Q: DO YOU KNOW WHY THEY PUT A CLOCK IN THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA?

A: Because it’s no good having the inclination if you haven’t got the time. Okay, that was a bad one, but, really, we should never underestimate the importance of time. It’s inspired a lot of creativity, from Proust’s monumental seven-volume Remembrance of Things Past (they should sell that puppy by the pound) to Salvador Dali’s limp watches (official title, “The Persistence of Memory”) to the Back to the Future franchise. Not to be left out, music has given the world a lot of memorable songs about time as well. Some of my faves include “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” (Sandy Denny, Judy Collins) “Time” (Pozo Seco Singers) “Ahead By A Century” Tragically Hip. Time, no matter how you slice it, or make that measure it, has been an important part of vintage oldies, too. I thought we might take time today to listen to some of the famous time songs from “back in the day.”

By the day: “Rock Around the Clock” – Bill Haley and His Comets, 1954-55). This is a terrific vid – footage from American Graffiti. What a great time capsule that show is!

By the week: “I Met Him on a Sunday” – The Shirelles, 1958. A real early hit for the gals from Passaic, and dear to my heart for also being one of the early uses of “papa do run” in the lyrics, and the inspiration for my book title.

By the month: “Calendar Girl” – Neil Sedaka, 1960. Apparently, there’s a Scopitone (great name!) for this one, a forerunner of the music video. Love to see that!

By the year: “It Was a Very Good Year” Frank Sinatra, 1961. Okay, this isn’t exactly a rock and roll number, but it is in the vintage years. I have to confess, at the risk of drawing ire from some, that I am not and never have been a Sinatra fan. I know, he’s Sinatra, the Chairman of the Board, one of the very first teen idol scream-inducers, but he’s just never spun my wheels. I don’t’ care for this song all that much, either, but I heroically put my tastes and feelings aside, in the interest of Blogging Art. Please, don’t applaud; I’m just doing my job.

By the really big stuff: “Oh-oh I’m Falling in Love Again” – Jimmie Rodgers, 1958. This one cover it all, with the infectious chorus…

Never in a hundred, never in a thousand,
Never in a million years,
Never in a million years
Uh-oh, uh-oh

So there you are. I can’t at the moment think of any rock and roll songs about any geologic eras, or about tiny seconds, for that matter. Maybe you can?