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Misinformation
Here's a nice piece of misinformation that appeared in Parade magazine
(which really isn't a magazine at all, it's just a Sunday newspaper supple-
ment). It's a letter to the editor in response to a previous article which
bore the title "The Kids Are Alright" (non WHO-related). Thanks to
Mom Schrade for bringing this to my attention.
Q: The cover text of your April 27-29 issue concerns this English
teacher because "all right" is two words - not one. I love your
magazine & often use it for my class at Walker High School.
Set the record straight, all right?
A: You & the many other readers who admonished us are correct
that it's properly two words. But as we noted in the story, the
cover headline was an homage to a 1966 song by The Who.
Pete Townshend wrote "The Kids Are Alright" partly to reas-
sure parents of the band's fans that their kids didn't have the
problems they suspected. We couldn't reach The Who for com-
ment, but Jim Steinblatt, a spokesman for the American Society
of Composers, Authors, & Publishers, says The Who's "error"
probably was intentional. Misspellings are common in songwrit-
ing (examples: Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite" & rap slang). "Bands
do it to be distinctive, by expressing themselves in a way that's a
little off."
Gee, & here I thought "alright" was just the British spelling of the word(s).
Leave it to us Americans to "set the record straight."
- SCHRADE in Akron