The jukebox in the
Shady Dell's dance hall
was filled with the greatest, most danceworthy
records to be found anywhere. At the Dell, you
heard sounds that you didn't hear anyplace else.
The mix of music that played nightly at the Dell
was consistently better than the stuff I heard on
the radio. In the mid 60s the Dell's music menu
included soul coming out of Detroit, Chicago,
New York and Philadelphia, blue-eyed soul,
southern R&B from Memphis, British Beat,
garage rock, psychedelic rock, folk-rock
and doo-wop classics from the 50s
and doo-wop classics from the 50s
that remained Jukebox Giants.
Shady Dell regulars, the gang I refer to
as The Rodentia Intelligentsia, prided
themselves on having radar for cool.
Year after year they discovered and
popularized songs that radio stations
overlooked. Records that lingered
near the bottom of the Billboard
chart or missed it entirely became
cherished classics at the Dell.
Forgotten flips were elevated
to mega-hit status by Dell rats
unfettered by the limitations
of radio play lists.
Today I'd like you to meet four teenagers - imaginary members
of the 60s Rat Pack. They represent my gang of friends,
the Dell rats, kids like me who made the Shady Dell
their home away from home.
of the 60s Rat Pack. They represent my gang of friends,
the Dell rats, kids like me who made the Shady Dell
their home away from home.
THE RAT PACK
(LEFT to RIGHT)
JULIE
PETE
LINDA
DOUG
Yes, The Rat Pack is back, and they are here today to play the authentic sounds
we loved to listen and dance to at the Dell in the 60s. The old jukebox is hungry
for coins and the Rat Packers are eager to get dancing, so let the music play!
SAM AND DAVE
JULIE: I like Stax/Memphis R&B, and my
first pick is J-6... soul men Sam and Dave
aka "Double Dynamite," "The Sultans of
Sweat" and "The Dynamic Duo." They've
got the song ranked #32 on Shady's list of
The 200 Greatest Hits of The Shady Dell,
the follow-up to their big hit "Hold On!
I'm A Comin'".. a Stax sizzler called--
"Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody!"
DELL SONG #32
"Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody" - Sam And Dave
(Oct./Nov. 1966, highest chart pos. #8 R&B,
(Oct./Nov. 1966, highest chart pos. #8 R&B,
#64 Hot 100/#81 Cash Box)
THE
ISLEY BROS.
JULIE: I also love Motown, and while
I'm in control of the box, I'm punching
I'm in control of the box, I'm punching
E-3, the song ranked #17 on the Dell
Hits survey. It's The Isley Bros. with
the single reeleased on the heels of
their Tamla label hit "This Old
Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)."
I like this one as much, maybe more
- "Take Some Time Out For Love!"
DELL SONG #17
"Take Some Time Out For Love" - The Isley Brothers
(June 1966, highest chart pos. #66 Hot 100/#72 Cash Box)
(June 1966, highest chart pos. #66 Hot 100/#72 Cash Box)
JR. WALKER
AND THE
ALL STARS
PETE: I want mo Motown, mo Motown,
mo Motown, and that's why I'm pressing
K-13... the song holding the #46 spot on
the Dell Top 200. It's singer and sax man
Jr. Walker and his All Stars with another
great sound from '66... a song written
by Holland–Dozier–Holland. Check
it out-- "(I'm A) Road Runner!"
DELL SONG #46
"(I'm A) Road Runner" - Jr. Walker And The All Stars
(May/June 1966, highest chart pos. #4 R&B,
#20 Hot 100/#21 Cash Box)
#20 Hot 100/#21 Cash Box)
THE
MAGNIFICENT
MEN
LINDA: I dropped my coin into the slot
and pushed B-7 because I want to hear
something by our hometown heroes,
The Magnificent Men, with members
from York and Harrisburg. This song
was released in January, 1967, as the
killer bee on the back side of the blue-
eyed soul band's Dell megahit "Stormy
Weather." This cool tune is called--
"Much Much More Of Your Love"
SHADY DELL "KILLER BEE"
"Much Much More Of Your Love" - The Magnificent Men
(Jan. 1967, B side of "Stormy Weather")
(Jan. 1967, B side of "Stormy Weather")
THE
EMPERORS
LINDA: I'm hogging the jukebox
a while longer and pressing V-2,
because I wanna spin a hot
record by another popular
local act - The Emperors,
the garage/funk band from
Harrisburg. It's another fab
flip side - #62 on the Dell
Hits survey, The Emperors'
cookin' cover of "Searchin'"
- the 1957 chart-topper
by The Coasters.
