R.I.P. Patti Page, SInger of Rock Turtleneck's First Favorite Song

Rock Turtleneck is back after a month-plus hiatus by paying tribute to the late great Patti Page, the honey-voiced chanteuse who passed away last week at age 85. One of the top-selling singers of the Greatest Generation era, Patti moved a Jacko-esque 100 million records in her day.

More significantly, she sang the first song I ever remember liking, "How Much is that Doggie in the Window." This waltz posed a simple Zen-like koan, "how much is that doggie in the window?" that absolutely rocked my six-year-old world. It's safe to say that my first experience listening to records on a hi-fi was playing "Doggie" over and over again on our family room. 

Were "Doggie" released today, it would no doubt inspire a rejoinder from the PETAs and ASCPAs of the world who would encourage the adoption of rescue or shelter dogs, rather than the store-bought window dressing variety.



"How Much is that Doggie in the Window" was the first link in a lifelong chain of musical obsessions that wound their way through The Partridge Family, the Carpenters, The Beatles,  Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, R.E.M., Kajagoogoo, Prince, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Nirvana, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Wilco, Jenny Lewis, Jack White, Spoon and the Alabama Shakes, with many many links in between, and many more to come.

Who knows, were it not for Ms. Page's cloyingly innocent ode to canine envy, Rock Turtleneck might not even exist. Shudder to think.

R.I.P. Ms. Patti Page and Happy 2013 everyone.

Buy on iTunes: Patti Page, Golden Hits