Television has come a long way since the days of three networks on VHF and a couple of UHF stations. The good news was that with a small number of stations you rarely needed to change channels. The bad news was that when you did, you were required to get out of your easy chair and go to the TV to change stations.

Then came the “clicker,” a device that allowed you to change stations by a simple click with your thumb. There was a time when owning a 23-inch black-and-white Zenith with a clicker would impress your neighbors more than a slideshow of your recent trip to Acapulco.

“The Clicker” seems an apropos way to open this album. TV was the vehicle that exposed me to many of the songs on Now Playing!, and early on was my primary window to the world of history, the arts, current events and pop culture.