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Carlisle, Bob



Butterfly Kisses

There's two things I know for sure
She was sent here from heaven, and she's Daddy's little girl.
As I drop to my knees by her bed at night
She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes
And I thank God for all of the joy in my life, oh but most of all...

For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair
Walk beside the pony Daddy, it's my first ride
I know the cake looks funny Daddy, but I sure tried
Oh with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right
To deserve a hug every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.

Sweet sixteen today
She's looking like her Mama, a little more everyday.
One part woman, the other part girl
To perfume and makeup, from ribbons and curls.
Trying her wings out in a great big world
But I remember...

Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair.
You know how much I love you Daddy, but if you don't mind
I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time.
With all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right
To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.

All the precious time,
Oh, like the wind the years go by.
Precious butterfly,
Spread your wings and fly.

She'll change her name today.
She'll make a promise, and I'll give her away.
Standing in the brideroom just staring at her
She asks me what I'm thinking, and I said I'm not sure.
I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl,
And she leaned over...

Gave me butterfly kisses with her Mama there
Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair.
Walk me down the aisle Daddy, it's just about time.
Does my wedding gown look pretty Daddy?
Daddy, don't cry.
Oh, with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right.
To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses,
I couldn't ask God for more, than this is what love is.
I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember...
Every hug in the morning, and butterfly kisses.

Omar Khayyám
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Omar Khayyám (May 18, 1048 - December 4, 1131, in Persian عمر خیام), was born in Nishapur, Persia (Iran). He was originally named Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Omar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi Khayyámi (غياث الدين ابو الفتح عمر بن ابراهيم خيام نيشابوري). Khayyám (خیام) is an Arabic loanword means "tentmaker".



Omar Khayyám the student

Khayyam is thought to have born into a family of Nishapur artisans. He spent his childhood in the town of Balhi, studying there and being tutored by Sheik Muhammad Mansuri, one of the most well-known scholars of the time. In his youth, Omar Khayyám studied under Imam Mowaffak of Naishapur, who was considered one of the greatest teachers of the Khorassan region. Two other exceptional students began studying under the same teacher at about the same time. One of these was Nizam-ul-Mulk, who went on to become the Vizier to two rulers of the Persian Empire. The other was Hassan-i-Sabah, who went on to become the leader of the Hashshashin.

It was commonly believed that any young man who studied under that emminent Imam would attain honor and happiness. These three students, who became friends, pledged to each other that which ever of them were to receive fortune would share it equally with the other two. After Nizam-ul-Mulk became Visier, Hassan-i-Sabah and Omar Khayyám each went to him, and asked to share in his good fortune.

Hassan-i-Sabah demanded and was granted a place in the government, but he was ambitious, and was eventually removed from power after he participated in an unsuccessful effort to overthrow his benefactor the Vizier. Many years later, he rose to become head of the Hashshashin.

Omar Khayyám was much more modest in his request, not asking for any office, but just a place to live, study science and pray. He was granted a yearly pension of 1200 mithkals of gold from the treasury of Naishapur. He lived on this pension for the rest of his life.


Omar Khayyám the mathematician

He was famous during his lifetime as a mathematician, well known for inventing the method of solving cubic equations by intersecting a parabola with a circle. Although his approach at achieving this had earlier been attempted by Menaechmus and others, Khayyám provided a generalization extending it to all cubics. In addition he discovered the binomial expansion, and authored criticisms of Euclid's theories of parallels which made their way to England, where they contributed to the eventual development of non-Euclidean geometry.


Omar Khayyám the astronomer

Omar Khayyám was famous as an astronomer. In 1073, the Malik-Shah, ruler of Isfahan, invited Khayyám to build and work with an observatory, along with various other distinguished scientists. Eventually, Khayyám very accurately (correct to six decimal places) measured the length of the year as 365.24219858156 days.

He also calculated how to correct the Persian calendar. On March 15, 1079, Sultan Jalal al-Din Malekshah Saljuqi (1072-1092) put Omar's corrected calendar into effect, as in Europe Julius Caesar had done in 46 B.C. with the corrections of Sosigenes, and as Pope Gregory XIII would do in February 1552 with Aloysius Lilius' corrected calendar (although Britain would not switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar until 1751, and Russia would not switch until 1918).

