Saturday 9: Smoke Rings (1933)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here. 1) In this song, Donald Mills of the Mills Brothers encourages us to "puff, puff, puff" our cares away. When did you most recently smoke a cigarette? When I was 22. Never started again after that and that's when my hubby quit as well.
2) In the 1930s, when this week's song was recorded, an estimated 40% of American adults smoked cigarettes. By the early 1960s, that number reached a high of 42%. According to the CDC, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to 11%. Do many of your friends and relatives smoke or vape? Some others smoked but have quit. My mom did but she always smoked outside when she visited. I've never met a person who vaped.
3) Donald was the youngest of the singing Mills Brothers, and he's the one who most often sang lead. That squares with popular birth order theory, which proposes that the youngest tends to enjoy being the center of attention, the middle child is the diplomat, and the oldest is the high-achiever. Think of your own family and the families of your friends. Do you think this theory holds true? I would have sung lead, that I am certain of. But we never sang as a family growing up. However, Grandpa, her dad, played guitar and sang for his grandkids, when we stayed in Ohio after my two brothers were born. And all the little grandkids sang along with him. I sang all my young life, in church and school choirs, after my mother didn't go back to Ohio anymore.
4) The Mills Brothers were one of the first famous singing brother acts. The Williams Brothers – which featured future TV star Andy Williams – followed in their footsteps. Can you think of another group of singing brothers? The Beach Boys, the Eberly Brothers, and the Mills Brothers just off the top of my head. The Osmond Brothers. And then The Jackson Five. But I'm certain there are more.
5) In addition to recording hit records, The Mills Brothers were a staple on radio in the 1930s. They were among the first African American artists to host their own radio show and sang jingles for Standard Oil and Crisco. What commercial do you recall having seen, or heard, recently? I never hear or see a commercial. Streaming, all the way! In fact I've begun to eyeball getting rid of the commercials in say, YouTube, that pop up there by simply not going where they are. I pay enough for cable, etc.
6) In 1933, when this week's song was popular, actor Robert Montgomery and his wife had a daughter they named Elizabeth. That little girl would become famous in the 1960s for her own TV show. Without looking it up, do you know what show Elizabeth Montgomery starred in? No, sorry, I had to look her up.
7) Johnny Cash was also born in 1933. Do you have a favorite Johnny Cash song? Didn't he do, I Keep my Pant's up with a Piece of Twine? Oh Wait! Lol... "I Walk the Line"
8) In 1933, five French airlines merged to form Air France. Think of the last time you were at an airport. Were you taking a flight or meeting a flight? Meeting. My twins flew into town for a visit.
9) Random question: Your best friend just received a certificate for completing a car maintenance course at your community college. Would you let them work on your vehicle? My best friend is over 80, and he gets younger people to fix his own car. He wouldn't be fixing my car, either.
