Saturday 9: Linda

Saturday 9: Linda (1946)

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

1) In this song, Buddy Clark sings that when he can't sleep he doesn't count sheep, he enumerates Linda's charms. Did you sleep well last night?

A. Yes. I have to get up every night to take medication, so I seldom get through a night without that, but I sleep better than I did when I was younger.

2) In addition to singing with big bands, Buddy sang commercial jingles live on radio programs and was the voice of Carnation Milk. Can you think of a jingle that's stayed in your head?

A. This is a jingle for a local drugstore that for whatever reason I have always remembered. I can't find it online. I think it dates back to the 1970s. Anyway, it goes like this:

Evans Drugstore, Evans Drugstore, good prescription service. Intersection at Airport and Williamson Road. Delivery in the city, and in the county too! For drugs, cosmetics, school supplies, it's Evans Drugstore!

3) For "Linda," Buddy Clark performed with bandleader Ray Noble. Ray was classically trained at London's Royal Academy of Music, but much preferred big band music to that of Mozart, Beethoven or Chopin. When did you last listen to classical music?

A. It has been a while. Sometimes when I am writing something I ask Alexa for classical music, but not often.

4) Composer Jack Lawrence named this song after a particular little girl, the daughter of his lawyer, Lee Eastman. Without looking it up, do you know what became of Lee Eastman's daughter Linda?

A. I haven't a clue. I don't know who any of those people are. Ok, I looked her up, now I know who she was.

5) According to the Social Security Administration Linda was long one of the most popular names for American baby girls. It was #2 in the 1940s and 1950s (second only to Mary). By the 1960s it slipped to #7 and by the 1970s it fell to #68. Are there many Lindas in your life?

A. Not many. There are some Lindas who are friends with me on Facebook, but I don't know of anyone named Linda that I hang out with.

6) 1946, the year this record was released, is regarded as the first year of the Baby Boom, which lasted until 1964. Are you from The Silent Generation or are you Boomer, a Gen-Xer, a Gen-Yer, or a Millennial?

A. According to this, I am a Boomer. I feel better with the "Generation Jones" term given to people born between 1954 and 1965. I have never related much to Boomers as I was born at the tail end of the years used for that. I actually relate more to Gen-Xers.

7) In the summer of '46, hats were a standard part of any woman's outfit. Hats for day, hats for evening, hats for rainy days . . . The 1946 Sears Spring-Summer catalog devoted nine pages to women's hats. Do you own many hats? If yes, for what occasions do you wear them?

A. I have a few baseball caps and one railroad hat that my brother gave me, but I don't wear hats much anymore. I used to wear them all the time, but I think that was mostly because my mother hated them.

8) Also in 1946, the Mensa Society was created. The only qualification to join was an IQ in the top 98th percentile. Do you know your IQ?

A. I do not. I just took this test and it says I am smarter than 70% of the other people who have taken the test. I scored above average on every aspect of the test. It gives me an IQ score of 108, but I have no idea how accurate that is. There's a lot more to knowing stuff than being able to determine which number goes where or whatever.

9) Random question: Tell us something you admire about your best friend.

A. My best friend is my husband. He is loyal, steady, trustworthy, honorable, smart, and friendly. He's also a hard worker. I admire him for staying true to himself most of the time - he seldom slips. My closest female friend is an artist, and I greatly admire her ability to paint and draw, among other things.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.