Beech Tree News Network

This week, I will bring to you more random facts that I learned from my quarantine reading and viewing.

Remember the 1982 song “Rosanna” by Toto? Turns out, it was inspired by Rosanna Arquette.  As it happens, she was dating the keyboardist for the band, Steve Porcaro, at the time. I heard it on the Tonight Show, googled it and found it to be true.  The relationship might not have lasted but at least the band got a top 5 hit out of it.  The song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard charts. 

The next two bits of trivia came from one of my favorite shows, AXS TV’s Top Ten Revealed.  Again, I verified them all to be true.  America’s “sister Golden Hair” was the first #1 produced by Sir George Martin post-Beatles.  I watch the ABC reboot of To Tell The Truth a lot.  Most recently, legendary hall of fame songwriter Alee Willis(who is on the AXS Top Ten Revealed panel) was one of the subjects.  Several of the clues were “I wrote “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire” as well as “I’ll Be There For You”, the Friends theme song.  Fun fact: Willis said the Friends theme was the whitest song she ever wrote.  I’d say it’s in the top 5 of songs that’s made her the most money, too.  Friends is shown on TBS constantly, not to mention their new deal with HBO Max.  I’d say she’s doing pretty well for herself.

This next bit I’d heard somewhere else but most recently in the devotional I’ve been reading for this year: Live In Grace, Walk In Love by Bob Goff.  Before Walt Disney opened Disneyland, he was fired from his newspaper job in Kansas City.  You will never guess why he was fired.  His editor said that he lacked imagination.  I wonder what that editor said when he read that Disneyland had opened?

This last little bit of trivia comes from Little Steven’s Underground Garage, specifically Steven Van Zandt’s show.  Bo Didley got banned from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955 because instead of covering Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons” as he’d promised Sullivan, he played his own song “Bo Diddley”.  It’s amazing what you can learn by watching some of your favorite shows and reading.  All you have to do is pay attention.