Hello Linda



From 1941 to 1963, according to this site, Linda was one of the top 5 girls names. The year I was born, Linda was #3. That's a lot of Lindas! From 1st grade on, I was never the only Linda in the room.  Now this has its good points and bad points. The bad side is that it causes a lot of confusion. Can you imagine living in George Foreman's house, with his 5 sons all named George?  Having a popular name can sometimes make you feel less unique as a person. Pick a Linda, any Linda will do.
On the good side, you hear your name used in the popular culture. I was thrilled to watch Make Room For Daddy with Angela Cartwright's character named Linda.

And I remember my dad singing this song to me when I was young.

If you're wondering, as I was, about the Linda in the video, you can read The Story Behind The Song. While you're there, check out the other songs written by Jack Lawrence. Some of my favorites are Beyond the Sea, Tenderly and If I Didn't Care. Linda has been recorded by 19 different artist including Perry Como and Jan and Dean (didn't care for their version.)

Now if you've read my blog for a bit, you might know that I have always been a fan of The Monkees. But until my son became a Monkees fan a few years ago, I didn't know that they had recorded a 'Linda' song.

The slow version was the one originally released but I like this upbeat version even better.

Does it matter that the Linda in this song isn't especially nice? Not when it's being sung by Davy Jones. Davy had a sister named Linda and it was also his first wife's name. 

Barry Manilow recorded (and wrote?) A Linda Song.

Gordon Lightfoot recorded Oh, Linda.

I have a good friend, Mavis who has the opposite situation. Her name was #954 the year we were born. I don't know of any Mavis songs but I always remind her that when Bert dances with the penguins in Mary Poppins, the first name he sings is Mavis. It's just too much fun not to add it here.

Was your name in there?

Do you know a song with your name?  ♥