Temptations "My Girl"

When you think of a mad-as-hell-and-not-gonna-take-it-anymore George Banks having a meltdown in the hotdog bun aisle at the grocery store, you immediately think of the 1991 movie Father of the Bride. Upon first watching this heartwarming movie in 1992, I was 15 years old and immediately connected with the character of George Banks: he loves his family, doesn't like letting go or major life changes, and holds in his anger until it inevitably explodes over something silly (like hotdog buns). Plus, the beloved Steve Martin stars as George Banks in the remake of the 1950 classic. What 15 year-old boy can watch a movie like Father of the Bride and immediately connect with a middle-aged character who's struggling to let go of his first-born daughter? Me, that's who.

When you meet someone with a shared love of family, baseball, radio, and the movie Father of the Bride, you're pretty lucky. When that same person also happens to have a heart of gold, laughs at all your stupid jokes and impressions and stares at you in a way no others have, you're pretty damn lucky. Add in stunning good looks and you feel like Brian McKenzie upon meeting Annie Banks.

This weekend, I'm celebrating Stephani's birthday by flying her favorite airline into her beloved Sky Harbor Airport followed by a tour of her former Phoenix haunts: Oreganos, Fossil Creek, and her old stomping grounds of ASU (where they apparently wore bathing suits to class). Throw in a visit to Comerica Theater to see the messiah himself (Rob Thomas), and you have yourself one heck of a birthday weekend. If we're lucky, maybe we'll even watch Father of the Bride on the plane...

Happy birthday, Stephani!
xo 

UB40 "The Way You Do the Things You Do"

Just two songs placed on the Billboard Top 40 during the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and '90s in the United States. One of those songs is "The Way You Do the Things You Do" which came via The Temptations ('60s), Rita Coolidge ('70s), Hall & Oates ('80s), and UB40 ('90s).

Billy Joel - "Hey Girl"

"Hey Girl" was one of the few '90s songs from Billy Joel that didn't make me reach to change the radio station.  Originally written by Carole King, Freddie Scott made the song a hit in 1963 and Donny Osmond did the same in 1972.  The Righteous Brothers, The Temptations, and George Benson are just a few of the others to also record the tune.

Rod Stewart - "The Motown Song"

So many songs on Adult Contemporary radio stations take their cues from Motown.  Some artists simply covered Motown standards while artists such as Hall & Oates, Paul Young, and Michael McDonald all dipped their toes in the Motown sound with a genre known as "Blue-Eyed Soul".  In the case of Rod Stewart, he actually borrowed a couple of The Temptations for song properly entitled "The Motown Song".  The result: soccer moms across America rejoiced and proudly sang along while driving their kids to school in their Ford Tauruses.