I can't remember who delivered the green foot locker but it sat on the living room floor with white stenciled lettering, postage and the news, "He's coming home." And not as a captain but as a major. The good news, much like bad news then, seemed to come in packs of three or four.
The locker was his advance and filled with what he didn't or couldn't travel with. My mother lifted the lid open and Julie London and her black turtleneck stared back at us. I remember she was nestled in a camouflage cargo parachute and the earthy smell of Vietnam filled our living room.
The cargo parachute later hung from the ceiling of my army barracks and college dorm room where it gave everything and everybody beneath it a strange green cast. I lost the parachute but still have the reel to reel tape of Julie and thank my father for introducing me to her. Like so many things -- then and today -- I had no idea how lucky we were.
The quartet behind her is actually much better than her vocals...she's no Rosemary Clooney...
ReplyDeleteThe back-story is great though.
Main Line- Who listens when there's so much to see.
ReplyDeleteNice story.
ReplyDeleteMy memory of Julie London, at the time ignorant of her vocal talent, is from the '70s TV series "Emergency." Much later I learned that her co-star musician husband Bobbie Troup wrote the hit "Get Your Kicks On Route 66."
-DB
I just heard Bobby singing Route 66 this morning on the radio.
ReplyDeleteJazz sucks.
ReplyDeleteThe more I cruise your site, the more we hunt Tintin.
ReplyDeleteWhat a smooth vibe from London.
Smitty- Let me know if you find anything interesting.
ReplyDelete