DELL SONG #62
"Searchin'" - The Emperors
(May 1967, B side of "Lookin' For My Baby")
ERIC BURDON
& THE ANIMALS
DOUG: The Animals are hotter at the
Dell than The Beatles and The Stones.
That's why I pressed H-12... #53 on
the Dell's Top Tunes survey... Eric
Burdon's semi-autobiographical
counterculture song, a smash hit
in Australia and big in the U.S.
and UK -- "When I Was Young!"
DELL SONG #53
"When I Was Young" - Eric Burdon & The Animals
(Apr./May 1967, highest chart pos. #15 Hot 100/#19 Cash Box)
MITCH RYDER
AND THE
DETROIT
WHEELS
PETE: Here's another cool sound... G-4,
Mitch Ryder And the Detroit Wheels at
#88 on The Greatest Hits of the Dell list
with a medley covering two hits from
1957 - Little Richard's "Jenny, Jenny"
and the Chuck Willis song "C.C. Rider."
Here's Mitch with-- "Jenny Take A Ride!"
DELL SONG #88
"Jenny Take A Ride!" - Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels
(Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100, #18 Cash Box)
(Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100, #18 Cash Box)
Great news - this was only a preview!
Shady Del Knight has given us
the green light to host our own
series starting next year!
So please join us
again in 2021 as
we gather around
the jukebox in the
dance hall and play
more Greatest Hits
of The Shady Dell.
again in 2021 as
we gather around
the jukebox in the
dance hall and play
more Greatest Hits
of The Shady Dell.
See you then!
Your friends have good taste! As do you, of course...
ReplyDeleteHi, John!
DeleteThanks for hustling over to claim the early bird title, good buddy!
This Rat Pack series will dig deep into the Shady Dell jukebox and bring you the greatest Dell dance hall hits of the mid 60s, Many of the lost treasures the gang will play were obscure B sides, minor hit A sides or records that missed the national chart entirely. I'm glad you like their taste in tunes.
Thanks again for coming by, good buddy John, and enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!
"The mix of music that played nightly at the Dell
ReplyDeletewas consistently better than the stuff I heard on
the radio."
So, then, who stocked the jukebox at the Dell? Was it the owner, John Ettline? How did he learn of songs that weren't being played on the radio? Was he somehow involved in the music business before (or even during) his ownership of the Dell?
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for scurrying over for a visit on your Saturday, good buddy!
I'll do my best to answer your question, Kirk. The Dell was always open (24-7-365). Taking advantage of that fact, my buddies and I used to go to the Dell in the afternoon simply to soak up the ambiance of the Dell in daylight hours. Three seasons of the year we lounged on benches and chairs that encircled the outdoor concrete dance floor where music from the dance hall jukebox could be heard through remote speakers. During one or two of those visits when I went into "the barn" to play some tunes, I found that I couldn't because a uniformed "jobber" (for lack of a better word) had the jukebox pulled away from the wall. He was removing records from the back of the jukebox, putting different 45s into the slots the old ones had occupied, and replacing the cardboard title and artist strips that appear on the front side of the machine. Left undisturbed were discs that had received a high number of plays during the previous weeks or months. Based on the type of records that had been played heavily, the vendor or jobber, possibly in conjunction with John and Helen, and possibly working with the managers of local record stores and/or radio stations, predicted which new singles had the best chance of catching on and being played by The Rodentia Intelligentsia. John and Helen were old schoolers, and therefore I can't be sure how much they had to do with the decision making. Before taking over as owner of the Dell, John Ettline was loosely connected to the music business. He booked bands for local venues and once managed the famous Valencia Ballroom.
