A Shady's Place Exclusive: The Tom Anderson Interview!

Hello, this is Shady Del Knight blogcasting live from the
brand spanking new headquarters of Shady's Place, the spin-off
of Shady Dell Music & Memories. As you can see, I am still here -

still puffing my pipe - ready, willing and able to continue serving
as your master of ceremonies as we begin the next leg of our
journey. I'm sure you read the announcement over on SDMM

stating that I resigned my host post and was replaced by
William Frawley. It was bogus, a hoax - a fake story
cooked up by my special guest. We'll meet him
right after this message from Mallard Airlines.
"Mallard Air... fly safe. Stay funky."

Obviously that was a fake message about a fake airline.

It's the kind of gag routinely sprung on readers by my

special guest, a man who seems to have adopted the

slogan "A deviant mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Landing an exclusive interview with this gentleman

was a major coup and I consider myself lucky. He's

the wizard behind the curtain, the brains behind the

blog, the man who for the last ten years has been

working hard to educate and entertain you.

 To launch Shady's Place in style, I am proud to introduce

the creator of Shady Dell Music & Memories and

Shady's Place, Tom Anderson. Welcome, Tom!

Well, thank you very much, Shady! It's a pleasure

to meet you and it was nice of you to invite me on

as your first guest as we kick-off year eleven.

It's exciting to know that from now on your

posts will originate from our new facility,

Shady's Place, aka SPMM (Shady's

Place Music & Memories). 

S.D. KNIGHT: Love that new blog smell. :)

ANDERSON: Good one! Do you realize that in the ten years we have been working together, this is the first time we have actually come face to face?

S.D. KNIGHT: I never gave it much thought until now but, by golly, you are correct, sir! This is the first time that you and I have ever been in the same room at the same time.

ANDERSON: This should lay to rest those pesky rumors that we are the same person. :)

S.D. KNIGHT: Tom, let me ask you this, and I know the readers must be wondering about it, too. Why did you choose to pull the plug on Shady Dell Music & Memories and move your operation across town to Shady's Place?

ANDERSON: Well, first of all, I wouldn't say that I "pulled the plug" on Shady Dell Music & Memories. The old blog is still there, ten years of material, and will remain intact. The old site will now serve as a reference source where people can learn about the Shady Dell and its owners John and Helen Ettline. They can also read about Margaret Schneider, whom we affectionately nicknamed "The Oldest Living Dell Rat." Margaret's father, George Brown, built the Dell, and his family became its first occupants in 1913 before the start of World War I. Margaret and her family resided at the Dell through The Roaring Twenties. Visitors can also trace the history of the Dell over the period it was owned by the Spangler family during the Great Depression. Of course, SDMM also contains thousands of music reviews, tributes to some of my favorite people, and parodies of popular movies and TV shows. There's a link to Shady Dell Music & Memories in the sidebar of Shady's Place.

S.D. KNIGHT: So why the new blog name and new address... and why now?

ANDERSON: I'm glad you asked those questions, Shady, just as we rehearsed. :) Here's the thing. From the time it opened in the 1940s until it closed in the 90s, The Shady Dell remained at the same location. During the years I attended, The Dell hardly changed a bit. Some would say the place wasn't much to look at, but it was ours and we loved it. My original intention was to do the same thing with Shady Dell Music & Memories - to keep it modest and maintain the same look year after year. However, as my ten year blog anniversary approached, I began to think it was time for a change, time to add some color and a more evocative header. Instead of tinkering with the existing blog I decided to make a clean break and start fresh at a new address with a new name and an updated look. 

S.D. KNIGHT: Would you care to mention a couple features of the new design?

ANDERSON: Brown is the new black, Shady, and I selected a rich brown and blue combo that I hope most readers will find pleasing to the eye. As you might have noticed, the post field is wider at Shady's Place and therefore less scrolling is required. The expanded column also allows me to embed videos at a width of 560 pixels. The narrow column at Shady Dell Music & Memories made it necessary to shrink videos to 420 pixels to fit the format.