He was famous in Persian and Islamic world for his astronomical observations. He built a (now lost) map of stars in the sky.


Omar Khayyám and Islam

The philosophy of Omar Khayyám was quite different from official Islamic dogmas. It is not clear whether he believed in the existence of God or not, but he objected to the notion that every particular event and phenomenon was the result of divine intervention; nor did he believe in any Judgment Day or rewards and punishments after life. Instead he supported the view that laws of nature explained all phenomena of observed life. Religious officials asked him many times to explain his different views about Islam. Khayyám eventually was obliged to make a hajj [pilgrimage] to Mecca in order to prove he was a faithful follower of the religion.

Omar Khayyám the Skeptic

(These poems were translated by Edward FitzGerald)

And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before
The Tavern shouted - "Open then the Door!
You know how little time we have to stay,
And once departed, may return no more."



Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare,
And thoat after a TO-MORROW stare,
A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries
"Fools! your reward is neither Here nor There!"



Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd
Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust
Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn
Are scatter'd, and their mouths are stopt with Dust.



Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.



Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out of the same Door as in I went.



With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,
And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:
And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd -
"I came like Water, and like Wind I go."



Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing:
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing.



The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.



And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to It for help - for It
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I.




Omar Khayyám the writer and poet

Main article: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

Hollywood depiction of Omar Khayyám.Omar Khayyám is famous today not only for his scientific accomplishments, but for his literary works. He is believed to have written about a thousand four-line verses. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in the English translations by Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883).

Other people have also published translations of some of the rubáiyát (rubáiyát means "quatrains"), but Fitzgerald's are the best known. Translations also exist in languages other than English.


Miscellaneous

Omar's life is dramatized in the 1957 film Omar Khayyam starring Cornel Wilde, Debra Paget, Raymond Massey, Michael Rennie, and John Derek.
Omar Khayyám appears as a comedic sidekick in the film Son of Sinbad. He is portrayed by Vincent Price and parts of his poems are distributed throughout his dialogue.
Appears as major character in the novel Samarcand by Amin Maalouf.
Most recently, his life was dramatized by the Iranian-American director Kayvan Mashayekh in "The Keeper: the Legend of Omar Khayaam" playing in independent theaters since June 2005.
A lunar crater Omar Khayyam was named after him in 1970.
An asteroid 3095 Omarkhayyam was named after him in 1980.
Salman Rushdie's novel Shame makes reference to Omar Khayyam with a character by the same name.

Good morning WA2K listeners and contributors.

Ah, Bob, what a sweet poem. I love butterfly kisses, Boston. Used to give them to my kids all the time.

How about a bird song for the morning, folks.


All I know is something like a bird within her sang,
All I know she sang a little while and then flew on,
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.

If you hear that same sweet song again, will you know why?
Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passin' by,
Laugh in the sunshine, sing, cry in the dark, fly through the night.

Don't cry now, don't you cry, don't you cry anymore.
Sleep in the stars, don't you cry, dry your eyes on the wind.

All I know is something like a bird within her sang,
All I know she sang a little while and then flew off,
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.

Ezio Pinza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ezio PinzaThe Italian bass Ezio Pinza (18 May 1892 - 9 May 1957) was one of the outstanding opera singers of the first half of the 20th century. He spent twenty-two seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of fifty operas.

Pinza was born in Rome and grew up in Ravenna. He studied at Bologna's Conservatorio Martini. His operatic debut was in 1914 as Oroveso in Norma in Cremona.

After World War I, he debuted at Rome in 1919 and Milan's La Scala in February, 1922. Pinza's Met debut came November 1926 in Spontini's La Vestale, with famed American soprano Rosa Ponselle in the title role. In 1929, he sang Don Giovanni, a role with which he was subsequently to become closely identified. He subsequently added the Mozart roles Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his repertoire, as well as a vast number of Italian operatic roles of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, as well as Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (sung in Italian).

After retiring from the Met in 1948, Pinza embarked on a second career on Broadway. In April 1949, he appeared in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and his operatic, expressive performance of "Some Enchanted Evening" made him a matinee idol and a national celebrity. He also appeared in the Broadway production of Fanny in 1954, opposite Florence Henderson.

