturday 9: Turn Me Loose

Saturday 9: Turn Me Loose (1959)

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

1) In this song, Fabian sings he has change in his pocket. Every evening, Sam puts her change in the piggy bank on her kitchen counter. Do you do anything special with your coins? Or do they just jingle/jangle in your wallet or pocket until you spend them?

A. We collect them. I have a little fireman bear who is a bank, and we put the coins in there. When he is full we take them to the bank and deposit them in the savings account I have set aside for my next vehicle.

2) Fabian got his start because his neighbor in Philadelphia owned a record label and thought 14-year-old Fabian had the looks to be a teen idol. Tell us about a time recently when you were in the right place at the right time.

A. Well, I was along for the ride. My husband and I took a trip back in the summer to Richmond, which is about a 2.5 hour drive. Along the way we passed this tractor for sale, and it was exactly what my husband wanted. It was barely used - less than 6 hours on it, which is nothing on a tractor (that's like getting a new car with 22 miles on it because it's been test-driven on the highway). It was also about $15,000 less than a new one. So we bought it then and there. Well, we had to go to the bank and stuff, but basically we made the deal that day.

3) His record label paid Fabian $30 week to study singing after school. What jobs/chores did you have when you were in high school? Did they prepare you for your eventual career?

A. I was in a rock and roll band, I baby sat, and I worked for my father in his company occasionally. None of them prepared me for the rest of my life, really. I stopped playing music except for myself, I never had children, and I hate office work.

4) In 1959 he appeared on the cover of now-defunct magazines like Teen Screen and Dig. Who and what did you read about when you were a teenager?

A. I read my mother's magazines, like True Story and Reader's Digest. I don't recall reading the teen magazines much.

5) In the 1960s he moved from singing to acting. In 1965 he appeared in Ten Little Indians, a screen adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery. Have you ever read an Agatha Christie book?

A. Yes, I had to read several for one of my masters' courses at college.

6) In 1973, in an attempt to jumpstart his career, he appeared nude in Playgirl magazine. By the time it hit the newsstands, he regretted it.  Tell us about a time you were very embarrassed.

A. When I discovered that someone who was supposedly cleaning my house wasn't. I did not find this out until I hired a new person, who pointed out to me this massive mound of dust and cobwebs behind the TV. I like my house to be clean and neat, and this was very embarrassing for me. This has been some years ago.

7) In 1959, when this song was popular, most women wore nylons on a daily basis and the average price per pair was $1. What socks or leg wear -- if any -- do you have on right now?

A. I have on some Hanes crew socks. They were cheap and frankly I do not like them.

8) 1959 also saw the premiere of The Twilight Zone on CBS. 58 years later, you can still see the show in reruns. Are you a fan?

A. I am. I stay up late sometimes to watch it on METV. Some of those episodes stay with you for a very long time.

9) Random Question: While we're talking about TV . . . Sam finds it disturbing that her brother claims he's seen every episode of Bad Blood, a show devoted to family members who have murdered their relatives. Do you enjoy "true crime" reality shows?

A. No, I do not enjoy them and I generally refuse to watch them. Isn't it bad enough just turning on the news in the morning?

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