Retiring Guy Visits the Lobby of the Churchill Building

It's either the holidays or lease renewal time.

The Churchill Building, as it is now known, is located on the North Carroll Street side of the Capitol Square. The 9-story structure houses a number of offices and suites. In fact, my wife used to work here -- on one of the upper floors; I remember the great view -- in the early 1990s, well before the remodeling of the lobby. (The rest of the interior space has also undergone improvements.)

Here's what Stuart Levitan writes about this landmark building in his book, "Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 1, 1856-1931.

Madison's First Skyscraper. In early 1911, just months after John Nolen urged an immediate height limit on buildings on the square, developer Leonard Gay revealed plans for a nine-story office building across the capital at 16 North Carroll Street. It was to be the tallest building in the state outside Milwaukee, and opposition to the encroachment at both local and state levels was swift but unsuccessful. An unexceptional design by future mayor James R. Law, the Gay Building boasted reinforced concrete fireproof construction and high-speed elevators when it opened in February 1915. The tallest building in town until the Belmont Hotel in 1923, it underwent a name change, to the Churchill Building, in the 1970s. (page 189)

Oh! He of the Helmet-Haired Band

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Who's "I Can See For Miles" was my favorite song of 1967. It charted during the fall of my senior year at Warren Area High School.

This obituary of Dennis Yost in today's New York Times brought to mind my second-favorite song of that time. I'd unfailingly hear on the radio before leaving for school, and the tune lingered in my head all day. Surprisingly, I never grew tired of it.

Guilty!

First of all, you need to read this news post, "Do you watch the DVDs and Blu-rays you buy?"

My season 1 boxed set of Perry Mason is still shrink-wrapped. It was a Christmas gift from my son Andy. (In 2o06!)

During the year leading up to my August 2008 retirement, the ubiquitous question posed to was "What are you going to do when you're retired?"

Occasionally, I would answer, "I'll finally be able to watch the DVDs I have that are sitting around collecting dust."

In addition to Perry Mason, they include The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Present, Naked City, The Honeymooners. (Yeah, I know, another case of arrested development.)

And how many episodes of any of these series have I watched?

Zero.

Perhaps that's a good sign.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Ingredients
1 jar (16 oz.) salted dry roasted peanuts
1 jar (16 oz.) unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1 package (11.5 oz.) milk chocolate chips
1 package (10 oz.) peanut butter chips
3 packages (10-12 oz.) vanilla or white chips
2 packages (11.5 oz) cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips

Directions
Combine the peanuts in a 5-quart slow cooker.
Layer the chips in the order given. Do not stir.
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until melted. (I ended up with a 4-hour cook time.)
Stir to combine. (I stirred for about 5 minutes, at which point the melted chips had a smooth consistency. Not a recipe for those lacking upper body strength.)
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto wax paper.
Let stand until set. (Smack hands of family members or friends who can't wait to eat 'em.)
Store in airtight container at room temperature.

According to the recipe I was given, the "yield" is 4 pounds of candy. It's a lotta peanut clusters. Believe me!

My son Eddie, of smacked hands fame, gives the clusters a perfect 10 rating.

Recipe card gives acknowledgement to Taste of Home Holiday Cookbook '08.

I'm Making Progress

As far as moving forward in time is concerned.

I previously noted how enamored I've become of the music of the 1940s, thanks to satellite radio. (Sirius/XM's '40s on 4.)

I've recently moved up a notch, allowing myself to be serenaded by the '50s on 5, as I was yesterday evening while making chocolate peanut clusters. (Recipe to follow in a later post.)

After listening extensively to these two channels during the past few weeks, I've concluded that Sirius/XM subscribes to my theory of the history of popular music. Which is that the 40s ended and the 50s began in 1955 -- an observation based strictly on chart position and airplay.

Here's some of the evidence.

"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and his Comets debuts on Billboard's Top Pop Singles on May 14, 1955, and eventually spent 8 weeks at #1.

Fats Domino makes his first Top Pop chart appearance on July 16 with "Ain't That a Shame", covered in a #1 version, which hit the chart a week earlier, by Mr. Whitebread himself Pat Boone. Fats' version made it to #10.

Chuck Berry. "Maybellene". August 20, 1955. Climbing as high as #5.

Not to mention the one-hit wonder of The Turbans' "When You Dance". November 11. Although it peaked at #33, it enjoyed a 21-week run.

The Old Guard, however, did not leave the stage willingly.

The top songs at the end of 1955, when I was a kindergartner at Whittier Elementary School in Great Falls Montana, favored those with conservative musical tastes.

"Sixteen Tons" (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
"Autumn Leaves" (Roger Williams)
"Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" (Four Aces. And the beat goes on.)
"Moments to Remember" (Four Lads)

And then came Elvis and "Heartbreak Hotel" on March 3, 1956, his first single spending 8 weeks at #1 and 27 weeks on what had then become Billboard's Hot 100.

Coincidentally, Carl Perkins' version of "Blue Suede Shoes" also debuted on March 3rd and spent four weeks at #2. (Elvis's version began its chart run a month later and peaked at #20.)

1956 was also a big year for Little Richard: "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally", and "Rip It Up".

(For those of you wondering, I'm using print (!!) as a source for these facts and figures: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990, a compilation based on Billboard's charts.)

I suspect that if I listen to Sirius/XM "'60s on 6", I'll confirm my theory that the 1960s, musically speaking, started in 1964, when the Beatles cleared the way for a British invasion.

Here's the top 10 from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending December 28, 1963.

1. "Dominique" (The Singing Nun). Actually, I should be able to stop right here, but I won't.
2. "There! I've Said It Again" (Bobby Vinton. A big hit for Vaughn Monroe in 1945, who also sang this great song.)
3. "Louie Louie" (Kingsmen -- giving birth to garage rock.)
4. "Since I Fell for You" (Lenny Welch. Call me old-fashioned, but I really love this song.)
5. "You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry" (Caravelles)
6. "Drip Drop" (Dion DiMuci -- definitely lesser Dion)
7. "Forget Him" (Bobby Rydell. Still touring!)
8. "Popsicles and Icicles" (Murmaids. Whoda thought there'd be demand for a reunion tour?)
9. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" (Johnny Tillotson), appearing at the Surf Ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa, on January 29, 2009.)
10. "Be True to Your School" (Beach Boys, making waves for more than a year at this point)

By early April 1964, the Beatles had achieved the unprecedented, and still unequalled, feat of charting the top 5 songs on the Hot 100: "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".

So when did the '70s start?