Don't Think Twice by Eric Clapton - One of My Favorite Dylan Covers

Don't Think Twice was originally recorded by Bob Dylan in his Freewheelin' album in 1963.  It has been covered umpteen times in many musical genres.  Eric Clapton recorded this version at the 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992.

Still Crazy After All These 76 Years

 

Where did all these years go?  I don't feel or look like I'm 76 years old.  Thankfully, I am in good health.  As we age, we fear that some ailment will arise, leading to our demise.  Nobody knows how much time the Lord has given us.  My mother lived to 95 while my Uncle Sy lived to 101.  Other family members were not as fortunate.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, I enjoyed baseball, Bob Dylan, top 40 hits, and Jeopardy among other interests.  I still enjoy those things today.  That helps me "think young."

I already received many birthday wishes from my "Facebook community of friends."  Many of them I have never me face to face while others I have known for years.  I appreciate all the kind wishes.

Mets Defeat Cardinals 7-4 to Complete a 4-Game Sweep

If it's Sunday, Lee and I are at Citi Field to Meet the Mets.  The Mets bats seem to be coming alive as Francisco Lindor had three hits, including a leadoff homer and Juan Soto had three RBI, including a two-run double to cap a three-run eighth.  It nice to see they are earning their respective multi-million dollar salaries.

The Mets took a 3-0 lead, but the Cardinals tied it up in the top of the 7th inning. Brandon Nimmo robbed Jordan Walker of a home run in the sixth inning and singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh.

So far, the Mets are 3-0 in games that I attended.

Box Score

 

Today is the 60th Anniversary of All-News on 1010 WINS

 

Radio stations often change formats to attract different audiences, but 1010 WINS, as an all-news station, has lasted  60 years.  I remember listening to Murray the K when 1010 WINS was a top 40 station until April 19, 1965.  On October 10. 2022 WINS began to simulcast on 92.3 FM.  They still use the slogan "You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world."

The news stories on 1010 WINS are usually very brief.  One must watch TV News or listen to WNYC for more in-depth coverage. The station must be very repetitive as it expects its listeners to stay only a short time.

There is an Asian woman in my neighborhood in a bagel bakery who always listens to WINS.  I once asked her if she is bored listening to news all the time.  Her answer was "I like the news."  To each his own.  In any event, the news on any outlet is so sad as they report murders, crime, fires, accidents, natural disasters, and political nonsense.  I like to keep informed, but once a day is enough.

One Program Providing Virus Protection is Enough

 

On April 10th, I described my problems in reinstalling Microsoft 365.  After two people from Microsoft couldn't solve my problem, I was referred to a Tier 2 support person.  I had to wait a week for this person to contact me, so I had to use a free version of Microsoft Word in the meantime.  Finally, today the person contacted me by phone and determined that the problem was caused by my having more than one virus protection programs on my computer.  After we deleted the two unnecessary programs, I was able to reinstall Microsoft 365.  As an added bonus, my computer worked much faster.  It turned out that the programs were interfering with each other.

All's well that ends well.

Wink Martindale Was Also a Radio Personality

 

Yesterday, we found out that Wink Martindale, best known as a game show host, passed away at age 91.  In 1959, he had a top ten spoken word hit Deck of Cards.  He was also a radio personality.  The information below is from Wikipedia.

He started his career as a disc jockey at age 17 at WPLI in Jackson, earning $25 a week.

After moving to WTJS, he was hired away for double the salary by Jackson's only other station, WDXI. He next hosted mornings at WHBQ in Memphis while a college student at Memphis State University, before graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1957. While at U of M, Martindale became a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

On the evening of July 10, 1954, Martindale was showing the WHBQ studio to some friends when he realized that his colleague on the 9 p.m. to midnight shift, Dewey Phillips, was getting many reactions from listeners after airing a new song. That song was Elvis Presley's first record, "That's All Right." The song was recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio on the evening of July 5, 1954. Sam, who had brought the record on July 6, was in the WHBQ studio on the first airing night and had Elvis' telephone number. DJ Dewey Phillips wanted to interview Elvis during his program, so Wink endeavored to contact Elvis. Still, Gladys Presley, Elvis's mother, answered the phone and said Elvis was so nervous that he had gone to a movie theater. Gladys and her husband Vernon brought Elvis to WHBQ and Dewey interviewed Elvis without his knowing that he was on the air (Martindale reported that Elvis later admitted that he would have been unable to talk otherwise).

Today is Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball

 

Above is a video from MSNBC discussing the significance of Jackie Robinson Day, observed every April 15. On that day, all players, managers, and coaches wear uniform #42, permanently retired by all MLB teams.  This tradition started on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Jackie's first appearance with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  I highly recommend my readers visit the Jackie Robinson Museum in lower Manhattan.

I Only Have Eyes for You - Flamingos and Art Garfunkel Versions -Which is Your Favorite

 I just listened to a radio interview with Art Garfunkel on BBC2. Please access this within a month since it will be taken offline.  I Only Have Eyes for You by the Flamingos was popular with listeners of WCBS-FM back when the station played the hits of the 1950s.  I also liked the version by Art Garfunkel that appeared on his Breakaway album.  Which is your favorite?

Another Chat Relationship Ends Abruptly - No More for Me!

 

On March 23 I described some chatting relationships that I had with younger women.  I described the latest encounter as follows:

"This last chat is ongoing.  Emily is from Singapore and lives in St. Petersburg.  I met her on her business account on Telegram.  She then moved the chat to her personal Telegram account and said that her name was Genevieve, but I should call her Gina." The chat has gone reasonably well and appears not to be a romance scam.