Pinza died at age 64. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Oddly, Pinza could not sight-read a musical score. He would listen to his part being played on the piano, and having heard it, he could sing it.


Musical: South Pacific
Song: This Nearly Was Mine


One dream in my heart,
One love to be livin' for,
One love to be livin' for
This nearly was mine.

One girl for my dream,
One partner in paradise,
This promise of paradise
This nearly was mine.

Close to my heart she came
Only to fly away,
Only to fly as day flies from moonlight
Now, now I'm alone,
Still dreamin' of paradise,
Still sayin' that paradise
Once nearly was mine.

I'll keep rememberin' kisses
From lips I've never owned,
And all that lovely adventures
That we have never known.

One dream in my heart,
One love to be livin' for,
One love to be livin' for
This nearly was mine.

Close to my heart she came
Only to fly away,
Only to fly as day flies from moonlight.

Now, now I'm alone,
Still a-dreamin' of paradise,
Still sayin' that paradise
Once nearly was mine!

Frank Capra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Frank CapraFrank Capra (May 18, 1897 - September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director and a major creative force behind a number of highly popular films.

Born Francesco Rosario Capra in Bisacquino, Sicily, Capra moved to the United States in 1903 with his father Salvatore, his mother Rosaria Nicolosi and his siblings Giuseppa, Giuseppe, and Antonia. In California they met Benedetto Capra, (the oldest sibling) and settled in Los Angeles, California, where Frank Capra graduated from Throop Institute (later renamed the California Institute of Technology) with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering. On October 18, 1918, he joined the United States Army. While at the Presidio, he got Spanish influenza and was discharged on December 13. In 1920, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Like other prominent directors of the thirties and forties, Capra began his career in silent films, notably by directing and writing silent film comedies starring Harry Langdon and the Our Gang kids. In 1930 Capra went to work for Mack Sennett and then moved to Columbia where he formed a close association with screenwriter Robert Riskin (husband of Fay Wray) and cameraman Joseph Walker. However, in 1940 Sidney Buchman replaced Riskin as writer.

After the 1934 Oscar winning romantic comedy It Happened One Night, Capra directed a steady stream of films for Columbia intended to be inspirational and humanitarian. The best known are Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, the original Lost Horizon, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. His ten year break from screwball comedy ended with the comedy classic Arsenic and Old Lace.

Between 1942 and 1948, when he produced State of the Union, Capra also directed or co-directed eight war documentaries including Prelude to War (1942), The Nazis Strike (1942), The Battle of Britain (1943), Divide and Conquer (1943), Know Your Enemy Japan (1945), Tunisian Victory (1945) and Two Down and One to Go (1945). His Academy Award-winning documentary series, Why We Fight, is widely considered a masterpiece of propaganda, surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will; Capra was faced with the task of convincing an isolationist nation to enter the war, desegregate the troops, and ally with the Russians, among other things.

Capra's 1946 It's a Wonderful Life (another inspirational and humanitarian themed film) was the first picture for Jimmy Stewart after his service in World War II. The film was nomitated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, but was a box office disappointment. It gained a second life on television, where for a number of years it was shown multiple times during the Christmas season.

Capra's final theatrical film was 1961's Pocketful of Miracles, with Glenn Ford and Bette Davis. He had planned to do a science fiction film later in the decade but never even got around to pre-production, but he did end up producing several television specials for the Bell Telephone System dealing with science.

In 1971, Capra published his autobiography, The Name Above the Title. Though unreliable in its details, it offers a compelling self-portrait.

Capra was also the subject of a 1991 biography by Joseph McBride entitled Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success. McBride corrects many of the impressions left by Capra's autobiography.

Capra won an Academy Award for Directing in 1934 for It Happened One Night, in 1936 for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and in 1938 for You Can't Take It with You. It Happened One Night and You Can't Take It with You also won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Frank Capra died in La Quinta, California of a heart attack in his sleep in 1991 at the age of 94 and was interred in the Coachella Valley Cemetery, Coachella, California.

His producer and son, Frank Capra, Jr., is president of Screen Gems, in Wilmington, North Carolina, one of the three children born to Capra's second wife, Lou Capra. Frank Capra's grandson is Frank Capra III, and his great-grandson Francis Capra plays the role of Eli "Weevil" Navarro on the popular series Veronica Mars.

