google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday September 18, 2019, Peter A. Collins

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Sep 18, 2019

Wednesday September 18, 2019, Peter A. Collins


Theme:  AT ANY RATE. Each theme answer is the name of a hit song, the first word of which can be used to rate quality.

18. #1 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis: GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Released in 1957, and also a 1989 film.

28. #1 hit for the Beach Boys: GOOD VIBRATIONS.

49. #1 hit for Johnny Rivers: POOR SIDE OF TOWN.
 
64. #1 hit for Jim Croce: BAD BAD LEROY BROWN.

Melissa here. I'm impressed with this GREAT theme - two grid-spanners and two near-grid spanners, and ALL hit songs. I wonder which was the seed - perhaps Peter A. Collins will pop in and enlighten us.

Across:

1. Starbucks orders, casually: JAVAS. Java is often used interchangeably with "coffee," although technically, it refers to arabica coffee beans of plants grown in Java, Indonesia that produce a usually full-bodied coffee of low to medium acidity. Now you know.

6. Carnival staples: RIDES. The first thing that popped into my head was cotton candy, so I was looking for some kind of food treat.

11. Chance: SHOT. Take one.

15. Perform better than: OUTDO.

16. Scandal-plagued energy company: ENRON.

17. Witness' promise: OATH. "To witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says."

21. Squealed on the bad guys: SANG.

22. Oscar winner Kazan: ELIA. Kazan won directing Oscars for 1947's Gentleman's Agreement and On the Waterfront, the 1954 film that starred Marlon Brando, and a controversial Special Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1999. There are lots of good movies about the Hollywood Blacklist.

23. Lemonlike fruit: CITRON.

24. Grocery chain with a red-and-white logo: IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.


26. Like the Ninja Turtles: MUTANT.

33. Vornado product: FAN. Never heard of this brand - logo similar to above.

34. Landscaping tree: PIN OAK. See here.

35. Peter was the first one: POPE.

37. Application: USE.

38. Federal retirement org.: SSA. Social Security Administration.

39. Couple of million?: ELS. Two L's.

42. Farm food: HAY.

43. Justice __ Bader Ginsburg: RUTH. Appointed by President Clinton and took the OATH of office on August 10, 1993. Health update.

45. Get going: BESTIR. Not sure I've heard this word before - tricky,

48. Have bills: OWE.

53. "Let's get together": MEET ME.

54. Best-liked, briefly: FAV.

55. Kite carrier: BREEZE.

58. Italy's Villa d'__: ESTE. So pretty.

60. One of 12 on a die: EDGE. Another tricky one.

67. Brit's kitchen floor: LINO. British LINO is same as American LINOleum.

68. Abates: EASES.

69. Threw in: ADDED.

70. Dispatch, as a dragon: SLAY.

71. Oboist's supply: REEDS.

72. Hired thugs: GOONS.

Down

1. Easy runs: JOGS.

2. General feeling: AURA.

3. Dodge Viper engine: V-TEN.

4. Slowly, in music: ADAGIO.

5. Drunkard: SOT.

6. Genuine: REAL.

7. Undecided: IN LIMBO. Interesting. The word is of Teutonic origin, meaning “border” or “anything joined on.”

8. Advice giver on SiriusXM Radio: DR. LAURA. Had no idea she was still on the air.

9. Canon camera named for a dawn goddess: EOS. Hm. Well ... Eos was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, but the Canon EOS stands for Electro-Optical System.

10. Winter vehicle on treads: SNO CAT.

11. Convertible type: SOFT TOP.

12. Tiny margin of victory: HAIR. Haha.


13. Another, in España: OTRO.

14. "__ what?": THEN.

19. One of a pair of cartoon slackers: BEAVIS.


20. It's over in France: FINI.

25. National econ. stats: GDPS. Gross domestic products.

27. Grow fond of: TAKE TO.

28. Go from E to F?: GAS UP.

29. __ a customer: ONE TO.

