The plane bribe story took off yesterday and took over the news cycle. Jamie O took the first whack at it for First Draft. As always, I’m taking a different approach. The whole mishigas gave me a series of earworms, which led to this oddball Tuesday listicle. I specialize in oddities.
The featured image comes from Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. I think the Insult Comedian sees himself as Leonardo DeCaprio surrounded by stewardesses back when flying was fun and even glamorous.
Before moving on to the list, I have to quote Trump’s bizarre defense of taking the plane bribe:
“I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person saying, No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.”
Instead, he’s a stupid person who took a bribe from a regime that supports Hamas who the Kaiser of Chaos purports to despise. The corruption, it burns.
This list is an unusual one. Typically, I research song lists but in this case, I compiled it off the top of my head. Is my head pointed or not? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Anyway, it’s in chronological order and contains songs about flying, which should be obvious from the post title. None of the tunes, however, have the word flight in the title. Why? Beats the hell outta me.
I give you The Flight Song Dozen:
We begin with a tune composed by Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and Sid Robin. It’s usually a pure instrumental but Ella Fitzgerald turns it into a showcase for her phenomenal scat singing.
Howlin’ Wolf. Say no more.
This Sinatra classic was used in the scene depicted in the featured image. It features a swell arrangement by the great Billy May.
It’s time for some sunny pop magic by the family band:
A song that begins with these lyrics can’t be all bad: “I’m flyin’ across the ocean and I’m soaring. Back home to the place I was born and probably raised.”
A sci-fi flight song with lead vocals by the late, great Paul Kantner who traded in his airplane for a starship.
The next song always cracks me up. It’s a parody of an ad campaign on behalf of National Airlines. 10cc is still around; National Airlines is not. So it goes.
Another song from the mid-Seventies back when air travel was an adventure and there was actually leg room in coach.
Let’s exit the rocking chair and hop aboard a big ol’ Jet Airliner:
A fabulous video featuring Tom Petty in an airplane graveyard. I still miss Tom Petty, the airplane graveyard not so much.
I don’t usually mention the Grammys, but Lenny won one for this song:
Finally, a tune that uses flying as a metaphor. It was the first song I thought of and the only one from this century.
Remember: Beware of Qataris bearing gifts.
That is all.