Whatever Happened to Class?

Can anyone tell me what ever happened to class? While channel surfing the other day, I came across a PBS special featuring highlights from The Andy William Christmas Shows. Here was (is) a classy guy. He was clean cut. The shows reeked with family goodwill. The songs were straightforward, and so were the arrangements. He stood up there and just sang with his wonderful voice. Highlights of the shows included Andy singing with his brothers in simple but beautiful harmony. The sets and production values were as classy as the acts they were supporting.

Of course, the show was part of PBS pledge week, and for $100.00 you could get a CD of the program along with another CD of the best of Andy Williams; songs like Moon River and The Days of Wine and Roses. This was class all the way.

When I look back on the generation of entertainers that ended around 1980, there was one classy act after another. The Rat Pack, with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford epitomized class. Then there was Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. And don’t forget the ladies…names like Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald come to mind. Even the movies were classy, with primo scores that made it on to the pop charts with composers like Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Lalo Shifrin, and Nelson Riddle.

Is there anyone, or any entertainer today, that could put together a variety show like The Andy Williams Show or the Carol Burnett Show or The Perry Como Show or The Judy Garland Show? I can’t think of one. Last week, NBC tried to bring back a variety show with Rosy O’Donnell. It lasted one night. It was awful. That is an example of what today’s entertainment moguls think is good television, and why NBC is being forced to reduce three hours of original, nightly programming to two. Jay Leno is bailing them out after NBC treated him bad!!!!

Today, America is reduced to the least common denominator. Just look around in a restaurant. People show up to eat in sweat suits. Jeans and T-shirt is America’s Mao suit. Even at my club, we revised the dress code down to allow denim. But we have to vigorously enforce the balance of the code to prevent low riders and inappropriate tops that show off the bulging midriff or may have a skull and cross bones plastered across the front. People may think it is cool. It isn’t cool, it is just plain lazy. One has to make an effort to at least look presentable…and people can’t be bothered. And if anyone tries to dress well, they are looked at with disdain. Who does she think she is? It is no different with the guys.

Forty years from now… what will PBS be playing for its fund raising week? Any entertainer that is a remnant of class is probably over 50. Cher and Madonna come to mind, and folks, that is a stretch. Will the 20-somethings when they are 60-somethings be waxing nostalgic for hip/hop or gangsta rap or a club remix? Are there any 20-something entertainers floating around who can sing a tune without being audio enhanced? I can’t think of one.

My Uncle John, who was born in Rome and served in the British Army in Leningrad during the Russian Revolution, immigrated to the United States when he was 22 years old. He used to put on a suit and tie and sit in his living room listening to Italian opera every Sunday afternoon. Now that was class. Where are the people like him?

Oh well, I think I will just listen to my old Andy Williams albums.

Comments

Anonymous said…
How about your son??? I am a fan of the classics, but you say I have an old soul.
9:15 AM
Keith said…
Great blog post. I totally agree with you. There aren't many classy entertainers today that aren't below 50 years old. I'm a big fan of the entertainers of the 50's and 60's. These were men and women with class and style. They weren't trashy. They dressed nicely. Many times the so-called stars of today dress like they are living on the street. It's such a shame to see things have gone this downhill.
9:10 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strouss-Hirshberg; Things That Aren't There Anymore

Image
Youngstown was at the heart of the American industrial revolution in the mid 1800’s. During World War I, more steel came from Youngstown than anywhere else in the world. It’s no wonder, then, that the area was home of some of the best of everything, including department stores. Strouss-Hirshberg and McKelvey’s were the Macy’s and Gimbels of northeast Ohio, and offered to local residents the best of what money could buy. Strouss will always hold a special place in the heart of this area. It is hard to believe that there are twenty somethings today that haven't heard of it, or go “huh?” when you mention it. I tried doing some research on its history. Believe it or not, it is hard to find. As near as I could figure, the Strouss Hirshberg Company was originally known as D. Theobald and Company. Isaac Strouss clerked there, and eventually bought the store in 1875 with his new partner Bernard Hirshberg. The store was incorporated in 1906. The Readers Digest version of the life of the
Read more

Hope vs. Aspiration

Image
Don't forget to visit http://www.markknowsitall.com/ Hope: to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true. Aspiration : a desire or ambition to achieve something. As the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Barack Obama is in full gear selling his vision for the future of America. He is for “hope” and “change.” …and oh yes, peace. He is also for “peace.” Aren’t we all? Obama, the oratorical wunderkind with the speech cadence of Martin Luther King, is doing a fine job of telling us what we should hope for, and how he is going to give it to us. He is a riveting individual and a spell binding speech giver. Hope is a good thing, right? Obama believes Americans are “hope” deficient. Americans “hope” for universal (read “government run”) health care, even though 85% of Americans have coverage, and 25% of those who do not aren't American citizens, and an additional 14% of those who don’t can afford it but simply choose not buy it, and a portion of the re
Read more

New and Improved: Big Bosomed Women Who Party

Image
Of all the words in the English language that I have learned to fear and despise, the phrase that sends chills up and down my spine the most is "new and improved."   The new part is probably right, at least partially, but the improved is open to question.   It usually translates to confusion, work, and money.   This is especially true of the computer geeks at Google, You Tube and Facebook, along with all of my stock programs.   Those are particularly aggravating because I actually pay a monthly fee for some of these digital age gems. What is wrong with these people?   Do they take delight in terrorizing hundreds of millions of people by making them figure out how to get a program or site to do what it used to before they made it better?   Case in point is Google, the most used search engine in the world.   Google does everything for you now but go to the bathroom, and it can probably give a print out for that too.   I think it can actually predict when you will belch.   It t
Read more