I recently had a rather cool experience that involved being contacted by some kind of official group representing a blast-from-the-past band that I had invoked in one of my recent cartoons.
For all you Golden Moldies out there, the group was “The Association.” For all you young ‘uns who say, "The huh?,” here’s a bit of history about this sunshine pop harmony” group from the ‘60s (no, not the 1860s):
“The [Association’s] smooth harmonies and pop-oriented sound (which occasionally moved into psychedelia and, much more rarely, into a harder, almost garage-punk vein) made them regular occupants of the highest reaches of the pop charts for two years -- their biggest hits, including ‘Along Comes Mary,’ ‘Cherish,’ ‘Windy,’ and ‘Never My Love,"’ became instant staples of AM play lists, which was a respectable achievement for most musicians at the time.“
(”Artist Biography: The Association,” by Bruce Eder.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-association-mn0000753963/biography)
Having come from that era, and as I like to do today, I recently doodled a cartoon based on one of The Association's hit songs listed above: “Windy.” Here’s that original tune (feel free to get up and have a "fab' time as you sing and dance along):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsY8l0Jg3lYDoing song parodies is fun because it takes people back to their own memories and experiences, and well as brings people into the present by pairing up a musical satire with current events.
Sometimes, however, things don’t go as planned. This was one of those times (but, spoiler alert, it had a happy ending).
So, I do a parody cartoon using The Association and, to my surprise, get an email a few days later from a “fan mail” group for the group (a group that I didn’t recognize as being a groupie-group when I first got their email). Here’s how the exchange went (It started out a little testy but got better rather quickly):
From: The Association <fanmail@theassociationwebsite.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at 12:20 PM
To: "Benson, Steve" <steve.benson@arizonarepublic.com>
Subject: April 2nd cartoon
“Steve,
“A fan shared your cartoon of April 2nd and we’ve shared it on our private fan group on social media – so as not to offend those across the aisle.
“We think it’s a great cartoon (as are all your cartoons) but wanted to point out an error.
“'Windy' is by Ruthann Friedman, sung by The Association.
“Thanks for remembering our song!”
The heads-up came with the following attached links:
"The Association:
http://www.theassociationwebsite.com"On Facebook: The Association on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheAssociation . . . "
_____
--I replied:
From: Benson, Steve
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2018 1:50 PM
To: The Association
Subject: Re: April 2nd cartoon
“Thanks. I know that but people don’t know Friedman who wrote it, but they do know The Association who sung it.
“That’s like saying such-and-such a song is by Elton John when, in fact, he has had a songwriter for years.
“Thanks for writing."
_____
‘—The group wrote back:
“Steve,
“How NICE of you to say! Generally people know our songs but can’t name the group that sang it ;)
“Take care!”
_____
--I replied:
“Great song, by the way. One of my high school-era faves!
“Steve B.”
_____
--They replied:
“Steve,
“Thanks much, stay cool!
“The Association”
__________
Anywhoo, that’s the backdrop.
Here’s that cartoon based on The Association's song “Windy” that its fan-mail group had written to complain about because I hadn’t given (or so they said) proper attribution. (Please note that at the top of the ‘toon I did, in fact, gave credi--to the band).
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/d2b69159f908f461154c92e01a0e2fe17be97d96/c=39-0-3639-2707&r=x513&c=680x510/local/-/media/2018/04/02/Phoenix/Phoenix/636582615854225625-Benson-Everyone-Knows-Its-Donny-04-03-18.jpgAgain, here’s the original hit tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsY8l0Jg3lY*********
So, all you "doves" out there, "sock it to me," let's hear a "right on," whaddya say we "hang loose," stay "hip", get "stoked," and get "groovy" with all that’s "happenin,'" that's "outta sight," that's "a gas" and is "Far out" (or fill in whatever selected words you might want to from this '60s slang list below):
•All show and no go - looks good superficially
•Ape - crazy or mad
•Bad - awesome
•Badass - trouble maker
•Bag - steal
•Beat feat - leave quickly
•Bench racing - sitting around and talking about the speed of their cars
•Blast - good time
•Blitzed - drunk
•Blown - drunk
•Bogart - to keep for yourself
•Bone yard - a place to put junk or wrecked cars
•Boob tube - television
•Boogie board - a short surfboard
•Bookin' - going fast in a car
•Boss - fantastic
•Brew - beer
•Brody - skid half a circle in a car with the brakes locked
•Brody Knob - knob that attaches to a steering wheel to facilitate turning
•Bug - to bother
•Bug out - to leave
•What a bummer - what a bad thing or unpleasant experience
•Burn rubber - squeal tires and leave rubber on the road
