Meet Pop Music's Unsung Heroine
GINNY ARNELL
and watch LIVE AND IN COLOR
as investigative reporter
GERALDO RIVERA
probes one of history's greatest
musical mysteries and scores
a ratings hit "In the Grotto."
The regularly scheduled program
will not be seen tonight... but will
return next week at its regular time.
Now stay tuned for the following
Shady's Place exclusive presentation:
"In The Grotto." Here's your host,
I-Team reporter Geraldo Rivera!
Join me as I attempt to solve:
A MYSTERY
WRAPPED IN A RIDDLE
INSIDE AN ENIGMA!
Tonight, as you sit in your easy chair in the comfort and safety of your home,
you will witness broadcast history being made as I boldly go where no man
has gone before. Experience the excitement and suspense as I venture deep
beneath the earth's surface and travel through a dark, some say "haunted"
cave in a remote, undisclosed location somewhere in the desert southwest.
It is here in this isolated, God forsaken subterranean cavity that our
adventure begins. I will sweep aside spider infested cobwebs and
crack open an ancient vault that is believed to hold treasure.
It might just as easily contain the funk of 40,000 years.
Alright, we're heading underground. From this point on, my
production crew will turn the camera away from me and
give you a p.o.v. shot. Your eyes are seeing exactly
what I am seeing as we make our way deeper
and deeper into the foreboding pit.
We are already close to a hundred feet below ground level.
The long trek to rock bottom has only just begun.
Say goodbye to the last rays of sunlight we'll see for a while.
I'm starting to feel claustrophobic and apprehensive.
As we continue on, in the interest of transparency and full disclosure,
I need to tell you that, although no man has gone here before, two
young women actually did explore this creepy isolated cavern
back in 1959. Millie Brubaker, an ambitious cub reporter for
the local newspaper who fancied herself an amateur sleuth,
went looking for this very same vault. We might never
know if she found it... and here's why.
The disturbing picture below was taken by Millie's friend and
colleague, Polly Patagonia, the newspaper's staff photographer,
who accompanied Millie into this isolated hell hole.
Seconds after Polly's camera captured this terrifying moment,
she lost consciousness. When she awoke, her friend Millie
was gone and was never seen or heard from again. On a
happier note, Polly's amazing picture went viral and she
won the "Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography."
How's that for a happy ending?
Okay, as you can see, I'm now deep in this creepy crypt
and approaching the long abandoned vault.
Does it contain buried treasure... or will this turn out to be,
as it was for Millie Brubaker... a chamber of horrors?
We are now at ground zero, the vault, and suddenly there is literally electricity
in the air. The walls are crackling with some kind of energy and emitting
strange ribbons of light. I've never seen anything like this bizarre,
unsettling phenomenon. It's as if someone... or something
doesn't want us here... doesn't want us
violating this sacred place.
With the help of five bodybuilders from Gold's Gym,
I am now prying open the massive steel door.
This is the moment we've been waiting for... the moment of truth.
The excitement and suspense are palpable. I'm hyperventilating.
Now, here's a word from the makers of America's Most Famous Dessert...
J-E-L-L-O. Kids of all ages know: "There's Always Room for Jell-O."
And we're back live. During the break, I emerged from the pit.
I can now reveal what I discovered inside the vault, an airtight
compartment that had remained sealed for nearly 60 years.
I found a box containing the recordings of Ginny Arnell, a Connecticut
singer who began her career paired with another Connecticut native,
Gene Pitney, who you might recall rose to fame as both a singer
and a songwriter. In 1959, coincidentally the same year that
Millie Brubaker went missing, Gene and Ginny released
two uncharted singles as the duo act Jamie And Jane.
You can listen to their first record, "Snuggle Up Baby"
released in March 1959, by clicking here. You can
listen to their second 1959 single, "Classical Rock
And Roll," a song that starts out sounding a lot
like "Jailhouse Rock," by clicking here.
I'm more interested in the records Ginny made as a solo artist in the
years that followed, and I'm going to listen to ten of them right now.
Through the miracle of modern technology, I have loaded Ginny's
ten songs onto your computer and combined them with the covers
of vintage teen romance comics. These colorful pulp magazine
illustrations will help set the mood for Ginny's story songs
about teenage infatuation, puppy love and broken hearts.
Listen to Ginny sing and afterward read my review.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO PLAY GINNY'S SONGS!
