Go-Go Girl
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
There were a couple of odd things about meeting Jane Wiedlin when she appeared at the Chiller Theatre Show in Parsippany, New Jersey, on April 30, 2011. The first was that although she is primarily known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-girl New Wave band The Go-Go’s (with whom she is pictured, second from left), she didn’t have a single photo of herself with the band to offer. The second odd thing was that every one of the photos that she did have for sale had been pre-signed by her. It’s as if she had gotten bored sitting there and just went ahead and signed all of them. As any autograph collector can tell you, part of the thrill of getting an autograph is watching it come to life right before your eyes. Read the rest of this entry »
If you answered Ghostbusters! to that question – and worse yet, sang in the cadence of the classic song from the 1984 film Ghostbusters, well than I must say, you are quite predicatable. The answer I was looking for was actually Ray Parker, Jr., the solo recording artist who wrote, produced, and recorded the chart-topping #1 hit theme song that people are still singing ad nauseum today. 
After Jamie and I had spent our day at the Willow Springs Water Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 6, 2011, we made the three-hour journey back to Memphis, Tennessee. Of course if you’ve been following this series of road trip posts, you’ll know that we had already spent Sunday in Memphis. But I had purposely made the plans so that we would hit it both coming and going. Following our long drive, we were both ready for a late dinner and we arrived at Uncle Lou’s Chicken at about 7:30pm. 
I’d have to say that one of the distinct highlights of attending the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011, was getting the chance to meet Frankie Avalon. When it come to making the popular beach movies of the 1960′s – films such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo – the names don’t get much more iconic than Frankie and Annette. As a student of Billboard #1 songs too, I have a real appreciate for two of Frankie’s songs that hit the number one spot: Venus and Why – the latter of which became the last number one hit of the 1950′s. Frankie also co-starred in The Alamo, which was directed by and starred John Wayne. And he played himself in the 1952 Christmas sketch of The Honeymooners on The Jackie Gleason Show. 
I had warned Jamie that the first two days of our road trip were going to be incredibly fast-paced and extremely full. Saturday in Nashville had lived up to those designations with flying colors, and our day in Memphis on Sunday, July 3, 2011, would certainly be no exception. After the long day and late night we had had, I was amazed at our fortitude in getting up and ready, and departing our Nashville Howard Johnson’s motel by 7:15am. It was already hot outside as we bid farewell to the city, our lodgings, and the very creaky elevator.