Travelin' Man...

I'm not sure why the Ricky Nelson song Travelin' Man popped into my head. For me, Sunday morning usually means 4 hours at the model aircraft field but we had rain, so I responded to a few customer emails, made some sketches for a client and did some errands.
The rain eased up in the afternoon and radar showed no immediate storms, so I took a quick trip to the flying field.
Since I was the only one there, I was able to get 9 flights that totaled more than an hour flight time... typically, when 8 to 10 guys show up on a Sunday, I only get 1 flight per hour.
Maybe I should rethink and fly in the afternoons. No lines, no waiting.

Back to the song... I can't get it out of my head right now, so I did a little research.
Throughout musical history, there were songwriters and artists who performed their songs. Why? Lots of reasons. some songwriters were older, perhaps their looks weren't marketable, so they would have a young handsome semi-talented performer who would become famous and both the songwriter and performer would get rich!

Travelin' Man was the perfect example. Written by singer-songwriter and record producer Jerry fuller who wrote the song with soul singer Sam Cooke in mind. As fate would have it, Cooke's manager wasn't impressed with the song and the demo passed into the hands of Ricky Nelson who recorded the song. Released in April 1961, it was on the 45 with Hello Mary Lou. Both songs were considered to be on the "A" side as many had an A and a B, this was a double A. Nelson was a success with Travelin' Man reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Short song with simple lyrics, it was about a world traveler who had a girlfriend in every port he visited. 2:24 in length. Probably like his women, he got in and got out!



Song credit: Jerry Fuller
I'm a travelin' man, I've made a lot of stops
All over the world
And in every part I own the heart
Of at least one lovely girl

I've a pretty señorita waiting for me
Down in old Mexico
If you're ever in Alaska stop and see
My cute little Eskimo

Oh, my sweet fräulein down in Berlin town
Makes my heart start to yearn
And my China doll down in old Hong Kong
Waits for my return

Pretty Polynesian baby over the sea
I remember the night
When we walked in the sands of the Waikiki
And I held you oh so tight

Oh, my sweet fräulein down in Berlin town
Makes my heart start to yearn
And my China doll down in old Hong Kong
Waits for my return

Pretty Polynesian baby over the sea
I remember the night
When we walked in the sands of the Waikiki
And I held you oh so tight

Oh, I'm a travelin' man
Yes, I'm a travelin' man
Yes, I'm a travelin' man
Oh, I'm a travelin' man

For the guitar geeks... the backup band wasn't actually playing the song and the guy with the Fender Telecaster smiled, but he didn't know the solo.