From Alan Gamblin
Dinah Shore just about got my Dad (Art Gamblin) thrown in Jail. Well at least her theme song, “See The USA In Your Chevrolet,” did. For seven seasons Dinah belted that song out on TV. It was in the early 1960’s, my father Art Gamblin was a Chevy dealer in Bonners Ferry Idaho and every dealer received a horn for their demonstrator that played the notes to that song. We Gamblin kids took great glee in hearing it, but we had to be sneaky. The Police had taken exception to the noisy melody and had threatened to throw Dad in jail if they caught him playing that tune. So the Gamblin’s were stealthful about honking that horn… at least in Idaho.
Washington was a different story. In 1965 Art, Jack Parker, Bob Nelson and their wives traveled to Seattle to watch their beloved Idaho Vandals play the Washington Huskies in football. After a humiliating loss, they went to dinner at the Canlis restaurant overlooking Lake Union. After giving the valet the keys to his Impala demonstrator, Dad said with a wink, “what ever you do, don’t push the red button.” No sooner had they walked through the door than “See the USA” blared from the horn. The Valet figured out that tips were better if he shared the secret of the red horn button. The car never moved from in front of the restaurant and “see the USA in your Chevrolet” played all night.
In Idaho, the police finally won the car horn battle and Dad gave the beloved horn to his fellow Chevy dealer, Jack Parker who put it on his boat. The song lives on and was recently resurrected and performed by the cast of the TV show Glee. Below is the cast of Glee singing my favorite theme song. Remember, Dinah is still the only girl that can blow Chevy kisses.
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