"Yesterday's Memories"
Brenda Lee - Skeeter Davis
Sound by Ginny Arnell
(June 1964)
"Portrait Of A Fool"
Glorious Country-pop Ballad
by Ginny Arnell (Jan. 1965,
B side of "Just Like A Boy")
"Trouble's Back In Town"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(June 1963)
"I'm So Afraid Of Loving You"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(From 1964 album Meet Ginny Arnell)
"Tell Me What He Said"
by Ginny Arnell (Dec. 1960, B side
of "Look Who's Talkin'")
"Dumb Head"
by Ginny Arnell (Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964,
highest chart pos. #50 Hot 100,
#60 Cash Box)
"How Many Times
Can One Heart Break"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964, B side
of "Dumb Head"
"I Wish I Knew
What Dress To Wear"
GERALDO'S "PICK TO CLICK"
by Ginny Arnell (Mar./Apr. 1964,
highest chart pos. #130 Bubbling under)
"He's My Little Devil"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(Mar./Apr. 1964, B side of "I Wish
I Knew What Dress To Wear")
"Watch What You Do
With My Baby"
By Ginny Arnell (from 1964
album Meet Ginny Arnell)
GERALDO'S
REVIEW:
After listening to the recordings of
Ginny Arnell, I can draw only one
conclusion. She's Old School Cool.
A little bit Brenda Lee, a little
bit Connie Francis, a little bit
Sue Thompson, a little bit
Everly Bros. and a whole
lotta Gene Pitney, Ginny
is a delightful singer who
deserved a much greater
measure of success and
fame, every bit as much
as her early singing
partner... the late,
great Gene Pitney.
Incredibly, only one of Ginny's solo singles, "Dumb Head," made it even
halfway up the Hot 100 chart. It should be noted that "Dumb Head" was
one of the casualties of the JFK assassination. The record entered the
Billboard chart in November, 1963, just 6 days before the president
was shot. In the weeks that followed, the nation was in mourning
and many excellent pop recordings released during the period
struggled on the chart and sold poorly. To top it off, Ginny
and other teen pop queens and kings suffered a knock-out
punch when The Beatles and their kind burst onto the scene.
Furthermore, my Pick To Click, "I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear,"
lingered near the bottom of the Bubbling Under chart at #130. Seriously?
In the early months of 1964, with The Beatles and other British and
American rock bands coming on strong, "I Wish I Knew What Dress"
To Wear" was one of the last glimmers of hope for sweet girl pop
artists and songs about proper attire and etiquette, adolescent
insecurity and innocent teenage romance, although it should
be remembered that Lesley Gore continued having hits
with the formula for a couple more years.
GINNY ARNELL
The Female Gene Pitney and
Pop Music's Unsung Heroine
And so, my perilous journey down into the ancient catacombs did indeed
yield treasure - the long lost gold nuggets of pop songstress Ginny Arnell.
Ginny's was one of the most beautiful singing voices of the 1960s.
She made significant contributions to the teen pop and girl group
genres. Ginny's teen angst anthems were released by major record
labels, Decca and MGM. Why then didn't she become a major star?
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer. With all she had to offer,
so much talent and so many great recordings... the fact that
Ginny Arnell isn't one of the big names in music remains
one of music history's greatest unsolved mysteries.
Her case truly is:
A MYSTERY
WRAPPED IN A RIDDLE
INSIDE AN ENIGMA
I'm Geraldo Rivera. Thanks for being here for this Shady's Place exclusive,
an unprecedented television event brought to you live and in color -
the cracking open of an ancient hidden vault in search of musical treasure.
This was merely a sneak preview of things to come. Please check your
local listings and stay tuned for the official launch of my new series
coming soon to Shady's Place Music & Memories. It'll be called:
It's My Vault... and That's Vinyl.
So long!
I might be the only person on earth to admit this, but I always liked Alvin and the Chipmunks (and still do!).
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for coming, dear friend! You're the first across the finish line, and that means you will have the honor of wearing the Early Bird crown for the next five days. If, for any reason, you are unable to complete your reign, the coveted title will go to the runner-up. Who will it be???
You are not the only person on earth to admit you like Alvin and the Chipmunks. I admit it, too. I was always a sucker for novelty records and have quite a few in my collection.
I hope this doesn't mean you enjoyed the Chipmunks more than my star attraction - Ginny Arnell. :)
Thanks again for scurrying over early on day one, dear friend Kelly. Have a safe and happy weekend!
