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Post by fwclipper51 on Jun 19, 2024 13:51:34 GMT -5
Because I am pretty sure that this is the only opportunity I will ever have to combine Rice-A-Roni with music trivia, I am compelled to say that the woman who sang the Rice-A-Roni jingle, Jackie Ward, had a modest hit record in the fall of 1963, under the name Robin Ward, called "Wonderful Summer." The odds of anyone out there recalling that song are pretty long, I admit, but this was one hanging curve I had to swing at. We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast. The strange thing her song was a big hit in March! |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 19, 2024 15:09:38 GMT -5
Because I am pretty sure that this is the only opportunity I will ever have to combine Rice-A-Roni with music trivia, I am compelled to say that the woman who sang the Rice-A-Roni jingle, Jackie Ward, had a modest hit record in the fall of 1963, under the name Robin Ward, called "Wonderful Summer." The odds of anyone out there recalling that song are pretty long, I admit, but this was one hanging curve I had to swing at. We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast. Young inger eyed the hanging curve as it approached the plate. He could see the spin on the pitch and he could it was going to be a nice, slightly below waist lame duck on the inside part of the plate he was crowding. His swing was short and quick and… Yep. “Wonderful Summer”. I can hear it blaring out of the car radio on Route 40, near Elkton or North East, MD. My 9 year old ears found it pleasant. I remember hearing it several times, and I’m thinking then, that perhaps we had moved out of the shack we lived in on Route 40. We might have been in Rising Sun, MD by then. My older brother had things like a record player, a radio. I even had my transistor that year. It was the first time I was being exposed to much radio music, so I suppose that may be why I recall the song. Thanks for dredging up this “modest hit”, Pipps. I still sing the chorus sometimes as I’m wandering through another day, trying to figure out why I’m here, just like everybody else. One reason wax to hear “Wonderful Summer”. I’ll play it again later today. I have to now. 🤓 Amazing how songs can evoke the most specific memories of a particular day, isn't it? For me, I associate "Wonderful Summer" with the day JFK was assassinated. Looking for some semblance of normalcy when all of my rock stations were playing somber music or doing news updates, I stumbled upon a station in Oklahoma City that was sticking with normal programming and on that sad Friday night one of the songs they played was "Wonderful Summer." I remember them also playing "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" by Barry and the Tamerlanes, "Washington Square" by The Village Stompers and "Nitty Gritty" by Shirley Ellis. I remember it better than I remember last night. On that recording, which was intended to be a demo, the engineers at Gold Star Studios "sweetened" her voice to make her sound younger by speeding up the tape. They knew that the target audience was lovesick adolescent boys and wanted her to sound like a 14-year-old girl instead of the 22-year-old Granny that she was. |
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Post by rizzuto on Jun 19, 2024 15:16:48 GMT -5
Popeyes sadly departed Cajun Rice was among my favorite foods. You can still get it in Louisiana and Texas franchises. Before Aaron Copeland nearly bankrupted Popeyes by purchasing Church's Fried Chicken, Popeyes made everything in house - from mashed potatoes and gravy to biscuits to onion rings. After Copeland sold the business, Popeyes only makes chicken fresh each day, everything else is pre-made and frozen. Sad state of affairs, but it happens to almost every successful franchise. Popeyes used to be really good. Now, it's just a shadow of its former glory. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 19, 2024 15:21:12 GMT -5
Because I am pretty sure that this is the only opportunity I will ever have to combine Rice-A-Roni with music trivia, I am compelled to say that the woman who sang the Rice-A-Roni jingle, Jackie Ward, had a modest hit record in the fall of 1963, under the name Robin Ward, called "Wonderful Summer." The odds of anyone out there recalling that song are pretty long, I admit, but this was one hanging curve I had to swing at. We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast. The strange thing her song was a big hit in March! Hey Clipper, glad you remember that song. Just a small point, but "Wonderful Summer" was released on Dot Records in September 1963. It made it's first appearance on the Billboard charts (which I believe run several weeks behind reality) on November 2, at Number 66. It peaked at Number 14 on the charts on December 14. It could well be that you remember hearing it in March of 64 and associate it with that time. Jackie Ward was omnipresent doing studio work in the 60s and 70s. That's her doing the "La La La" at the beginning of Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzalez." She sang backing vocals on most Partridge Family recordings (you were supposed to think it was Susan Dey) and sang on many TV themes, including "Maude" and "Love American Style." She made a good living, but rarely got credits. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 19, 2024 15:26:09 GMT -5