Quote from Capra: "There are no rules in filmmaking, only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness."

Meredith Willson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Meredith Willson (18 May 1902 - 15 June 1984) was an American composer and playwright, best known as the writer of The Music Man.

Born Robert Meredith Reiniger in Mason City, Iowa, Willson attended Frank Damrosch's Institute of Musical Art (later The Juilliard School) in New York City. A flute and piccolo player, Willson was a member of John Philip Sousa's band (1921 - 1923) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini (1924 - 1929). Willson then moved to San Francisco, California as the concert director for KFRC, and then as a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood.

His work for films included the music for Charlie Chaplin's 1940 film The Great Dictator, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. During World War II, he worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service. His work with the AFRS teamed him with George Burns, Gracie Allen and Bill Goodwin. (He would work with all three as the bandleader, and a regular character, on the Burns and Allen radio program.) Returning to network radio after WWII, he created the Talking People, a choral group which spoke in unison while delivering radio commercials.

Willson's most famous work, The Music Man, premiered on Broadway in 1957 and was adapted twice for film (in 1962 and 2003). He referred to the play as "an Iowan's attempt to pay tribute to his home state." It took Willson some eight years and thirty revisions to complete the musical, for which he wrote more than forty songs. The cast recording of The Music Man won the very first Grammy award ever issued.

His second musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962 and was made into a 1964 motion picture starring Debbie Reynolds.

His third musical was an adaptation of the film Miracle On 34th Street, called Here's Love! (1963). His fourth, last, and least successful musical was 1491, which told the story of Columbus's attempts to finance his famous voyage.

His Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, A Symphony Of San Francisco, and Symphony No. 2 In E Minor, Missions Of California, were recorded in 1999 by William T. Stromberg conducting the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.

Willson penned a number of very well-known songs, such as "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Gary Indiana," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," and even "Till There Was You," which was a hit for the Beatles in 1963. He also wrote the University of Iowa's fight song.

In general, it was recognized that Willson wrote surprisingly well-crafted, complex, and subtle music that classical music fans could appreciate, with intricate and sometimes startling counterpoint, well-crafted melody, and subtle orchestration, all while still appealing to mass audiences.

Willson and his wife lived for years in the Mandeville Canyon section of Brentwood, California. In the 1960s, Willson was fondly remembered by friends and neighbors as a warm and gregarious host who loved nothing more than to play the piano and sing at numerous parties. Willson often gave out autographed copies of his record album, Meredith Willson Sings Songs from The Music Man. His alma mater, Juilliard, recently dedicated its first and only residence hall to Willson.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Willson"


Musical: Music Man
Song: Ya Got Trouble

Harold:
Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a pool table in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City.
Why sure I'm a billiard player,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I'm always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
With a cue in my hand are golden.
Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
An iron-clad leave to yourself
From a three-reail billiard shot?
But just as I say,
It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score
In a balkline game,
I say that any boob kin take
And shove a ball in a pocket.
And they call that sloth.
The first big step on the road
To the depths of deg-ra-Day--
I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
Then beer from a bottle.
An' the next thing ya know,
Your son is playin' for money
In a pinch-back suit.
And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper
Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'.
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no!
But a race where they set down right on the horse!
Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say.
Friends, lemme tell you what I mean.
Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table.
Pockets that mark the diff'rence
Between a gentlemen and a bum,
With a capital "B,"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
And all week long your River City
Youth'll be frittern away,
I say your young men'll be frittern!
Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime too!
Get the ball in the pocket,
Never mind gittin' Dandelions pulled
Or the screen door patched or the beefsteak pounded.
Never mind pumpin' any water
'Til your parents are caught with the Cistern empty
On a Saturday night and that's trouble,
Oh, yes we got lots and lots a' trouble.
I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers,
Shirt-tail young ones, peekin' in the pool
Hall window after school, look, folks!
Right here in River City.
Trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!
Now, I know all you folks are the right kinda parents.
I'm gonna be perfectly frank.
Would ya like to know what kinda conversation goes
On while they're loafin' around that Hall?
They're tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out cubebs,
Tryin' out Tailor Mades like Cigarette Feends!
And braggin' all about
How they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen.
One fine night, they leave the pool hall,
Headin' for the dance at the Arm'ry!
Libertine men and Scarlet women!
And Rag-time, shameless music
That'll grab your son and your daughter
With the arms of a jungle animal instink!
Mass-staria!
Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground!