30. "Soon": IN A BIT.

31. Emphatic word of refusal: NOHOW. Didn't realize this was one word.

32. What salmon do upstream: SPAWN.

33. Stole from a coat store?: FUR. Very clever. Shawl, wrap, stole, scarf - what's the difference?

36. __ contact: EYE.

40. River through Dublin: LIFFEY. Flows through Dublin.

41. Span. miss: SRTA. Señorita


44. Neighborhood pal, in slang: HOMEBOY.

46. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE.

47. Blows one's stack: SEES RED.

50. Mohammad __ Pahlavi: last shah of Iran: REZA. Perped.

51. Farm contraption: SEEDER. Used to plant seeds for beans, cotton, rice, wheat, canola and many types of vegetables.

52. Engage in to excess: OVERDO.

55. OPEC units: BBLS. Barrels. One barrel equals 42 US gallons
One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html
One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html

56. Mass transit option: RAIL.

57. Barry Humphries alter ego Dame __: EDNA. Australian comedian.


59. Mix, as salad: TOSS.

61. Extinct bird: DODO.

62. __ Stacy: Spider-Man love interest: GWEN.

63. They might be loose or tight: ENDS.

65. Ka __: southernmost Big Island point: LAE. The area is also known for its strong ocean currents and winds and is the home of a wind farm.

66. Purse: BAG.



42 comments:

OwenKL said...

The Ponzi scandals at ENRON
Caused legal troubles to SPAWN
The hole they are in
Goes far beyond lemon,
Perhaps even further than CITRON!

To escape Hell's GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
Go to Heaven, tho rents are much higher.
Those in between
IN LIMBO are seen,
Tho the climate there is much drier!

For your HAIR to blow in the BREEZE,
A SOFT TOP may be what you need.
In the POOR SIDE OF TOWN
You can drive it top down
Or with the top up, as you please!

For your AURA to emit GOOD VIBRATIONS
Under OATH, you must give no evasions.
You must tell the truth
Whether ruthless or RUTH,
And eschew any made-up creations!

{B-, B-, B, B.}

Lemonade714 said...

Nice to see you with such energy to start the day OKL.

Peter A. Collins is an NYT regular who has 109 published there and 41 here. It explains why there were total unknowns to me in a Wednesday grid - LIFFEY river and KA LAE but the perps were fair. I also did not know there was so many types of OAK TREES.
I admired his using his rating system in order, top to bottom.

I like the CSO to one of our own constructors - Peg SLAY.

There is also always an underlying joy in melissa's write-ups. Thank you

D4E4H said...

FIR  in 57:30 min.

Good morning Cornerites.

Thank you Peter A. Collins for this Wednesday CW that is #1 on my hit parade !
 
The CW is 16 square !  

The SE cell was the first to fill.  The north was snow covered till I sussed 18 A.

I had an "L" of a time with the Natick at 40.

Thank you melissa bee for your excellent review.

Ðave 

D4E4H said...

HELP !
Something has happened that compresses my post vertically when I copy from my e-mail, where I compose, to the box where I Preview.
Have I accidentally struck a key that started this?
Thanks for your collective help?
Ðave

PS: I will not reenter the vertical spaces on this post.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one was a tad chewy. Remembered REZA from the '70s news. Peter Collins must be "of a certain age" -- I recognized every one of the theme songs. LIFFEY, not so much. Also misread "coat store" as "coal store" and wondered at FUR. ADAGIO has been making frequent appearances lately; I confuse it with andante. I finished in good time, so life is good. Thanx, Peter and Melissa Bee (Yes, NOHOW is word. Frequently heard in these here parts.)

jfromvt said...

Loved Jim Croce. Have him as a favorite on Pandora. The other songs a little before my time, but I remember my mother getting a Johnny Rivers album from Columbia Records. Remember the card in the mail every month, had to remember to send it in or you got an album you didn’t want.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Liked the rating theme which I "got", Peter. Gave me some GOOD VIBRATIONS for the day.