Popeyes sadly departed Cajun Rice was among my favorite foods. You can still get it in Louisiana and Texas franchises. Before Aaron Copeland nearly bankrupted Popeyes by purchasing Church's Fried Chicken, Popeyes made everything in house - from mashed potatoes and gravy to biscuits to onion rings. After Copeland sold the business, Popeyes only makes chicken fresh each day, everything else is pre-made and frozen. Sad state of affairs, but it happens to almost every successful franchise. Popeyes used to be really good. Now, it's just a shadow of its former glory. Aaron Copeland? Well I am guessing it's not the same Aaron Copeland who composed "Appalachian Spring." I didn't know about this other one. A guy can learn a lot on this forum. |
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Post by rizzuto on Jun 19, 2024 15:29:05 GMT -5
The strange thing her song was a big hit in March! Hey Clipper, glad you remember that song. Just a small point, but "Wonderful Summer" was released on Dot Records in September 1963. It made it's first appearance on the Billboard charts (which I believe run several weeks behind reality) on November 2, at Number 66. It peaked at Number 14 on the charts on December 14. It could well be that you remember hearing it in March of 64 and associate it with that time. Jackie Ward was omnipresent doing studio work in the 60s and 70s. That's her doing the "La La La" at the beginning of Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzalez." She sang backing vocals on most Partridge Family recordings (you were supposed to think it was Susan Dey) and sang on many TV themes, including "Maude" and "Love American Style." She made a good living, but rarely got credits. Who didn't have a crush on Susan Dey? "Maude" was the second best spin off from "All In The Family" next to "The Jeffersons." Probably the two best spin offs until "Frazier" from "Cheers." Of course, the technical best spin off ever was "The Andy Griffith Show" from "The Danny Thomas Show." I had never heard the song "Wonderful Summer," until I just went to YouTube to listen to it. Where were you Pipps when you heard that JFK had been killed? |
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Post by rizzuto on Jun 19, 2024 15:32:21 GMT -5
You can still get it in Louisiana and Texas franchises. Before Aaron Copeland nearly bankrupted Popeyes by purchasing Church's Fried Chicken, Popeyes made everything in house - from mashed potatoes and gravy to biscuits to onion rings. After Copeland sold the business, Popeyes only makes chicken fresh each day, everything else is pre-made and frozen. Sad state of affairs, but it happens to almost every successful franchise. Popeyes used to be really good. Now, it's just a shadow of its former glory. Aaron Copeland? Well I am guessing it's not the same Aaron Copeland who composed "Appalachian Spring." I didn't know about this other one. A guy can learn a lot on this forum. My mistake, Pipps. Popeyes Louisiana Fried Chicken was started by Al Copeland - Al for Alvin. Don't know why I wrote Aaron. And, little known fact, Popeyes is often thought to have been named after "Popeye The Sailor Man" but it was actually named after "Popeye Doyle" from "The French Connection." |
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Post by pippsheadache on Jun 19, 2024 15:37:49 GMT -5
Hey Clipper, glad you remember that song. Just a small point, but "Wonderful Summer" was released on Dot Records in September 1963. It made it's first appearance on the Billboard charts (which I believe run several weeks behind reality) on November 2, at Number 66. It peaked at Number 14 on the charts on December 14. It could well be that you remember hearing it in March of 64 and associate it with that time. Jackie Ward was omnipresent doing studio work in the 60s and 70s. That's her doing the "La La La" at the beginning of Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzalez." She sang backing vocals on most Partridge Family recordings (you were supposed to think it was Susan Dey) and sang on many TV themes, including "Maude" and "Love American Style." She made a good living, but rarely got credits. Who didn't have a crush on Susan Dey? "Maude" was the second best spin off from "All In The Family" next to "The Jeffersons." Probably the two best spin offs until "Frazier" from "Cheers." Of course, the technical best spin off ever was "The Andy Griffith Show" from "The Danny Thomas Show." I had never heard the song "Wonderful Summer," until I just went to YouTube to listen to it. Where were you Pipps when you heard that JFK had been killed? Hey Rizz -- we were just getting out of school on Friday afternoon when our Principal went on PA system to announce that the President had been shot. I didn't know he had been killed until I got home. I can remember every minute of that weekend through the Monday funeral, as I am sure many people can. I remember the smallest details like what we had for dinner that evening and going with my mother to Eckard's Drugs the next morning (and buying some 45s naturally) and the moment Oswald was shot and playing basketball that Monday because school was closed. It was very vivid for anyone who lived through it, not just me. Like 9-11, you recall everything. |
