Saturday 9: It Must Be Him

Saturday 9: It Must Be Him (1967)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Want to play along? Click here.

1) This song is about a woman waiting impatiently for a phone call. Do you consider yourself patient?  It doesn't come naturally, but I feel that God has spent a LOT of time the last few years teaching me to be patient and I'm a lot more patient and easy going than I used to be.

2) Other women (most notably Shirley Bassey and Dottie West) have recorded this song. Harry James and Doc Severinson did instrumental versions. But there's no record of a male singing "Oh dear God! It must be her! Or I shall die!" Do you think that's because waiting for the phone to ring is more "a chick thing," and men simply don't do it?  I think it's more that we've raised men to think they shouldn't do that or at least shouldn't show it. I'm sure that when they like someone they are just as anxious on the inside as a woman. Then again, since it seems there are always more of us than there are of them, maybe they just figure if one woman doesn't "call" another one will?

3) This recording enjoyed a sudden surge of popularity after 20 years when it was included on the soundtrack of Moonstruck, the 1987 film that won Cher an Oscar. Have you seen Moonstruck?  I think I saw it once way back when, but I don't remember anything about it.

4) This week's featured artist, Vikki Carr, was born in El Paso, TX. El Paso can proudly proclaim itself one of America's safest cities. What can your hometown be proud of?  Being the birthplace of banana splits, Fred Rogers, and Arnold Palmer....Rolling Rock beer got its start here...at one time we had one of the top 10 small hospitals in the country but it was sold to a private company who has totally ruined it....the first air mail pick up took place at our airport....St. Vincent's Archabbey/Basilica/University.

5) She was a staple on Jerry Lewis' Labor Day Telethon, raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association by performing this song. Is your TV on right now? If so, what are you watching?  Something on the history channel about the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia.

6) In 1971, Vikki fulfilled a dream of hers by establishing the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation. Every year the foundation awards Hispanic American students money to use toward higher education. She says it's her way of returning "the support and encouragement she received from others" early in her career. If you could establish a charitable foundation, what cause would you like it to benefit?  I'd be torn between funding research on the cures for cancer and dementia.

7)  In 1967, when this song was popular, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant. Today, one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States is the coronary artery bypass surgery. Have you had any surgeries?  Just to have my gallbladder removed.

8)  Also in 1967, the RMS Queen Mary was retired after 31 years of service. Have you ever traveled by cruise ship?  Not yet, but we are planning on a cruise next summer!

9) Random question: Who is your oldest living relative?  In my immediate family? That would be my mom, but she's only 74. If you widen the circle, I think there may be some cousins who may be around 90.