When I state that the mix of music in the Dell jukebox was consistently better than the playlists of my local top 40 radio station, I mean the Dell's lineup was all killer - no filler - and B sides that were not usually played on the radio were a very important part of the Dell's musical menu.
Thanks again for dropping in, good buddy Kirk!
A friend of mine had an uncle that ran a Juke Box business. You are correct that they left the most played records on the box. I have no idea how they selected or obtained new records to replace non played records. Did the big labels have salesmen out pitching their records to vendors the same as DJs? The best thing about the Juke Box business was that they would sell the old records they removed very cheap. I spent many moments searching thru their old records to add to my collection. Surprised that even the heavily played hits were not in bad shape. Numbers 1s became available if I waited long enough. I still had to hang at the Disc-O-Rama on Market St. to find the good soul not played on the radio or juke boxes. Jerre
DeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteIt's great to see you, good buddy! Thanks for commenting on this post. By any chance did you know Julie, Pete, Linda and Doug? :) Did you know Debbie the Dellette? :)
In 1964 my dad took me to a shop where I was able to pick through cartons and buy retired jukebox 45s for 10 cents each. I think they had come off the jukebox at The Dutch Club, a York nightclub that was my parents' version of The Shady Dell, meaning they hung out with friends and danced there every Saturday night. Most of the used singles I found in those cartons were big band era and Hit Parade stuff intended for listeners my parents age. However the two I did find were great ones that became welcome additions to my collection. The first was Rick Nelson's doublesider that had an update of the old standard "The Very Thought Of You" b/w Rick's cover of "I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me)," a 1961 single by The Pentagons. The other 45 I got for a dime was Elvis Presley's doublesider "Ask Me" b/w "Ain't That Loving You Baby." I still have both records.
Thanks for offering a theory about how new records arrived in the Dell's dance hall jukebox to replace the duds. (I have not yet ruled out magic elves.) It could be true that major labels sent reps to juke outlets like the Dell to promote new releases. Keep in mind, however, that some of the Dell's greatest hits were issued on small independent labels. Please read my reply to Suzanne's comment (below) where I continue this discussion and speculation about how the Dell jukebox was "programmed." Let me know if you think any of those ideas have merit. I am especially curious to know if you remember the late Drinda Warner, a grad of Wm. Penn H.S. who was two or three years older than me and was manager of the record department at Mailmans Queensgate. I bought many a record from Drinda and I also saw her face in the crowd and on the dance floor at the Dell, making her a genuine Dellette. Sadly she died two years ago.
Thanks again for joining the platter party, good buddy Jerre. Stay tuned for Jerry Blavat spinning some great doo-wop sounds in my next post this Friday!
I don't remember a Drinda Warner but York Hi was a big school. The juke box business I knew had boxes at many different places along with pin ball machines. I thought the owner might be visited by sales people pushing their label or being bribed like DJs to play songs. Jerre
DeleteIn my conversations with John and Helen, or on those occasions when I listened in on conversations they were having with others in the snack bar, I never heard them discuss the topic of music. John usually talked about sports, government and military service and Helen discussed relationship with me and other teenage patrons. Therefore, I can't imagine the Ettlines stocking the Dell jukebox without getting advice from people in the know. This might have included record company promo men or savvy local record managers like Drinda and the others I mentioned. I hope we can find out exactly how the process worked. It is one of the Dell's many unsolved mysteries.
DeleteThanks for reporting back in, good buddy Jerre!
Well hello there. I remember these groups but not these songs. Of course I also like the real Rat Pack.
ReplyDeleteJanet’s Smiles
Hi, Janet!
DeleteThanks for coming, dear friend!