•Cat - guy
•Catch some rays - get out in the sun
•Cherry - mint condition
•Chickabiddy - because I told you so
•Chicken/To play chicken - two cars driving towards each other
•Chinese firedrill - when four people get out of a car at a right light and exchange places in the car
•Chop - to cut someone down verbally
•Chrome Dome - bald man
•Cool head - nice guy
•Cooties - bugs
•Crash - sleep
•Cut out - leave the area quickly
•Decked out - dressed up
•Deuce - putting two fingers up in a peace symbol
•Dibs - ownership
•Dig - understand
•Don't flip your wig - don't be upset
•Don't have a cow - don't be upset
•Don't sweat it - don't be upset
•Downer - an unpleasant experience
•Drag - someone or something that is boring
•Dropout - refuse to conform with society
•Fab - fabulous
•Fab Four - The Beatles
•Far out - awesome
•Fink - tattletale
•Five finger discount - stolen
•Flake - useless person
•Flake off - leave
•Flee the scene - leave
•Flip flops - thongs
•Flower child - a hippie or other member of the counterculture
•Flower power - the impact of the hippy counterculture
•Fox - good looking woman
•Freak out - get excited and lose control
•Freedom riders - civil rights protesters
•Free love - casual sex
•Generation gap - the differences in beliefs between youth and parents
•Gimme some skin - to ask someone to slap or shake your hand in agreement
•Go ape - lose all control over emotions
•Gone - under the influence of drugs
•Gnarly - difficult or big
•Groady - dirty
•Grungy - looking shabby or dirty
•Glasspacked - has mufflers lined with fiberglass to muffle the sound
•Hacked - made someone mad
•Hairy - difficult or out of control
•Hang tough - to stick with something difficult
•Hawk - a supporter of war
•Heat - police
•Heavy - a controversial or powerful subject
•Hep - in full agreement
•Hodad - a person who does not surf
•Hog - to take over so that someone else cannot use
•Hot dog - show-off
•Hunk - good looking guy
•In the groove - a person who is part of the in-crowd
•Jam - group of people play music together
•Jazzed - excited
•Jelly Roll - heroin
•Kicks - something done for pleasure
•Kings X - safe
•Kiss off - dismiss
•Kiss up - someone who will do anything to gain favor by another person
•Knocked up - pregnant
•Laid back - relaxed
•Lay it on me - tell me
•Lay rubber - stop fast and leave wheel marks on the road
•Make out - kissing
•Mirror warmer - woman who spends a lot of time looking in the mirror
•Mod - modern or in fashion
•Moon - to drop your pants
•Mop-top - someone with a Beatle-style haircut
•Neato - awesome
•Nifty - stylish or very good
•No sweat! - No problem
•Now - of the current fashion or style
•Old Lady - mother
•Old Man - father
•On the make - looking for a date
•Pad - where you sleep or live
•Padiddle - car with only one working headlight
•Panty waist - a boy who does not have a tough personality
•Passion pit - drive-in movie
•Peel out - accelerate quickly, leaving rubber on the road
•Peggers - jeans with tight calfs and ankles
•Pig out - overeat
•Port holer - a sailor on a ship
•Pound - to beat someone up
•Race for pinks - race cars when the winner keeps the loser's car
•Rap - to talk
•Rat fink - someone who tells on someone else
•Rays - sunshine
•Rip off - steal
•Scarf - eat fast
•Score - get sex from a girl
•Scratch - money
•Shades - sunglasses
•Shake it, don't break it! - told to someone who wiggles
•Shot down - rejected
•Shotgun - passenger seat
•Skuzz - disgusting person
•Skuzz bucket - ugly place or thing
•Slug bug - Volkswagon beetle
•It's snowing down south - woman's slip is showing
•Sock it to me - Let me have it
•Solid - I understand
•Souped up - lots of extra equipment
•Split - to leave
•Sponge - live off of someone else's money or belongings
•Square - someone who is not cool
•Stoked - likes someone or something a lot
•Stuck up - conceited
•Submarine races - excuse given for parking next to the water to make out
•Sweat hog - fat boy or girl
•Sweat parties - sex parties
•Tennies - tennis shoes
•The Man - any authority figure who maintained the corporate, legal and political status quo
•Threads - clothes
•Ticked off - angry
•Tight - very friendly
•Tooling - driving around
•Tough - great looking
•Tuff - cool or very enjoyable
•Tune out - ignore
•Turn off - to respulse someone
•Truckin' - moving quickly
•Twice Pipes - two muffler tail pipes
•Twitchin' - great or awesome
•Unglued - upset
•Unreal - so outstanding that it was difficult to believe
•Uptight - tense and unable to enjoy life
•Way out - beyond explanation
•Wedgies - When someone pulls up someone else's underwear from the back, causing the underwear to go into the crack
•What's your bag, man? - what are you into? what is your problem?
•Wipe out - to fail in a big way or to fall off the surfboard
•Woodie - an old, wood-sided station wagon that was popular with the California surfing population
•Zilch - zero
•Zit – pimple
(“1960s Slang,”
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/slang/1960s-slang.html)
Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2018 12:41AM by steve benson.