Saturday 9: On and On

On and On (1977)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here. (Good song.)

1) This song describes the plight of "poor ol' Jimmy," who caught his girlfriend kissing someone else. Have you ever spied on a romantic partner?

A. No.

2) In this song, Stephen Bishop sings that he "smiles when he feels like dying." When did you recently put on a happy face, even though you really weren't all that happy?

A. Christmas.

3) Stephen Bishop always wanted to be a musician, and as a child he began playing the clarinet. Did you take lessons -- dance, art, music -- as a child? If yes, did you take them because you enjoyed them, or because your parents made you take them?

A. I took piano lessons and then took band lessons. I took them for both reasons. I enjoyed them sometimes but not always. The piano teacher and I (Hello Mrs. Arrington, you angel you) had a disagreement about what I learned. I wanted to learn contemporary music and she thought I should be learning classical music. She became so angry with me the day I told her I didn't want to learn that old stuff.

4) When he was 12, inspired by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, he switched to the guitar and began writing songs. Tell us about someone or something that influenced your career path.

A. My English professor at the community college, Maggie McDaniel, insisted I should go to Hollins College. She wasn't the only one, but hers was the voice I actually heard. So I enrolled in the college's adult studies department and after 8 long, illness-filled years, I received my bachelor's degree. Then later I went back and obtained my masters in 2012.

5) Stephen Bishop attended Will C. Crawford High School in San Diego. This school requires students complete 20 hours of community service every year. Tell us about an organization, cause or campaign you volunteered for, either as a student or an adult.

A. I served in the ladies auxiliary of the local fire department for a while. My husband was a volunteer there (and a paid firefighter in the city). We had to raise funds for new equipment every year and they did that with BBQ dinners. I sat for hours washing potatoes, cutting out bad spots on them, and then greasing them up and wrapping them in foil so they could be baked.

6) In 1977, when this song was popular, Seattle Slew won racing's Triple Crown. Sam's mother has always been afraid of horses. Is there an animal you're uncomfortable with?

A. I am allergic to most animals, so they make me uncomfortable because they make me ill. And I really do not like snakes.

7) Also in 1977, moviegoers waited in line for hours to see Star Wars. What's the longest line you waited in recently?

A. Probably one at the grocery store. I don't wait in lines except for that. There is very little I want to see, do, or eat that is worth standing in a line for, but I do have to buy groceries.

8) The mini-series Roots first aired in 1977. Today Americans are spending more time and money than ever to research ancestry. How far back can you trace your family tree?

A. My aunt has traced my maternal line back to the 1500s on Ancestry. I don't know how accurate that is. I have used primary sources to trace some lines back as far as the 1700s.

9) Random question: It's often said that nobody's perfect. How about you? What quality keeps you from being perfect?

A. Perfectionism.

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