Ha! Yessum, there was the original Rat Pack (remember Peter Lawford?) and there was the Brat Pack with Rob Lowe. Back in the day I never heard the gang at the Dell called anything other than "Dell rats." The vintage photo used in this post, the one showing four young people feeding the jukebox, was originally published in Time Magazine. I decided to use the image to represent the teenage Dell rats of the 60s and chose to call them "The Rat Pack" for the purpose of this series.
It's good to know you recognize every one of the artists in this post. Minor hits and non-hits released by big name artists were often major hits at the Dell. Little known artists and recordings were discovered and celebrated. In that respect the Dell experience was very similar to England's Northern Soul clubs, a movement that is still going strong in the 2020s.
Keep smiling, dear Janet, and thanks again for coming!
What a great playlist the Rat Pack shared today! It's funny how often those lesser known or B side songs are better than the hits. I've always felt it was a little sad that folks rarely buy full albums anymore. By only downloading the songs they hear on the radio, they might be missing some other good stuff!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly & Pat!
DeleteThanks for visiting on the weekend, dear friend(s)!
You make a good point here, Kelly. Many people allow themselves to be spoon fed the biggest hits by famous artists. If they took the time to dig a little deeper into the catalogs and listened to B sides and album tracks, they'd discover gems they like as much or even more than the million sellers. So it was at the Shady Dell, where rats had radar for cool and left no slab unturned in their search for recorded greatness. This series, along with Dell Rat Tom's radio show, will bring you those lesser known goodies, obscure songs that became monster hits in the Dell dance hall.
Thanks again for coming by on a Saturday, dear friend Kelly. Please give Pat a hug and a Jerky Treat and tell him they are from Shady. :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Hey, it's good to see the Rat Pack again, picking some very good tunes for us. We've got a pretty cool day in Fort Worth, not expected to get above the mid 50's, and I love it!
ReplyDeleteYou guys and girls picked some really good artists today. I know all of the groups and even though I didn't know all of the songs, I enjoyed each of them. Jr. Walker and the All Stars are a smooth groovin group, and you can easily get up and dance to whatever they dish out! "I'm a Road Runner" is one of their best. Wow! "I'm Searchin"! It can't be beat, but The Emperors do a too-cool cover for the Coasters! Great song...well done, and this one makes all the guys get up on the dance floor to do their suave sashaying around, haha!
I always like to hear from the Magnificent Men. Their work is so worthy of the recognition they get from any label, and, the Dell! Sam and Dave and The Isley Brothers were always favorites of mine. I would like to have seen both live in concert, they really knew how to deliver that good ole' soul/the epitome of cool!
Mitch Ryder is another group who had a knack of getting the feet going! "Jenny A-Go-Go is so cool-who couldn't get up and jive to this great dance song! I have never seen a video with this group, and couldn't keep my eyes off the guys (especially Mitch)! Thanks for bringing this one along!
My fav has got to be The Animals! I have to agree, I like these guys better than the Beatles. You can feel more at home with The Animals style and mysteriousness. I love Eric Burdon's voice and how he and The Animals pack each song with a surprise.
Sooo...I must be off now, got much to do. I am happy to hear these songs by artists that I know and love. Thank you so much "Rat Pack" for your great choices! Take care and hurry back! Happy Sunday, dear Shady!
Hi, Suzanne!
DeleteThanks for swinging by and allowing your imagination to take you inside the Shady Dell dance hall of the mid 60s where you looked over the shoulders of four rat packers as they punched the keys and picked tunes to play. This new series will bring you the meat and potatoes songs of the Dell. It had been quite a while since I devoted a post entirely to the hardcore esoteric Dell songs that shed light on the phenomenon of white teenagers playing (and favoring) records by black artists and soulful white artists (Mag Men, Mitch Ryder & Eric Burdon) during a period of racial strife in York, PA, that was even worse than the tensions that exist across America today.
