Eastbound and Down (1977)
Sorry this it Late!
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This week's song was featured in the movie Smokey and the Bandit, the surprise box office hit of 1977. Have you seen it?
I've seen it. It was fun to watch.
2) Though not well received by critics, Smokey and the Bandit had one very famous fan: Alfred Hitchcock. The classic film director enjoyed re-watching the movie on video at home, often while having dinner. Do you ever watch TV with your meal?
Not ever. It's just not convenient to do it. And it's messy. Lol
3) Jerry Reed not only wrote and performed the movie's theme, he appeared in the movie as truck driver Cledus "Snowman" Snow. Have you ever driven, or ridden in, a big rig?
I've ridden in a big rig, but never driven one. But I have driven a tractor.
4) He sings, "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there." Have you recently felt rushed?
I've been feeling rushed in small ways but nothing like being late AND having to drive ANY thing ANYwhere.
5) Director Hal Needham asked Jerry Reed for a song that explained the plot of the movie. He wrote this overnight and always considered it a happy accident. Can you think of a time when something turned out better than you expected?
My own Life. I thought it was over when I was 18. Then I went to a neighbor's party where I met my future hubby. Had I not met him at that time, I would have likely not been around for another month. It was that close.
6) Reed was born in Atlanta and, coincidentally, he mentions Atlanta in the lyrics. Has your hometown been immortalized in song? Nope.
7) Jerry met Priscilla Mitchell at Capitol Records, where Jerry was a session musician and Priscilla was backup singer. Though she was only 18 when they wed, it seems their union was a happy one and they were together until his death almost 50 years later. If a newly engaged 18-year-old asked you for advice, what would you say?
I would say that my own life didn't even BEGIN until I met someone, at that very age, who changed it so much for the positive that you can not give up hoping and trying....
8) In 1977, when "Eastbound and Down" was on the radio, nostalgia for the 1950s topped the TV ratings. The two most popular shows that year were Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. If you magically transported back to the 1950s, what do you think you'd like about it? What do you think you'd miss about your life in 2026? I would literally kill myself if I was transported back to the fifties.
9)
Random question: Were you ever afraid of monsters in your closet or under your bed? I had a real life monster to deal with from the time I was three, so No, Monsters under the bed or closet would have been welcome.
Sorry to be so dark, but the truth is the truth. I didn't have a happy childhood and I barely survived it.
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