FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 8, 2002

DEAR JERRY: After more than 20 years of serving us faithfully, our mailman is retiring in a few weeks.

To show our appreciation, we would like to give him a unique gift that he surely will always treasure. But we cannot accomplish this without your help.

Our idea is to make him a custom CD, featuring only songs with postal themes. This could include tunes about postal workers as well as about letters and mail in general.

Will you please prepare a list of songs that you feel would be appropriate for this purpose?

It would be best to stick with pop or R&B styles (not country), and selections issued from the '50s through the '70s.

Can you do it?
—Myrna Wilcox, St. Petersburg, Fla.

DEAR MYRNA: Of course I can do it, though I can only hope my choices will be among your carrier's favorites.

As you might imagine, there is no reference source for postal tunes, so these titles will simply be as they come to my mind.

“Please Mr. Postman” (Marvelettes, Carpenters, or Beatles); “Twistin' Postman” (Marvelettes); “The Letter” (Box Tops, Arbors, or Joe Cocker); “Return to Sender” (Elvis Presley); “That's All She Wrote” (Rick Nelson); “Dear One” (Larry Finnegan); “Why Don't You Write Me” (Jacks); “Zip Code” (Five Americans); “I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” (Billy Williams); “Postman Blues” (Dinah Washington); “Letter from My Darling” (Little Willie John); “Dear Eloise” (Hollies); “Seven Letters” (Ben E. King); “Letter Full of Tears” (Gladys Knight and the Pips); “Letter to Myself” (Chi-Lites); “Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues” (Buddy Holly); “The Letter” (Sonny & Cher); “Love Letters” (Ketty Lester or Elvis Presley); “P.S. I Love You” (Beatles); “Mailman Blues” (Lloyd Price or Roy Brown); “Sealed with a Kiss” (Brian Hyland or Bobby Vinton); “The Glory of Love” (Velvetones); “Send Me Some Lovin'” (Sam Cooke); “A Letter from Sherry” (Dale Ward); “A Letter to Emily” (Bobby Goldsboro); “Take a Letter Maria” (R.B. Greaves); “Postcard from Jamaica” (Sopwith Camel); “Teenage Letter” (Jerry Lee Lewis or Joe Turner); “Special Delivery” (1910 Fruitgum Company); and “The Letter” (Medallions).

There are surely others, but all of these do meet your criteria. This is indeed a “first class” gift that will keep on giving.

However, even with all of the cable stations, I haven't seen this movie broadcast in over 20 years. Even Blockbuster makes no mention of this movie in their big video book.

Can you help me out here? I would love to see this film again.

Sorry to say, I don't remember any of the actors or actresses.
—Tony Stevens, Milwaukee

DEAR TONY: “Rainbow,” also a made-for-TV movie, focuses on Judy Garland's early years in Hollywood. It stars Andrea McArdle as Garland, though there are some other cast members whose names you will likely recognize: Rue McClanahan, Nicholas Pryor, Donna Pescow, and Martin Balsam.

A VHS cassette of this 1978 film does exist; however, it is long out of print and may now be difficult to locate. I did not find it on sale from any of the online movie sources.

IZ ZAT SO? While not the best-selling album of 1961—that would be Elvis' “Blue Hawaii” soundtrack—Judy Garland's “Judy at Carnegie Hall” did reach No. 1, and won the Grammy for 1961 Album of the Year.

This recording, of an April '61 performance, represents the only time in her 30-year career that Judy topped the charts, with either an LP or a single.