This Friday’s song is I’d Really Live to See You Tonight by England Dan and John Ford Coley. The clip of this 1976 hit is introduced by Wolfman Jack.
1976 was memorable in many ways. The US Bicentennial celebration dominated popular culture with the highlight being a fleet of tall ships coming into New York harbor as part of Operation Sail. An almost unknown Southern governor and ex-peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, won the Iowa Democratic Caucus and went on to win the US presidency. Two companies that would help define the personal computer industry and change the world, Apple and Microsoft, were founded that year. Two Viking spacecraft visited Mars and the first space shuttle, Enterprise, was rolled out of a hanger in Palmdale, California.
1976 was an interesting year for me as well. I had taken a break from college and returned back to Boston. A great friend and mentor, Arthur Castraberti, gave me a job at the iconic Prince Restaurant in Saugus, MA. I had worked for Arthur and his beautiful wife Rose Marie throughout high school. This gave me an opportunity to get resettled back in Boston and decide what I was going to do with my life. That kind of loyalty and generosity from the Castrabertis was something everyone who was lucky enough to have been part of the “Prince family” knew they could always depend on.
Hope you enjoy!