An Appraisal of Neil Sedaka's "Wheeling West Virginia"

Neil Sedaka is a recording artist I used to take for granted, but whom I have grown to deeply appreciate in recent years as I began to realize the full extent of his talents and accomplishments.  He is a great singer and entertainer but is also an amazing composer and pianist.  Sedaka has a level-headed maturity that allowed him to survive the ups and downs of his long show business career, but also possesses a refreshing child-like innocence and sense of awe about the world that allows him to continue composing and performing songs that have great depth and resonance to them.  I am in awe of the longevity and diversity of his music career.  Of the songs he recorded, I think "Laughter in the Rain" is probably his masterpiece, but there are many, many songs he either wrote or recorded that also deserve praise.  For instance, I really like the songs that he and Howard Greenfield wrote for the 1960 movie "Where the Boys Are," both the title song and the lesser known "Turn on the Sunshine" that Connie Francis sings in the nightclub.  The lyrics to both songs are not only fun and catchy, but they also have genuine feeling and emotion attached to them as well.  Sedaka himself comes across as a level-headed, accessible human being in his interviews, and I am happy to see that he is still recording, still performing, and doesn't seem anywhere close to retiring.

A Neil Sedaka song that I became familiar with just recently was his 1970 recording "Wheeling West Virginia" that he co-wrote with his frequent and longtime collaborator Howard Greenfield.  As I listened to the song, its lyrics resonated with me on many levels.  Even though the song was a hit in Australia at the time of its release, it doesn't appear to be as famous of some of Sedaka's other hits.  However, I think the song's central story of a successful Hollywood movie star originally from Wheeling, West Virginia who complains about the pressures and demands and hectic work schedule that his career entails, and how it evokes introspective self-reflection as to whether he is still in-touch with the person he once was back in his hometown, is one that is relevant and applicable to any and all individuals who are working in demanding, high-profile, and stressful careers.  The themes and concerns associated with the song are as relevant to, say, Washington, DC attorneys and politicos as much as it does with Hollywood actors and entertainers.  As with the works of all great artists, Sedaka's song resonates deeply beyond just the surface level.

For the uninitiated, the lyrics for "Wheeling, West Virginia" go like this:

Laurel to Sunset, freeway to Culver,
Racin' my MG down to MGM.
Sittin' in make-up tryin' to wake up
Gotta be on the set at eight a.m.
For one more day of make believin',
One more day of playin' the star,
One more day of endless pretendin',
Do ya know who you are?

Where is the guy from Wheelin' West Virginia
Why did he have to roam
So far away from Wheelin' West Virginia,
Thousands of miles from home.

Lawyers' fees and agents' commission,
Everybody's waitin' to be fed.
Uncle Sam is right there beside you,
Come on boy, ya got to make the bread.
For one more day of make believin',
One more day of playin' the star,
One more day of endless pretendin',
Do ya know who you are?

Where is the guy from Wheelin' West Virginia
Why did he have to roam
So far away from Wheelin' West Virginia,
Thousands of miles from home.

Culver to freeway, Sunset to Laurel,
Racin' my MG back from MGM.
Early to bed to be up at dawnin',
Gotta be on the set at eight a.m.
For one more day of make believin',
One more day of playin' the star,
one more day of endless pretendin',
But that's all you are.
Gone is the guy from Wheelin' West Virginia,
Gone is the world he used to know.
There's no such place as Wheelin' West Virginia,
It faded long ago. 

 
Years ago, before I moved to DC for law school, I was working on a book interviewing actresses who worked in movies and television during the 1960s.  They often described to me what it was like to work in the last decade of the traditional Hollywood studio system, and how they sometimes had doubts as to whether this life that they had suddenly found themselves living was the life they were destined to lead.  I was reminded of them as I listened to Neil Sedaka's song "Wheeling West Virginia."  The energy, excitement, hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and Hollywood of the late 1960s/early 1970s comes vividly to life with the thrilling imagery of Sedaka and Greenfield's lyrics.  With a satirical sense of humor, they peel back the glamorous facade of show business to reveal the mundane realities of successful actors who still have to drive themselves to work everyday, film all day at the studio from morning till night, and then drive home and go to bed early to prepare for the next day of shooting without any kind of personal life, and still have to earn enough money to employ agents and managers and to pay their taxes, all the while wondering if they have lost touch with who they used to be before they achieved this level of success.

