Rock & Roll Trivia

Before I became a librarian, I worked as a television news photographer in Albany, NY. Once in a while, something from that time proves useful to me now. There's a teenager who often comes to the reference desk asking for rock CDs by bands like Whitesnake, As I Lay Dying, etc. Today he wanted Sammy Hagar's "Unboxed," which has the tune "I Can't Drive 55." I put it on hold for him, then told him a story. Years ago, we interviewed Sammy during a concert tour stop in Albany and he told us how to song came to be. He had just returned from a safari in Africa and landed in Albany. (I think he was vacationing in the Adirondacks.) Deliriously happy to be home in the USA, Sammy hopped in his rental car and tore off up the Northway, right into a notorious speed trap near the town of Halfmoon. The trooper cautioned him to obey the posted speed limit, but Sammy shook his head and said, "Man, I can't drive 55!!" The rest is history. My teenage patron was impressed that a middle-aged librarian knew this bit of rock trivia.