As a reader of this column, you know I have a fascination with music. I can’t play it or sing it well, but I most certainly enjoy it. I heard a song the other day that had sounds of dialing (or more accurately, pressing) of telephone numbers. It made me wonder how many songs about the telephone hit the charts through the years. So, I started a list, and here is what I came up with.
Let’s start with the most obvious one — Jenny. Yes, “867-5309” the 1981 No. 1 hit by Tommy Tutone. Admit it; you dialed it.
“Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels).” The year was 1972, and this Jim Croce hit was the second single released from his “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” album. This is a timeless song from a talented musician who died much too young.
“Call Me” was the theme song to the 1980 movie “American Gigolo.” The band, of course, was Blondie. And the lead singer was the one and only Debbie Harry. Yes, the tide is still high.
Let’s throw a little country foot-stomping into the mix with “Callin’ Baton Rouge” sung by Garth Brooks, as well as many others. It was a chart-topping single for him in the 1990s. “Hello, Samantha, dear, I hope you’re doing fine.”
The song that inspired this column, “Sometimes a Fantasy” by Billy Joel, opens with the sound of a touch-tone telephone dialing numbers, and it rocks from there. The song only peaked at No. 36, but it was one of many singles released from the “Glass Houses” album of 1980. Every roller-skater of the era knew it.
“Rikki Don't Lose That Number” was the most successful song by the group Steely Dan. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. A little music trivia for you: Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles sings on the back vocals.
I love this song. “Don’t Call Us” by Sugarloaf reached No. 9 on the charts in 1974, also using the sounds of a touch-tone telephone. The numbers are apparently an unlisted phone number at CBS Records in Manhattan. This cynical song is about the band’s difficulty in securing a contract and the words they so often heard: “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
The ballad “Telephone Line” is a track from Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) that charted in the top 10 in the U.K. and the U.S. in 1976, once again using the touch-tone telephone sounds. The lyrics are about a man listening to the ringing on his telephone while waiting for a girl to answer his call and imagining what he would say if she did. The incredibly talented Jeff Lynne looks creepy in the video, but it was the 1970s.
I know I missed some other great ones. Send me a note and let me know.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com
See Shane Goodman's other columns here. |
|
|
Clear Mortgage meteorology
Not much to say, other than warm and dry weather rolls on for the first half of October.
For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage. |
|
|
| Watch for the October CITYVIEW magazine on racks this week! | | | FEATURE: Fright Zone
And don't miss:
• Center Stage
• Food Dude
• Civic Skinny
• Iowa Wild and Des Moines Buccaneers previews
• Iowa Artists
• Puzzles
• Stray Thoughts
• Sounds
• & much more! |
|
|
The 2024 results ...
CITYVIEW's Best Of Des Moines® | | | Best Local Martial Arts Studio
1. Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of Waukee
2. Dojo’s Family Martial Arts
3.Farrell’s Martial Arts
Read all the 2024 results.
Cast your votes in the 2025 Best Of Des Moines Poll now! Open until Nov. 22. Results to be published in the February 2025 issue of CITYVIEW.
|
|
|
| Featured home for sale | | |
$965,000 3752 N.W. 103rd Place, Polk City, IA 50226
Step into this impeccably maintained 1.5-story custom residence boasting a contemporary flair. With over 4,000 square feet of living space, there's ample room for the entire family. The main level showcases a luxurious master suite with a walk-in closet featuring custom built-ins, alongside a convenient laundry room equipped with organizational built-ins and a crafting area.
See the listing here.
| | | See More Homes For Sale |
|
|
| SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction | | | 1616 VINE ST., WEST DES MOINES
SALE DATE: 2024-06-26
SALE PRICE: $775,000
SELLER: AHART ENTERPRISES LLC
BUYER: LAU RENTALS LLC
ACRES: 0.551
SQUARE FEET: 7,560 |
|
|
Woebegone Wednesday
Cowboy Junkies, the great songwriters of all things woebegone, are playing Des Moines tomorrow at Hoyt Sherman. Aposto promises to get you to the show on time after dinner. That has always worked for us.
Motel 6 sold to a 6-year-old Indian hotel company, Oyo, for $525 million. Motel 6’s franchise network produces annual gross room revenues of $1.7 billion according to Wall Street Journal. How those numbers add up to anything less than a steal of a deal is beyond us. But then, that is what $6 motel rooms were in the 1960s when Motel 6 began and color TV was $1 upgrade there.
Wednesday bargains
• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston). The weekly special is yellowtail swordfish.
• Barntown's (9500 S.E. University Ave., West Des Moines) Wednesday specials are a pound of chicken tenders with fries and two sauces for $11.99, plus $13 core pitchers of beer.
• Wednesday is Biryani Festival at Chowrastha (5910 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines). Buy two and a third is free.
• Wednesdays bring steak night to Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines). Steaks are cooked to order with salad, potato and bread, $14.99.