Oh dear, not Geraldo. lol
ReplyDeleteI have a good reason for saying that. Years ago when he had the Geraldo Show on tv my mom, younger brother and his new wife were on that show. All because my 16 year old brother married a 55 year old woman who had been the woman in charge of the residential treatment home he was in for troubled boys. O.o Yes, my family is all kinds of crazy. So now everytime I see him I just shake my head.
That whole thing with the vault is what we would call click bait today.
I loved Alvin and the Chipmunks as a kid. Christmas Don't Be Late was always my favorite song by them.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteThanks for coming by, dear friend! Yes indeed - Shady's Place is open for beeswax. That "DO NOT DISTURB" sign I posted at the front entrance is merely a gag. :)
Yessum, the one, the only, Geraldo Rivera is in the house (and in the cave) to entertain you with a sneak preview of his new series to be called It's My Vault... and That's Vinyl... coming soon to S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.
Oh my goodness, Mary! What a coincidence that your family members went on the Geraldo show years ago. I never knew anyone with such a close connection to a TV talk show. As you might have guessed, this new Shady's Place series is based on Geraldo's historic TV special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults which was broadcast live in syndication on April 21, 1986. As you might recall, it was one of the most publicized, hyped, anticipated and watched events in television history, but the mysterious underground vault had nothing in it but debris - a great big fizzle. Not so with Geraldo's new SPMM series. In every edition he will return to the vault, dig for musical nuggets, find them and play them for you!
I hope you enjoyed the fine but little known vocalist of the late 50s and 60s Miss Ginny Arnell - "The Female Gene Pitney."
Thanks again for coming and enjoy the rest of your weekend, dear friend Mary!
Hi Shady! Ok, I did laugh at the Geraldo thing remembering how I got sucked into the vault back in the day! I loved the Chipmunks commercial...so funny as they usually are but for some reason I don't remember that commercial but I do remember the song! Jello in many forms was always on the menu for holidays but I don't do too much of it these days. As far as Ginny Arnell goes I hate to say this but I really don't care for her voice. Sorry! For some reason it doesn't sound good to me. Also whenever 1963 is mentioned I have to say that was a year in my life filled with sad, scary and just plain growing up times. A long list of things that happened in my family including our house burning almost to the ground with me (at age 10) babysitting my 3 younger siblings that night. I always remind them I saved their lives and they owe me big time! I guess I could blog about that some day just so they have it in print! Ha! Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. My brother, Phil, who lives in Florida told me the other day how it's finally getting a little cooler down there. So take care and I'll send some fall leaf peep pics soon!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteI'm excited that you came by, dear friend! Thanks for tuning in this special TV event - Live and in Color - as Geraldo Rivera digs for gold and finds it in the recordings of pop music's unsung heroine, Ginny Arnell.
I'm happy that you get the gist of this new series and remember all the hype and hoopla that preceded Geraldo's live TV special in which he cracked open Al Capone's vault. I remember watching it that April night in 1986. Wiki sez: << The special broadcast was billed as the unearthing of mobster Al Capone's secret vaults, located under the old Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Millions of people watched the 2-hour show, which ultimately did not uncover any valuables from beneath the hotel. In a 2016 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Rivera commented, "It was an amazingly high profile program—maybe the highest profile program I've ever been associated with." >>
Although that TV special was a bust, Geraldo will have a chance to redeem himself in this new Shady's Place series, returning again and again to the vault to uncover long lost musical nuggets for your listening and dancing pleasure.
I still like JELLO and recently reminded Mrs. Shady that it makes a nice light dessert. She likes to prepare it in various shaped molds and embellish it with fruit and whipped cream.
I'm surprised and sorry to learn that your ears don't hear the greatness in Ginny's singing the way mine do. I think she was every bit as good as Brenda Lee, Sue Thompson, Skeeter Davis, Dolly Parton and other more successful female vocalists who sang country-tinged crossover pop. I'm also sorry that the year 1963 was a terrible one for you and your family, and the mere mention of it brings back sad memories. To me, it was one of the greatest years in music, and it is therefore unavoidable that I'll be posting more songs of '63 as time goes by.
I wonder if Phil mentioned the hurricane that is likely to strike us in the middle of next week. We have been gathering supplies and getting ready to hunker down because it has the potential to be the strongest hurricane to hit Central Florida since I moved down here in 1984. We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best. If you publish a post a few days from now and I don't show up, please remember it's because I lost power in the storm.