S.D. KNIGHT: Okay, Shady's Place is easy on the eyes and easy to use, but what about the content? Can readers of Shady's Place expect to find the same type of stuff they enjoyed at Shady Dell Music & Memories?

ANDERSON: Absolutely! Shady's Place will pick up where Shady Dell Music & Memories left off. My mission over the next ten years will be to continue to honor John & Helen Ettline and Margaret Schneider, to share stories about the Shady Dell, and to present a wide variety of music, something for every taste. This year I will be launching six new interactive series that will allow you, the reader, to play Top 40 DJ and introduce records "on the air." As was the case on SDMM, many of the posts here at Shady's Place will be laced with humor. As the blog description indicates, Shady's Place means good friends, good tunes and good times. Here at SPMM we will relive happy memories, make new ones and remain forever young.

S.D. KNIGHT: Hold that thought, Tom, because we need to take another pause for
the cause. I'll be back with my special guest Tom Anderson right after this word from
Top Brass hair dressing.

BARBARA FELDON

1964 Top Brass commercial

And we're back with Tom Anderson, creator and author

of Shady Dell Music & Memories and Shady's Place.

Tom, I couldn't help noticing that the Shady's Place

address is a mysterious series of letters:

tctgyb.blogspot.com

Is that what is called an initialism?

That's correct, Shady, and that Top Brass

commercial we just watched offered a clue.

The purring kitten in that old TV spot is

Barbara Feldon, the actress who played

Agent 99 on the spycom Get Smart.

"Barbara" or "Barbra," as the case

may be, is the operative word here,

because the letters in the Shady's

Place address are an initialism of

a quote from one of my favorite

movies, Night of the Living Dead.

"They're coming to get you, Barbra!"

(tctgyb.blogspot.com)

Very clever, my friend. Hey, thanks so much for

being with us today, Tom, and for introducing our

new Shady's Place hangout. I look forward to

collaborating with you in the coming years

to make SPMM a fun place to visit.

The pleasure was all mine, Shady, and thank you for your outstanding service as the emcee of Shady Dell Music & Memories and your pledge to continue on as the face of Shady's Place. Here's to ten more years!

Now let's wrap up season 11 - ep. 1, the first

post originating from the new and improved

Shady's Place, with videos featuring two

more memorable Barbs:

BARBRA STREISAND

(PAN'S PEOPLE)

The song "Stoney End," written by Laura Nyro, was first recorded in 1968

by Peggy Lipton (Julie on Mod Squad) and released as a single at Christmas

that year during the first season of her hit (and hip) counterculture cop series.

Peggy's a fine singer and I love her version, but the record failed to rise above

#121 on the Bubbling Under chart. Two years later, Barbra Streisand covered

the song on a single that made the top 10. They're coming to get you, Barbra!

Look! - there they are now - the Pan's People dancers on Top Of The Pops!

"Stoney End"- Barbra Streisand
(Jan. 1971, highest chart pos. #2 Adult Contemporary,
#6 Hot 100, #27 UK, perf. by Pan's People on
Dec. 30, 1971, ep. of Top Of The Pops)

BARBARA GEORGE

From the church choir to your ears, by George, via good old New Orleans style

rhythm and blues. My last Barbara achieved the biggest hit of her career with

a song she wrote, a cooking R&B number inspired by the traditional hymn

"Just a Closer Walk with Thee." Here now is Barbara George with her

1962 R&B chart-topper "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)."

"I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" - Barbara George
(Jan. 1962, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#3 Hot 100)

If you like the all new Shady's Place then please remember to follow, subscribe

by email or bookmark, because this is where I will be posting from now on.

I look forward to seeing your face

in my little space -

Shady's Place!

(Shady and Tom chant in unison)

HAVE A SHADY DAY!