Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

The “Queen of Disco” after years of touring the U.S. and Europe now embarks on a new second act: teaching.

Gloria Gaynor, singer, actress and author is back in school studying psychology and hopes to one day open a Los Angeles healing and recreational center. Her goal to teach teens and parents life skills. “I want to teach them how to survive.”

And who better - her famous chart-topping, disco song, “I Will Survive”, is still played in nightclubs and radio. Its rated 97 on Billboard’s “Greatest Songs of All Times” with over 14 million copies sold and earned her a Grammy Award.

Gloria’s life long passion for song roots back to her early childhood where she was one of six children growing up in a tiny Newark, NJ flat.
Listening to the radio with dreams of becoming a singer as great as Nat King Cole or Sarah Vaughn.
Honing her skill, she joined school choirs and glee clubs. After high school, singing with house bands in local bars and clubs.'
Soon thereafter, on the road and auditions.
Columbia Record label signed her and she recorded her 1975 first disco hit, “Never Can Say Goodbye”.
The National Association of Discotheque Disc Jockeys crowned her disco queen in 1976.

Two years later Gloria took a serious spill on stage that left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Emergency surgery, months in a half body brace, and while still in recovery, Gloria records “I Will Survive”.
She is not surprised by the song’s staying power all these years - it just magnifies her own personal belief with its timeless lyrics.

As many OGR’ers know, like Gloria, we can not only fulfill our childhood dreams but then go on to reinvent ourselves too.

Ciao for Now!! Winnie

IDES OF MARCH

Did those 4 unassuming young boys in a Berwyn, IL (just outside of Chicago) Shopping Center lot ever think that after nearly 46 years, they would still be together?

Originally introduced as the Shon Dels they quickly became known as The Ides of March.
The winning combination: start with four high school boys, a blue collar suburb, a basement band , a great mix of music and talent. Their only goal, just impress the girls.

Now, the proof. Forty-six years later, the Ides of March “hit the street permanently“.

Berwyn renamed Home Street.
Jim Peterik recalls: “ I used to walk down that very street to school. I never thought in a million years that it would one day be named “The Ides of March Way”.


Plus all of the original members are still active in the band. Jim Peterik, Mike Borch, Bob Bergland, Larry Millas and four others added over the years (Chuck Soumar, John Larson, Scott May and Dave Stahlberg) equal the talent behind some great, and very recognizable hits: “L.A. Goodbye”, “Vehicle” and “You Wouldn’t Listen”.

Peterik took his talent one step further and co-wrote another memorable hit for Sylvester Stallone and the film “Rocky III”, “Eye of the Tiger”, while he was in the band Survivor, which he co-founded.

One thing for sure, good music as well as good bands stand the test of time and are always on air at Our Generation Radio. As they say, Don’t touch that dial!

Ciao for Now, Winnie!!

George Weiss

Famous for co-writing numerous songs including “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, “What A Wonderful World”, and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. ….George David Weiss, 89, has died.

Radio, TV and even Broadway were his media and audiences loved his music, including these recorded by famous singers.....
"Lullaby of Birdland" Ella Fitzgerald
" Surrender” Perry Como
“Oh! What It Seemed to Be”,Frank Sinatra
“Confess” Patti Page
“Wheel of Fortune” Kay Starr
“That Sunday, That Summer” Nat King Cole

Perhaps the most legendary story revolves around “Cant Help Falling In Love” written for Elvis’ movie “Blue Hawaii” when new songs were being sought for the film.

Weiss recalled how it happened. Presley’s publishers “Passed out scripts to the 15-20 songwriters and said ‘If you get into the picture, good, if you don’t to damn bad’.

When they heard “Can’t Help Falling in Love” there was a 20 second silence and then one of them said, slowly, “That’s nice, but we want another ‘Hound Dog’. Just proves that even the experts can be wrong.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” was such a huge hit for Elvis that it became the trademark closing song for many of his stage performances. I can attest to that. I was privileged to see one of his last live performances a few weeks before he died. He truly captured the heart of every female in the audience.

Weiss is also credited with the 1961 song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and The Tokens took it to No. 1.

