Ready for Art Garfunkel, classic movies, a history fair
Lisa, pretending that we are Simon & Garfunkel, ’cause you know, they are a famous singing duo from New York and we are … not, which of the two would you be?
LISA DENTON: I’ll answer your question if you answer mine: Which one are you: Laverne or Shirley?
I’d be happy with the talents of any of them, actually.
BARRY: Fair enough. It’s funny, Art Garfunkel and I (have I told you about the time Charlton Heston told me, “Never name-drop”?) actually talked during our interview about his “Quiet One” public persona that was pinned on him during the duo’s earlier years. He dismissed it, of course, and said, “We are all everything.” He will be singing and telling stories Saturday night at the Walker Theatre. We also talked about his book, parenthood and, of course, how much he enjoys performing. We talked about a lot of things.
LISA: Nicknames are hard to outlive. I was once known as “The Dancing Bridesmaid,” and that was more than 30 years ago. Fun night, though. I think there might have been some Simon & Garfunkel in that play list.
BARRY: During my Catholic high school days, we used to have class and religious retreats all the time, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was No. 1 on the playlist. I kind of grew to despise the song because we heard it so much, but it’s a good one and is definitely one of the soundtrack songs for many people’s lives.
LISA: Simon & Garfunkel songs are some of my favorites. Love the writing. Love the harmonies.
Do you know if Garfunkel does duo songs or just his solo stuff? It might be funny if he did duo songs solo, with no one adding the Paul Simon parts, so he could rag Simon for not showing up.
BARRY: It is all solo, I believe, but that would be interesting. I once saw a guy sing every part of the Jackson Five’s “I’ll Be There.” It lasted about 10 minutes.
LISA: I should have done my version of The Drifters’ “White Christmas” for you a month ago. They had five people singing, but I like to do all the parts, from bass to tenor. It’s pretty special. If you’ll tip, I’ll add choreography.
BARRY: The Bobby Stone Film Series returns at the Tivoli with “The Big Lebowski” on Saturday and “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Sunday. Two shows each.
LISA: And a shout-out to the Soddy, Daisy & Montlake Historical Association, which will have its annual history fair 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Soddy-Daisy High School. A lot of the booths are focused on historic families and industries from the north end of the county, but you can also find genealogy experts, like Shelia Nelson, who one year helped me find information on the original owner of my house (who maybe still haunts the place), and people like Sam Hall, who runs the Deep Zoom Chattanooga historic photos website, and Tracy Knauss, whose Photo Doctor business restores old photos. It’s a good stop for any history buff.
BARRY: If there is a lull in the Soddy, Daisy & Montlake history discussions — as if — get Tracy to start talking about the Apollo projects. He’s kind of into it.
Get event details every Thursday in Chattanoo gaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@times freepress.com or 423-757-6281.