History of a tree

Smokey Bear (the PSA is part of the Smokey Bear "campaign") provides a concise history of America in this 60 second public service announcement from 1969:

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (also called "The Magic Song") is a novelty song, written in 1948 by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston. It was introduced in the movie Cinderella, in 1950.

A recording by Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters was the most popular. It was recorded on November 7, 1949. The flip side was (another one from Cinderella) "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes." The recording reached #14 on the Billboard chart.

Another recording, by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae, was released by Capitol Records (although there's just something about Jo Stafford's voice I don't like, listen to that version here). The record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 16, 1949 and lasted 7 weeks on the chart, peaking at #19.

But obviously the best version of the song is in its original inception, in the Disney classic, Cinderella, with Verna Felton as the Fairy Godmother:

Main Street, Bandera, Texas

Cabaret Dancehall, c. 1936
From TexasEscapes.com:

Bandera, Texas, became "Cowboy Capital of the World" in part because of its numerous Dude Ranches. The area became popular with San Antonians wanting to escape the city's summer heat - and in the 20s and 30s - with increased car ownership (Bandera never had a railroad) "Dude Ranches" started appearing. Several of the oldest are still in business today.

There's an old Texaco on the corner:



The OST Restaurant (OST = Old Spanish Trail) has been around since 1921. John Wayne supposedly visited the area during the filming of The Alamo and ate here. There is a burger called "The Duke" in his honor.

Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar Saloon is a honky tonk that opened in the 1930s. Ernest Tubb once performed with the Texas Troubadours at Arkey's. Entertainer/singer/songwriter Arkey Blue has performed here since 1968.

Being the Bandera County Seat, Bandera is the location of the Bandera County Courthouse. It was constructed in 1883 in the Renaissance Revival Style. They unlocked the courtroom (court wasn't in session) for my father and me. We came close to getting a tour of the cupola.

"The Harry Lime Theme"

From the Anton Karas Wikipedia entry:

Anton Karas (July 7, 1906 – January 10, 1985) was a Viennese zither player, best known for his soundtrack to Carol Reed's 1949 adaptation of The Third Man.

In 1948, director Reed was preparing to shoot The Third Man in Vienna and decided to have Karas playing the zither for the soundtrack. Reluctant Karas was invited to London and lived with Reed while composing the score, and at that time was drawing a considerable salary of 30 GBP a week, plus 20 in pocket money, with expenses. The soundtrack was created in Korda's London Films studios, and Karas, who was homesick most of the time, worked up to 14 hours a day for twelve weeks: He had not been a composer before, but a great performer, and added improvisations to his repertoire. Later, Karas would mention that Reed almost "kept him like a slave" when he wanted to go back to Vienna more than once.

Orson Welles as Harry Lime
The film, not at least due to its music, turned into a gigantic success which changed Karas' life. As a result, he toured all over the world and performed for many celebrities, among them members of the British Royal family (Princess Margaret had invited him to London's fashionable Empress Club, where he played twice a week during his stay at London), Juliana of the Netherlands, members of the Swedish royal family, and Pope Pius XII.

By the end of 1949, a half million copies of "The Harry Lime Theme" had been sold, an unprecedented amount for the time. The success of the score also caused a surge in zither sales.


"The Harry Lime Theme" - he sure does get some great amplification from that zither!

Swank digs

Photo: Evan Sung for The New York Times
Thanks to frequent contributor Michael Suzich for this link to a New York Times article about whether or not an apartment or building that was once home to a celebrity becomes more valuable because of that connection. Of note is "Frank Sinatra's Hangout," a brief slideshow featuring Sinatra's penthouse apartment at 530 East 72nd Street. Sinatra lived in the apartment from the time the building opened in 1962 until 1972. According to the article, the apartment has been kept:

...just as Sinatra had designed it, including an original 1960s kitchen with a hidden stove top that pulls out, wood paneling in a den and black and white quilted lining on the walls of a closet in the master bedroom.

"Ease on Down the Road"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Ease on Down the Road" is a song from the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, best known in its 1978 release as a duet between soul singers and Motown alums Diana Ross & Michael Jackson.

The 1978 duet was released as the theme song of the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz (itself an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), and produced by Quincy Jones. The Charlie Smalls–composed tune was an R&B re-interpretation of both "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and "We're Off to See the Wizard" from the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz. In the song, Dorothy (portrayed in the film by Ross) and the Scarecrow (played by Jackson) dance their way down the Yellow Brick Road, and give each other words of encouragement.

"Ease on Down the Road" is performed four times in The Wiz: once by Dorothy and the Scarecrow, once by the two of them and the Tin Man (played in the movie by Nipsey Russell), by the three of them and the Cowardly Lion (played by Ted Ross), and finally during the end credits. In the album version, Jackson & Ross sing by themselves. The recording was one of Jackson's first collaborations with Quincy Jones, who became his main producer during the late 1970s and 1980s.

"Xanadu"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Xanadu" is the title song from the album Xanadu, the soundtrack to the 1980 film of the same name. The song is performed by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) with vocals by Olivia Newton-John.

A rare collaboration for ELO, it is the band's only UK #1 single for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

Has there ever been a package quite like that of Olivia Newton-John, with her perfect beauty and voice? I had somewhat of a crush on her beginning when I was around 7 or 8-years-old, during her debut as a country artist and later movie career. What's cool is she appears to be maintaining everything (voice and appearance) pretty well. But back in the day, oh my:


I'd like to put the first 24 seconds of that on continuous loop