Odd that a song based on a 1939 South African song “Mbude” (Zulu for lion)would resurrect years later. Weiss began thinking about it and came up with the notion that the lion was sleeping and nobody had to worry, so he incorporated that chant into the song and changed some melodies. Proof that all things old are new again.

Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” was a team effort with Bob Thiele, and recorded in 1967. Later featured in the 1987 Robin Williams movie “Good Morning Vietnam”. A song and movie that both attained classic status and took another turn perhaps as the unofficial theme song for saving the planet.

Here’s to George whose love for music made this a “wonderful world” for this and future generations of OGR-ers.

A Safe and Happy Labor Day to all.
Winnie!!!

Baby Boomer Pride

I'm passing this on as I did not want to be the only BABY BOOMER reading it.

Actually, it's not a bad thing to be called, as you will see.

BABY BOOMERS are easy to spot at sporting events; during the playing of the National Anthem.

BABY BOOMERS remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.

BABY BOOMERS remember World War II, Pearl Harbor , Guadalcanal , Normandy and Hitler.

They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War, The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing.

They remember the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, not to mention Vietnam.

If you bump into a BABY BOOMER on the sidewalk he will apologize.

If you pass an BABY BOOMER on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady.

BABY BOOMERS trust strangers and are courtly to women.

BABY BOOMERS hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection.

BABY BOOMERS get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children and they don't like any filth or dirty language on TV or in movies.

BABY BOOMERS have moral courage and personal integrity. They seldom brag unless it's about their children or grandchildren.

It's the BABY BOOMERS who know our great country is protected, not by politicians, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country.

This country needs BABY BOOMERS with their work ethic, sense of responsibility, pride in their country and decent values.

We need them now more than ever.

Thank God for BABY BOOMERS!

I was taught to respect my elders.

It's just getting harder to find them.


Winnie

And every BABY BOOMER remembers the thrill of a live concert on a Friday Night/Date Night.....

Tune in Friday Night, August 13,2010, for a special live event on Our Generation Radio.

DJ Glee and DJ Rick Wrigley are hosting a live performance of the Sensational Epics at the Capital Senior Center in Columbia SC.

The Epics are a high energy, show band that will get your blood pumpin’ and your feet stompin’. The show starts at 7 PM Eastern time and the concert at 7:30.

"Be There or Be Square!"

Do you Remember......

In 1954, the first transistor radio by Texas Instruments with predicted sales of 20 million radios in three years. It fell short only 100,000 purchased the first year because of performance problems.
Oh by the way…..None of the major radio makers including RCA, Philco, and Emerson were interested.
Then Raytheon siezed the market in 1955 with their version for $49.95 including 4” speaker and sound quality. A little bit of sticker shock when the average annual salary was around $4,000.
Wasn’t long before RCA, Zenith, DeWald and Crosly began flooding the market.

Just in time for us baby-boomers to start listening to our '55 favorite artists' Top Hit Singles:
Bill Haley & His Comets Rock Around the Clock - becomes the first Rock and roll single to reach Number One on the American charts. The film Blackboard Jungle premieres in New York City featured "Rock Around the Clock" over the opening credits—the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film.
Tennessee Ernie Ford Sixteen Tons
Four Aces Love is a Many Splendoured Thing
Chuck Berry Maybellene recorded for Chess Records in Chicago
Frank Sinatra Love & Marriage
"Let Me Go, Lover" Joan Weber
"Hearts of Stone" Fontane Sisters
"Sincerely" McGuire Sisters

"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" Perez Prado
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" Mitch Miller


Dot Records introduces Pat Boone, with an advertisement in Billboard magazine calling him "a great new voice"



Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" with significantly cleaned up lyrics (originally "Tutti Frutti, good booty" among other things.


Oh my!!! . Our record players, transistors, Walkman, 8-track, cassettes were our "musical magic lamps" bringing us the beginnings of great music, memories and more.

So don't touch that dial ---- Today, it's OGR!!!
Winnie

HAPPY 4th of JULY

Summer and the 4th of July go hand-n-hand and our love for these “all American foods” some of whose origins circle the world. So as we salute America, fire up the grill, spend time with family and friends, enjoy some facts about the:


Hot Dog


Originates as the Frankfurter Wurst in 1480’s - Frankfurt Germany
Named The "dachshund" or "little-dog" sausage by 18th Century Bavarian butcher Johann Georg Lahner,
By 1870, Coney Island, German immigrant Charles Feltman sold them on rolls.
Perhaps the most famous, is Chicago, IL basedOscar Mayer and its symbol, the Wienermobile, that’s toured the U.S. over 70 years.