 
The song reminded me of an anecdote that Jacqueline Bisset, who was one of the actresses I interviewed, shared with me when I spoke with her.  With self-effacing candor and humor, Bisset recalled how she moved to Hollywood in 1967 after she signed a picture deal with 20th Century-Fox and that she worried for many years that she might end up "going Hollywood" and losing all the values that her parents, who she deeply respected, had raised her with.  She said she used to wonder how it would happen with other actors that they changed drastically and negatively once they arrived in Hollywood.  She used to ask herself whether she had the strength of character to be able to live and work in Hollywood, and not pick up any bad traits from the environment, and have enough perspective to go back home to England if her career did not work out and earn a living at a regular job back there.  For years, she used to ask herself if she had "gone Hollywood" yet.  She often concluded that didn't believe that she had, but sensed that it could still happen, so she was always on guard about it in order to ensure that she held onto her sense of identity.  She acknowledged that she finally allowed herself to relax about it around the time she turned 50 years old because she figured she had been in Hollywood nearly 30 years by then, and that if she was going to "go Hollywood" it would have already happened by that point. 

It's too bad that the central character in Sedaka's song "Wheeling West Virginia" never met Jacqueline Bisset and got pointers from her on how to maintain a strong sense of identity about oneself, because it sounds like he went through the same kind of introspection as did Bisset in real life but without going about it in a constructive and proactive way like she did.  Instead of setting standards and goals for himself in terms of what sort of individual he wanted to be in Hollywood, like Bisset did, the protagonist in "Wheeling West Virginia" comes across as an individual who got swept up in success so quickly that he never asked himself what it was he truly wanted out of being a movie star.  Was it the fame and prestige?  Was it financial success?  Was it artistic accomplishment?  We don't know because it's clear that he doesn't know either.  At one point, the lyrics say "For one more day of make believin'/One more day of playin' the star/One more day of endless pretendin'/Do ya know who you are?" which suggests that the central character in the song doesn't really enjoy acting as a craft in terms of exploring the different sides and nuances of a character, which is why he seems unable to find any sort of satisfaction or fulfillment in his work.  It's apparent from the song that being an actor is only helping to create a sense of self-doubt as to his real identity.

"Wheeling West Virginia" has a deceptively whimsical and joyous beat to it thanks to the exuberance of Sedaka's performance.  But underneath it all, Sedaka also projects a wistful and melancholy mood as the central character in the song begins to idealize, and become nostalgic, about his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia and how much simpler his life seemed back then.  When I listen to the song, I sense a character who regrets taking his hometown roots for granted, and how that lack of grounding and of being out-of-touch with his origins has led to him become someone who is rootless and dissatisfied with his success in Hollywood.  Clearly this fictional character was not reflective of Neil Sedaka himself as he has often discussed his childhood growing up in Brooklyn and how his parents worked hard to buy a piano and pay for music lessons so he could refine his talents.  One reason I've always liked Sedaka is that he knows who he is and how his family and background played an incredibly important role in helping to shape his success.  It's this sense of grounding and of understanding the importance of his origins that allowed Sedaka to have the perspective and initiative that helped him to forge the career and accomplishments that he has richly earned.