Well, I wish I could have left you happy and smiling like I did last time, but that's how it goes. I'm confident that you will find more to like in my next post coming up on Wednesday (the day the hurricane is scheduled to make landfall). Thank you again for dropping in, dear friend YaYa. Enjoy your Sunday and the week ahead!
I've been thinking about you and Mrs. Shady and hoped you were getting supplies and such in for this hurricane. I talked to Phil last week but I don't think the hurricane was on the radar yet. He always says he's ready for them since he's lived in Florida and Panama. Good luck and stay safe Shady! I'll look forward to hearing from you that's everything is OK! P.S..even though I might not always love some of the artists you feature, I always enjoy the posts and usually get a smile or a memory from them!
DeleteThank you, dear YaYa! As you know by now, I love to entertain great friends like you and like nothing better than for you to leave here smiling. I was thrilled a couple of weeks ago when Jack came to the computer room when he heard you singing along to Jess Parker's British hits. On the flip side, I hate to disappoint people, but it is inevitable given my eclectic taste and the wide range of musical styles I present week by week. There are bound to be some posts you like more than others. Besides, memories of a terrible, tragic year in your life, 1963, surely adversely affected how you experienced the content of the post. I understand that because it happens to me. The years 1963, 1982 and 2012 are among the worst of my life. I cringe whenever I hear songs from those particular years because they immediately trigger sad memories. However, at the same time, I feel empowered by the songs, because they remind me that I kept it together and survived those awful times.
DeleteYessum, we're scrambling to make hurricane preparations down here. We had a hard time finding bottled water yesterday because store shelves were already bare. We eventually found a store that had water, but they were limiting purchases to two jugs per customer. We spent much of today picking up potential airborne projectiles around the property including tools, planters and fallen tree branches. If the cane hits Tampa Bay, it will be the worst to strike our area in 101 years and will cause disastrous flooding along the coast including downtown Tampa which is flood prone. We are already rain-soaked down here because it has rained every day in September, most days heavy storms and downpours that have rivers and creeks swollen and going over their banks. The outer rain bands from Ian already started sweeping across our vicinity this evening and it's only the beginning. The water will have no place to go and there will be extensive flooding across Central Florida in the wake of this hurricane. The only way that can be avoided is if the storm track drifts to the west, keeping the heaviest weather out in the Gulf. That's what we are hoping for, but we could just as easily take a direct hit. It's nerve-racking, because the spaghetti models keep changing with every new report and there is still a lack of consensus among the various models.
Anyway, thank you very much for being such a wonderful friend and for your concern as we face this threat. I hope to still be online Wednesday morning when I publish a very important post, the launch of an ambitious 36-part, 3-year series. I am confident you'll find a lot to interest you as the series unfolds month by month.
God bless, YaYa!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteYour radio personality really shines through your posts. I'm always in awe of your creative writing style. You make me believe you are your posts' special guests. I remember Gene Pitney. It seems when I think of Pitney, I think of country music. I did a quick look at his discography. His best charting songs, "Only Love Can Break A Heart" and "(The Man Who Sho) Liberty Valance" I recognized either the song title or after listening to the track. However, your vault treasure, Ginny Arnell is an introduction. I enjoyed her old school sound and her voice is the kind of sound I would've liked had I been a teenager but she came into her own in my early years of life way before I knew about the torture that awaited my teenage heart. I'm not sure which of Ginny's songs gets my pick click but "Watch What You Do With My Baby" sounds awfully familiar. I must have heard it before, maybe another artist. After reading through the song titles, I think I'd pick "Tell Me What He Said". I'm not sure why, other than it really got me chair boogieing. :) It's too bad that she didn't do as well as her early music partner did in the industry but that's the way things happen and it doesn't make sense especially when someone as talented as Ginny is, too. Great entertainment! Thanks for sharing and have a boogietastic week, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteWelcome welcome welcome back, dear friend! I hope you are in good spirits and resting up from your New England adventure. Thank you very much for coming over for an early morning visit today.
I also thank you for appreciating how I write lines for the characters that host my shows (posts). To me, it's a lot more fun to let an interesting character do the presenting that to have Shady do it each and every time. In addition, it gives me a chance to plug my favorite TV series, movies, characters, actors and actresses.
I'm glad you remember Gene Pitney. He was a major contributor to the soundtrack of boomer youth, and some of his pop anthems are what I would call "country-tinged." In other words, he was probably a favorite artist among many country mewsic fans. Same with Ginny Arnell - "The Female Gene Pitney" - because several of her songs are performed in the Pitney style in terms of diction and emoting. As you noticed in the text, Gene and Ginny began their recording careers as a duo called Jamie & Jane. No wonder they sound so much alike and recorded the same type of songs as soloists.
Yessum, if you follow the lyrics of these Ginny Arnell songs, you will hear the kind of themes and phrases found in the recordings of country-pop artist Brenda Lee and other big name country influenced artists. For example, in the first song, the part-sung, part-spoken "Yesterday's Memories," you'll find the memorable line, "Excuse me, there's a memory in my eye." I love the lonely sax playing in the second song, "Portrait Of A Fool." The third song, "Trouble's Back In Town," could easily have been a hit for Gene Pitney because it sounds just like him. "I'm So Afraid Of Loving You" is another song tailor made to be sung by Gene Pitney. I love the French horn and arrangement that brings to mind the recordings of famed arranger and record producer Jack Nitzsche. "Dumb Head" is a unique song not only for the extent to which the girl puts herself down, but for the kazoo solo it contains. Notice the pulp romance illustration I picked for that one which bears the words "The Brainless Type." It was certainly a different world back then. Geraldo's favorite (and mine) is "I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear," another part-sung part-spoken song that reminds us how important it once was for girls to look their best and put themselves together before they left the house. "He's My Little Devil" is another song that would suit Gene Pitney perfectly with the gender switched. If "Watch What You Do With My Baby" sounds familiar, it's because it was popularized in the UK by Brit girl Julie Grant. I have Julie's version on a various artists compilation entitled The Girl Group Sound: The Darlings of the 1960's. I'm glad you singled out "Tell Me What He Said" as a favorite. While it's a sad song about losing your guy to another girl, it's a fun, up tempo ditty that gets your toes tapping.
I'm delighted that you got so much enjoyment from Geraldo's sneak preview post. Stay tuned for the launch of his new SPMM series "It's My Vault...and That's Vinyl" coming soon!
As I mentioned in my comment on your post, it's quite possible that our area could take a direct hit from a major hurricane on Wednesday and Thursday. The track remains uncertain at this hour, but we are bound to have at least tropical storm intensity winds at some point. Therefore, if you post something later in the week and I don't visit you, please understand it is because our power was knocked-out by the storm.
Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Cathy, and have a wonderful first week back in Bloggerville!
Hello my friend! Sorry I've been absent from your last few posts. I've been to Oregon and back a total of three times this month, most recently this weekend when our youngest daughter and I took an overnight road trip to make sure mom-in-law is settled in her assisted living facility and pick up a few things from the house before it is sold. Needless to say, not much internet viewing has been done!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you formatted this post so we can click on the pictures and go to the video. Ms. Arnell has a voice similar to Annette Funicello and Lesley Gore I think.
I remember the big hoax of Geraldo Rivera opening the vaults of Al Capone. What a joke.
Hopefully life will settle back into a normal routine for me again. Hope all is well with you and Mrs. Shady!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteI'm delighted to see you, dear friend! Yessum, I've been missing you and other good friends who have been out of town at the same time on trips and/or handing family obligations as you were. I've been thinking about changing the name Shady's Place to Lonesome Town. :) I want to reiterate how much I admire your dedication to helping your mom-in-law and traveling great distances to do so.
Anyway, it's so good to have you back. Thanks for tuning in this special television event hosted by news correspondent Geraldo Rivera: - live and in color - the opening of an ancient subterranean vault in search of lost musical nuggets. Luckily for us, he found them in the recordings of pop music's unsung heroine Ginny Arnell. I'm pleased that you enjoyed Ginny's voice and singing style, and thank you for adding female teen-poppers Annette and Lesley Gore to the list of young women who made records like these in the early to mid 60s.
I am also delighted that you remember Geraldo's heavily promoted 1986 TV special which was almost as big a deal as Tiny Tim getting married live on The Tonight Show. I watched Geraldo's broadcast that night and was disappointed along with millions of other viewers and Geraldo himself, when Al Capone's vault yielded no jewels or dead bodies as had been speculated, only scattered debris. Geraldo said in an interview that he got drunk that night to drown his misery after hosting the embarrassing telecast. Stay tuned for the official launch of Geraldo's new SPMM radio show It's My Vault... and That's Vinyl, coming soon to Shady's Place.
Yessum, I hope life settles back to normal for you and my buddy Benny. Thanks again for making time for a visit and enjoy your week, dear friend Janet. FYI - my next post starts Wednesday. Also be advised that I might lose power in this hurricane on Wednesday and/or Thursday if the storm strikes anywhere near me. At this moment in time, we are well within the cone of uncertainty. Therefore, if you publish a new post of your own on Wednesday, Thursday or even Friday, and I don't show up to comment, you'll know why. I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's completely up in the air (literally) at this point. Take care, dear friend Janet!
Hi Shady (and Geraldo)!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelly - we may be the only people on this Earth that enjoy Alvin and the Chipmunks. Let's have a fun club!
In the Grotto was an interesting post. I'm not used to not hearing music! I enjoyed this entry and can't wait for the regular programing to return...
Happy Monday, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteWelcome back in, dear friend! I'm glad to have you on hand to witness the suspense as Geraldo Rivera goes into his "mancave" and comes out with gold nuggets - the long lost, seldom heard recordings of pop songstress Ginny Arnell.
If you and Kelly like Alvin and the Chipmunks, that makes at least three people in the world, because I got a kick out of listening to their records as a boy.
??? This is a music post, Jess - 10 songs by Ginny Arnell. As the big bold print states, all you need to do is click on the pulp romance illustrations to play the songs. Give it a try and let me know how it worked out for you and what you thought of her recordings.
Happy Monday to you, dear friend. I will tell you what I told other friends. We are in the path of a major hurricane down here, and might lose power in the days ahead. It is already raining hard. The outer rains bands are sweeping through our area bringing the threat of tornados. So please understand if you don't hear from me for a while it will be due to the storm hitting us and putting us in a blackout.
Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend JM!
I listened to the 2 posts that sent me to YouTube and it will be a lot m renfun to learn more about this gal who has a lot more to offer than that dumb ass vault Geraldo was banking on....nyuck, nyuck. By the way, all those tunnels made me think he might be doing my colonoscopy today. Thankfully he wasn’t and it turned out well. All is aok on my insides. I remember when Geraldo used to be credible when he started on 20/20 and then his head, both of them, got too big for his britches. I remember when he boasted about how many women he slept with which brought the moron out in him and when his nose got broken. He will be a good, cheap movie double feature for more entries. Alvin was a big thing back in the day.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteWelcome to this sneak preview of It's My Vault... and That's Vinyl, dear friend! Thanks so much for coming by. I am very relieved to know that your procedure went AOK and that your doctor was not Geraldo Rivera or the Roto-Rooter man. :) If your insides got a passing grade, that's great news and I thank you for sharing it.
I'm happy to have you on hand to witness high profile journalist Geraldo Rivera, America's favorite "cave man," go digging for gold nuggets "In The Grotto" and finding ten of them - the little known, seldom heard recordings of pop songstress Ginny Arnell. Basically, there's not much more for you to discover musically about Ginny Arnell beyond the ten songs in this post hidden behind the pulp romance covers. If you want to hear more, check out the B sides of the two singles Ginny waxed with Gene Pitney as the duo of Jamie & Jane, namely "Snuggle Up Baby" b/w "Strolling (Thru The Park)," released in March, 1959, and "Classical Rock And Roll" b/w "Faithful Our Love," released in July of that same year.
Yessum, I took a liking to Geraldo early on because he was a cool, hip young reporter. He was associated with John Lennon and Ringo Starr and tackled controversial topics of the 1970s and 80s. His hype and boasting aside, I thought the young Geraldo, as opposed to the more recent Fox News Geraldo, would make a great Shady's Place host, mining the catalogs of little known recording artists and playing their best songs in a SPMM series.
The latest news about the approaching hurricane is unsettling. The local TV news meteorologist said that our city could get upwards of 18 inches of additional rain from this system! That's on top of heavy rains practically every day throughout the month of September. This is going to be a serious flooding event. The track keeps shifting to the east and that means the dang thing is either going to cross right over us as a Cat. 1 hurricane or pass just to our south and east which would still bring a fierce wind field but not quite as bad as if it the eye were on top of us or slightly north and west of us. Anything can still happen, so bear with me as I try to stay active online as long as possible.
