Saturday 9: Frankie and Johnny

Saturday 9: Frankie and Johnny (1966)

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

1) When this record was initially released in 1966, it never cracked the Top 20. Critics were harsh, saying that Elvis had not kept up the times. How about you? Do you consider yourself up-to-date on today's music?

A. Not really. I am familiar with some of the adult top hits and singers like Adele, Pink, and Lady Gaga, but I tend to listen to songs from the 1970s and 1980s or by artists I have grown fond of.

2) The song is about a woman named Frankie and Johnny, the man who does her wrong. Who is the most recent person to do you wrong? (It doesn't have to be in romance; it could be the person who cut in front of you in line at the supermarket.)

A. Can I say the entire management at my local Kroger? They are understaffed. They have no one ensuring anything is wiped down. They do not enforce the mask policy even though it's a mandate from Virginia's governor. When I use the pickup I don't get half of what I ordered. I am terrified to go into that store so I go as infrequently as I possibly can.

3) Elvis sings that Johnny cheated with "a chick named Nellie Bly." The real Nellie was an estimable woman, a pioneering 19th century journalist. Can you think of another song that mentions a real person?

A. I've got the moves like Jagger. Isn't that about Mick Jagger? No? How about Uptown Funk, then? It starts out "This hit, that ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold."

 
4) This song was recorded for a movie by the same name. Elvis played a riverboat gambler. When did you last play a game of chance?

A. The last time I went into Kroger, I risked my life. Otherwise, it was probably Christmas when someone gave me lottery scratchers for a present.

5) Actor Harry Morgan had a supporting role in the movie. He's remembered as Officer Gannon on Dragnet and Col. Potter on M*A*S*H. Gannon was a good cop but could be particular about his food and surroundings. As a career soldier, Potter didn't mind roughing it every now and again. Which character are you more like: fussy Gannon or outdoorsy Potter?

A. Fussy Gannon. I'm a little princess and I know it.

6) Elvis' leading lady was Donna Douglas. She filmed her part during her summer hiatus from TV's The Beverly Hillbillies. Have you ever had a summer job?

A. Yes, when I was a teenager, I worked summers for my father's company. I mostly filed papers and answered the phone, and I hated every minute of it.

7) Though not remembered as an actor, Elvis was a bona fide movie star. In 1966, he was listed (with Paul Newman, Sean Connery, John Wayne and Richard Burton) as one of the world's biggest box office draws. Who starred in the last movie you watched?

A. Sandra Bullock. I watched part of Ocean's 8.

8) In 1966, Lauren Bacall appeared on the cover of Time with the headline: "The Pleasures and Perils of Middle Age." She was 41 years old and starring in a hit Broadway play. In the article, she explained that in middle age, she had come to understand that "character and a sense of humor are the two things that will carry you through." Tell us about something you understand better or appreciate more today than you did when you were young.

A. I understand that life is nothing like The Brady Bunch.

9) Random question: Have you checked out Bud and Mimi's cool new meme, Monday Madness?

A. Yes.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.  (#355 - I've been doing this for over 6.8 years. I didn't keep track when I first started this meme.)