She said "Honestly I saw your number In my contact list so I texted you." I don't how that happened so I continued to chat with her.  As always I stated my age, location, and status as a widower.  I told her I was twice her age and obviously could not date her.  We had a pleasant chat for about two weeks and also exchanged photos.  She always wished me a good night and sent a welcoming text every morning.

Last Sunday she said, "I'm going to church in the afternoon to pray that our relationship will last forever."

Two days ago I noticed that she deleted her personal account on Telegram.  I went back to her business account and said good morning to her.  I have not heard back from her.

I assume I was ghosted.  But don't say something and then do the opposite.  She went to church to pray that our relationship would last forever and then days later "disappears".

I learned my lesson.  No more chatting relationships with anyone.  At best, they are a waste of time.  At least she didn't try to hit me up for money.

Remembering Lenny Welch (1938-2025)

 

It was recently announced that singer Lenny Welch passed away at 86. As noted in this obituary in the Asbury Park Press, he was a native of that town.  I am looking at my Joel Whitburn book Top Pop Singles and observe that Since I Fell For You was his only Top 10 national hit.  He was more popular in the NY/NJ area than he was nationally.  Darling Take Me Bake I'm Sorry seen above hit #4 on the WMCA survey in 1965, but only hit #72 in the national Billboard chart.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Adventures with Microsoft 365

 I have had Microsoft 365 for years. It includes Word, Excel, and Powerpoint among other programs. Suddenly, when I opened the program, it said I had an unlicensed version. I tried by myself to rectify it and couldn't. I contacted help at Microsoft, and two consultants still couldn't fix it.  Even uninstalling and reinstalling it didn't fix the problem The second person referred me to a Tier 2 support person, but I had to make an appointment for next Thursday, April 17. I have already spent several hours on this.  

I usually use those programs for my work for SABR (Society for American Baseball Research).  In the meantime, I'll have to use Google Docs and Google Sheets, but their features are limited.  There is also a free version of MS Word, but that too is limited in its capabilities.

In the 1980s when I worked at NYPL I used WordPerfect which dominated the market when PC-DOS was the operating system.  I found out that it still exists, but its market share must be very small.

The Weight - The Band and Aretha Franklin - Which Version Do You Prefer

 

Mets 2 Blue Jays 1

Since this is a Sunday and the Mets are at home Bruce and Lee were at Citi Field.  There was not much hitting by either team but the seven hits by the Mets were enough to beat the Toronto Blue Jays.  Pete Alonso singled in the third inning and drove in Hayden Senger with the first run.  Later that inning Brandon Nimmo drove in Juan Soto with a sacrifice fly.

Andres Jimenez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to drive in the Blue Jays only run.  Edwin Diaz came in the ninth, hit two batters, but held on to get the save.

Box Score

Mets 5 Blue Jays 0 in Home Opener at Citi Field

 

Our 20-game package included Opening Day at Citi Field.  Before the game Ed Kranepool who passed away last September was honored.  The players will wear a patch with Ed's #7 on their uniforms this season.  Al Leiter & John Franco, teammates of the  2000 NL Pennant-winning Mets and Bartolo Colón & Juan Lagares, teammates of the 2015 NL Pennant-winning Mets, each threw out the first pitch today.

Francisco Lindor led off the game with a double after the sell-out crowd serenaded him with My Girl recorded initially by the Temptations  Two batters later Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer.  The Mets rallied for three runs in the 6th inning with doubles by Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo.

Tylor Megill pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and was relieved by Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter, and Max Kranick who shut the door on the Blue Jays.

Box Score

There is a Johnny Tillotson - Bob Dylan Connection with Blowin' in the Wind

 Sadly many of the artists of the golden oldies era have passed away.  Yesterday we heard of the passing of Johnny Tillotson at age 86.  Most of his hits including Poetry in Motion and Talk Back Trembling Hits charted in the early 1960s.  Leave it to me to find a connection to Bob Dylan as Johnny covered Blowin' in the Wind.

April Fools Day With Bob Dylan

 Mike Riccio, the moderator of the Oldies Message Board compiled a list of the Top 20 "Fool" songs based on the weekly Billboard  Hot 100 lists through 1990:

1. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," Connie Francis (1960)
2. "Poor Little Fool," Ricky Nelson (1958)
3. "What a Fool Believes," Doobie Brothers (1979)
4. "Foolish Beat," Debbie Gibson (1988)
5. "Chain of Fools," Aretha Franklin (1968)
6. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," Elvin Bishop (1976)
7. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," the Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon (1956)
8. "Fool #1," Brenda Lee (1961)
9. "(Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I," Elvis Presley (1959)
10. "Everybody Plays the Fool," Main Ingredient (1972)
11. "The Fool," Sanford Clark (1956)
12. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," Diana Ross (1981)
13. "Foolish Little Girl," the Shirelles (1963)
14. "She's a Fool," Lesley Gore (1963)
15. "The Fool on the Hill," Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (1968)
16. "(Fool) If You Think It's Over," Chris Rea (1978)
17. "Nobody's Fool," Kenny Loggins (1988)
18. "Kissing a Fool," George Michael (1988)
19. "What Kind of Fool," Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb (1981)
20. "Fools Rush In," Rick Nelson (1963)

Bob Dylan covered Elvis Presly's (Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I on the Basement Tapes.