Paul McCartney dredges up Irving Berlin

The Nostalgic Rambler is busy these days producing radio shows for WMCW in Astor, Florida. "The Saturday Night Stereo Dance Party" airs on that station. If you're not local, hopefully they will be on the world wide web soon so you can listen in! 

In the meantime, don't forget about our "Nostalgic Rambler" show every Saturday from 2-4pm on WKSG 89.5 FM in Ocala, Florida or on the web at www.TheGeneMartinShow.com.

In the meantime music still fills our days in other ways. We have another radio station locally "Gold 99" which airs a satellite feed of "America's Best Music." It's a good mix of favorites and includes some nice surprises once in a while.

I'm no big fan of The Beatles, but was charmed when they played a song by Paul McCartney. It was his version of the ancient Irving Berlin classic "Always." Click here to enjoy it. 

Or if you want a more vintage version here's Norma Zimmer from "The Lawrence Welk Show" singing the song back in the black and white TV days. 

Irving Berlin was a genius and it's great to see his music being kept alive by a Rock and Roll icon like McCartney.

Hope you're having a great summer. We are! There is so much music to listen to!

Spending the summer with "What's My Line?"

As I get more out of touch with modern pop culture and retreat into my comfortable cocoon of the past, I am very much enthralled this summer with the 1950s/60s game show "What's My Line?" starring John Daly, Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, one of my favorite personalities Bennett Cerf, and a slew of guests. 

 The show ran from 1950 to 1967 (!) on CBS and featured practically every famous person through the years coming through as a mystery guest.

Being on for so many years, the audience felt that they knew the panelists. Dorothy Kilgallen was a gossip columnist, Arlene Francis hosted and appeared on many other tv shows, and Bennett Cerf was the guy who started the publishing gianthouse Random House (see a previous Nostalgic Rambler entry about him by clicking here.) John Daly was an ABC newsman but did his What's My Line? stint for all those years on CBS.

The panelists try to guess the occupations of regular folk but the mystery guest ("for which as always my friends on the panel on blindfolded...blindfolds in place panel???...Enter mystery guest and sign in please!" was always a highlight. Everyone from Salvadore Dali to Barbra Streisand came on the show.

 Why am I watching all of these shows? Years ago they were on Game Show Network but have long vanished again from over the air TV. With the advent of the Roku and Youtube, I can see them anytime I want. Don't have to wait for Sunday night at 10:30pm on CBS as they did back in the 1950s. That's one good thing about living today instead of then, but I do wish I had met Bennett Cerf. Maybe he would have published my book "The Little Grownup"!

You can easily do a search on Youtube for What's My Line? but here are a few links. Click here or here to watch.