QUARANTINE BLOG # 228

November 13, 2020

We haven’t put any coins into the jukebox in a while, so let’s play a few oldies.

First up from 1956, “Sixteen Tons,” by Tennessee Ernie Ford.  This clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLVtJkpl_ug is from the Dinah Shore TV show (at one point is was called the Dinah Shore Chevy Show, because Chevrolet was its sponsor). 

“Sixteen Tons” was written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, and based on life in mines in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.  Travis first recorded the song in 1946.  A 1955 version recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford reached number one in the Billboard charts.  On March 25, 2015, Ford’s version of the song was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry

Ernest Jennings Ford, known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford (also Old Ern, and the Tennessee Pea Picker) was a singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres.  He was noted for his rich bass-baritone voice and down-home humor.  

“The Shotgun Boogie” was Tennessee Ernie Ford’s most successful release on the Country & Western charts, staying on the charts for a total of 25 weeks on the chart, and at number one for 14 weeks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDGt9G4WN8.

Before we move on, here a fun clip of Old Ern on the Dean Martin Show  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8yI2A0QUtM.

As long as we’re listening to good country music, here is “The World’s Most Famous Unknown Band” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAGdt9d92Q.  Chet Atkins presented TWMFUB in a salute to Ralph Emery, and that band is: Glen Campbell, Jerry Reed, Steve Wariner, Roy Clark, Ray Stevens, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Greenwood, Steve Gatlin, Barbara Mandrell, and Irlene Mandrell.  

Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, “Pop! Goes the Country,” “Nashville Network,” “Nashville Now,” and “Ralph Emery Live.”  

Chet Atkins was known as “Mr. Guitar” and “The Country Gentleman.”   He was primarily known as a guitarist. He also played the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and ukulele.

Here is Atkins playing “The Entertainer” from The Sting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHtwF-gpluc.  And Ralph Emery introduces Chet playing “Yakety Axe” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK7T4LHjln4.  

Next week we’ll do a couple more from the same era: “The Deck of Cards,” and “The Auctioneer.”

👉  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. on November 13, 1982, after thousands of Vietnam veterans  marched to its site. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict, arranged in order of death, not rank, as was common in other memorials.

The moment plans for the memorial were unveiled, it was clear the structure would be immediately recognizable – and controversial.  It was all the more astonishing because of its creator, an unknown, 21-year-old student with no professional experience.   Maya Lin was still an undergraduate at Yale University when she beat out over 1,400 competitors in a competition to design the memorial.  A Chinese-American, Lin was born in Ohio, where her parents were professors.  They escaped mainland China as young adults when it became clear that their families might be threatened by Maoist revolutionaries.

A sculpture that had won third place in the design competition, Frederick Elliot Hart’s “Three Soldiers,” was added in 1993.

Some 275,000 Americans, as well as businesses and veterans’ groups, donated $8.4 million so the memorial could be built.  While U. S. Congress had allocated three acres on the National Mall for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, funding for the project came from the private sector, not the government.

👉  Today is Sadie Hawkins Day.  It originated Al Capp’s comic strip, Li’l Abner, which ran from 1934 to 1977.  The holiday is named after the so-called “homeliest gal in all them hills.”  

Sadie’s dad Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was so concerned that his homely but speedy daughter would become a spinster that he declared Sadie Hawkins Day, when unmarried women literally chase after the town’s bachelors.  

The comic strip’s protagonist Li’l Abner spent nearly two decades outracing his pursuer Daisy Mae on the annual Sadie Hawkins Day until finally marrying her in 1952.

Today’s Sadie Hawkins Day is celebrated by ladies inviting men to go to the movies, or a dance, or a restaurant, or even propose marriage.  Ladies first.

👉  Our “Did You Know Department” has found some more goodies.

DYK Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all banned in China.  Those aren’t the only ones either – over 8,000 domain names are blocked.  Next to Egg Foo Young and Moo Shu Vegetables, that’s probably the best thing China has done.

DYK that pigs are considered as the world’s fifth-smartest animal.  They are smarter than dogs, they can solve puzzles better than chimpanzees and they have some of the best long-term memories known in animals.  Which reminds me of the story of the pig and chicken talking about doing something special for their master.  They decided to give him a breakfast of bacon and eggs.  The pig back out, saying to the chicken, “For you, it is an offering.  For me, it is total dedication.”

DYK ABBA turned down 1 billion dollars to do a reunion tour.  In 2000, ABBA was offered $1 billion dollars to reunite for 100 shows – which would have been $250 million per member.  They turned it down because it wasn’t for them.  Money, Money, Money https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0.  Speaking of an ABBA reunion, here is a clip from 2016 when they got together – for the first time in 30 years – for “Mamma Mia: The Party” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMLBji4DoWM.

👉  Today’s close is from John North.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen” (Jude 1:24-25),

God is able to keep you from stumbling in your spiritual life!

These words aren’t just a beautiful benediction to be recited at the end of a church service, they are spiritual truth for your life!  You may be stumbling badly in your spiritual life, but God is able to keep you from stumbling.

No matter how far you have drifted away from God, no matter what has become a sinful habit in your life, no matter how dim your hope has become that anything can change, no matter how many times you have tried to change and failed, God is able to keep you from stumbling.

The key to victory in your spiritual life is not to try harder.  The key is to surrender the leadership of your life to Jesus Christ.  He is the only one who can live a holy life in the middle of our godless world, and He is ready to live that life through you.

Today He wants you to stop trying to change on your own and invite Him to live through you – no matter what it means.

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