Great expo, melissa! Loved seeing that mansion.

All the song titles were familiar but took quite a few perps. Don't remember the name Johnny Rivers though.

Got MEESE okay but tried Al before ED.

Knew LIFFEY but was surprised when it was right.

PIN OAKS are popular for planting here and turn red in the fall. Not native tho. I kept thinking it had to be some kind of PINe when the first three letters perped in.

Didn't even see LAE clue -- filled itself.

DNK: GWEN, REZA, ESTE, OTRO.

Wondered "what the ELS?" on 39. Thanks for 'splaining, Melissa.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Peter A. Collins, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

Our Chicago area crosswordites met yesterday for lunch and a gab session. We spent about three hours together and had fun. Present were: Madame Defarge, TTP, Wikwak, and Abejo. We still would like to connect with JJM. Cannot contact him. Perhaps he can contact us.

Puzzle went fine for the most part. The theme was excellent. Once I had a few perps the songs appeared. I remember them all.

Remembered Mohammad REZA Pahlavi very well. I was there when he was there. Then I was there after he lefty. His son lives in the US and very actively campaigns for justice in Iran. His name is Reza Pahlavi. He is the Crown Prince of Iran.

Some tough ones: BESTIR, CITRON, LINO, GWEN, LIFFEY, LAE, BEAVIS. Lots of perps helped.

Yes, the puzzle is 16 across and 15 down. Never noticed initially.

Have to go guard the crossing in a few minutes. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW. Thought that GOS UP was like playing an F after an E on a (crossword staple) uke. I also discovered that my speling isn't the best. Hand up for not knowing Vornado, so the perp didn't help.

I thought that a CITRON was the world's ugliest car, but then I LIU and found out that the honor belongs to Citroen. Did I mention that I'm speling-challenged?

Here we go again with IGA. Its a multinational grocer's association, not a regional chain.

Jefferson Airplane had a big hit with Let's Get Together. Kind of reminds me of Al Green's Let's Stay Together and Bob Marley's One Love too.

I thought Dr. Laura disappeared after rival gas bag (and former romantic interest) Bill Ballance published all those nekkid pictures of her.

FLN: WC, if you are still in Ocala, I highly recommend Fiore's and Latinos y Mas restaurants. Great local joints.

Thanks to Peter for the fun Wednesday puzzle, with the Friday cluing you threw in. My favorite was "kite carrier" for BREEZE. And thanks to melissa for another fine review.

Yellowrocks said...

I forgot to look for the theme. Several perps suggested the songs and then the songs provided perps for the rest.
I had to think back 15 years or so to Kenny's toys for MUTANT.
I saw the LIFFEY in Dublin. I needed the F perp to suggest it.
The only totally unknown was KA LAE.
Many of the novels I read are set in the UK. I am picking up the lingo, therefore LINO was easy.
Bestir is often used as rouse, many times as bestir themselves or bestir himself.
"The citizens bestirred themselves, and to the number of two thousand signed a petition, imploring His Majesty to reconsider the decision.
d'Auvergne." B.Edmund

inanehiker said...

Fast run today - an extra layer of elegance was having the ratings go from the best at the top to the worst at the bottom!
My yard growing up had at least 10 large PIN OAKs in it with a few Maple and lots of elm before the Dutch Elm disease wiped all those out. We had so many because our house was one of the first built on what used to be a farm before it was a suburb, and so our lot was an acre. Loved the trees until fall, and then the bane of our kids existence was raking leaves. We never ever finished before the snow came. We would fill over 200 of the tallest leaf bags. Neat to go back and see the scrawny little trees that they replaced the elm trees with are now towering beauties!
WEES about LIFFEY and LAE, but perpable!

Thanks Melissa and Peter!

