Salvaged and Restored -
The Shady Dell
Record Collection!
Vol. 4: Long Lost Dell Songs
from Fall 1956 to Early 1957.
BEWARE! NOTHING CAN
PREPARE YOU FOR...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
Hello, friends! Dell Rat Tom
welcoming you to volume 4
of my exclusive 36-part
Shady's Place series
SAVED
BY THE
DELL
Today, you will travel
back to late in the year
1956
and find yourself
standing before
the Dell jukebox.
Those dimes
and quarters
you brought
along are
burning
a hole
in your
pocket...
so why not
feed them
to the record
machine and
play some
of the great
Dell songs
of late 1956
and early '57?
This series was made possible by Jim Sieling, my good friend
in York, and the husband of John Ettline's niece Nancy.
Jim Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
As you recall, Jim acquired the Dell's Seeburg jukebox (below)
and many of the records that played on it through the decades.
Keep in mind that the Dell had two jukeboxes - one in Helen's
snack bar up at the house, the other down in "The Barn" -
the dance hall John had built onto the barn and garage.
When Jim took possession of the Dell's record collection,
he discovered, to his dismay and ours, that many of
the discs had been improperly handled and stored.
Simply put - they were filthy.
Mice (Dell rats?) had made a home among the records, and at least
one snake (a Violet Hill viper?) had slithered in looking for a meal.
Jim undertook the mammoth job of cleaning, organizing and cataloging
the records, then sent me the finished alphabetical list. There are 6,065
records on Jim's list including Christmas records, 12,130 songs in all!
My series brings you the 180 best Dell jukebox songs from 1955
through 1963, a period long before I arrived on the scene.
This series is dedicated to
the memory of Nancy Sieling.
Nancy Sieling
(faithful friend of The Dell)
Nancy, who was John Ettline's niece and Jim's wife, passed away in 2020.
Over the years, Nancy's generous contributions of pictures, information
and Shady Dell memorabilia greatly enhanced the quality of both of my
Dell-themed blogs. We have Nancy to thank for rescuing many of the
Dell's priceless platters when they were art risk of being thrown into
a trash dumpster and destroyed, hence the name of my series...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Of course, we also have Jim to thank for tackling the enormous
task of cleaning, organizing and cataloging these 6,065 records!
Okay, it's time to use your imagination. Pretend that you are
at the Dell looking at the musical menu on the jukebox.
Scroll down and play the next 5 Dell songs.
BEWARE AND BEHOLD...
LISTEN AND LEARN...
AS WE EXPERIENCE...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
The records and pictures are arranged in chronological
order, allowing you to trace the evolution of the
"Shady Dell Sound" and clothing styles
month by month through the years.
You know the drill.
ENJOY THE VINTAGE FASHION
PARADE AND FANZINES.
CLICK ON PICTURES OF
RECORDS TO PLAY SONGS.
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1956
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 16
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 1956
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 17
DECEMBER 1956 - JANUARY 1957
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 18
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 19
SAVED BY THE DELL
DELL SONG 20
Once again I thank our late, great friend of the Dell,
Nancy Sieling, and her husband Jim, for doing the
good work of preserving the Shady Dell legacy for
future generations. We owe you a debt of gratitude.
Stick around. You'll hear more long lost songs
of the Shady Dell... the moldy oldies, dusty discs,
colossal fossils and rusty relics we like to call...
JUKEBOX GIANTS
THAT TIME FORGOT!
coming up on the next exciting edition of...
SAVED BY THE BELL DELL
Hello my friend Shady! I just popped by to see if there was something new from you and what do you know, it's another Saved By the Dell! I only know two of these classic hits, the first and the last.
ReplyDeleteIt is no wonder we women can have self-esteem issues with the way the pictures depict our shapes. The waists on some of these ladies is unbelievable.
I have gotten quite a bit of transcription lately so haven't had time to write anything on my own blog but it is almost time for that end of year reflection so we'll see what I can manage. Hope you have a great weekend. It is kind of cold here. Benny and I have to bundle up on our walks.
Hi, Janet!
DeleteThanks for coming early (as in Early Bird) and for bringing your smiles along with you, dear friend! I'm happy you could make time during the busy holidays, especially with all you've had on your plate lately. I hope the situation in Oregon has stabilized.
Yessum, the first song and the last song are the two biggies in the bunch in terms of chart success. The Teenagers feat. Frankie Lymon reached #8 on the R&B chart with "The ABC's Of Love," but that single only made it to #77 on the pop chart. The Heartbeats of Queens, NY, went top 5 on the R&B chart with "A Thousand Miles Away," a record that fell short of the top 50 pop. Lead singer James "Shep" Sheppard later formed another vocal group called Shep And The Limelites, and they'll be here in a later volume with their 1961 hit "Daddy's Home."