Thanks again for making time in your hectic day for a visit and for your delightful comment, dear friend BB. Get some rest, be glad the colon job is "behind you" now (in your "rear view mirror") and enjoy the rest of your week!
Afraid I never heard of her. My favorites are "Dumb Head" and "I Wish I Knew What Dress to Wear".
ReplyDeleteGreat choices, Kirk! The two you named are Ginny's best known songs and her only charting singles, released back-to-back in late 1963 and early '64. The latter is Geraldo's "Pick-to-Click" and, coincidentally, mine as well. Thanks for dropping by, Kirk!
DeleteHi Shady, I love the way you use famous people to introduce your song line-up. I don't remember the Geraldo special about the underground cave. Some years ago, I did watch an archeologist open up a new tunnel in the Great Pyramid of Giza. There was nothing in there either! Lol. Oh well. My life has been extremely busy lately, so I just heard about the hurricane. I pray God will keep you and your family safe.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed these songs by Ginny. My favorites were, "I Wish I Knew What Dress to Wear, He's my Little Devil, Portrait of a Fool, and Tell Me What He Said." I do think these songs should have been popular at that time. I like her voice and style of singing. She does remind me of Brenda Lee, whom I adored.
Speaking of Brenda, Dan and I were watching, "Loki" again and the closing song of the second-to-last episode was, "If You Love Me, Really Love Me." It sounded so beautiful we looked for it in the closing credits, and there she was, Brenda Lee. What a voice! Take care, dear friend.
Hi, Belle!
DeleteI'm so glad to see you, dear friend! I'm happy that you came down to explore the creepy cave and enter Geraldo's vault in search of musical treasure.
Thanks for appreciating how I use celebrity presenters on my blog. It's my way of going on record (as I would in a personal diary) and also letting friends like you know which people, TV shows, movies and songs made a positive impact on me at various stages of my life. In the 1970s and 80s, I enjoyed watching Geraldo Rivera. He was cool, hip and tuned-in to what was happening in America, the good and the bad. Geraldo gave us some exciting and suspenseful moments as a broadcast journalist and high profile TV personality, and that's why I picked him to host a Shady's Place series.
I'm pleased to find another friend who mentions "I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear." To me, (and Geraldo), it is not only one of the most listenable girl-pop/teen-pop songs of the 60s, but its lyrics remind us of how a girl typically put herself together to appeal to a guy, making sure every detail of her wardrobe and grooming was just right in hopes of winning him over or winning him back. I always appreciated girls and women who went to a little extra trouble at the mirror and presented themselves to the world (and to me) as their personal best.
Yessum, Ginny released records on major labels, 14 singles from 1959 through 1965, yet only made the Hot 100 once. Our favorite song, "I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear," underperform terribly at #130 on the Bubbling Under chart! I think you'll agree that great song deserved to be a top 40 hit. I am also very happy that you made the connection between Ginny Arnell's singing style and that of major hit-maker Brenda Lee. Perhaps Ginny was a little too pop for country audiences and a little too country for pop audiences. She was also a victim of the JFK assassination and the Beatles/British Invasion. Perhaps she would have become a major singing star if she had released these same songs in the 1950s (when Brenda Lee rose to fame) instead of the 60s when the times and the musical tastes were changing.
Thank you for the well wishes on Hurricane Ian. We are in the section of Florida that is expected to receive the most rain from the storm - up to 20 inches! That's on top of a solid month of rain we've already had! Our property had large puddles on it from the last storm, and now the rain is pounding down again as the outer rain bands from Ian sweep across our area.There will surely be extensive flooding all over Florida. We have extra supplies of water, non-perishable food, batteries, etc. and are preparing to hunker down. In the 2000s, we endured cat. 1 and weak cat. 2 hurricane strikes. That is what might be in store for us tonight and tomorrow. These weather events are frightening. The high wind and rain never seem to end. It's an ordeal and I don't look forward to having our power knocked-out again. With that in mind, please understand that I might be in a blackout anytime from now through Friday.
I hope you can take a look at my new post published this morning and experience the launch of my ambitious new 36-part series tracing the "Dell sound" from the mid 50s through 1963 along with the clothing styles, celebrities and cultural trends of that pre-Beatles period - The Age of Innocence. If I don't respond to your comments or emails, it's because I am in the dark down here and waiting for power to be restored.
Thank you again, very much, dear friend Belle!