1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, It's Genie Alexander and you're listening to one 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,120 of my favorite shows, the Surely You Can't Be. 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,679 Speaker 2: Serious Podcast, hosted by my good friends Dee and Jason. 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,199 Speaker 3: Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Surely you Can't 5 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:24,039 Be Serious Podcast. Special Edition five Minutes of Fire. We're 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,160 here talking about the lyrics of We Didn't Start the 7 00:00:27,199 --> 00:00:30,039 Fire by Billy Joel. We're covering only five minutes at 8 00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:31,920 a time, which is about to link the song, so 9 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,240 it works out kind of nicely. So please join us 10 00:00:34,359 --> 00:00:37,759 as we dive into some new lyrics today. 11 00:00:37,799 --> 00:00:39,840 Speaker 2: All right, guys, so here are the topics that we're 12 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:41,200 going to be covering today. 13 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,200 Speaker 3: Johnny Ray, South Pacific. 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 2: Walter Winchell, Johnny Ray, Jason. 15 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 3: Tell me what you know about Johnny Ray? 16 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: All right. 17 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:53,119 Speaker 2: Johnny Ray was a singer, songwriter, and pianist. Tony Bennett 18 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,119 called him the father of rock and roll what At 19 00:00:56,119 --> 00:00:58,320 age thirteen, he lost his hearing in his left ear 20 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,840 at a cub scout sting where he got whacked in 21 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,840 the ear. He started singing professionally at age fifteen, so 22 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,280 he started singing in clubs as a white singer, which 23 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,719 kind of made a name for himself seeing these black Clubs, 24 00:01:08,799 --> 00:01:09,760 R and B Clubs. 25 00:01:09,879 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: If your Suit and the Letter. 26 00:01:17,799 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 2: Of good Bye, he coined several rock and roll moves 27 00:01:25,719 --> 00:01:28,120 like pulling your hair, falling on the floor and crying 28 00:01:28,239 --> 00:01:30,560 while seeing. From there, he landed some movie rolls. He 29 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,439 landed a starring role in There's No Business Like Show 30 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,280 Business with ethel Merman, which I also know from Landy 31 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,640 Towns an Airplane, and Marilyn Monroe, which we're gonna be 32 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,719 talking about in a future episode. He was arrested in 33 00:01:41,799 --> 00:01:44,920 nineteen fifty one and nineteen fifty nine for soliciting a 34 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,359 male undercover vice cop, which in the fifties that was 35 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:49,159 a big deal. 36 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:56,799 Speaker 1: Just walking in way get the sunken. 37 00:01:56,799 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: Well, and then he eventually died of liver failure in 38 00:02:02,159 --> 00:02:04,400 nineteen ninety. You can see him in the Come On 39 00:02:04,599 --> 00:02:08,639 Eileen video by Dexy Midnight Runners from like vintage video 40 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,759 of him landing at Heathrow. He's name checked and Billy 41 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,199 Idols Don't Need a Gun video and he's actually in 42 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,120 the video. He's mentioned in Van Morrison Sometimes We Cry 43 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,400 and Jimmy Ray's Are You Jimmy Ray song from the nineties. 44 00:02:28,039 --> 00:02:30,199 He also appeared in Happy Days in the Love Boat, 45 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,240 but his main contribution is he's known as the father 46 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:32,879 of rock and roll. 47 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: Fantastic. 48 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:35,479 Speaker 2: All right, de, what do you know about South Pacific? 49 00:02:35,599 --> 00:02:35,879 Speaker 1: Okay? 50 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,159 Speaker 3: South Pacific was a musical that came out in nineteen 51 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,159 forty nine, the year of Billy Joel's birth. It was 52 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,960 the biggest success on Broadway since Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma. 53 00:02:46,039 --> 00:02:49,240 This was also a Rogers and Hammerstein's musical. It was 54 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,280 based on the book by James A. Mishner called The 55 00:02:52,319 --> 00:02:56,000 Tales of the South Pacific, and it ran for one 56 00:02:56,599 --> 00:03:00,000 nine hundred and twenty five shows before it was finally done. 57 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,879 It has songs that I knew growing up. 58 00:03:03,199 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: Listen. 59 00:03:03,479 --> 00:03:05,879 Speaker 3: I listened to the South Pacific soundtrack. I couldn't tell 60 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:08,599 you how many times you've got bally high you got. 61 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,400 I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair. 62 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,400 I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair. 63 00:03:13,479 --> 00:03:16,240 I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair. 64 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,759 You've got some enchanted evening. 65 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: And China tudy. You may see a stranger, you may 66 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:35,879 see a strange across a rape at a rule. 67 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 3: You've got there's nothing like a name, You've got Happy Talk, 68 00:03:39,319 --> 00:03:41,879 You've got Younger than Springtime, and You've got I'm in 69 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,520 Love with a Wonderful Guy. All of them fantastic songs 70 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,800 from A Fantastic Musical from nineteen forty nine. The original 71 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,039 production won ten Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, 72 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,960 Best Libretto, and it is the only musical to win 73 00:03:57,039 --> 00:04:01,000 Tony Awards in all four acting category. Jason, what can 74 00:04:01,039 --> 00:04:02,039 you tell me about Walter Winchell? 75 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:05,719 Speaker 2: Okay? Walter Winschell is one of the first journalists to 76 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,680 make journalism to a form of entertainment. He originally started 77 00:04:08,719 --> 00:04:11,759 out as a vaudeville performer and then became a Broadway critic. 78 00:04:11,919 --> 00:04:14,919 He's known for digging up embarrassing stories on famous people. Now. 79 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,639 Initially he had a whole bunch of contacts with the 80 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,839 criminal mafia realm before Prohibition, but after he made so 81 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:22,839 many contacts there, he got kind of nervous and then 82 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,879 kind of aligned himself with g Men, Uncle Sam and 83 00:04:25,959 --> 00:04:29,160 Old Glory. He was also Jewish and one of the 84 00:04:29,199 --> 00:04:32,120 first American commentators to attack Hitler. During the fifties, he 85 00:04:32,199 --> 00:04:36,399 supported Joseph McCarthy's quest to identify communists in the entertainment industry, 86 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,319 which we'll be talking about very soon. He's best known 87 00:04:39,399 --> 00:04:42,920 for unethically attempting to destroy the careers of his political 88 00:04:42,959 --> 00:04:45,639 and personal enemies. His life ends in sadness when his 89 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,920 son commits suicide. He ends up dying in nineteen seventy 90 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,519 two due to prostate cancer. One person came to his funeral, 91 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:53,720 and that was his daughter Walda. 92 00:04:54,199 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: That's terrible. 93 00:04:54,879 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 3: Okay, guys, That does it for today's episode. Join us 94 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:58,639 next time for five minutes of fire.