Yessum, you'll see some pencil thin fashion models in this series, which was the expected norm for decades.
I'm glad you and Benny didn't blow away the other day. We are under a tornado watch right now and it's thundering and raining. We needed the moisture, however, so we're happy about the inclement weather. I look forward to your yearender reflection post for 2022. I'm so sorry your mother's chair at the family table will be empty this year.
Thank you again for being the Early Bird, dear friend Janet. Enjoy the rest of your week and weekend!
Great pictures. The 57 Chevy and 57 Cadillac are real classics. The Re-Vels song and the Del Vikings song were both new to me. I have the other three 45s in fairly decent shape but never play 45s anymore. You did miss some examples of the calendars found in the old corner gas stations. Just kidding, really enjoyed the post. Jerre
ReplyDeleteHi, Jerre!
DeleteThanks for taking a look and a listen to vol. 4 of our series, good buddy!
I'm pleased that you admired the car ads in this edition. There will be many more makes and models on display as the series progresses.
The Re-Vels were a Philly R&B/doo-wop group. "Dream My Darling Dream" is the B side of their late 1956 Sound label single "Cha-Cha-Toni." The Dell-Vikings ballad "How Can I Find True Love" is actually the original B side of the group's smash hit "Come Go With Me."
Ha! I found dozens of Ridgid Tool and other gas station girly calendars that I could have used, and I think I have one of them embedded in a future volume of the series, but I didn't want to go overboard. I found plenty of other pictures and illustrations to use.
So, in the next volume, the timeline moves ahead to 1957. Soon, you will be arriving on the scene as a Dell newbie. I'm hoping this series will help you pinpoint precisely when you first slipped John a quarter and passed through the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.
Thanks again for coming, good buddy Jerre. These posts are created primarily for guys like you. I appreciate your attendance. Happy holidays to you, my friend!
Happy holidays to you. I used to have a Ridgid Tool when those calendars were present. Can't find one anymore! Jerre
DeleteI wonder if bentcarrot.com issues a calendar. :)
DeleteHappy holidays to you, good buddy Jerre, and stick around for more seasonal sound in my next post starting Wednesday!
The first time...didn't take...round 2...hahaaa. ok, I'm so glad to listen to these oldies that I never heard before. I'm also glad that your friend restored all these records..a true keepsake. I love the fashions of this Era...so feminine with the belted waists, gloves and hats. I had to laugh at the one saying why women love to ve slapped. I don't think so but this was the thought of men back then...grrrr.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are feeling better. We got hit with ice storm this morning with a 27 car pile up on the garden city skyway. Hubby and I were stuck in traffic for 1.5 hrs. Normally it takes me 15 min. To get to work. Nasty out there but hubby is a great driver. Harley loves it.
Hi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for being a same day Sally, dear friend! Welcome to Part 4 of my 36-volume series on styles of the Eisenhower 50s and J.F. Kennedy 60s, and the Dell songs that were played on the dance hall jukebox during the period.
I don't know why your comments are not "taking" on first try. I apologize for the inconvenience. At least yours are not being sorted to SPAM like a few others are.
Yessum, I thought that magazine headline might catch your attention. I'm glad you noticed it. As you see, it is attributed to actor Dan Duryea. I tracked down the source, an early 1950s interview with Hedda Hopper in which Duryea explained his evolution as an actor: << I looked in the mirror and knew with my "puss" and 155-pound weakling body, I couldn't pass for a leading man, and I had to be different. And I sure had to be courageous, so I chose to be the meanest s.o.b. in the movies ... strictly against my mild nature, as I'm an ordinary, peace-loving husband and father. Inasmuch, as I admired fine actors like Richard Widmark, Victor Mature, Robert Mitchum, and others who had made their early marks in the dark, sordid, and guilt-ridden world of film noir; here, indeed, was a market for my talents. I thought the meaner I presented myself, the tougher I was with women, slapping them around in well produced films where evil and death seem to lurk in every nightmare alley and behind every venetian blind in every seedy apartment, I could find a market for my screen characters.... >>
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry you were bogged down in traffic following an ice storm and crash on your way to work. We were under a tornado watch today and had t-storms with heavy rain. Our property has large puddles all over it again, just like it looked following the two hurricanes we endured this season.