Hamburger
15th Century a hashed sausage delicacy.
Late 18th century, Sailors visiting ports in Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term "Hamburg Steak" into popular usage.
1826, the first printed American menu listed hamburger was Delmonico's , New York and later at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Potato Chips
Tradition says the original potato chip recipe was created in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 24, 1853. A complaining patron kept sending back his thick, soggy fried potatoes. A frustrated chef George Crum kept making them thinner and crispier. In turn, they became a regular menu item the "Saratoga Chips".
After some trial and error, Joe “Spud” Murphy produced the world's first seasoned crisps, Cheese & Onion and Salt & Vinegar. Yum!!!


S’mores
The first recorded version of the recipe can be found in the publication "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts" of 1927. And Ladies we’ve been lovin 'em ever since.

Kool Aid “Oh Yeah”
Invented by Edwin & Kitty Perkins of Hastings, Nebraska in 1927 t o reduce shipping costs, by removing the liquid from his “Fruit Smack” drink and Kool-Aid powder, the result..
In the 1950's Kool-Aid Man, a frosty pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, became the company's mascot. He was known for bursting suddenly through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His famous catch phrase:"Oh, yeah!"



Popsicle “If its Popsicle, Its Possible”
1905, eleven year old Frank Epperson, left a stir stick in a mixture of powdered flavored soda and water out on a cold night in San Francisco. The next morning, a frozen treat he named the Epsicle was born. Eighteen years later he introduced it to the public and renamed it “Popsicle” at the insistence of his children, when filing for a patent.
1939, “Popsicle Pete” was introduced on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century radio program as having won the "Typical American Boy Contest." Listeners were told to
send in wrappers for prizes from the manufacturer. “Pete” remained in print and TV ads and activity books until 1995.


Coppertone “Don’t be a paleface”
An American sunscreen and sister brand to Bain de Soleil, which is targeted to adult females.
1944, pharmacist Benjamin Green invented a lotion to darken tans. In 1953, the company became famous when it introduced the Coppertone girl, an ad showing a young blond girl in pigtails staring in surprise as a Cocker Spaniel sneaks up behind her and - well you get the picture

To all our OGR listeners, their families and friends, we wish you a safe and Happy 4th. Remember our troops and all who have served to keep freedom alive.
God Bless America!!

Winnie and the OGR Staff and Management

Memories Cruzin

Want to do some great "memories cruzin"?

Check out this website, compliments of our DJ, JimmyB http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

Time travel with great classic cars and more memory joggers.

I did.




This Kaiser reminded me of the one Dad drove during the worst '55 Christmas Eve snow storm after having the traditional Eve Dinner and Santa's arrival at our Aunt's house.

WOW! You have to remember that back in the '50's there was very little attention paid to street snow removal especially after mid-night on holidays.

Not that would have helped this tank of a car. Tiny, slow motion wipers struggling to keep the heavy snow off that sliver of a front window. Dad scraping frost off the inside front window, carving a peep hole while driving.

Barely a car heater; Mom little Sis and me shivering, wrapped in blankets.

Traction, even if the car had any it was no match against snow half way up the hubcap.
Kaiser traded in the following Summer.
Now its a Ford Fairlane with a stand-out two-tone paint finish, in cream and mint green. That was a classic car.

Dad loved driving it and any excuse for a Sunday outing would do. A few miles to the local White Castle for 7 cent burgers, Robert Hall for clothes or an all day venture to Wisconsin and we were gone. Shares of Johnson Car Wax soared - never remember a time when Dad wasn't washing and waxing that Fairlane or every car thereafter.

Carpooling to work was a challenge in a "little Nash Rambler". He tolerated the horrible ride, contortions to get in and out of and no leg room. Ed Begley Jr. would have been proud of Dad's shrinking carbon footprint.

"Oh My!".... Hope you have the chance this Summer to visit a local classic car show, or at least enjoy a trip down memory lane, http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

Ciao for now!!!