• Kids eat free with every paying adult on Wednesdays at Chuck’s (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines).
• Rangemasters Training Center (10520 Hickman Road, Clive) has a Wednesday ladies day special of $13 per person for live firing range and one target. $10 handgun rentals or BYOG.
• Fresh Thyme (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) has pineapples on sale for $2.99 each through Tuesday.
• It's cavatelli night at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines) served with garlic bread for $10.
• Bordanaro's (6108 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) has a Wednesday-Thursday only special on carryout pizza. They start at $6.50 for a 10-inch cheese pie. Each ingredient added is an extra charge, but this pretty much adds up to half-price pies.
• Panka Peruvian (2708 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) is offering free coffee all week 9-10 a.m. with breakfast for Latino Heritage month.
• Price Choppers have Gala, Honeycrisp and Fuji apples on sale for $.99/pound and Best Choice butter for $3.49/pound through Monday.
• Waterfront's (2900 University Ave., West Des Moines) Wednesday special this week is yellowtail tuna.
— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com |
|
|
| Featured in the current issue of Ankeny Living magazine | | | Work to be done
Ankeny group teams with village in Africa
By Darren Tromblay
A group from Ankeny is stepping up to help address a devastating crisis facing a community on the other side of the globe.
Jim and Maria Maixner have teamed with Vice President and Director of Agriculture Tracy Blackmer, as well as Secretary Doug Wibholm, to form Zambia-Iowa Agricultural Partners, a non-profit start-up created to help residents of Zambia in their time of need.
The effort began a year ago when three people traveled to Zambia, Africa, in March to meet with locals and assess the situation of one village in particular while also meeting with the mayor and one of the tribal chiefs of the locale. | | | READ MORE |
|
|
FROM KCCI: Madison County man killed in apparent logging accident. MADISON COUNTY, Iowa — The Madison County Sheriff's Office is conducting a death investigation after a 74-year-old man was found dead after an apparent logging accident on Tuesday....READ MORE
FROM WHO-TV: Ingersoll shooting brings community together as investigation continues. The sound of gunshots echoed down Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines on Friday night with security cameras catching the suspected gunman sprinting away. ... READ MORE
FROM WOI-DT Local 5: ‘Our customers deserve better’: Iowa union members protest USPS delivery changes. According to USPS, 75% of First-Class Mail won't be affected but some other mail may experience delays by a day.....READ MORE |
|
|
WNBA semifinals: Aces 84 Liberty 88 - NY leads series 2-0.
MLB: Detroit 3 Houston 1; Kansas City 1 Baltimore 0; NVM 8 Milwaukee 4; Atlanta 0 San Diego 4
ESPN: Padres roll as Fernando Tatis Jr. marks playoff return with HR ...READ MORE
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Brewers Make Unfortunate MLB History With Another Blown Playoff Lead ... READ MORE
CBS Sports: Jets' Robert Saleh, Aaron Rodgers at odds over hard count; Davante Adams, Luke Kuechly defend veteran QB ...READ MORE |
|
|
1985: Hollywood icon Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. On October 2, 1985, actor Rock Hudson, 59, becomes the first major U.S. celebrity to die of complications from AIDS. Hudson’s death raised public awareness of the epidemic, which until that time had been ignored by many in the mainstream as a “gay plague.”... READ MORE
2020: President Trump announces he and the first lady tested positive for COVID‑19. Amid a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announces that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 in an early-morning tweet on October 2, 2020. ... READ MORE
2006: Gunman kills five students at Amish school. On October 2, 2006, Charles Roberts enters the West Nickel Mines Amish School in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, where he fatally shoots five female students and wounds five more before turning his gun on himself and dying by suicide. ... READ MORE
|
|
|
| Birthdays and notables | | | These celebrities were born on this date: Sting, Kelly Ripa, Lorraine Bracco, Annie Leibovitz, Avery Brooks, Don McLean, Donna Karan, Efren Ramirez, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Marion Bartoli, Tiffany, Brittany Howard
SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
|
|
The answer to yesterday's riddle:
Why do waiters make such great tennis players? THEY ARE EXCELLENT SERVERS! Shane Goodman, Susan Walter, Kris Laurson, Brendan Comito
Today's riddle:
What did Elton John say when he replaced his old jeans wiht new, designer ones?
Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com |
|
|
To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or the Iowa Living magazines, contact:
Jolene Goodman
Vice President
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 319
Mobile: 515-326-0082
jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com
©Big Green Umbrella Media, Inc., all rights reserved.
www.biggreenumbrellamedia.com. Add webmaster@dmcityview.com to your address book to ensure delivery. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Click here to get it delivered to your inbox for FREE! |
|
|
This email was sent to:
email@example.com
Big Green Umbrella Media, Inc.
8101 Birchwood Ct Suite D
Johnston, Iowa 50131
|
|
|
|