I'm headed to Mobile, AL for a conference tomorrow - will be busy with it most of the time, but anyone whose been there have recs for things to do with the little free time I'll have?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Ag teacher only had pens and so I took longer (CITRUS/CITRON).
-EST_/LIFF_Y cost me a “got ‘er done”
-Brian Wilson’s Good Vibrations used 90 hrs of tape, required 17 sessions and cost $50,000
-My carnival (R _ _ E S) first required RUBES
-My Vornado keeps my sunroom “occupiable” in winter
-What a Cardinal fan did when he looked at second base in 1955 – SEES RED (Schoendienst)
-PIN OAKS abound in what was once far east Lincoln. Their stately presence has roused the citizenry to prevent their removal to widen a now a very busy 70th St.
-Here in our town they require copious amounts of iron to not turn yellow and hold their leaves most of the winter.

Anonymous said...

I really liked the theme but way too many proper names and two and three word answers made this a slog for me.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Got one letter wrong; the "i" in BESTIR. The theme songs were recognizable once a few perps were in. Somewhat challenging to work on.
PIN OAK - AKA Swamp Spanish Oak; Sumpfeiche (bog or swamp oak) in German. It is mainly distributed in the eastern and central United States from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Georgia, west to eastern Oklahoma and Kansas. It is also native in the extreme south of Ontario, Canada.
BBL - 42 US gallons for oil. Many chemicals move about in 55 gal barrels (drums). A beer barrel is 31 US gallons.

Thanks Melissa for a fine intro.

Yellowrocks said...

Pin oak is very common in the forests and home landscaping in NJ. We lived for years on a corner lot with many types of oak trees, but not pin oaks. Like inane hinker, we were inundated with oak leaves in the fall. I used to rake up over 150 large bags of leaves. Many of the oak leaves did not come down until after the first snow. One of the advantages of living in a condo now, is not raking leaves.
We had so many acorns on the lawn we had to rake them up sometimes. You could easily fall by stepping on acorns on the walks.
The squirrels used to tantalize our dog by running down the oak tree trunks just out of her reach. As she jumped up the squirrel would circle around the back of the tree. Then the squirrel would run down the trunk again to tease her.

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday (maybe I should say GREAT today!). Thanks for the fun, Peter and melissa bee.
Crunchy for me today but I did get the GREAT, GOOD, POOR, BAD theme.
Inkblots: String changed to BREEZE; Gets Mad changed to SEES RED; VSix upgraded to VTEN.
My tiny margin of victory was a Nose before a HAIR.
Beatle changed to BEAVIS (I was thinking of Beatle Bailey, but proper spelling is Beetle).
I can never decide between ESTE and Asti (maybe that beautiful photo with the fountain will help me remember).

This Canadian had to wait for some perps to jog my memory with all the American fill today. Justice RUTH, ED MEESE, SSA.

LAE, Vornado=FAN, and LIFFEY were unknown; perps to the rescue.
REZA popped out of my memory bank with a couple of perps. (Thanks for the update about his son, Abejo.) I associate his name with the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis and rescue of diplomats by Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor.

I was hoping Melissa would explain 28D "go from E to F?=GAS UP", but the light dawned. Go from Empty to Full on the gas tank! Nice clue.

BESTIR caused a small nose wrinkle but I accept that it is a legitimate word, but not used in current conversation. We sometimes (often?) get some of these. YR@8:23 gives an example of its use in literature.

Wishing you all a GOOD, no GREAT day.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Peter. I struggled here today. I'm apparently off my game or at least on a different wave length. On the long fills, which seem obvious, I had to wait for crosses. They weren't coming quickly enough for me to fill in the work of the prolific musicians. Still fun for me, nonetheless. I really enjoy being flummoxed and then the Ah-ha moment.

Melissa, what a fine walk through! Thank you.

