Saturday 9: Gloria

Saturday 9: Gloria (1982)

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

(I have always loved this song. Thanks, Gal!)

 

1) In this song, Laura Branigan is advising her friend to take it a bit slower in her pursuit of a particular man. Did you more recently give or receive advice?

A. A little of both. I was out shopping with a friend, and we were both giving and receiving advice from one another.

 

2) Gloria seems determined to rush ahead, regardless of the consequences. Do you consider yourself a big risk taker?

A. I used to be, but I am no longer. When I was younger, it didn't matter what I had to do to get the story for the newspaper - ride in a hot air balloon, fly in a single engine airplane, fall down an embankment, risk arrest from a crazy sheriff - I did it. But now I don't do those things.

 

3) Laura herself seemed to be impulsive in love. She met a lawyer at a party in 1978 and they married months later. It worked out, though. They were married for almost 20 years, until his death. Thinking of your circle of friends, has someone more recently been married, divorced, or widowed?

A. I know several people who have been widowed recently.

4) "Gloria" was originally recorded in 1979 by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi. His version was a Top Ten hit in Switzerland, Belgium and Germany. Have you ever visited any of those countries?

A. I have not visited any of those countries.

5) In 2018, decades after its initial release, this recording of "Gloria" enjoyed a surge in popularity. The St. Louis Blues used it as their victory song whenever they won a hockey game at home. What's the most recent sporting event you attended?

A. It would have been one of my nephews' high school ball games, which would have been about 15 years ago now.

6) After Laura Branigan died of a cerebral aneurysm at the age of 52, her high school established a scholarship in her honor. When did you most recently return to your old high school, and what was the reason?

A. I went back to my old high school in 2019, when the school was celebrating its 50th birthday. They had displays set up to show how the school looked, etc. My husband and I both attended the same school and so we went for a little reminiscing.

 

7) In 1982, when this song was popular, the Sears catalog sold an at-home blood pressure monitor that ran on four C-batteries and sold for $190 (that's $600 in today's dollars). Amazon's current best-selling monitor is cheaper ($40) and smaller, running on AAA batteries. Is high blood pressure a concern of yours?

A. Yes. I have hypertension, but it is controlled with medication.

 

8) Also in 1982, The Compleat Beatles, a two-hour documentary about The Fab Four was released to good reviews. Do you enjoy documentaries?

A. I like some of them, yes. I don't like ones that show violence. Music documentaries are good. I like the Ken Burns documentaries on PBS, too.

9) Random question: Which of these chores to you enjoy the least: doing the dishes or the laundry?

A. Doing the dishes. I don't mind the laundry at all, but I hate doing the dishes. 

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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.  (#510)