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Post by rizzuto on Jun 19, 2024 15:57:26 GMT -5
Who didn't have a crush on Susan Dey? "Maude" was the second best spin off from "All In The Family" next to "The Jeffersons." Probably the two best spin offs until "Frazier" from "Cheers." Of course, the technical best spin off ever was "The Andy Griffith Show" from "The Danny Thomas Show." I had never heard the song "Wonderful Summer," until I just went to YouTube to listen to it. Where were you Pipps when you heard that JFK had been killed? Hey Rizz -- we were just getting out of school on Friday afternoon when our Principal went on PA system to announce that the President had been shot. I didn't know he had been killed until I got home. I can remember every minute of that weekend through the Monday funeral, as I am sure many people can. I remember the smallest details like what we had for dinner that evening and going with my mother to Eckard's Drugs the next morning (and buying some 45s naturally) and the moment Oswald was shot and playing basketball that Monday because school was closed. It was very vivid for anyone who lived through it, not just me. Like 9-11, you recall everything. Thanks for answering that question, Pipps. To me, this country and its institutions have never recovered from the death of JFK. It has been a slow downward spiral ever since. As you know, I am a believer that JFK's assassination was due to a cabal and not the lone-nut-magic-bullet explanation. The reasons for that far too numerous and time consuming to discuss in writing. On 9/11, I was ironing my shirt for work, when a co-worker of mine named Scott Kilgore called me, asking if I was watching television, which I wasn't. He told me to turn it on, and I said, "What channel?" He replied, "It doesn't matter." A few minutes later, the second plane hit the Twin Towers. Being on the West Coast, even as significant a feeling as it was, I do not believe the pall was the same as the East Coast. I still recall being in Kinkead's restaurant in Washington DC, when President George W. Bush announced on a little television above the bar that the US had been deployed into Iraq. There was a soundlessness I could not have imagined, which never would have occurred in California. No tinkling of ice in a glass, no utensil tines on plates, no whispers - it was a sheer vacuum of silence while he spoke. That one incident told me all I needed to know about the differences between each coast. |
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Post by desousa on Jun 22, 2024 16:53:34 GMT -5
This is cool.
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Post by azbob643 on Jun 22, 2024 16:56:03 GMT -5
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Post by azbob643 on Jun 22, 2024 17:12:10 GMT -5
I'm sure Spanish is the second most spoken language in MLB, and quickly climbing, including players from Curacao/Aruba.
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Post by desousa on Jun 23, 2024 8:48:25 GMT -5
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Post by Max on Jun 23, 2024 10:50:55 GMT -5
I'm sure Spanish is the second most spoken language in MLB, and quickly climbing, including players from Curacao/Aruba. Italian and Spanish languages are similar. I might have missed a few words but from what I understood, Rice said he can pronounce and speak Spanish very well, he learned how to speak Spanish in school. He sounded like he was joking when he said that wanted to speak like the Latin and Dominican baseball players. The interview asked him what it was like to get his 1st MLB hit. Rice said it was a dream come true. |
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Post by azbob643 on Jun 23, 2024 11:03:54 GMT -5
I'm sure Spanish is the second most spoken language in MLB, and quickly climbing, including players from Curacao/Aruba. Italian and Spanish languages are similar. I might have missed a few words but from what I understood, Rice said he can pronounce and speak Spanish very well, he learned how to speak Spanish in school. He sounded like he was joking when he said that wanted to speak like the Latin and Dominican baseball players. The interview asked him what it was like to get his 1st MLB hit. Rice said it was a dream come true. I can pick up key words in Spanish and usually get the drift of simple conversations. Had to dig really deep into my HS Spanish when I was nearly arrested & jailed on Isla Mujeres. As I believe he referred to when saying he "wanted to speak like the Latin and Dominican baseball players"...the Spanish spoken by Mexicans is "different" than in Puerto Rico, which is different than in Spain, and so on...much like the English most speak here is different than in England, Ireland, Australia, the Caribbean, etc. I know several people who speak Italian, but can't read it. Odd? Also, you'd think Spanish & Portuguese would be similar, but I've been told by those who speak either that's not so. |
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