Oldies Night

I was sitting in a bar in Windsor Terrace Saturday night when Marvin Gaye told me I had to give it up.

As I sipped my wine, I had a flashback to the first time I heard Gaye’s hit.

I was a sophomore at Hunter College and on that particular day I was in a record store on Lexington Avenue, which I’m sure is long gone.

This funky song that I’d never heard came on the sound system. A guy near me walked up to the cashier and asked her what were we listening to.

“Got to Give it Up,” she said.

That was over 40 years ago and there I was hearing it again—along with a wonder list of such slick tunes as “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Go Back, Jack, Do it Again.”

Usually when I walk into a bar I don’t begin to recognize any of the songs I’m hearing, but this seemed like my kind of place.

I was in the neighborhood to attend a reading by one of my writing class buddies and I had arrived a full hour early due to the rather embarrassing fact that I had not properly read the invitation.

But the wine was tasty, the music was solid, and the nostalgia was flowing freely.

Nostalgia has been on my mind a lot lately. I recently stumbled across a cable station called MeTV and it’s kind of freaking me out.

This station has resurrected so many old shows from my childhood I feel like I fell into a time warp. The list includes Have Gun Will Trouble, Wanted Dead or Alive, Night Gallery, The Wild, Wild West, Maverick, Wagon Train, Rawhide, and—a particular favorite—Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Keep on Dancin’

I keep promising myself that I’m going to cut down on my TV viewing, but nothing prepared me for this. It’s like a video version of that saloon’s sound system—it’s got all of these great hits from my younger days.

Now to be honest, some of these shows have not aged well and I think the word “classic” is bandied about too easily.

I recorded an episode of the private eye program Mannix and about the only interesting thing in this show was a brief appearance by Mark Lenard, the guy who played Mr. Spock’s father, and James B. Sikking, who was a regular on Hill Street Blues.

I loved this show back in high school, but then I liked disco and bell bottoms, too. And--brace yourself--the attitudes towards race and sex in many of these programs are somewhat dated.

Paladin, the hero of Have Gun Will Travel, has a Chinese servant named Hey Boy, as in “Hey, Boy” and his female replacement was named “Hey Girl,” as in, well, you get the idea.

One of the things I’m enjoying most about these old programs is seeing so many well-known actors in their younger days. George Kennedy appears in at least two episodes of Have Gun Will Travel, as does Robert Blake.

Warren Oates is in another episode, but never says a word, and the actor who plays his boss turned out to be Peter Falk, though it took me several minutes to identify that geeky guy with the glasses.

And I got a surprise while reading the credits of Kolchak when I saw the name David Chase—the writer who went on to create The Sopranos.

There are so many great shows on this channel that I could DVR the whole lineup.

But do I want to sit in front of the TV all weekend replaying old memories or do I want to go out and meet up with human beings—like my buddy who was reading from his novel just a few blocks from this bar?

I finished my wine, put on my coat and made for the door. As I was leaving, the Temptations started tempting me with the gem “Poppa Was A Rolling Stone,” which the kids in my high school mechanical drawing class used to sing—much to the annoyance of the teacher.

I could’ve stayed listen to this song and others like it, but like Marvin Gaye says, no more standin’ along the side wall.

Got to give it up.