A View from the Front Porch

"A View from the Front Porch" is a memoir of my life growing up in rural South Carolina in the groovy 1970's. Or at least the way my 2020's brain remembers it! From the old, green, creaky wooden swing on my Grandaddy's front porch to the barnyard of un-rideable pigs, unfriendly wasps, and perilous cow-poop, this is the hilarious tale of a pre-teen farm boy with way too much time on his hands and too little common sense to know any better. All at once heartwarming, hysterical, and embarrassingly true, "A View from the Front Porch" will remind you of a simpler time, when sittin', swingin' and growin' up were just a part of everyday life!

A true labor of love to write, "A View from the Front Porch" is available now.

While "A View from the Front Porch" is all about the 1970s, I am a humongous fan of the 1980s! And there's nothing I like more than 80s music and pretty much everything about it. So let's have some fun. Every two weeks, we will add some fun fact or trivia question centered around the best era of music EVER. If it's a question, we'll post the answer on Sunday. If it's just a fun fact, you'll have a chance to respond with your thoughts. So, have at it, get excited, and, by order of the Dean, HAVE FUN!

Fun-filled question for the weeks of June 15 & 22:

 Family acts, made up of multiple members of the same family, were prevalent on the Billboard charts throughout its entire history, and the greatest decade was no exception. Which family act with at least three members was the most successful of the 1980s?

A. DeBarge

B. The Jets

C. The Jacksons

D. The Pointer Sisters

ANSWER: (D) With eleven (11) top 40 hits, six top tens, and the #2 smash, “Slow Hand,” spending three solid weeks at the doorstep to the top, the Pointer Sisters…Ruth, June, and Anita…take the prize for the most successful family act of the 80s. Sliding into second with five top tens and two #3’s (“Crush on You” and “You Got it All”) are the Jets. DeBarge technically had two top tens (though El Debarge, backed up by his family, had another) and the Jacksons had one. Sadly, none of these great family acts had a #1 in the 1980s (though I believe the Jackson 5 MAY have had a couple in the 70s, ha!).

New fun-filled question for the weeks of June 29 & July 6:         

One of my favorite songs of the 80s, “Jeopardy,” hit #2 in 1983, only being kept from the top spot by Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” With a kitschy video that suffered from awful production value but played constantly on MTV (and was highly entertaining!), this song made us all sing along and play some wicked air guitar. Who sang it? 

A. The Jeff Healy Band

B. The Greg Kihn Band

C. The Allman Brothers Band

D. The Band

Without searching the internet, see if your 80s music knowledge is as good as you think it Is, and we will celebrate those who got it right next time! And like I said...have fun!