Saturday 9: Surf City (1963)
1) When the song was written, "Surf City" was a fictitious town.* Tell us a song that is set in a real place.
How about Chattanooga Choo Choo? It is an oldie but a goody.
2) In the song, Jan and Dean sing about riding around in a 1934 station wagon, which means the car was 29 years old when the song was recorded. How old is your vehicle?
We like to think of Zoomie as Suzanne’s car. We purchased Zoomie 3 March 2011. It is a great car and gets SUPER gas mileage. It is just a little difficult for me to get in and out since he is so small and low to the ground.
3) Are you good on a surf board?
I have never been on a surf board. I have no intention of trying one. However, Purrseidon love hers.
4) When you spend time out in the sun, are you careful about applying sunscreen?
Actually I would refer to it as sun SCREAM since I burn very easily. I try to be a good vampire and stay indoors. With the heat index topping 112 somedays I think it is too hot to go outside. Sometimes we venture out at night. Thank goodness Walmart is open 24/7.
5) Dean's original partner was Arnie Ginsburg. When Dean was drafted into the Army, Arnie didn't feel like waiting so he abandoned show business and went back to college. Today he holds several patents. What is something you wish someone would invent?
I like Suzanne’s time machine idea. I also think it would be great to be able to beam from one place to another like in Star Trek.
6) Jan was a perpetual student who juggled college with recording. He not only graduated from UCLA, he completed two years of medical school at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. Have you ever considered going back to school?
I have thought about it and I did. Way back in 1984, my advisor at the University of South Carolina told me I would have enough credit hours to graduate. I ended up being 3 hours short. I never got that bachelor of media arts degree. In 1997, I went back to Anderson University and, in December 2000, I received my Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Financial Management, Accounting, and Service Management. I think it is fitting that at the exact time I was supposed to be graduating from the school, I was knee deep in our septic tank.
7) In 1966, Jan was sidelined by a serious car accident. During the years that he was unable to perform, partner Dean became a graphic artist. He designed logos and album covers for Steve Martin, Diana Ross and others. Do you feel you respond most to words, pictures, or music?
This is difficult to say. I think I respond best to words. However, I need to read them, not hear them to make sense of them.
8) In 1978, CBS made a TV movie about Jan and Dean. If they approached you about a made-for-TV movie of your life, who would you like to play you?
Well, if Clark Gable were still alive, I would say him. I don’t resemble him in any way but, hey, most TV movies bend the facts anyway, why not?
9) Random question: Growing up, how did you learn about the birds and the bees? (From books/the web, from parents, from your friends...)
That is a very interesting story that I won’t get into here. However, suffice it to say that my mother, bless her heart, tried to explain it. Soon after that, a very popular book on the subject appeared on our book shelf. I asked if I could read it and was told that I could, under the condition that it was not the only book I read on the subject.
Help us reach 1,000 YouTube subscribers. Please watch some of our videos. If you like them, please subscribe. Also, please share our YouTube information with your friends. We thank you so much for all your help.
