It's Late Ricky!

Welcome to Saturday 9!

It's Late (1959)
Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.


1) Ricky Nelson laments that he should have been home hours ago. When is the last time you stayed up later than you should have? What were you doing?

the other night binge watching season 3 of Riverdale.

2) Compounding Ricky's problem is that he's nearly out of gas. How is your gas tank right now? When did you most recently fill 'er up?

Full, Thursday

3) It gets worse! He can't call home because he doesn't have a dime for the pay phone. Have you recently been in a situation where you've been glad you had your cell phone handy?

No. I don't usually have it with me at all.

4) The video for this song is from an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie Nelson, Ricky's father, was in charge of the show and made the rules. One was that no one was allowed to smoke on the set ... except his wife, Harriet. Do you smoke? Have you ever lived with a smoker?

I don't smoke, never have. My father smoked a pipe.

5) Life magazine coined the phrase "teen idol" to describe Ricky's popularity. According to Tiger Beat, today's teen idols include Johnny Orlando and Ruby Jay. Johnny was born in 2003, Ruby in 2004. Sam admits that before today, she had no idea who these young people are. How about you?

I know most of the teen idols because of The Little who is 11 and we listen to music together all the time.


6) While Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan have posthumously praised Ricky Nelson's music, 1950s music critics dismissed him as a lightweight. What's the last review you read? Was it written by a professional critic, or was it contributed by a consumer to a site like Amazon or Yelp?

When I read critics it will usually be Rex Reed.  I also will look at consumer reviews. I don't use Amazon or Yelp, however.


7) At the height of his popularity, Ricky tried his hand at movies, appearing in the western Rio Bravo
with John Wayne. He turned 18 during the filming, and Wayne celebrated by playfully throwing Ricky into a sack of horse manure. Do you think pranks and practical jokes are funny?
It depends. Some are just plain mean. It's important that no one be hurt or made to look foolish.


8) In 1959, when this song was popular, the St. Lawrence Seaway was completed. It connects Canada to our Great Lakes. Without looking it up, can you name all 5 Great Lakes?
Yes I can.    Huron, Erie, Superior (Gitchi gumi from the poem Hiawatha by Longfellow),Ontario, Michigan.

9) Random question – You drive past a local motel and see the car of a very married friend right there in the lot. Would you ask her about it?
Nope. None of my business. People ask such things hoping to find dirt on others. I despise that in people. It is a serious character flaw. People like to assume the worst about people and that's evil.

Tomorrow is Sunday Stealing so come back to visit.