Yes, we did have fun at lunch yesterday. I learn a lot when we gather. Brad, TTP, and WikWak are very bright fellows. We are all in awe of constructors. I learned about the time it takes to Blog the puzzle. I suspected it was quite an investment. Thanks C.C. for "introducing" us and to Brad for coming in to say hello when we were at the same spot with a friend after he saw my license plate (MME DFRG, natch). (That sentence would get a red AWK in the old days.)

If anyone in the greater Chicago area would care to join us when we meet again, do let us know.

Hey, Spitz, there was a fly in the place. You? ;-)

Have a sunny day.

Yellowrocks said...

Bestir is also used in news articles."This last cause alone should be enough to bestir citizens to the polls." Washington Post, Nov 5, 2017
"But every once in a while, a company does something to bestir investors." New York Times, Feb 21, 2015.
I encounter more words in reading than I do in listening. I use more words in writing than I do in speaking. There is an inhibition against using uncommon words in speaking, lest you be considered presumptuous.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Two of the songs were known but the other two were not. As previously mentioned, my pop music knowledge is practically non-existent. I don't think I've ever even heard of Johhny Rivers. The fill was pretty basic, so no stumbles or write-overs. As PK said, Lae filled itself in. As others have mentioned, the theme was easy to discern and the progression of the descriptors helped to solidify the theme.

Thanks, Peter and Melissa, for a mid-week challenge and entertaining expo.

It was nice to hear about the Chicago Contingent's Culinary Caper! Sounds like a fun get together and extended gab fest!

FLN

PK, your tale of your CM detector antics tickled my funny bone no end, as many of your anecdotes do! 😉

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2
-A cheesy Let’s Get Together by a girl on whom I had a HUGE crush at the time. What is it about English accents?
-How does she change chords on the guitar without moving her fingers? :-)

Lucina said...

Hola!

What a melodious theme which does BESTIR me to return to the Golden Age of Rock and Roll, the later 60s and 70s and with apologies to Shakespeare who first introduced me to that word, BESTIR.

And here in the high desert a VORNADO fan can easily be found in any number of dwelling places and offices.

I, too, am familiar with LINO from reading British novels but have not been to Ireland so the River LIFFEY completely beat me.

REZA was in a recent Sunday puzzle so his name popped up right away.

DODO reminds me of our dear, departed Dorothy who initiated our California contingent meetings. That Chicago lunch group sounds like GREAT fun!

The D'ESTE were an affluent family and it appears prominently in one of my favorite movies, Enchanted April, and ASTI is a wine region. I hope that helps clear the confusion.

Sadly, it seems that OATH of office these days has lost its commitment value.

FINI!

Thank you, Melissa; you cleared up a number of my doubts and thank you, Peter A. Collins for a brilliant construction.

I hope you enjoy your day, everyone!

Alice said...

This was a fun theme and a pretty easy puzzle. It kind of ties in with Ken Burns' series on Country Music now running on PBS. I usually know the songs but haven't thought about them in many years.

Question though -- is NOHOW one word or two?

Misty said...

I found this a bit crunchy for a Wednesday, but still a lot of fun--many thanks, Peter. Got the bottom without any problems, including the Jim Croce song title, and even remembered the tune. Less so with the others. ELIA came to me right away, and I must be keeping up with politics because I got RUTH and MEESE instantly. Since I'm a Joyce scholar I've spent a lot of time in Dublin over the years, and so got LIFFEY quickly too. So again, many thanks, Peter. And Melissa, your commentary is always informative and helpful, thanks for that too.

Liked your poems, Owen.

What a delightful Chicago lunch for Cornerites--nice to hear about it.

Have a great day, everybody.

Tinbeni said...

Melissa: Excellent write-up. Good job!

Well this was a FUN Wednesday puzzle and theme.

If you rode a SNO-CAT here in Tarpon Springs you would quickly destroy its treads.

A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.

Cheers!

Haiku Harry said...

After seeing melissa bee’s link to the other meaning of 7D, this came to me:

When unbaptized fans
Of Rush die, and Catholic,
They’d be in “Limbaugh” ...

inanehiker said...

