L.A. Top Ten Song: L.A. International Airport (#8)

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Not by design, but both of today’s songs mention the respective cities in the title. So let’s head out of Hollywood and down to L.A. for another song that references Los Angeles. #8: L.A. International Airport - Susan Raye San Francisco International Airport, where the big B actors roar (Tom Servo, MST3K) (And that’s why I love MST3K: cultural references I can understand! ) Years and years ago, I used to do a countdown called “songs you didn’t know were covers.” Well, here’s a song that I didn’t know was a cover!! Remember a couple of says ago when we had David Frizzell on the list? Well, guess who did this song first?! Yep, Frizzell recorded this in late 1969. That version didn’t even get the one hand clapping sound. Fast forward a couple of years and Hee Haw is popular, complete with Susan Raye singing duets with Buck Owens. With the national TV exposure, her version of this song was a big hit….obviously big enough to be referenced in an MST3K episode! Susan had a great voice, and as you can see from the screen grab, she was quite pretty as well. She married Owens’ drummer Jerry Wiggins and eventually retired from music, becoming a child psychologist. She hasn’t done anything in music since the retirement, with the exception of appearing at LAX when this song was named the airport’s “official song.” Hope they reworked the lyrics…most people don’t know what a miniskirt or a hippie refers to these days. L.A. International Airport Written by Leanne Scott Recorded by Susan Raye From Willy Jones, 1971 L.A. LYRICS: title Vapor trails that wave goodbye: