I'm Shady Seaweed
"America's Oldest Living Toddler"
Welcome to the
58th annual
New Year's
Rockin' Eve
in the Shady!
The wrecking ball in Shady Square is about to drop, signalling the end
of the year 2020. As we look ahead to the coming year, let's view the past
with 2020 hindsight, specifically Dick Clark's long running music program
American Bandstand. Tonight the spotlight is not on the songs or artists
who performed on the show, not even on Dick Clark. Instead I ask that
you focus you attention on the teenagers who danced on Bandstand
over the years. In case you can't spare the time to watch every
video from beginning to end, I provided in bold red letters,
of the year 2020. As we look ahead to the coming year, let's view the past
with 2020 hindsight, specifically Dick Clark's long running music program
American Bandstand. Tonight the spotlight is not on the songs or artists
who performed on the show, not even on Dick Clark. Instead I ask that
you focus you attention on the teenagers who danced on Bandstand
over the years. In case you can't spare the time to watch every
video from beginning to end, I provided in bold red letters,
the recommended start point for each video.
RETURN WITH US NOW
TO THE GLORY YEARS
TO THE GLORY YEARS
OF BANDSTAND.
Observe the young studio dancers of the 1960s,
their body language, clothing styles and hairdos.
Note their attitude, how they conducted
themselves on the program.
their body language, clothing styles and hairdos.
Note their attitude, how they conducted
themselves on the program.
THE DOVELLS
Mem'ries light the corners of my mind
"You Can't Sit Down" - The Dovells
(Jan. 4, 1964, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
AT THE 1:05 MARK!
THE RONETTES
Misty water-colored mem'ries of the way we were
"Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
(January 04, 1964, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
AT 45 SEC MARK:
THE SEEKERS
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were
"Georgy Girl" - The Seekers
(February 4, 1967, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
AT THE 1:20 MARK!
GLADYS KNIGHT
AND THE PIPS
AND THE PIPS
Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
"Friendship Train" - Gladys Knight And The Pips
(Nov. 8, 1969, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
FROM BEGINNING!
THE MCCOYS
If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me,
would we..... could we?
"Fever" - The McCoys
(December 18, 1965, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
AT THE 1:44 MARK!
PAUL REVERE
AND THE RAIDERS
AND THE RAIDERS
Mem'ries may be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
"Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?"
Paul Revere And The Raiders
(June 3, 1967, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
FROM BEGINNING!
SAM THE SHAM
AND THE PHARAOHS
So it's the laughter we will remember
Whenever we remember the way we were
"How Do You Catch A Girl"
- Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs
(January 14, 1967, ep. of American Bandstand)
START PLAYING VIDEO
AT THE 1:15 MARK!
Submitted for your approval - exhibits A through G - seven scenes of young people
having good clean fun... unbridled joy... fresh faced exuberance. Simply put -
it was great to be alive in the 60s! If you ever wondered why Boomers
say they wouldn't trade places with any other generation, the magic
moments on these videos are all the evidence you'll ever need.
having good clean fun... unbridled joy... fresh faced exuberance. Simply put -
it was great to be alive in the 60s! If you ever wondered why Boomers
say they wouldn't trade places with any other generation, the magic
moments on these videos are all the evidence you'll ever need.
If I could turn back time
If I could find a way...
HAPPY
NEW YEAR!
Hello, my favourite oldest toddler!
ReplyDeleteHappy (early) New Year! I enjoyed dancing and singing along with the hits you posted. I'm familiar with most of these songs, but the Dovells and Paul Revere are new to me! I dig their sounds. I also loved watching the old American Bandstand, ahhh, precious memories of watching re-runs with Nan and dad. :)
New Year's Eve is looking different this year. I usually go to the Kimmel Center to watch the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Phil Orch isn't streaming the New Year's Eve concert. :( I missed out on the free tickets for ice skating and I don't feel like paying $25 for a premium ticket. I'll be home for New Year's Eve, so maybe after I create my own orchestra performance, I'll ring in the New Year with these wonderful hits.
Have a great day, dear friend!
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteMy goodness, dear friend - you're the last Early Bird of 2020. That's quite an honor! :) Thanks for coming to my New Year bash so soon!
I'm happy that you enjoyed listening to this set of 60s songs, learning a couple of new ones and watching the moves of the teenage studio dancers on American Bandstand, thereby triggering fond memories of Nan.
I'm sorry you won't be able to have the type of New Year's Eve experience you would have any other year, but I know you are in a good place and will find a way to make the most of it. If Shady Seaweed's tuneage helps, then all the better.
Since this is my last post of the year, I want to thank you for your friendship and support in 2020. I look forward to entertaining you in 2021.
Thanks again for coming, dear friend JM. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and Happy New Year to you, your folks and your kitty!
Aww, you made me blush, dear friend! Thank you for your friendship and support in 2020! I look forward to being entertained by you in 2021. :)
DeleteYeah, I decided that I'm just staying home. I'm making a kosher salmon dish and mom is making some other seafood for NYE. I have some ideas, including getting dressed up and just enjoying the evening in the basement. :)
Silver and gold, classical and Shady's Tuneage! Have a great day, dear friend.
I'm eager to see the recipe for your salmon dish. I love salmon and other seafood and hope you post pics. I also like your idea of getting dressed up for the occasion just because... Studies have shown that you feel better and have a more positive attitude when you look your best.
DeleteHappy New Year to you and your folks and kitty, dear friend JM!
I definitely will! I made it last night and I'll just warm it up for NYE. :)
DeleteI've noticed it too! I noticed when I got dressed up for my at-home Jewish celebrations, like how I would dress for my groups, I felt better. It felt more authentic too. Even attending Zoom Shabbats, when I dressed the part, I felt much better. :)
PBS is airing the Vienna Concert on New Year's Day at 9pm. Maybe I'll get dressed up on New Year's Day evening and watch the concert. :D Two days of dressing up!
Happy New Year to you as well, my dear friend!
Sounds like a plan, JM. My dad used to wear a dress shirt and tie around the house and even did so while mowing the lawn on occasion. I always felt better and more like "myself" when wearing a suit.
DeleteI'm glad you found the Vienna Choir to entertain you New Year's Night. On New Year's Day don't miss Part 1 of my 2-part special. In my Jan 1 and Jan. 6 posts, you'll meet all the new Shady Bunch personalities and they'll play sample songs from their SPMM radio shows which will debut in 2021.
Happy New Year, dear friend JM!
You know, I could see that. I hope I can fit into the dress I wore last year. LOL! I feel like since learning how to cook GF this year, I've packed the pounds a little. Oh well, I think we all have.
DeleteI look forward to your 2 part posts! I can't wait to welcome in the New Year rocking with SPMM. You're always a highlight of my week. :)
Happy New Year to you too, dear friend.
Thank you, JM!
DeleteI want to take this opportunity to say R.I.P. Dawn Wells, forever to be remembered as wholesome castaway Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island.
Hi Shady,
DeleteYes, RIP to Dawn Wells. I remember loving that show when they aired it on Nick at Night when I was a child. Gone, but not forgotten.
Happy New Year's Eve, dear friend! Only 10 hours, 54 minutes left of 2020!
I hate to correct you, but there are only 7 hours 38 minutes left in 2020. :)
DeleteI am sure Gilligan will be in reruns forever, thereby giving Mary Ann and the rest of the castaways immortality.
HNY, dear friend JM!
I enjoyed listening to several of the "oldies" today, Shady. Of course the dancers on AB aren't nearly as fun to watch as those on Soul Train, but still.... it's entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I thought about (or listened to) Georgy Girl. It's a good song!
Hi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for being one of the first to arrive for my yearender NYE party, dear friend!
I'm glad you enjoyed hearing these oldies from the 60s. What I notice immediately is the considerable difference in the style of dancing that you see in the first two videos, AB episodes taped in late 1963 and aired in January 1964, from the way the kids look and dance in the clips from 1967 and 1969. You're right. The teenagers of the 60s were nowhere near as flamboyant in dress and dance moves as the Soul Train gang of the 70s and 80s. I'm pleased that you enjoyed hearing "Georgy Girl" again after all this time.
Kelly, thank you for your friendship and support throughout 2020. I hope you and Pat will stick with me for more music and fun in '21.
Happy New Year, dear friend Kelly!
I loved this! Not only because of my favs...Paul Revere and the Raiders, but the assignment of watching the teens from the way they danced to the way they dressed was a wonderful walk back in time. In fact, I swear some of the styles were in my closet. I think I saw a favorite mini skirt of mine in there! I noticed the dancing was slower and more sedate in the early 60's and the styles were coat and tie for the guys and sweaters and longer skirts for the girls as well as poofy hair with flips going on! As the sixties rolled on the skirts got shorter and the hair longer and straight. (I had to iron my long locks at the time to get any curl out! Ha!) The guys hair got longer too and they dressed more casual although it couldn't compare to the "casual" of today..ie..pj's at wal-mart casual! The one thing that really stood out to me was the fact that nobody was heavy...weights were different on folks back then. I can remember seeing people who weighed in at 250 in surgery back in the day and that was considered crazy overweight. So I guess we've come along in time and frankly the one thing that never changed over all the years was dear Dick Clark! He stayed the same forever. Thanks for this fun way to end 2020. If ever there was a time for fun it's now. I hope you had a great Christmas and have a very healthy, Happy New Year! See you in 2021!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteWelcome to the 58th Annual New Year's Rockin' Eve in the Shady, dear friend! I'm pretty sure you've been with me every New Year's Eve since my very first live blogcast in 1962. :)
I knew this would be your kind of post because you get the chance to check out the clothing and hairstyles at various points of the 60s, from late 1963 to late 1969. I say late 1963 because, keep in mind that the AB shows were taped 4 or 5 weeks before the air dates. That being the case, I'm thinking those Jan 4, 1964, episodes were taped only a few weeks after President Kennedy was assassinated. That's something to think about as you watch those first two videos. Along with the styles, you get to observe the differences in the dance moves throughout the decade. I also knew you'd like the post because it includes a song by your favorite band Paul Revere And The Raiders.
It doesn't surprise me that you recognize some of the fashions worn by the girls as items you once owned and wore. From what I gather from your comments over the years, you were as trendy and stylishly dressed as your folks would allow you to be, even to the point of wearing boots and minis. Yessum, the guys wore coats and ties to dances in the 50s and early 60s (think Wally Cleaver). That started to change around the time Dick Clark moved the show from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, which happened a few months into 1964. You make a good point that all the young people on Bandstand looked great. The show had a dress code that was adjusted to keep pace with the times, but I'm sure every young dancer on the show would have wanted to dress their best even if there had been no dress code. It was the way we were back then. We took more pride in the way we looked, practiced personal hygiene and followed the rules of etiquette. I agree that we have become a nation of obesity. It's a major problem. I think kids of the 60s got lots more exercise than kids do today. They spent more time outdoors playing sports, swimming, hiking, etc. They were not couch potatoes tied to electronic devices as they are today.
I'm thrilled to have entertained you so much with this yearender post, dear YaYa. Thank you very much for another year of friendship and support. I look forward to bringing you more good music and happy memories in the coming year.
Happy New Year to you, Jack and Arnie, dear friend YaYa!
I think this is the first time I've heard the American Bandstand theme music minus the Barry Manilow vocals. Obviously, Barry was asked to provide words to the already-existing melody at a later date.
ReplyDeleteBy the 1960s, videotape was already the mainstay technology for shows done in front of a studio audience, yet these clips look like kinescopes (in which the image on a TV screen or monitor is filmed.) I know it was common practice at the time to use videotape more than once, which meant the erasure of what was originally taped, so this somewhat hazy film may be the only record left of the '60s Bandstands. You've said you once worked at a TV station, Shady, so maybe you can further enlighten me about all that.
Oh, man, other than maybe a few years in the 1920s, can you think of a time when there was such a radical change in clothing and styles as there was between the years 1964 and 1969? By the way, I read Ya-Ya's comment about there being no overweight people in the 1960s. Excuse me if this sounds cynical, but could it be the reason we don't see any overweight or otherwise unattractive people (especially where the girls are concerned) on that dance floor is simply because they were...weeded out? I mean, c'mon, there must have been a lot more teenagers who wanted to trip the light fantastic on Bandstand than the twenty or so that we see. The producers had to have had some kind of process in place.
Happy New Years, Shady, and thanks for the comments you've left on my own blog in the past 12 months.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for joining the sea of faces in the crowd at Shady Square (I'm packing 'em in like sardines) awaiting the wrecking ball drop as we give 2020 the heave-ho and prepare to ring in 2021! Playboy model Jenny McCarthy is standing by ready to give you lotsa smooches at the stroke of midnight.
I have read that Dick Clark Productions still exists, and that those archives might contain missing AB episodes of higher quality than the ones you see on YouTube. Why no one has transferred and released those episodes for purchase by ravenous Bandstand fans remains an Unsolved Mystery. (By the way, if you have Netflix, check out the two seasons of Unsolved Mysteries. The segments are well produced.)
Here are some of the tidbits I have found at various places around the internet:
<< The question on Bandstand fans’ minds is how and when will they be able to see reruns of American Bandstand, especially from the early years 1956 through 1964. The answer is not so simple.
George Yates, son of American Bandstand director Ed Yates, explained that the show was broadcast live, using three cameras. The only way to preserve live television broadcasts from the early 1950s through the mid-1960s (when videotapes were invented) was with kinescopes. A kinescope is basically a recording of a television program on motion picture film. Yates said “During the early years, American Bandstand was on every day Monday through Friday, averaging 250 shows a year. Hardly any of these were recorded as kinescopes because they were considered to be too expensive.” >>
<< The debate continues as to EXACTLY what is held in the Clark archives. ALL of the other 1958-60 clips that post on YT are taken from the "Dick Clark Saturday Night Show", also known as " The Beechnut Show". Later AB footage starting in c.August 1963 through the show's final years randomly appears on YT via various posters.
Nearly all of it comes via the archives which has numerous clips available for license and ABC film transfers of whole or excerpted episodes which land on YT and other platforms. 1970s and beyond clips or full episodes generally surface in their video format again via various sources and posted on the net. Occasionally, complete 16mm film copies of mid 1960s episodes turn up on eBay.
The actual films are not cheap and require 16mm sound film projection equipment to view. Beyond ONE home videotape release, titled " Best Of Bandstand- Vol.1 "released c. late 1970's, Clark never made any AB footage available for consumer purchase.
As it is, the release is actually comprised of " Saturday Night Show" footage and save for a WFIL station ID clip ( taken from the 12/18/57 film) and a video tape clip of a behind-the-scenes AB pre-show setup from the WFIL days, the compilation has NO actual AB footage nor performances. It will remain for the current owner of the Dick Clark Media Archives to make whatever else resides in that collection available in the future. >>
<< There's actually more than one VHS and they were released in the late 80's IIRC, I have digital VHS rips of some of them. There was Best of Bandstand which had clips from the likes of Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Fleetwoods, Paul Anka and Chubby Checker (and a few more I forget). Then there was a second Volume called 'The Superstars' which also included some clips from Where The Action Is (I think the two from that were The Four Seasons 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and on VT The Supremes doing a medely on some sort of log cabin in what Dick introduces as 'Big Bear Lake'). There was also a Syndicated series called Dick Clark's Golden Greats which was released in the early 90's on VHS. >>
(continued on next form)
More from the internet:
Delete<< The only reason any AB shows exist pre-1976 is that they were discovered at a university where the 2-inch tapes were donated as blank tape stock and hadn't been taped over yet. Clark, for all his reputation as a business genius, never bothered to save the videotape masters on AB or on Where The Action Is for that matter. All that seems to exist on that show are crappy kinescopes. >>
Now I will move on to your question about overweight teenagers or others who might have been deemed unattractive and weeded out by Clark or the producers of AB and prevented from joining the beautiful people on the show’s dance floor. For years I have been reading the comments posted on You Can Dance To It, the YouTube channel that uploads most of these Bandstand clips. A good number of the kids who danced on AB during the mid 60s regularly comment on the uploaded videos. One of them is Peggy Waggoner (now Peggy Names), the girl next door with the Cover Girl smile you see dancing with her partner Frank Vanderpuil on that “Georgy Girl” clip and again in the “Fever” clip. Peggy & Frank were one of the most popular couples on the show through the mid 60s. I don’t remember any discussion of screening other than regarding age restriction or dress code. Even the age rule was relaxed. I read that if viewers responded favorable to a dancer or couple and he, she or they became fan favorites, they were allowed to keep appearing on the show beyond age 18 or whatever the official cutoff was. I do not recall reading any stories about young people flunking their auditions because they weren’t pretty enough. However, I’m sure you can imagine how those auditions went. The person or persons responsible for picking the kids that would dance on a hit national TV show were not about to pick unattractive teens when they had plenty of attractive ones to choose from that were equally good dancers.
Now you've got me thinking about John Waters' Hairspray starring Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad, the overweight Baltimore teenager who auditions for a spot as a regular dancer on The Corny Collins Show which, in its 1962 progressiveness, offers a "Negro Day" the last Thursday of every month.
SPOILER ALERT: Tracy makes the cut.
(continued)
Well, I hope I answered your questions, Kirk. I must admit that I am no music expert. I need to look most everything up. In fact, I never worked at a TV station as I have often claimed. This whole thing, my entire blogging career, has been a 12+ year Andy Kaufman style HOAX. In reality my name is Diwata Valencia. I am a 27 year old Filipina who operates a gift shop in Manila’s Divisoria Mall.
DeleteThere… the truth has finally come out!
Kirk, I'm so glad you enjoy our exchanges on Shadow of a Doubt and here at Shady's Place. Thank you very much for sticking with me throughout 2020. Let's keep the ball rolling, learn a thing or two from each other and have some more fun in '21.
Happy New Year, good buddy Kirk!
Thank you Shady or Diwata or whatever your name is. I have to admit that Hairspray was in the back of my mind when I made my comment about weeding out overweight teenagers. As you pointed out, Rikki Lake's character makes the cut, but it's deemed unusual. That movie also dealt with racial integration, and that reminds me that in those clips the Bandstand dancers go from exclusively white to racially mixed as the 1960s moves forward, no doubt thanks to the Civil Rights Movement. Meanwhile, black artists appeared on Bandstand from the very beginning. Odd how that works (in the 1980s rockumentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, Bo Diddley refers to Dick Clark as "our friend", which Little Richard then rather excitedly--though hardly uncharacteristically--takes issue with. I can't remember all that was said, but it ends with Diddley going "Down, boy! Down, boy!")
ReplyDeleteFinally, I read a synopsis of Hairspray to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything about the film before writing this comment, and came across something I don't think I was aware of the first time around. A character's last name is Seaweed. Coincidence, Shady?
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for helping me run up my comment total, good buddy! :)
I figured you'd have something to say about that 1988 John Waters film. I love it, have seen it many times, and also very much enjoyed the 2007 remake. Me likey both Amber von Tussles! I assure you that I didn't recall the character Seaweed. My Shady Seaweed character is based solely on Ryan Seacrest.
I started watching American Bandstand in the late 50s, and I can't recall seeing black teens on the dance floor early on. However, as you pointed out, plenty of records by black artists were played on the show over the years and black performers were invited to appear in person. Even so, I tend to agree with Richard Penniman that Dick Clark could have done more to promote racial equality on his program. Clark was too vanilla for my taste. He didn't have as much soul as Wolfman Jack, Jerry Blavat, Hy Lit and other radio and TV hosts of the era. That's why I didn't make Dick a member of my Shady Bunch DJ staff. Keep in mind also that, at my Shady Dell hangout in York, PA, white teenagers danced to a jukebox musical menu that included a large number of records by black artists, yet no black teens were allowed to enter the Dell, a measure enforced by owner John Ettline to prevent racial flare-ups in his establishment.
Thanks again for helping me artificially inflate my comment total, thereby making my blog look more popular than it actually is.
If you care to keep this thing going, I'm dying to know your favorite color and favorite Spice Girl.
FYI - green's my signature color and I adore Posh Spice.
Happy New Year, good buddy Kirk!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more in your closing thoughts about Boomers wouldn't want to trade their yesterdays for any other generation. The times were simpler but what I love the most is the people were kinder. Their hearts weren't muddy with hate or discontent like we see these days. Wouldn't it be wonderful if some of yesterday's infectious happiness spilled over into our society today?
These hits from the 60s are awesome! "Georgy Girl", "Be My Baby", and "Fever" song titles I know well, not at the time of their release but later in the 60s and 70s. Although, I don't recall The McCoy's "Fever" cover but I like it. It's so different from Peggy Lee's cover which I'm most familiar with.
It's been a swell year hanging with you in Blogosphere this year despite the craziness this old world has been through this year. I'm looking forward to better days ahead for each of us in 2021. Stay safe, be well, and hopefully your weather is warmer than ours. Happy New Year, good friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteIt's great to see you, dear friend. Thanks for attending Shady Seaweed's annual New Year's Eve celebration!
Yessum, I often wish we could turn back the clock and return to a time when people, from our leaders on down, treated each other with courtesy and respect. I think the internet permanently changed how we communicate with each other. In modern times too many people yield to temptation and routinely smear and take potshots at each other when it would feel much better on both sides to express something positive, kind and supportive. You and I are getting it right, have been for more than five years now, and that's why we stick together as great friends.
"Fever" was originally recorded way back in 1956 by R&B singer Little Willie John. Many artists have covered the song, most notably Peggy Lee, the artist whose version you best remember. Other covers were released by Madonna, Beyoncé, Elvis and The Kingsmen. The McCoys cover is a tremendous recording, my favorite version of "Fever." I like it even more than their biggest hit "Hang On Sloopy."
We are having another brisk morning down here in Central Florida. The temp dropped to the freezing point a couple of nights ago and was in the 40s last night. No snow so far! :)
Cathy, thank you for expressing what our friendship means to you. It surely means a lot to me. Thank you for hanging in there with me through this rough year. I wish you and your family, including Lil A, all the best in 2021.
Thank you again for your visit and comment and many blessings to you and your loved ones in the coming year, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
DeleteThank you for the warm wishes for the new year. We'll settle in later this afternoon for a fun evening of homemade pizza and other goodies that I whipped up while watching movies, then just before midnight we'll switch the live coverage in NYC to see the ball drop in Time Square. Thankfully the temperatures have warmed up a bit so we won't freeze like we did last week this time. If you get out this evening be careful, dear friend. May God bless you in 2021!
Hi, Cathy!
Deletei hope you and DH carry out your plans for the day and evening and have a great time. I read that the Times Square festivities will be scaled-back and socially distanced in response to the pandemic threat. What an awful year it was in that respect.
Our Central Florida temps have turned quite mild again, shirt-sleeve weather, and I look forward to the next cold front coming down from your part of the country.
Thank you again for being such a tremendous friend and supporter these last 12 months. I look forward to keep you company and entertaining you in 2021... come what may.
Happy New Year, dear friend Cathy!
Happy New Year, Shady!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all of the Bandstand throw backs! I especially like the clips from the earlier 60's. I like the hairstyles and skirt/sweater outfits. The dancing is so cool, just like we danced. And when The Ronettes came on with "Be My Baby", they danced the cha cha as we called it. And, how we loved the Ronettes! Oh...what great fun and memories. The guys were great dancers too, and enjoyed themselves. I remember the "preachers" jackets, as we called them, sport coats without collars, or with velveteen collars. They were so cool!
You found some good ones to show on this post, Shady Seaweed! The Dovells really rocked with "You Can't Sit Down". They knew how to get us up out of our seats! It looked like a younger group on Bandstand with Paul Revere's song, "Him or Me". This is one of their best songs. Hoorah for "Fever" by the McCoys. They really added some attitude to their version of this classic song, and the Bandstand kids went right for it.
I'm always glad to see Gladys Knight and the Pips, they are such a classy group, and Sam the Sham will always have a place in my heart. He is so cool, isn't he!
Well, Shady, I'd better scoot out of here. I've got Scootie home, snacking me out of house and home, haha!
I love this post, and want to wish you and Mrs. Shady the best of the New Year! Take care, dear Seaweed!
Hi, Suzanne!
DeleteThanks for coming over for the 58th year in a row :) to take your place in Shady Square, watch the wrecking ball drop and experience Shady Seaweed's live New Year's Eve extravaganza, dear friend!
As I told Kirk (above) I have been following the YouTube channel that posts these vintage clips from Bandstand. The uploader takes the old dance footage and syncs it with higher quality remastered sound. I regularly read the comments on that site as well. As I got familiar with the people who regularly comment, some of them the very same Bandstand dancers you see in these clips, it soon became apparent that there is a rivalry that exists to this day between the Philadelphia Bandstanders of the earlier years (and their fans) and the Los Angeles Bandstanders (and their fans) of the mid 60s and after. Each group believes it had the best dancers. Being from the East Coast, my loyalties fall with the old school Philly Bandstanders. If you notice on the older clips, in addition to doing those line cha cha dances, some of the couples that are paired off engage in a form of touch dancing in which they continuously pull their bodies together until they bump. The LA crowd can't stand even watching that style of dancing, but I think it's the coolest thing ever. If you look on that channel, called You Can Dance To It, and play other oldies from 1963 and early 1964, you will see much better examples of that bump style of dancing.
The kids in the older Philly clips look older than the kids out in California, but that doesn't mean they were. Mostly it was the clothing and hair styles that made them look older. I'm delighted that you enjoyed The Raiders, Pharaohs, Pips and McCoys. I was pleased to present all of those songs for the first time on either of my blogs and with fairly decent sound quality.
Thanks again for dropping by, Suzanne. I wish you and Scootie the very best in the coming year. Stick around for my special two-parter to kick off the New Year. You will meet and greet the new members of The Shady Bunch - the crop of DJs for 2021 on SPMM Retrosonic Radio!