I imagine that "Wheeling West Virginia" was probably Sedaka's bemused, yet compassionate, observation of what other successful actors and entertainers he encountered during his career up to that point was experiencing in their lives (similar to what Jacqueline Bisset observed about her peers and environment once she arrived in Hollywood in 1967).  I'm sure Neil Sedaka never thought in his life that he would ever be compared with Jacqueline Bisset but I think the comparison has validity because, in my dealings with her, I found Bisset to be a realist and I sense that Sedaka is one as well.  At the end of the song "Wheeling West Virginia," the lyrics of the song say "Gone is the guy from Wheelin' West Virginia/Gone is the world he used to know/There's no place as Wheelin' West Virginia/It Faded Long Ago."  In the finale verse, "There's no such place as Wheelin' West Virginia/It Faded Long Ago," Sedaka slows the tempo of the song and brings it to an abrupt halt, almost as if the main character of the song has come to a sudden, painful epiphany that this idealized romanticization of his home town is just an illusion and that Wheeling West Virginia itself probably had its share of responsibilities, pressures and stress just like Hollywood does.  It's because of subtle and insightful nuances such as these, which is characteristic of all of Neil Sedaka's work as a singer and composer throughout his incredible 55-plus year career, that his music continues to resonate with us. 

Dolores Hart: Diary of a Cloistered Starlet

I learned the other day that former actress Dolores Hart, who walked away from her promising Hollywood movie career in 1963 and became a cloistered Benedictine nun, will have her memoirs published next week.  From Ignatius Press, "The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows" promises to be an interesting and insightful story of one of the most inspirational individuals ever to work in the movies.  Hart was always a talented and intelligent actress during her short stay in Hollywood.  She projected a forthright decency and accessible warmth throughout her brief career.  I always liked her acknowledgement in an ABC 20/20 interview she gave a few years ago where she said she understood why people might be intrigued with her life story and did not find the public to be intruding upon her privacy because "Once you have decided to become a public figure, you've made an agreement with your audience and it's a lifetime agreement.  So, even if you pull away, there is a part of you that you can't just say 'You no longer belong (to them).'  You do."  I was impressed with how savvy Dolores Hart remained about her previous life as an actress and how she didn't have an unrealistic outlook about herself and the world at large.  I always felt that Hart could teach a course to her peers on humility, career management, and how to maintain a level of interest and intrigue about oneself.

While none of her films could be considered masterpieces, as accomplished and entertaining as they were, they were good enough to demonstrate that Hart was an actress of considerable depth and promise.  Probably her most notable movie role was the lead in the Spring Break comedy/drama "Where the Boys Are" (1960).  While Hart might get asked in her interviews more about her starring roles opposite Elvis Presley in "Loving You" (1957) and "King Creole" (1958), "Where the Boys Are" is probably the quintessential Dolores Hart movie.  In it, Hart's character demonstrates qualities of courage, compassion, and confusion that, based on recent interviews she has given, echo themes and events from her own real life.  I am not saying that Hart was playing herself in "Where the Boys Are," or that the movie is based on her life, but it is clear that her role as Merritt Andrews allowed Hart an opportunity to address issues she would have to grapple with in real life as she forged an independent path different from other actresses of her era.  She was probably attracted to the role for those reasons.

In an excellent interview she gave two years ago to Entertainment Weekly, Hart revealed herself to be an introspective, insightful individual who openly acknowledged the doubts she occasionally had as to whether becoming a nun was the right decision for her.  The interview detailed her long-term friendship with her ex-fiance, with whom she remained very close with until he passed away recently, and how she occasionally wonders what her life would be like if she had married him.  In so doing, Hart demonstrated a candor and accessibility as a human being that is rare in someone who used to be an actress, a profession where people are perpetually putting on a facade.  She showed that, sometimes, the decision that is right for you is not always the easiest or most expedient one and impressed me with the courage of her convictions.  In discussing her continued role as a voting member of the Motion Picture Academy, and how she reconciles herself with films containing sexually explicit content, Hart pointedly opined how "Movies reflect the time.  It's not so much that movies are ugly, it's the ugliness of the time that is reflected.  To me that indicates what we have to pray for and pray about...When I see Natalie Portman masturbating [in Black Swan], I hear the kids come in and talk about their problems with masturbating...What offends me is, Is the movie itself going to leave people without hope?  You have to help them know that there is a way through their grief and their pain."  With her candor and frankness, Hart demonstrates how cognizant she is about issues that continue to affect people in their day-to-day life and does not possess an unrealistically idealized view of how people should behave in matters of sexuality and other concerns of importance.

All of this reminds me of the issues and challenges that face Hart's character in "Where the Boys Are"  Like Hart, Merritt is an intelligent and insightful young woman from a modest Illinois background.  She has an IQ of 138, but (unlike Hart, who was successful in Hollywood) is struggling to get passing grades in college.  Merritt's academic struggles reflect her character's uncertainty as to whether this highly competitive environment is the one that is right for her, a conflict that was similar to Hart's real-life struggle between choosing the monastery, or a career in Hollywood.  (Merritt's academic struggles, as with Hart's struggles with whether to keep her Hollywood career, also demonstrate that she had no sense of entitlement about herself despite her beauty and intelligence.  Nothing was handed to her on a silver platter because she worked hard for what she had.)  Nevertheless, Merritt always comes across as an assertive and forthright individual who has a refreshingly enlightened view of the society she lives in, qualities which Hart's interviews have indicated she possesses as well.  In the beginning of the movie, we find Merritt debating with an uptight Courtship and Marriage professor whether college co-eds should engage in premarital sex. As the professor challenges her viewpoint, Merritt explains, "Well, frankly, I thought the text was a little old fashioned.  It didn't have much to do with modern college life as far as I could see...Well, take the discussion on emotional involvement on the first date.  In this day and age, if a girl doesn't become a little emotionally involved on the first date, it's going to be her last.  With that man anyhow.  Honestly, Dr. if a girl doesn't make out with a man once in awhile she might as well leave campus.  She's considered practically anti-social."

When the professor challenges her to explain her definition of "make-out" for the benefit of the class, Merritt nervously responds, "Well, Dr. Raunch.  I think they know already.  Making out is what used to be called necking.  Before that it was petting.  And going back to early American days, it was also known as bundling.  It's all the same game....Well we're supposed to be intelligent, so why not get down to the giant Jackpot issue?  Like should a girl or she should not under any circumstances play house before marriage?...My opinion is Yes!"  Merritt's seemingly radical views results in her being sent to speak with the Dean, but later in the film, when Merritt expresses concern for her friend Melanie's (Yvette Mimieux) rampant drinking and promiscuity once they arrive in Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break, she qualifies her earlier statement.  When Melanie gets upset after Merritt points out to her that she claims to have fallen in love with two different boys she has met within days of arriving for break, Merritt explains to Melanie, "I'm just trying to see that you don't get caught in some crazy merry go round....Since when am I the last word?  And what did (my opinion in class) have to do with you anyway?  I was talking about people in general.  Not kids who go out and get drunk together."

In so doing, Merritt demonstrates how she is cognizant of the realities concerning sexuality and relationships facing modern individuals.  She acknowledges that notions of abstinence do not comport with modern society and that people should have the freedom to make the right choices for themselves, which includes engaging in premarital sex.  However, in her dealings with Melanie and trying to help her friend cope with her promiscuity, Merritt also demonstrates her belief that individuals who enjoy sexual freedom must still act with common sense and personal responsibility in how they conduct themselves.  They need to have a clear understanding of what they are getting themselves into, how they are getting into it, and what they can expect as the outcome of their actions.  At one point Merritt says "I'm not much for the drinking bit.  I'm not being prudish.  I just don't believe in getting smashed.  It's sort of juvenile, not really worth the effort."  This healthy balance between open-minded compassion and understanding, combined with sensible reasoning in terms of personal behavior, echoes the opinions that Dolores Hart expressed about modern-day sexuality and how to help young people cope with the issues facing them that she commented on in the aforementioned Entertainment Weekly interview.

In the excellent, Oscar-nominated documentary "God is the Bigger Elvis" (2011), which in my opinion should have won that year, Hart discusses how she reconciled her Catholic faith with being an actress in Hollywood "because sexually you could be aroused by boys.  And you could get involved sexually with men.  And my leading star was Elvis."  Hart explains that she was able to come to terms with this state of confusion by seeking counsel with the Reverend Mother at the Regina Laudis Monastery that she eventually joined.  Hart recalls that the Reverend Mother helped her cope with her conflicted feelings by explaining to her that "Well why not?  You're a girl...Chastity doesn't mean that you don't appreciate what God created.  Chastity says 'Use it well.'"  As such, the rational and intelligent, yet human and vulnerable Merritt, appears to have much in common with the personal views of Dolores Hart.