People:
Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool,
That stands for pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City,
Right here!
Gotta figger out a way
To keep the young ones moral after school!
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble...

Harold:
Mothers of River City!
Heed the warning before it's too late!
Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The moment your son leaves the house,
Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?
Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger?
A dime novel hidden in the corn crib?
Is he starting to memorize jokes from Capt.
Billy's Whiz Bang?
Are certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words like 'swell?"
And 'so's your old man?"
Well, if so my friends,
Ya got trouble,
Right here in River city!
With a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool.
We've surely got trouble!
Right here in River City!
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule!
Oh, we've got trouble.
We're in terrible, terrible trouble.
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is a devil's tool!
Oh yes we got trouble, trouble, trouble!
With a "T"! Gotta rhyme it with "P"!
And that stands for Pool!!!

Perry Como
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pierino Ronaldo "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 - May 12, 2001) was an Italian American crooner during the latter half of the 20th century. Selling around sixty million records in his long career, he signed an exclusive recording contract with RCA Victor in 1943 and stayed with the company for nearly fifty years.

Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. Although he always liked to sing, his first great ambition was to be the best barber in Canonsburg. After graduation from high school, he opened his own barber shop. In 1933, he married his teenage sweetheart, Roselle Belline. They remained married until her death; Como was devastated by her passing.


Professional singer

In 1933 Como joined Freddy Carlone's band in Ohio, and three years later moved up to Ted Weems' Orchestra and his first recording dates. Their first recording was a novelty tune called "You Can't Pull the Wool over My Eyes", recorded for the Decca Records label.

In 1942 Weems dissolved his band, and Como went on to CBS, where he sang for a couple of years without any conspicuous success. By this time the erstwhile barber had definitely decided to return to Canonsburg, his family, and his barbering. Just as he was about to abandon his singing career once and for all, two NBC producers stepped in, returning him to show business for the NBC Supper Club. Later he became a very successful performer in theatre and night club engagements.

In 1945, Como recorded the pop ballad "'Til the End of Time" (based on Chopin's "Polonaise"), which marked the beginning a highly successful career. Como was the first artist to have ten records sell more than one million copies. Similarly, his television show achieved a much higher rating than that of any other vocalist to date.

On March 14, 1958, the RIAA certified Como's hit single, "Catch a Falling Star" as its first ever "Gold Record." His final Top 40 hit was a cover of Don McLean's "And I Love You So", recorded in 1973.

By the 1980s, the atmosphere of recording had changed dramatically from his early days at RCA Victor. Como's recording sessions had previously been filled with laughter and joy. In his 1959 recording of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", listeners with headphones can hear him burst into laughter during one amusing orchestra passage. But in later years, the sessions deteriorated into much more sombre occasions. For this reason, he walked away from his final studio-produced recordings in the early 1980s. He returned to record a final album with his trusted friend and associate Nick Perito in 1987. His recording of "The Wind Beneath My Wings'" was almost autobiographical, a fitting end to a long and successful recording career. Como would record only once more, in 1994, privately, for his well-known Christmas Concert in Ireland.


Television

He had numerous Christmas television specials, beginning on Christmas Eve, 1948, and continuing to 1994, when his final Christmas Special was recorded in Ireland. Following his weekly series, ending in 1963, Como's television specials became bi-monthly, then monthly, and were finally limited to seasonal specials celebrating Easter, Spring, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, ending in 1987. They were recorded from many parts of the world, including The UK, Rome, Austria, France, and many locations throughout North America. Como's Christmas Concert in Ireland was his final special, and the last of his commercial recordings.

