Saturday Nine: See You Later, Alligator (1956)

This week's Saturday Nine:


(Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.)

1. Crazy Sam's mother is terrified of alligators. Just looking at a photo of one of those scaly reptiles gives her the creeps. Is there a member of the animal kingdom that scares you? Pretty much all insects and reptiles.
   
   
2. Gators are carnivores, but they aren't picky. If meat isn't handy, they'll munch on fruit. Are you particular about your diet? For example, do you try to eat gluten free, low sodium, etc.? No, I'm on a see-food diet. You know, I see food, I'll eat it. I guess I'm kinda like gators in that way.
   
   
3. In Spain, this song was a hit under the title, "Hasta Luego, Cocodrilo." Say something else in Spanish. Hola amigo! ¿Cómo estás? Yo quiero Taco Bell. Gracias!
   
   
4. When this week's artist, Bill Haley, was a little boy, he made a guitar out of cardboard and pretended to play that until his parents got him a real one. Tell us about something you wanted so badly when you were a kid. A Tamagotchi. But I did get one eventually, in Grade 4.
   
   
5. Early in his career, Bill did whatever it took to get the gig. When singing cowboys were popular, the Michigan native pretended to be a cowpoke and renamed himself, "Silver Yodeling Bill." Have you ever fudged on your resume or fibbed in an interview? I may have used some alternative phrasing to make myself sound a little more sophisticated, but I've never outright lied on a resume or in an interview.
   
   
6. When his career was going well, Bill was generous and loved to give extravagant parties at his home, which he called Melody Manor. Do you enjoy playing the host? No, there's way too much clean-up and I am too cheap to hire a cleaner.
   
   
7. Bill was blind in one eye, the result of a botched operation when he was a child. Since the blind eye wandered and didn't focus, he always wore a curl over the opposite eye, hoping to draw everyone's attention to the other side of his face. What is there about your appearance that leaves you self conscious? My stomach area. I always wear high-waisted pants and long flowy tops for that reason.
   
   
8. On the other hand, what is it about your appearance that pleases you, and that you would never change? My eyelashes.
   
   
9. In 1956, when this song was a hit, Elvis Presley exploded onto the music scene and displaced Bill as rock's top artist. The press and public assumed Bill was jealous of Elvis, but in reality he liked Elvis a great deal. Are you jealous by nature? It depends on the situation, but in general, I can get jealous pretty easily. I'm just not intense or psycho about it.