In the documentary, we get to meet Hart's former fiance and lifelong friend Don Robinson, an architect/real estate executive with whom she had been dating for 5 years before she joined the Monastery.  As Robinson explains, "The moment I met her, I knew that you could relax with her and have fun with her.  On our first date, we had dinner for three hours.  And, at the end of our dinner, I asked her to marry me.  She said, 'Would you give me some time?  And let's just date?'  I said, 'I'll give you all the time you want.'  She happened to be a Catholic and I happen to be a Catholic.  I knew in my heart, I could feel it was all there what I was looking for.  We dated on and off for 5 years and became engaged."  As I listened to Robinson's description of his relationship with Hart, I couldn't help but think back on her scenes with (the underrated) George Hamilton's Ryder Smith character in "Where the Boys Are."

 
In the movie, Merritt and Ryder establish a relationship built on mutual respect and intellectual engagement, not just physical attraction and stereotypical notions of romantic love.  Merritt and Ryder spar and debate with one another, which helps to underscore the equality of their relationship.  Ryder is attracted to Merritt's sophisticated qualities and, even after she turns him down when he propositions her, he still is interested in her because she has sincerely engaged him on an emotional level.  Clearly, Merritt has put Ryder at ease so that he can be relaxed and honest around her and, as such, brings out the best in him.  At one point, Ryder admits to Merritt "I don't know why I waste my time with you.  I guess maybe it's because I like you.  Funny, that's the first time I ever said that to a girl."  When Merritt expresses doubt that that was the first time Ryder ever told a girl he liked her, he explains, "Oh, I said I loved them, but I never said I liked them," underscoring how Ryder respects Merritt as an intelligent, forthright individual and not just another romantic fling.

At the end of the film, when Merritt and Ryder try to make sense of their deepening feelings for one another, Ryder says "Look, I don't have the answers any more than you.  But for us, anyhow, it's not the way we started out.  I'm sure of that now.  I don't want to know you just for a few days or a Spring vacation.  I'd like to know you for a long time, Merritt."  By not opting for a quick and meaningless fling with Ryder during her Spring Break, Merritt has laid the groundwork for a potentially serious long term relationship with him.  In so doing, Ryder's feelings for Merritt seem to echo the feelings Don Robinson felt for Dolores Hart after their first date, and how he was ready to think of her from a long term perspective for his life, as well as how Hart maintained his interest by not immediately accepting his marriage proposal and suggesting instead that they date so they could get better acquainted.  It's clear that both the fictional Ryder and the real-life Don Robinson were drawn to the integrity, character, and substance of what the fictional Merritt and her real-life portrayer Dolores Hart had to offer them in life. 

When I watch "Where the Boys Are" now, I can't help but think of how Hart invested the role of Merritt with enough of her personal qualities and attributes so that we can see the sort of person she was at the time and why a man of obvious substance like Don Robinson never got over her, never married, and remained her close friend until the end of his life.  Robinson appeared to realize that he could never expect nor hope to meet Hart's equal.  A lot of times, actors are not anything like the roles they play and, like I said earlier, I'm not trying to suggest Dolores Hart was simply playing herself when she portrayed Merritt Andrews in "Where the Boys Are."  But I sense that Hart personally identified with what Merritt felt and experienced in the movie to enough of a degree that she gave a performance that went beyond good acting.  She created a genuine human being who still maintains relevance and interest more than half a century later.  I think the personal struggles experienced by Merritt in terms of making the right choices for herself, more than her purported expression of sexual freedom and liberation for young women, is why Dolores Hart's work in "Where the Boys Are" remains so intriguing.  As an audience, while watching Merritt, we get a sense of the sort of introspective self-reflection and challenges that Dolores Hart must have faced in her own life, and how she was able to address them with courage and honesty so that she made the right personal decisions for herself.  For these reasons, in my opinion, Dolores Hart remains one of Hollywood's biggest success stories, and one of the brightest stars who ever graced the movies.