Stay safe and well, dear Suzanne, and thank you very much for your friendship and continued support through the past year. Bless you!
The Martin 'instant dance critique':
ReplyDeleteDovells- I certainly would have been less restrained in MY dancing to that song...
The Ronettes- The girl in the middle seemed to want to break loose, but all it got her was running into the girl beside her when they backed up. That was like 'the wave' of dancing...
The Seekers- a great song, and that girl was a doll! Guy kinda looked a bit stiff, but I'd have been scared stiffer than that trying to dance in front of DC- or with her.
Der Pipsters- now that's more my style of dancing!
McCoys- something seemed off- IDK what- in their dancing. Maybe a nice boofer being passed around would help, "but I wouldn't know about such things".
Raiders: Dancing was great! But the way they came down to the dance floor made me think English class had just let out, lol!
Sam: Great job, but I would have flat kicked the girl in the face were it me!
I loved the weaving of The Way We Were through the collection, and agree completely with the sentiment- particularly since I was waaaay on the innocent end at the time. Glad I came by to see your NYE party, even if it surprised me you weren't doing the 'live' thing like you did in the past. Hope you have a great and blessed New Year!
Hi, Chris!
DeleteI'm excited to see you, good buddy! Thanks for joining the salivation (correct usage - I looked it up) as Shady Seaweed helps me wrap up another calendar year of blogging with his 58th annual ball drop from Shady Square. Did Jenny McCarthy smooch you yet?
Thanks for giving me your impressions of the various Bandstand dancers. There are three main groups of dancers represented in this yearender. In the first two videos, you saw the Philadelphia area dancers in late 1963, a few months before the show relocated to LA. The second group are the West Coast teenagers who danced on AB in the mid 60s. The third group is the one dancing to "Friendship Train" on that episode taped in the fall of 1969. By then most of the mid 60s regulars were gone.
In the early years of Bandstand, camera movement and production capabilities were limited. The dancers needed to be packed in like sardines in front of a stationary camera. Often, couples moved around the floor in a big circle so that they could repeatedly go dancing by that stationary camera. The most popular couples got the best positions on the floor and often hogged the camera. I read that Dick Clark sometimes scolded them and told them to move out of the way so that other teens could get on camera. There was often bumping, some of it intentional as part of a style of touch dancing the kids performed exclusively there in Philly.
Those who comment on the YouTube channel that uploads these vintage clips often remind us that a good number of the young men you see on the dance floor in these AB vids were called to serve in Vietnam shortly thereafter, and that some of them didn't make it back alive. Something to think about.
As I told another reader, the cutie with the million dollar smile and the girl next door look about her, the one seen dancing with her partner on the riser in the "Georgy Girl" video, is Peggy Waggoner. Peggy and her regular partner Frank Vanderpuil were one of the most popular couples on Bandstand through the mid 60s. Peggy went on to a successful career working in sound production for the LA motion picture industry. Sadly Frank is no longer with us.
I believe at some point in the late 60s the producers of Bandstand stopped showing the kids coming down from the seats and flooding the floor. It was usually an awkward, time consuming process as the teenagers tried to avoid trampling each other and searched for an open spot where they could dance. By the time some of them got dancing, the record was half over.
I'm pleased that you appreciated the lyrics to "The Way We Were" woven through the post. Speaking of which...
I'm sure you join me in saying R.I.P. to Dawn Wells who will always be remembered as Mary Ann, a fan favorite among the castaways on Gilligan's Island. COVID-19 has claimed one of the most popular and talked about characters in 20th century boomer culture.
Thanks again for coming to the potty (correct usage - I looked it up), good buddy Chris. I wish you and Laurie and my new bowwow buddy Misty Martin all the best in 2021. Please keep yourselves safe and well.
Happy New Year, good buddy Chris!
This is short, but sweet, that I loved watching all these videos with these youngins just dancing up a storm to all these hits. It was fun seeing the always young Dick Clark letting us know who was #1, like Georgy Girl. I really like Gladys Knight & The Pips and, of course the song from 1964..a great year.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteI see you gave me two comments for the price of one again this time. :) Thanks for checking back to the post you missed, dear friend. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Dick Clark's boyish face and watching the teenagers at various points of the 60s dancing on American Bandstand.
Thanks for another year of friendship and support, dear friend BB!