His regular television show, at first a spin-off from the Chesterfield Supper Club, continued through the early 1950s, becoming The Perry Como Show, and then for five years The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall. He became the highest paid performer in the history of television to that date, earning mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. Prior to this, Como battled against Jackie Gleason in what was billed the "Battle of the Giants", and won. This is rarely mentioned, because Como commonly played down his own achievements. He recorded many albums of songs for the RCA Victor label between 1952 and 1987, and is credited with numerous gold records. Como had so many recordings achieve gold-record status that he refused to have many of them certified. It was this characteristic which made him so different from his peers, and which endeared him to legions of fans throughout the world. Over the decades, Como is reported to have sold millions of records, but he commonly suppressed these figures.

A farewell concert from Ireland

In January 1994, Como travelled to Dublin, Ireland, for what would be an auspicious moment in his long career of more than sixty years. 1993 would have marked his fiftieth anniversary with the RCA Victor label, now owned and controlled by BMG, as well as his forty-fifth year of television specials celebrating Christmas and its importance throughout the world to people of all faiths. Como's Irish Christmas was produced for the American PBS public television system and has been re-broadcast annually since 1994.

Como died on May 12, 2001 at his home in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida, six days before his eighty-ninth birthday.


Trivia

Perry Como's birthplace of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania is also the birth place of popular singer Bobby Vinton. Vinton always claimed to be from Pittsburgh, while Como stayed loyal to his hometown by saying he was from Canonsburg.

The comedy show SCTV featured a popular sketch with Eugene Levy as "Perry Como: Still Alive!" in which the singer was portrayed as so laid-back that he sang while lying down. The sketch became well enough known to have been mentioned in obituaries, which reported that Como had been greatly amused by it.

And I Love You So :: Perry Como

And I love you so,
The people ask me how,
How I've lived 'till now,
I tell them I don't know!

I guess they understand,
How lonely life has been,
But life began again,
The day you took my hand!

And yes, I know,
How lonely life can be,
The shadows follow me,
And the night won't set me free!

But I don't let . . .
The evening get me down,
Now that you're around,
Me!

And you love me too,
Your thoughts are just for me,
You set my spirit free,
I'm happy that you do!

The book of life is brief,
And once a page is read,
All but love is dead,
That is my belief!

And yes, I know,
How lonely life can be,
The shadows follow me,
And the night won't set me free!

But I don't let . . .
The evening get me down,
Now that you're around,
Me!

Country Wisdom

Don't name a pig you plan to eat.

Country fences need to be horse high, pig tight, and bull strong.

Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but
how well you bounce.

Keep skunks and lawyers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stumps.

A bumble bee is faster than a John Deere tractor.

Trouble with a milk cow is she won't stay milked.

Don't skinny dip with snapping turtles.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.

Meanness doesn't happen overnight.

To know how country folks are doing, look at their barns, not
their houses.

Never lay an angry hand on a kid or an animal; it just ain't
helpful.

Teachers, Moms, and hoot owls sleep with one eye open.

Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.

Don't sell your mule to buy a plow.

Two can live as cheap as one, if one doesn't eat.

Well, Bob. We got butterflys and birds squeezed in between your bio's. Thanks once again, Boston, for the back ground.

Loved your cracker barrel philosophy. "Life is simplier when you plow around the stumps." So true, listeners.

I think most of us are aware of all your celebs, honey.

Some creature news from Florida:


Fatal alligator attacks called 'unfortunate coincidence'

By Jamie Malernee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted May 16 2006


Dry weather has pushed them out of the Everglades and into backyard canals, where they concentrate in greater, hungry numbers.

Mating season has made the males more territorial.

And then there are the people -- hundreds moving into Florida each day -- who have taken over what was once wildlife territory and, in some cases, are feeding the dangerous reptiles like pets.

All these factors, plus a heavy dose of coincidence, are likely to blame in the recent string of deadly alligator attacks across the state, wildlife biologists said Monday. There have been three alligator-related fatalities in the past week; before that, there had been only 17since 1948.

"You have a perfect combination of events that make them act in this unusual way," said Frank Mazzotti, a Fort Lauderdale wildlife scientist with the University of Florida. "I don't ever remember a time when we've had this many fatal attacks."

Officials are advising people to stop feeding alligators and to stay away from the edge of canals, especially with children or dogs.

But they add there is no reason to panic. You're more likely to be attacked by a shark or struck by lightning than attacked by an alligator in Florida. Nationwide, the deadliest animal is the deer, according to statistics from the Florida Museum of Natural History; deer are involved in about 130 fatal car accidents a year.

