I found Charles Ives' Holiday Symphony a few years ago. The four moments revolve around the patriotic holidays Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day (then known as Decoration Day), the 4th of July, and Thanksgiving and Forefather's Day. Decoration Day is loud and crashing, a band in a morning parade, and is more fun than you might think.
I've been listening to America the Beautiful on patriotic holidays for almost 20 years. This 2-disc LP set was released in 1986 in honor of the Statue of Liberty's remodel, and you probably won't find a more all-American collection of music anywhere else. The first disc features most of the vocal music, including "This Land Is Your Land" and Kate Smith's famous rendition of "God Bless America." I also love the bouncy "Grand Canyon Suite," stirring "American Patrol," and the medley of George M. Cohen songs performed by the Boston Pops where you can hear people singing along in the background. The second disc has the more traditional numbers, like "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean," and "The Stars and Stripes Forever." "Pride On Parade" has the themes for the Armed Forces - "Anchors Aweigh," "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "The Marines' Hymn."
It rained earlier in the morning, but it was just cloudy and cold by quarter of 2. Even so, I wasn't taking chances. I called Uber. For once, that might have been the best choice. The one going to work arrived in five minutes and got me there in plenty of time. The one going home came in 8 minutes.
Work was busy when I came in, but not overwhelming. You'd never know it from the state the carts were in. It must have been busier this morning and in the early afternoon, when people were coming out of church and getting ready for picnics they were suddenly able to hold. At least it was cloudy and a little cool, in the lower 60's, but not rainy or even windy. It hasn't rained since last night. I still had a hard time keeping up with the carts. They remained in bad shape, even as my shift ended.
Bought a container of seafood salad and crackers to have with a bag of baby carrots for dinner, then went home, changed, finished America the Beautiful, and spent the rest of the night listening to today's Match Game marathon. Several now well-known celebrities turned up as contestants on the 70's and early 80's version of the show. Soap star Lynn Deerfield talked about how she won money on the 60's Match Game with Burt Reynolds and Don Meredith as her team captains in a nighttime episode from 1976. (Alas, like most of the 60's run, those episodes are now lost.)
Also in 1976, struggling actress Brianne Leary won several games that would later allow her to focus on her acting career. She became the only contestant to become a panelist on the 1970's run when she reappeared for two weeks in 1979 after appearing in the first season of CHIps. Later talk show hostess Aphrodite Jones made a brief appearance as a contestant in 1978, though unlike Brianne, she didn't win any money.
The two most famous celebrities to be contestants on Match Game turned up in memorable syndicated episodes. Kirstie Alley's first episode was hilarious even before she appeared. The woman who played before her spent so long trying to answer a question about sheep, Gene ended up laying on the floor. To tell the truth, Kirstie seemed a little above it all in her first round. She seemed to get more into the spirit of things in the second episode.
Future talk show hostess Jenny Jones had a lot more fun. She really seemed to enjoy herself, and not only played well, but won both her games. Barbara Rhodes had the honor of helping her fund her acting and hosting career.
Check out several celebrities before they became famous - and one at the height of her fame - in this star-studded marathon!
No comments:
Post a Comment