@Alice - I think in the dictionary NOHOW is listed as one word, but I've seen it has 2 words as well.
It always reminds me of the Cowardly Lion in Wizard of Oz:
see the bottom of the page - the section on Cowardly Lion's Thoughts on Courage"

https://www.thoughtco.com/find-the-lion-within-you-2832238

Anonymous said...

An AURA is not a "feeling"; it is a projection of a feeling, attitude or other essence.

TTP said...

Good afternoon. Easy and enjoyable puzzle, but I had the same couple of unknowns. Thank you, Melissa, for the wonderful review and links.

Alice, I'm also enjoying the Ken Burns special on Country Music. I've only seen part 1, but have watched it twice.

Gotta get ready for golf, but wanted to chime in on yesterday's meet.

It was delightful to visit with Abejo, WikWak and Madame Defarge again. I thoroughly enjoyed our get together.

WikWak and I got there early and chatted outside for about 5 minutes, only to go in and discover that Abejo was already sitting inside. We no sooner sat down to join him and the ever-pleasant Madame pulled in.

Yes, time flies while engaged in good conversation, and they were all so polite to let me ramble. Unfortunately, I gave away the theme to yesterday's puzzle not knowing that WikWak had not yet solved it.

Dash T, they were no beans to spill. But did I manage to get a little of my baked mostaccioli on my shirt. BTW, it was excellent !

AnonymousPVX said...


This Wednesday puzzle had some crunch to it.

Loved the 4 spanners, plus the grading top to bottom, clever.

No idea for LIFFEY or LAE but crosses took care of those.

(Careless) Markover...FINE/FINI...d’oh.

Johnny Rivers....”Secret Agent Man”....he had his share of hits for sure. Croce’s death so young was quite sad. If I was a musician I would stay far far away from private aircraft.

And on to Thursday.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody. I enjoyed the puzzle and found myself sharing Peter's wavelength. I got the long acrosses but didn't notice that they were in descending order. Good stuff! Thanks Peter and Melissa.

As someone with little talent but a strong enjoyment of guitar music and lots of lessons under my belt, I was about to spend my time answering Gary's question and explaining how she was able to change chords without moving her fingers. But then I saw the smiley face and avoided an embarrassing waste of time.

I was about to close this by commenting on Ken Burn's "Country Music" on PBS but I was correct in guessing some of you would be enjoying it too. I'm only in segment #1 and I am looking forward to the rest. Learning moment: "Lovesick Blues" was not written by Hank Williams. Geez, I love him and I love that song.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I remembered all the songs except POOR SIDE OF TOWN.
So I checked it on YouTube.
Nope, still don't recall it. Now, if Mr. Collins had given us Mr. Rivers' "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'," I would've known it in a heart beat.

For many years I cited my personal "culture heroes" as Beowulf, Darwin, Little Richard, Norman Mailer, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Maybe it's time to review my list...?
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Another asymmetrical grid, so no diagonals.

Wilbur Charles said...

"What a Cardinal fan did when he looked at second base in 1955 – SEES RED (Schoendienst)". Then in 1957, Milwaukee Braves fans looked and there was ol' Red at second. Red's tour de force was winning an AllStar game in the 14th innings with a Homer. 1950 methinks. I had his card .

BBL. NOT!!! "Blue" barrel but no explanation for the extra B. Which killed Wilbur along with misspelling MEaSe, REZe,and LIFFEr all familiar as is BBL Brown. I had the BROWN but in frustration LIU'ed Croce songs. This had to be duck soup, easy as pie etc for the CC corner

Btw, I'm flying to Boston and my El cheapo fare takes me to Midway on Isosceles Airlines. So… Abejo, why don't you assemble the gang at the Airport snack bar?

