Danube: (N) a river in central and SE Europe, 1725 miles long.

Johann Strauss.

Ring any bells? No?

How about “The Waltz King?”

Still blank?

How about “The Blue Danube Waltz?”

Still have no idea?

How about this?

Da-da-da-dum! Bleep-bleep! Bleep-bleep!

If you discern my “da’s, dum’s and bleep’s,” you might know what Johann does. He was very popular.

He wrote dance music.

You might say he was the Beyoncé of his era. Whenever his music was playing, people were dancing. Dancing the waltz.

Certainly not as feverish as modern dance—but romantic enough to keep the birthrate rising.

He wrote many waltzes.

But since people don’t waltz much anymore, and not a whole lot of people allow classical tunes to decorate their personal music files, you probably don’t know him.

When Johann was alive, he would probably have been shocked to know that a day would come when his waltzes would be used for nothing more than car commercials.

But when he was composing—and The Blue Danube Waltz was played—the girls would shriek with joy and the boys would grab their hands and get to twirling.