"Joy."..and The Hungry i ..Haiku Heights....a n d......

    My second time linking with Haiku Heights

Remember with me

'Twas written by Three Dog Night

 with frog prodigy  

Mighty fine music

Jeremiah would agree

brought "joy to the world"

by klr




a n d.....one  joyous  memory from the "hungri i" restaurant...
 ...

My memory of the "hungri I" ~

San Francisco - 1961...
we lunched at Fisherman's Wharf, 
rode the cable cars, saw the Presidio, 

drove down Lombard St., walked Chinatown and drove through Haight Ashbury.  And yes, we 
crossed over the Golden Gate bridge, saw Alcatraz, climbed the Coit Tower and even saw a San Francisco Giants baseball game at Candlestick park.  I was 14 and my brother, Alan, 11.  Our parents took us out of our mundane routine to know some of the world outside our own small town.   I remember that 

I wore a scarf  and it blew across my face along with big raindrops as we ducked for cover into the renowned "hungri i"  restaurant one evening.  We were in for a treat!  It was elegant, I thought, 

and I felt quite grown up when I was allowed to have a glass of red wine with dinner, brought to our round oak table by a handsome waiter.  And I was allowed a sip of my father's martini.  We practiced our table manners without cue, or we would get "that look" from our parents.  We had tickets to see the live show after our meal!

                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                            The Gateway Singers

The Kingston Trio, who hailed from the bay area, launched their career at this nightspot. Headlining the show that night was a new comedian, Bob Newhart.  The show opened that night with the powerful Gateway Singers. Billed with Bob Newhart were The Limeliters with tenor, Glenn Yarbrough 

Little did we know that all would become world famous within a short time.  Never having been at a live event, I was struck with how splendidly loud, full-bodied and soulful the music sounded.  The songs were in the folk music genre of the time, like The Christy Minstrels group and The Smothers Brothers...around the time of The Captain and Tenille and The Brothers Four who sprouted from Washington State. Barbra Streisand was a favorite, as was Mort Saul, comedian.  You may include Peter, Paul and Mary and Carol Burnett.  But it was Glenn Yarbrough's splendid tenor voice singing "Baby the Rain Must Fall" that took me over the moon!! They made a lasting impression on me with their raggedy songs.  Below is a 1963 medley including the Brazilian whistling song.  My father especially loved the Irish tune, "Have Some Madeira, M' Dear?" which he would lip-sinc at home in the kitchen, teasing my mother when in a fun mood.  The audience was full of adults and it was smokey and dimly lit.  People drank and laughed.  We wondered if our parents really thought we would enjoy the show or was it that they wanted to see Bob Newhart but didn't want to leave us alone in the hotel?                                                                                                                    

But there were no off color words uttered that I remember, and by the end of Newhart's monologue my side ached from so much laughter.  After returning home I bragged to my friends at school about seeing them in person,  having felt like I had taken a giant step toward adulthood.  Today the restaurant does not exist;  Another club (casino or strip) there now bears the same name. The bare brick walls where Lenny Bruce and others grew to popularity no longer fill the space; you can read more about the "hungri i" and it's long-time owner HERE .  It was totally one of most joyful and special experiences  to be there during it's heyday.

Haiku Heights