Before I respond directly to your comment, I want to expand upon my discussion with Kirk (above) in which I theorized that Helen & John Ettline had an arrangement with managers of local record stores and the record department managers of discount stores, who helped in the selection of records for the Dell jukebox. These might have included The Discorama aka Disc-O-Rama, the most popular record store in old York, the record store at Smith Village in Jacobus, a borough located not far from the Dell, and Mailmans Department Store. The latter, Mailmans, was closer to the Dell than the other stores and was also close by my house, I regularly bought records at Mailmans rather than drive all the way in town to "The Disc" or down to Jacobus. I knew the manager of Mailmans record department, a very pretty girl close to my age, and I can testify that she knew her stuff. She was also a Dell rat which reinforces my belief that she might have had some input about the selection of records placed in the Dell's jukebox. Her name was Drinda "Drinie" Warner, married name in her adult years Drinda Ann Gibson. Sadly, I recently learned that Drinda died two years ago at age 71. I wanted to mention her name in print today to honor her memory.
I'm thrilled that you enjoyed meeting Julie, Pete, Linda and Doug and liked their Dell jukebox song selections. It's also good to know you recognize the names of these artists even if you never heard some of these songs of theirs. As you can see by my captions with the videos, they include some of the highest ranked records (sides) on my list of the 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell. I am especially pleased that you liked The Mag Men and The Emperors of Harrisburg, the latter the garage funk band that recorded an updated version of The Coasters hit of the 50s - Searchin'." You can bet that all the rats scurried out on the dance floor when these records started playing.
For some reason, the YouTube uploader listed the title of that Mitch Ryder song as "Jenny A-Go-Go" when the actual title is "Jenny Take A Ride." Mislabeled as the video was, I was lucky to have found it because it contains a rare vintage clip of Mitch and The Detroit Wheels doing a lip sync of their hit on an episode of Hullabaloo. I'll tell you right now that I never saw anyone at the Dell dance frantically like those go-go girls on Hullabaloo. Their dancing is over-the-top. At the Dell, the style was much more relaxed and cool. I am delighted that you are an Animals fan. I remember you expressing that several times before. Stick around because Eric and his mates will continue to be frequent flyers at Shady's Place.
Our weather has cooled down a little but not nearly as much as yours. Nevertheless it is great to have a break from the heat. I hope we enjoy temperatures that actually feel like winter before spring arrives in Florida on January 1. :)
Thanks again for joining the fun, dear friend Suzanne. I wish you and Scootie a wonderful week ahead and hope to see you back here for my next post (Geator Gold) on Friday. Take care!
Hello Shady! I'm trying to get back into blog mojo so I'm happy to visit this afternoon. I feel like I learn just a tad more each year about the Dell and often wondered about the music played there. Music that I hadn't heard before and artist too. Now I understand how you came to appreciate the lesser known songs also. You had good schooling! This was a good mix and although I didn't know all the artists I did recognize the Magnificent Men from past posts and also that they were hometown boys. The Animals and Mitch Ryder were very familiar. I can see that you have honored the Dell with your blog and music choices and could very well be one who would stock that jukebox with classics!I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and even though we spent ours in the hospital, Jack is home and recouping and for that I'm thankful!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteThank you very much for making time for a visit, dear friend! I hope the lineup of Jukebox Giants played by Julie, Pete, Linda and Doug, imaginary Dell rats of the mid 60s, offered a pleasant distraction from the many challenges you have faced in recent weeks and all year long for that matter. Several times this past week as Thanksgiving approached, then came and went, I mentioned you and Jack to Mrs. Shady and told her how sad it makes me when a dear friend is going through hardship, especially during the holidays. Thank heaven Jack is home again and hopefully on the mend. I know Arnie must have danced a jig when you and Jack came through the door at The Pines.
As I indicated to Suzanne (above) it has been a while, probably much to long, since I focused an entire post on the Dell's musical menu. It gives me pleasure to introduce you to the exciting sounds that formed the soundtrack of my Dell experiences as a teenager and young adult. I started going to the Dell in 1965 and stopped in 1971 when I took a job in another city and got married.
