David Raffin
The day you could no longer buy leaded gasoline was the saddest day for every waiter in America who was dependent upon the “leaded” or “unleaded” joke whenever approaching a table to offer caffeinated or decaf coffee.
Now the coffee service was a hollow gesture. A mechanistic gruel.
But Broadway beckoned. And
“Leaded or unleaded the musical”
opened to pour box office. Which, trivially, was a joke in the first act.
During the intermission, the songwriter,
he used to be a waiter,
but that was back in the days when a man could get a cup of Joe,
without a lot of song and dance,
and brother that was a long time ago, he was jittery. Caffeinated. Like.
His name was Joe. Joe the waiter. Now Joe the songbird. And the play was full of double entendres and tongue twisters and, to tell you the truth, it was a little risqué. Which is French for right dirty, sister. So it did boffo box office.
BOFFO
“Insert two bits for a cup of Joe” was the third song in the first act.
The bits in question were old vaudeville sets, Marked up.
It hasn’t aged well.
For one thing young people today don’t understand they used to put lead in gasoline. To knock out the knocks, if one can believe.