"It's not alligators you should be afraid of," said Mazzotti. "It's Bambi."

Bambi?

Good Morning.

The bird of time has but a little way to fly and lo the bird is on the wing.



Some Enchanted Evening

76 Trombones led the big parade






and Dream Along With Me, we're on our way to the stars:

Good morning, Raggedy. Fabulous pictures today, PA. I bet I know which one you would choose to watch. <smile>

Let's see if I am right, listeners:



Billy Idol

Shangrila

I'm bathing in warm liquid colour
Feel every cell in my body is music
Floating in hyperspacial sound
Visualizing the landscapes of my mind
I'm opening the door to inner space
I'm feeling the vibrasound

We can live forever
We can live forever
Strike that gong
We can live forever
Our love can live forever
In shangrila

Transform with inner guidance
To a place of peace and paradise
(Oh what a feeling)
Relax let your thoughts drift away
(Oh what a feeling)
Live in belief and harmony
(Chance of freedom)

We can live forever
We can live forever
Stike that gong
We can live forever
Our love can live forever
In shangrila om
In shangrila om

Access your new state of mind
Dedication discipline
Searching the sensory science
Has resulted in shangrila

We can live forever
(Forever & ever & ever)
We can live forever
Our love could live forever
In shangrila
We can live forever
(Forever & ever & ever)
We can live forever
Strike that gong
We can live forever
In shangrila om

A piece of a dream
The color of green
The color of healing
In shangrila
Color of love
In shangrila
I feel the sacred healing chants

I feel the moment
Of my death
I feel the higher learning
I feel the realization of forgiveness
Compassion and loving kindness
Om

Good morning everybody, it looks like another fine day when…

Elvis

All I Needed Was The Rain Lyrics

Hello misfortune, how's my old friend "Mr. Misery"?
I've been away so long I bet you think you saw the last of me
Got no bed, to rest my head
No doors or walls or window pane
Now all I needed was the rain
rain, rain, rain, rain

Met a little honey at the "Buzzin' Bumble Bee Cafe"
Yes I did
One drink and all my money and that honey bee had flown away

I'm 'bout as low, as I can go
I don't really mean to complain
Now all I needed was the rain
rain, rain, rain, rain

All I needed was this rain
All I needed was the rain

Since we can get "them" now grown locally ...



Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry Fields forever.
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn't matter much to me.
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry Fields forever.

No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right, that is I think it's not too bad.
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry Fields forever.

Always, no sometimes, think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.
I think I know I mean a 'Yes' but it's all wrong, that is I think I disagree.
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hungabout.
Strawberry Fields forever.
Strawberry Fields forever.

here's strawberry alarm clock for folks in hawaii and other parts west of the americas:

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time.

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothing to lose.

Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, turn in, turn your eyes around.

Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah!

To divide this cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do.
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view

Who care what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothin' to lose.

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define.
Occasion, persuassions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time.

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothin' to lose.

Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints

Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la

Well, there's our Try in the company of Elvis. Love the song, buddy, and I could REALLY use some of that rain you're singing about.

Walter, Welcome back. It's been a while, but we know that you enjoyed your trip to Chi and New Mexico. Ah, I miss our wild strawberries, and love the Beatle's tune, Germany.

Don't be such a stranger.....................

The stars above you,yet linger awhile
They whisper I love you,oh linger awhile
And when you have gone away
Every hour seems like a day
I've something to tell you
Oh linger awhile

The stars above you,yet linger awhile
They whisper I love you,oh linger awhile
And when you have gone away
Every hour seems like a day
I've something to tell you
Oh linger awhile

I just heard this one on the radio. I had no idea it even existed, but I knew I had to share it when I heard it.