Thank you again for coming right over on day one. I really appreciate that. Enjoy the rest of your week and weekend, and please give my good buddy Harley a Milk-Bone dog biscuit. Take care and I hope to connect with you again soon, dear friend BB!
Hi Shady! I just felt like I needed to check out your blog and there it was..a favorite blog group that features not only the songs but all those fabulous fashions that were so popular back when I was only 3! That was when folks didn't go shopping in their pj bottoms or torn jeans. The one pic that did make me laugh was the one with Dad (in a suit) and Mom doing needlepoint in her dress, heels and pearls! Then each with a beer in a lovely glass that my folks used to have. Now a days I think folks are in ratty jeans, torn shirts, tattoos showing on Mom and Dad and beer in a can that's smashed bare handed! I know that sounds a bit snooty and not true of everyone but more than those olden days of dress codes and etiquette! I've been rushing around gathering my stuff for my weekend trip to see family but I think of you as family too so I had to stop and say hi and have a good weekend. I hope the storms Florida was having didn't hurt you and Mrs. Shady! Take care and I'll check back next week when I get back!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteI'm delighted that you could stop by before your trip to Chicago, dear friend. I know you're busy, so thank you very much for making time!
Yessum, you pinned the tail on the donkey. In the 1950s, the vast majority of people made themselves presentable to be seen in public. They took pride in their appearance, their grooming. Today, it's anything goes, and nobody seems to care any more.
Yessum, these images recall a bygone era of dress codes, etiquette, manners and curfews. My parents had a set of those conical, narrow stem pilsner beer glasses as seen in the beer ad you mentioned. They regularly entertained their friends in our basement game room which contained a bar, dart board, stereo system, TV, fireplace and tile dance floor. It was a very popular spot in the neighborhood. As I recall, my folks and their friends dressed very nicely, even for those casual occasions hanging out in our basement and dancing. It was simply the right thing to do. I remember the bedroom being used as a coat room. Typically, the bed was covered with fur coats on such occasions, and the scent of ladies' perfumes hung in the air. As I told you, my dad practically wore a suit and tie to mow the lawn, and my mother spent considerable time in front of the mirror making sure every hair was in place before allowing herself to be seen by others. She frequently used to complain about her appearance, saying: "I look like Gravel Gertie!"... a reference to a very homely woman in the Dick Tracy comics who lived in a gravel pit. Mom also used to worry aloud: "What if the preacher walks in and sees me looking like this, or sees the house looking so untidy! "Keeping up appearances" was the name of the game.
Thank you again for your kind visit and comment. We had a series of thunderstorms today while under a tornado watch, but never lost power and did not get hit with high winds in our vicinity. However, parts of our property are under water again, just as they were after the two hurricanes we experienced this season.
Thank you again for dropping by. Please drive safely on your trip to Chicago and back. I hope you find Midge and Hope dog in good health and fine spirits and enjoy a wonderful holiday family reunion back in your old stomping ground. Stay safe, dear friend YaYa, and remember that I am thinking about you all. I look forward to your next report from Whispering Pines upon your return next week!
Oh What A Nite was not the song I was expecting to hear! I was thinking it might be an earlier version of the Frankie Vallie song.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Mrs. Shady have a good weekend.
Hi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for attending the Part 4 platter party, dear friend!
I also thank you for being the first to mention "Oh What A Nite," the song released twice by the Harvey, Illinois, doo-wop group The Dells. This first version, released in 1956, cracked the top 5 on the R&B chart. In the summer of 1969, The Dells rerecorded the song in a soul style and released it to even greater success. The single, with "Nite" changed to "Night," topped the Soul chart and crossed over to make the top 10 on the pop side. The song you were expecting to hear is "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" by The Four Seasons, a chart-topping hit for Frankie Valli and his group in the early spring of 1976. According to Wiki, the Four Seasons were the first to record that song, but not the last. Twenty years later, in the summer of 1996, the British group Clock made a run at the top 10 in Ireland and in the UK with their cover of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)."
Thanks again for checking out the latest edition of Saved By The Dell. Please give my good buddy Pat a scratchin' and a treat and have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend Kelly!
I really never watched Saved By The Bell all that much. I watched some of it when my daughter did though. I only remember a couple of places that my mom took me that still had Jukeboxes in them. It was fun to pick a song to play though.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to buy all kinds of Avon beauty items. I've bought a few as an adult but not as much as she did. lol It was all the rage back then.
The cigarette ads that we used to see when I was little, you just don't see that stuff anymore. I even remember the cigarette vending machines everywhere. Especially in the restaurant lobby.