I'm glad you recognize and appreciate our hometown heroes, The Mag Men, the white soul band that contained members from York (the lead vocalists) and nearby Harrisburg (the backing band). I figured you would be familiar with Mitch Ryder and The Animals. As you can imagine, "When I Was Young" was not very conducive to dancing, and yet it was a big hit on the jukebox in the barn (dance hall), proof that Dell rats had radar for cool and sometimes embraced records that were more for listening than for dancing.
It's sweet of you to suggest that I would have been qualified to stock the old Dell jukebox. When I first arrived on the scene, I was oblivious to many of the great soul and R&B sounds I would soon come to know and love thanks to my repeat visits to the Dell over that six year span.
Once again, thank you very much for making time for a visit during this stressful period. I pray that your life will settle down now so that you can glide through the rest of the holidays experiencing nothing but joy. Bless you, dear friend YaYa!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteI'm digging the sound today. Like Kirk, since these weren't played on the radio, how did you hear them? Do the Dell have the albums and were they flipped to the B side? I'm assuming these were B side hits, right? Did albums have B sides or was that only cassettes? Regardless, I'm happy you heard these gems and shared them with us.
I have my soundtrack for working from home tomorrow after my interview. I think this will help me in the afternoon. :)
Have a great Monday, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThanks for dropping into the Shady Dell dance hall of the mid 60s, dear friend! Julie, Pete, Linda and Doug are pleased to meet you and eager to become friends. :)
I don't really understand your questions, but I will try my best to answer. The Dell's dance hall jukebox played mostly 45 rpm singles. Many if not most of the A sides of those records were played on radio stations. However, there were hundreds if not thousands of high quality songs on the B sides of those 45s that were played heavily at the Dell but not on the radio. That is because top 40 radio playlists were too limited to include B sides. The same was true for some of the obscure records that made it into the Dell jukebox, 45s that contained only minor national hits that didn't make the top 40 and some that didn't even make the top 100 or the Bubbling Under charts. I never heard them played on my local top 40 station. How those little known recordings by obscure artists on small indie labels wound up in the Dell jukebox remains somewhat of a mystery as you can see by my discussions with Kirk, Suzanne and Jerre.
Yessum, the dance hall jukebox also contained a few albums. Customers could feed more coins into the slot, probably 50 cents, and play en entire side of an LP if they chose to. However that didn't happen very often in my experience. As you know from shopping for your dad at that Philly record store, albums have a B side as well as an A side. At the Dell, the B side songs of an album could also be played, but that is not what this discussion is about. It is about the little known B sides on 45 rpm singles that might have had big national hits on the A side, but nevertheless were not played by top 40 stations because they felt the need to play only the major national hits and occasionally a few records of regional or local interest. At the Dell there were no such restrictions. The teenage patrons "left no slab unturned" in their search for groovy dance tunes. Sooner or later every B side was taken for a test spin because rats knew the chances were good they would discover another great Dell song.
I hope I explained myself clearly and answered your questions. I'm glad you dig the sounds selected on the box by these imaginary Dell rats of the mid 60s.
Thanks again for visiting, dear friend JM!
You did, dear friend!
DeleteSorry of my absence. I've been interviewing like crazy at work and I'm hoping to hear back soon. With the upcoming holidays, I'm focusing on my first Hanukkah at home and making gifts.
Have a great Thankful Thursday!
I heard some of those, but not all. Eric Burdon was a new one for me. Nice to have the violin playing on it! Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sherry!
DeleteHappy December IWSG Day, dear friend, and thanks for stopping by!
I'm happy to have introduced some new to you artists and Dell songs in this sneak preview of a new Shady's Place series.
In the spring of 1966, The Animals reinvented themselves with a new lineup and were thereafter known as Eric Burdon And The Animals. Released in March, 1967, "When I Was Young" was their third single using that new band name. As you can see by the stats, it was a Dell biggie. I'm glad you like the violins used so effectively on the dramatic recording.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, dear friend Sherry!