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: Big Ten Inch Record


got me the strangest woman
believe me this trick's no cinch
but I really get her going
when I whip out my big 10 inch

record of a band that plays the blues
well a band that plays its blues
she just love my big 10 inch
record of her favorite blues

last night I tried to tease her
I gave my love a little pinch
she said now stop that jivin'
now whip out your big 10 inch

record of a band that plays those blues
well a band that plays the blues
she just loves my big 10 inch
record of her favorite blues

I, I, I cover her with kisses
and when we're in a lover's clinch
she gets all excited
when she begs for my big 10 inch

record of a band that plays those blues
well a band that plays the blues
she just love my big 10 inch
record of her favorite blues

my girl don't go for smokin'
and liquor just make her flinch
seems she don't go for nothin'
'cept for my big 10 inch

record of a band that plays the blues
band that play the blues
she just love my big 10 inch
record of her favorite blues

How does one follow something like that?

(I'm) All Shook Up

A well I bless my soul
What's wrong with me?
I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree
My friends say I'm actin' wild as a bug
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!

My hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I can't seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you thank when you have such luck?
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!

Please don't ask me what's on my mind
I'm a little mixed up, but I'm feelin' fine
When I'm near that girl that I love best
My heart beats so it scares me to death!

She touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a vulcano that's hot
I'm proud to say she's my buttercup
I'm in love

I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!

My tongue get tied when I try to speak
My insides shake like a leaf on a tree
There's only one cure for this body of mine
That's to have the girl that I love so fine!

Written By Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley

Hey, Mr. Turtle. Missed your strawberry alarm clock. Mine, obviously, isn't working.

"Insense and peppermints, the color of time." Love that, M.D.

Aha! There's our tin swordsman. That's a very provocative song, buddy. Do you suppose that Aerosmith knew that? Thanks, buddy, and nice to see you back.

How about a very berry song, folks:

Toby Keith - Huckleberry Lyrics

Just off of the two-lane where the school bus used to stop
Was a little wooden a-frame with a yellow tin roof top
One day it was raining on this world
She said 'have you ever really, really ever kissed a girl? '

Baby I'll be your huckleberry, you don't have to double dare me
If the storm gets wild and scary count on me to be right there
You're so extra ordinary sweet like maraschino cherries
We'll grow up and we'll get married
I'm gonna be your huckleberry

Later on that summer we went to the county fair
They had a brand new roller coaster and everyone was scared
It was two bucks to experience the thrill
She said 'come on boy let's get in line I'll ride it if you will'

Baby I'll be your huckleberry, you don't have to double dare me
If the ride gets wild and scary count on me to be right there
You're so extra ordinary sweet like maraschino cherries
We'll grow up and we'll get married
I'm gonna be your huckleberry

Snuck off on a slow dance at the junior/senior prom
Went lookin' for some romance before I had to get her home
Steamin' up the windows of my car
She said 'until I get my wedding ring boy we can't go that far'

Baby I'll be your huckleberry, you don't have to double dare me
If the world gets wild and scary count on me to be right there
You're so extra ordinary sweet like maraschino cherries
We grew up and we got married
Now look at those three little huckleberries

I sure hope so, Letty. The lyrics have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. :wink:
Here's one more down the center.

Artist: Eric Clapton
Song: Tears In Heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Heh! Heh! Yes, dear Try. I suppose that you and Elvis would be "all shook up." Neat come back, buddy.

Ah, Arthur. That's a song that I really love. It gives me goose bumps when I hear it. Thanks, dear.

Now, here's what I am in since I listened to Tears in Heaven:

Duke Ellington
» In A Sentimental Mood

In A Sentimental Mood I can see
the stars come thru my room
While your loving attitude is
like a flame that lights the gloom
On the wings of ev'ry kiss
Drift a melody so strange and sweet
In this sentimental bliss you make
my Paradise complete
Rose pearls seem to fall
It's all like a dream to call you mine
My heart's lighter thing since you
made me this night a thing divine
In A Sentimental Mood
I'm within a world so heavenly
For I never dreamt that you'd be
loving sentimental me
In A Sentimental Mood I can see
the stars come thru my room
While your loving attitude is
like a flame that lights the gloom
On the wings of ev'ry kiss
Drift a melody so strange and sweet
In this sentimental bliss you make
my Paradise complete
Rose pearls seem to fall
It's all like a dream to call you mine
My heart's lighter thing since you
made me this night a thing divine
In A Sentimental Mood
I'm within a world so heavenly
For I never dreamt that you'd be
loving sentimental me

Great jazz ballad, listeners, that goes back and forth from minor to major. <smile>