I think these songs were before my time though since I didn't recognize any of them. I'm sure my mom would have known them and loved them though.
Have a great week.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteWelcome to the gremlin-infested Shady's Place Music & Memories, dear friend! Your last follow-up comment went straight to spam, and I was lucky to find it and get it published. This one went right through. Hooray!
I'm sure there are plenty of old joints that still have a jukebox, plus modern retro-style diners and pubs that enable customers to program the background music they hear as they dine and dance.
Yessum, good eye, and thanks for bringing up Avon. I'm pretty sure this is the first volume of the series that has featured an Avon print ad. There will be more as we go along. Avon was indeed all the rage back then. It was common to see "the Avon lady" making the rounds of your neighborhood peddling her company's brand of cosmetics.
Heck yes. Cigarette advertising was common on TV and in print. At the Dell, Helen stocked cigs behind her snack bar counter. I remember countless nights buying packs of Marlboro Red, Marlboro Green, Larks. Benson & Hedges and other favorite brands from her. When I took a girl to the York High junior prom, a cigarette company issued mini packs of cigs to every student in attendance. Of course, it was AOK for you to simply light-up right there at your table. No need to step outdoors. Many times at college, I smoked in the middle of my meal, didn't even wait until I was finished eating. Can you imagine?
I suspect that your mother knew most of these recording artists, but perhaps not these specific songs, which include a couple of obscure B sides.
Thank you again for your kind visit and great comment, dear friend Mary. Please give my buddy Falcor a big hug and a bacon treat and have a wonderful weekend. P.S. - I will be very late commenting on your Sunday post because I have airport shuttle duty again that morning. I'll see you later in the day!
Merry Christmas, Tom! I'm happy I didn't miss this edition of "Saved by the Bell Dell". It won't come as as surprise that your song selections are introductions. Either releasing before my birth or while I was a wee tot. :) I always enjoy being pulled wayback into time with the sound of yesterday and it's so fun to scroll through the vintage magazine ads. Seeing the above cover of Motion Pictures with Debbie Reynolds reminded me that we watched a modern film Christmas movie with the late Carrie Fisher on Hulu called, "It's Christmas, Carol" which a comedic spin off of Dickson's Christmas classic. It was a fun movie. Although, I have a couple of posts scheduled this week, my presence online will be sparse. I'll do my best to touch base when I can. I hope you're feeling tons better. Have a joyful and blessed Christmas, dear friend!
ReplyDeleteHi, Cathy! Merry Christmas!
DeleteI'm excited and delighted to see you, dear friend! Thanks for dropping by in the middle of your hectic holiday preps to have a look and a listen as I present vol. 4 of my series Saved By The Dell.
No, I'm not at all surprised these songs are all new to you. However, you might remember The Dells' reworking of "Oh What a Nite" into the 1969 soul hit "Oh What A Night" which is ranked #260 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
I would also like to point out an interesting trivia fact. There are two groups in this volume that have the word "Dell" (as in Shady Dell) in their names, the above mentioned Dells, and the Dell-Vikings.
Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed the print ads and mags from late 1956 and early 1957, and that you watched that Carrie Fisher Christmas film. I haven't see it yet, but will check it out because, as you know, we have a house guest and he loves holiday movies.
Yessum, thank you, I am feeling much better, and so is everybody else in our household. I got a Prevnar pneumonia booster at my PCP's office the other day and hope it affords me extra protection from all the bugs going around.
Thank you again for making time to visit Shady's Place, dear friend Cathy. Happy holidays to you, DH, your daughters, son & new wife and, of course, darling little LA. Have a wonderful week!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry I am late to the party. I've been busy with prepping for Hanukkah and pretty soon both Hanukkah and Christmas, that I haven't been paying attention to my blog or other blogs.
I'm off tomorrow for a doctor's appointment and decided to see what was playing at the Hop. 1956! I absolutely love the styles and fashion. I'm only familiar with the Dell-Viking's song. The other groups sound familiar, but I am not familiar with the songs. I always love songs from the 50s and your post reminds me of a joke between me and dad: "if the 80s are oldies, the 50s are fossils!"
When I go home on Friday, I'll have to show dad this post and see if he's familiar with any of these songs. While he was an infant and a baby, he might remember some of these.
Have a great day, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteWelcome back to your home away from home - Shady's Place - dear friend! I've been missing you something awful. AOK, Jess. Everyone's super busy at this time of year. Thanks for making time to check out volume 4 of my series Saved By The Dell.