Of course, as usual, I missed the theme which would have saved my DNF.
YR, I was going to use "pecuniary" today just to get a reaction from a buddy who talks about my "big words"

Brilliant as usual Haiku Harry (un-Catholic)- yes, parochial upbringing

OMK, because Jerry married his 13 year old cousin? :-). And…. According to Mailer, the CIA developed a method to bring down planes with no trace. But apparently a Pecan tree at the end of the runway brought down Croce's plane.


WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Btw, I was going to skip the Ken Burns documentary until I saw the words "Hank Williams"

Wilbur Charles said...

Also...At the Winn Dixie checkout is a Life supplement on Downton Abbey. I should get it to bone up. I know as much about D A as Misty does about TBBT

But I guessed VISC for Viscount. And... On another cover was Kate (Mountbatten?)

Bill G said...

Many years back, Barbara and I stumbled on some free and unexpected entertainment at a local pizza parlor. It was a country group called "Sweethearts of the Rodeo and Their Handsome Band." They were products of our local public school system. The band included two attractive sisters with great voices (one of whom played guitar), a superb pedal steel player and a bass. They sang lots of country standards; all with great vocals, harmony, some yodeling and excellent instrumental accompaniment. It was there I fell in love with "Lovesick Blues."

Ol' Man Keith said...

I never thought of myself as a county music fan. But I am enjoying the Ken Burns' show.
In the first two episodes I saw the script circling around the "Man in Black," the one pop figure who reached beyond the genre to catch my attention-- Johnny Cash.
The show devotes major time to the Carter family.
Now, I know that Johnny's 2nd wife was June Carter. She showed up in the first two episodes. There was a very brief shot of Johnny at one point, and in the 2nd episode we had an interview with John Carter Cash, their son!
I'll be disappointed if all this teasing does not lead to some prime concentration on the man himself.
And if they'd only let us hear a nice chunk of June & Johnny's duet of "Jackson"!
~ OMK

Misty said...

I don't know TBBT, Wilbur? Okay--I guess not.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Never heard of "POOR SIDE OF TOWN," and perps were few and far between. I finally Googled "Irish River L" to get auto-complete to tell me LIFFEY. With SIDoOF TOWN I finaly was able to ink SEES RED and POOR SIDE OF...

Thanks Peter for a fun puzzle. I enjoyed the theme's execution [all music and Great->Bad]. Thanks mb for the informative review (I too thought nohow is two words).

WOs: CITRi- before THEN; SPAuN [untie!], goES RED.
ESPs: GWEN, ELIA, ADAGIO, OTRO, ESTE, LAE, and, of course L--F-Y (the River)
Fav: um, FAV(?) :-)

I didn't know what 'Vornado product' was (Fog?) until I saw the logo in mb's expo. "Oh, I have one of those" [exactly like HG's], I thought.

{B, A, B+, B}
DR Disappointment
Haiku - a special hell for some(?) :-)

Inanehiker - there's a number of casinos there. That's about all I know (a buddy is from Mobile - I would ask for you but he's in Cairo)

TTP - I love mostaccioli.

WC - I went looking for the "Blue Barrel" and found it predates Pennsylvania oil. Still a mystery.

PVX - I though I'd never hear of Johnny Rivers either but I know Secret Agent Man [DW thought it was Secret Asian Man ;-)] Thanks for pointing that out.

Cheers, -T

Jayce said...

I enjoyed this puzzle.

Sandyanon said...

OMK, if you make it to Episode 4 of Ken Burns' "Country Music", you'll see lots about Johnny Cash.

Wilbur Charles said...

Misty, that's "The Big Bang Theory". It was popular for twelve seasons finally came concluding this year.

Downton Abbey is the new TBBT. But probably for a different audience. People in here were talking about it because a movie is coming out of that name.

WC

Misty said...

Thanks, Wilbur. No, never saw The Big Bang Theory, although I think I saw some sort of a series on Downtown Abbey many years ago. May try to watch an episode or two again this Fall.