Funny how songs can trigger memories. I was at an 80th birthday/pre-funeral celebration recently, yes you read that right, a pre-funeral celebration, for a friend of ours. He didn’t want to wait until he died to have all his friends and family gather, so he did it now. Smart and fun.
The band there was from the St. Cloud area, and they played fun songs from the ’50s and ’60s. One of those songs was “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” by Bobby Vee. Even I am too young for this 1950s song, but I remember a summer in 1979 where I heard that song every day.
I took a babysitting job for a family in Schroeder. I was too young to drive, so I rode my bike down Highway 61 towards Temperance River every day that summer. The family had two great kids, Christina and Jason. Their house was right on Lake Superior. After breakfast, we’d pack a lunch and a guitar and head down to the water. There was no beach on their shore, just rocks. We’d run from rock to rock and play tag. One of those days I was trying to reach out and catch a boat that Jason had made and next thing I knew I had flipped over right into the water cracking my forehead on the way down. Even in July that water hits you like a bucket of ice. I think I was out before I was in but I ended up with a bloody gash on my head. After that their mom asked if we’d stick around the house for a couple of weeks in case I had a concussion.
It didn’t take very long, and we were bored. Then we dug out some old records. I had never heard of Bobby Vee. I thought he was Bobby Vinton but this was a different guy altogether. He played songs that were fun to make up dance moves. We choreographed every song on the album. “Rubber ball, I’ll come bouncing back to you” was our favorite until we heard the “Night has a Thousand Eyes.” I can still see Christina and Jason screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs with me. The neighbors probably thought we were wackadoodle! (As I type this I have Alexa playing the song for me. I am smiling at the memory.) I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night, but I can sing every word of these songs! Celebrate your life, dance and sing!
“So remember when you tell those little white lies that the night has a thousand eyes.” ~ Bobby Vee
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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