I'm delighted that you enjoy gazing at these fashions from the fall and holiday season of 1956 and the winter weeks of 1957. You're right. As the decades pass, the music considered "oldies but goodies" changes. When I was your age, the sounds of the 50s were considered oldies. Nowadays, the term applies to music of the 80s and 90s, and sounds of the 1950s are "moldy oldies, dusty discs, colossal fossils and rusty relics." Soon enough, the sounds of the 2000s will be called "oldies," and so on.
Your dad should know the groups The Teenagers Feat. Frankie Lymon, The Dells, The Dell-Vikings and possibly The Heartbeats, but I doubt he knows more than a couple of these songs. I'm curious to know, so please remember to play them for him and ask.
I wanted to add something I forgot to say in my reply to friend Cathy (above). The Dells' "Oh What A Nite" and the Dell-Vikings "Come Go With Me" b/w "How Can I Find True Love" were the breakthrough hits for those two groups. Given that both groups were brand new and unknown at the time, and both had "Dell" in their names, it is quite possible that some Dell rats of 1956 and 1957 assumed that they were local acts whose names were inspired by the Shady Dell. Wouldn't it be fun to know for sure?
I hope your doctor's appointment went well. Thanks again for joining the fun, dear friend JM, and have a super week!
Hi Shady,
DeleteThat would be awesome if those local acts were inspired by the Shady Dell. You never know! Hopefully you can find some information. 6 years ago, a cover-band that covered the Dell-Vikings played at the Art Museum. They were relatively young and it was a pleasant surprise.
When I go home on Friday, I will definitely ask dad. While he picks me up in the morning, it's easier to ask later in the day and when he has full attention. I'm sure he probably does know these acts.
Doctor's appointment went well. Thyroid is stable, I lost 15 lbs and my doctor was delighted not only to hear about David, but the new role with the public defender's. She remarked that I was in a better place than I was 6 months ago.
Have a great day, dear friend.
Hi again, Jessica Marie!
DeleteThat's great news about your Thyroid, 15 pound weight loss, the many benefits of your relationship with David and new position at your job. You really are on a roll lately, dear friend!
The Dells were a group from Harvey, Illinois, a city south of Chicago, and the Del-Vikings aka Dell-Vikings were from Pittsburgh. I don't think either act knew about the Shady Dell when they chose their stage names. The Dells started out as The El-Rays and changed their name to The Dells in 1955. In the case of the Del-Vikings, Wiki has this: << The band's name was created by (founding member) Clarence Quick. Some sources say that the band members had read about Vikings with the prefix "Del" being "added to give the group name an air of mystery." Another suggestion is that Clarence Quick had known of a basketball team in Brooklyn, New York, called the Vikings and had suggested the name. The name may also have originated from the popular Viking Press, publisher of paperbacks that group members liked to read. >> What I was trying to say in my previous reply is that perhaps some Dell rats mistakenly assumed, at the outset, that The Dells and Dell-Vikings were local bands that had been inspired by the Shady Dell.
Yessum, run these songs and artists by your dad and let me know. Please give Terry's kitty Alfie a good scratchin' for me and enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend JM!
I would have left a comment earlier, but when I saw the Save by the Bell folks, I assumed it was a previous post. Only today did I finally decide to look at the date.
ReplyDeleteI have to make this short as I got a bit of a cold. Very do-woppy post today. The Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers song is my favorite, but their all great.
Merry Christmas, Shady (unless you have another before, in which case I'll save the greetings.)
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteYou made it here right in the nicotine, good buddy. Thanks for being here for Part 4 of Saved By The Dell, showcasing the songs that played on the Shady Dell "barnbox" in late 1956 and early '57, plus an array of images revealing the styles and cultural phenomena of the same period.
Thanks for letting me know that you assumed this was an old post. I was expecting to see you over the weekend, and when you didn't show up I began to worry that you were "poorly" or having computer problems again. Be advised that all 36 posts in this series will have the same picture of Kelly & Zack from Saved By The Bell at the top.
I'm sorry you are under the weather as we count down the days until Christmas. I hope you bounce back in time to fully enjoy the holidays, and I certainly hope you haven't caught one of the nasty bugs that's going around. At my doctor's urging, I got a pneumonia booster the other day
I'm glad you liked all five songs and named Frankie Lymon as your Pick to Click.
Yes, please make a note that I have one more pre-Christmas post which starts running tomorrow, Wednesday. I hope you can make it over to salivate with me.
Thanks again for making time for a visit, good buddy Kirk. Please get some rest if and when you can, keep warm, drink liquids, eat noodle soup and all the other things mama recommends. I'll be over to see your post shortly.
Merry Christmas, good buddy!