Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Your Red Scarf Matches Your Eyes...

1968 was quite a year. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy Jr. were assassinated. The North Vietnamese army launched an offensive that caused then-president Lyndon B. Johnson todecide not to seek re-election. The Democratic National convention in Chicago was a debacle marked by police riots, discord at the convention, and an eventual win for Richard Nixon. France was riven by riots.

On the lighter side, these were the top fifty hits for the year:

# 1. Hey Jude, The Beatles
# 2. Honey, Bobby Goldsboro
# 3. Love Is Blue, Paul Mauriat
# 4. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay, Otis Redding
# 5. People Got To Be Free, Rascals
# 6. Sunshine Of Your Love, Cream
# 7. This Guy's In Love With You, Herb Alpert
# 8. Stoned Soul Picnic, Fifth Dimension
# 9. Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel
# 10. Tighten Up, Archie Bell and The Drells
# 11. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Hugo Montenegro
# 12. Little Green Apples, O.C. Smith
# 13. Mony, Mony, Tommy James and The Shondells
# 14. Hello, I Love You, The Doors
# 15. Young Girl, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
# 16. Cry Like A Baby, Box Tops
# 17. Harper Valley P.T.A., Jeannie C. Riley
# 18. Grazing In The Grass, Hugh Masekela
# 19. Midnight Confessions, The Grass Roots
# 20. Dance To The Music, Sly and The Family Stone
# 21. The Horse, Cliff Nobles and Co
# 22. I Wish It Would Rain, Temptations
# 23. La-La Means I Love You, Delfonics
# 24. Turn Around, Look At Me, Vogues
# 25. Judy In Disguise (With Glasses), John Fred and His Playboy Band
# 26. Spooky, Classics IV
# 27. Love Child, Diana Ross and The Supremes
# 28. Angel Of The Morning, Merrilee Rush
# 29. The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde, Georgie Fame
# 30. Those Were The Days, Mary Hopkin
# 31. Born To Be Wild, Steppenwolf
# 32. Cowboys To Girls, Intruders
# 33. Simon Says, 1910 Fruitgum Company
# 34. Lady Willpower, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
# 35. A Beautiful Morning, Rascals
# 36. The Look Of Love, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66
# 37. Hold Me Tight, Johnny Nash
# 38. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Ohio Express
# 39. Fire , Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
# 40. Love Is All Around, Troggs
# 41. Playboy, Gene and Debbe
# 42. (Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls, Dionne Warwick
# 43. Classical Gas, Mason Williams
# 44. Slip Away, Clarence Carter
# 45. Girl Watcher, O'Kaysions
# 46. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone, Aretha Franklin
# 47. Green Tambourine, Lemon Pipers
# 48. 1, 2, 3, Red Light, 1910 Fruitgum Company
# 49. Reach Out Of The Darkness, Friend and Lover
# 50. Jumpin' Jack Flash, The Rolling Stones


One tune that doesn't appear on anywhere near this list is one of my favorite novelty songs and the source of this entry's title, Loving You Has Made Me Bananas by comedian Guy Marks. This month (May) marks the fortieth anniversary of the song that begins:

Your red scarf matches your eyes
You close your cover before striking!
Mother has the ship-fitter blues
And loving you has made me bananas!


Does it make any sense? As much sense as me living on a coffee farm where I'm up to my tuches in bananas when I can't stand the things! The picture above is of a banana flower. The purple part is the flower. The green things are baby bananas.

Another fortieth anniversary I'll mark this month is my life as a driver. I got a license as soon as I could possibly get it (May 30th in California--I was fifteen and a half). I got my license six months later.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like bananas....

The Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit has a banana tree. I was mildly surprised to see that it actually grows fruit.

And now I have an earworm from A Prairie Home Companion: "You can fry 'em up or slice 'em | Either way you ought to try some | Bananas...."