Flashback Friday

"Runaround Sue" by Dion (1961)

50 years later and this song is still the best!

It has been an uncomfortably hot week in Pittsburgh. But one good thing about the heat is that it motivates me to play some golden oldies!

Each summer, my church has a big festival. Let's just say that I haven't actually been to mass in a long time but I don't miss the festival. You run into people you haven't seen since you were a kid. It's awkward but interesting at the same time. One of the highlights for me is seeing priests throwing dice at craps tables and drinking beer after beer. It's quite the picture of irony. Gotta love the Catholics ;)

I too enjoy drinking and gambling, so it's a fun time for all. The festival workers know me as one of the luckiest girls in the neighborhood. When I was younger, my parents would give me $20 to gamble with but I'd come home with hundreds. Come to think of it, when I was born, they called me the "Money Baby" because all of the numbers associated with my birth hit on the lottery.

At the festival, there's a classic car cruise that my dad and his friends usually participate in. As you might imagine, a car show and oldies music go hand in hand. One song that is always played over the loud speakers is "Runaround Sue".

If I were to ever sit and compile a list of my favorite songs of all time (where would I even begin?!), "Runaround Sue" would surely make the cut! I love that this musical era had such a knack for making anything sound poetic. Dion is essentially singing about a girl being a whore who gets around town... and guess what? It's not vulgar. It's beautiful. Dion (& the Belmonts, too) really knew how to entertain and command the attention of a crowd. I love this stuff!