Well, this was fun! You had one terrific Rat Pack playlist for us to enjoy. Sometimes that B side of the "platter" is as much a hit as the A--at least to my way of thinking. I really miss not being able to hold the old disc, place it on the turntable and don my Poodle Skirt for a quick bop around the room. Thanks for the nostalgia as always. Have a wonderful Christmas season. See you in 2021!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cheryl-Lee!
DeleteThanks so much for coming over, dear friend!
I'm delighted to have you on hand for this sneak preview of a new series that takes you directly inside the Shady Dell barn to peek over the shoulders of actual (imaginary) Dell rats of the 60s as they punch in key combinations on the jukebox and play their favorite Dell songs. Surely this is an event every bit as exciting as the time Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone's vaults. :)
Yessum, the "killer bee" aka "killer B" aka "fab flip" was an essential part of the Dell's musical menu. The mark of a great artist is having "songs to burn," that is, enough high quality songs in the can to be able to stick some of them on the B sides of their singles knowing that most radio stations won't have time to play them.
Vinyl records and turntables are making a big comeback in recent years. Maybe it's not too late for you to add those items to your Santa wish list. :)
Happy Christmas to you as well, dear friend Cheryl-Lee, and thank you again for swinging by. Let us hope for safety and sanity in the year 2021. No more Krampus! :)
Hi Shady!
ReplyDeleteWhile I didn’t recognize a single single (grin) right at first, Eric Burdon and the Animals more than made up for that fleeting sense of having walked into the wrong room. Flipside songs can certainly change or charge up a state of mind. I rarely disliked a song on side B, especially after I’d worn down a needle on side A. The Animals video was interesting as I hadn’t connected a face to the voice that became so familiar to me as a child.
“Jenny Take a Ride” was a surprise since I had no idea what they were saying until now ;-) I’m glad those gals dancing on the boxes were so sure-footed.
Whenever enticed by essences of Shady Dell, I can’t help but wonder what might be cooking in Helen’s kitchen, or if there’s a fire in the hearth.
Have a delightful December!
Hi, diedre!
DeleteThanks so much for paying a visit to the Shady Dell this holiday season to find out which tunes are hot in the box down in the dance hall. Outside it chilling, but inside it's thrilling, with the Dell's fireplaces burning (there were two of them) and records that keep turning.
I'm delighted that you learned some new to you songs that were genuine Jukebox Giants at the Dell in the mid 60s. Yessum, rough around the edges, Eric Burdon had the right look and the right sound to appeal to Dell rat sensibilities. At the Dell, The Animals were hotter than The Beatles and even more popular than the rowdy Rolling Stones when you check how the songs are ranked on my list of the Dell's 200 Greatest Hits. Animals B sides were played almost as often as the A's.
You're right about those go-go girls on Hullabaloo. First of all, I never saw kids at the Dell dancing so frantically. Secondly, it's a wonder they didn't occasionally fall from those small elevated platforms and pedestals.
On a typical Shady Dell night in December, you can bet that Helen had hot dogs and burgers sizzling on her grill and gallons of hot chocolate and coffee ready to warm teen tummies. Truth be told, I relied on "firewater" to warm my innards on many of those cold nights. I am the poster boy for misspent youth.
Thank you again for coming to chat about my favorite place, my home away from home, The Shady Dell, York, PA. Have a blessed Christmas, dear friend diedre!
I missed this one until now! I enjoyed all the music that your rat pack have chosen but the only one I know is the last song which is a lot of fun to dance to. I used to dance go-go style in my hey day.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteHa! I figured you'd be checking out this post you missed and so, to kill time and give you a chance to comment, I hung out on your blog for a while. :)
I'm glad you recognized the last song in this set, Mitch Ryder's rollicking "Jenny Take A Ride!" which was based on two older hits. If you can find video of yourself go-go dancing in your hey day, please post it on BB Creations. I'd love to see it! :)
Thanks again for giving me a two-fer, dear friend BB!