INSPIRED BY THE SHADY DELL, YORK, PA, AND DEDICATED TO ITS OWNERS JOHN & HELEN ETTLINE
AND TO MARGARET ELIZABETH BROWN SCHNEIDER, NICKNAMED "THE OLDEST LIVING DELL RAT"


Tuesday, January 31, 2023

 SAVED BY THE BELL  DELL  #5 

Salvaged and Restored -
The Shady Dell
Record Collection!
Vol. 5: Long Lost Dell Songs of
Winter, Spring & Summer, 1957

 BEWARE! NOTHING CAN 
 PREPARE YOU FOR... 

 JUKEBOX GIANTS 
 THAT TIME FORGOT! 


Hello, friends!  Dell Rat Tom
welcoming you to volume 5
of my exclusive 36-part
Shady's Place series

 SAVED 
 BY THE 
 BELL  
 DELL 




Today, you will travel
back to the first half of
1957
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 early and
mid 1957?


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. 


 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1957 




 SAVED BY THE DELL 
 DELL SONG 21 





 SAVED BY THE DELL 
 DELL SONG 22 




 MARCH - APRIL 1957 





 SAVED BY THE DELL 
 DELL SONG 23 





 MAY - JUNE - JULY 1957 







 SAVED BY THE DELL 
 DELL SONG 24 








 JULY - AUGUST 1957 



 SAVED BY THE DELL 
 DELL SONG 25 




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 

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

It's (Almost) Wordless Wednesday...
and Denny the Dell Rat Wants To Know!


Put On Your Thinking Cap
(Avoid the Dunce Cap) -


It's Another
Shady's Place
Brain-Buster Quiz! 

That's right, dear friend, It's time to bust your brain
on Shady Del Knight's latest Mom & Pop quiz.


Try to contain your enthusiasm.


Can your noggin pass the test?

Denny the Dell Rat wants to know!




Hi, I'm Denny
the Dell Rat.

I might be a rat,
but I'm curious
as a cat. I'd like
to know if you
can find the
common link
between five
great recording
artists of the past.



Listen to their
hits and see if
you can tell me:

WHAT DO
ALL OF
THESE
SINGING
STARS
HAVE IN
COMMON?



BOBBY DARIN 


"If I Were a Carpenter" - Bobby Darin
(Oct./Nov. 1966, highest chart pos.
#8 Hot 100/#9 Cash Box)


RICKY NELSON 


"Never Be Anyone Else But You" - Ricky Nelson
(Mar./Apr. 1959, highest chart pos.
#5 Cash Box/#6 Hot 100)


MARVIN GAYE
& MARY WELLS 


"Once Upon A Time" - Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells
(May/June 1964, highest chart position
#19 Hot 100 & R&B/#27 Cash Box) 


BELOW IS THE B SIDE OF THAT MARVIN & MARY SINGLE.
THE RECORD WAS A DOUBLE-SIDER AKA A TWO-FER.
BOTH SIDES CRACKED THE TOP 20. BUYING THE 45
MEANT YOU GOT TWO HITS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE.


"What's The Matter With You Baby" 
- Marvin Gaye And Mary Wells
(June/July 1964, highest chart pos.
#17 Hot 100 & R&B/#25 Cash Box,
B side of "Once Upon A Time")


MARVIN GAYE
& TAMMI TERRELL 


"Your Precious Love" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
(Oct./Nov. 1967, highest chart pos. #2 R&B,
#5 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)


What do all of these great
singing stars have in common?

(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWER)








































ANSWER:
All of these great singing stars died
before reaching the age of 50!

Tammi Terrell died at age 24.


Bobby Darin died at age 37.


Marvin Gaye died at age 44.


Ricky Nelson died at age 45.


Mary Wells died at age 49.






   Did you guess
   the correct
  answer before
 scrolling down?
Denny the
Dell Rat
wants to
know!

If you got the answer... good for you.
If not, you know the drill.


Have a Shady day!


NOTE: The character Denny the Dell Rat was inspired by
my high school classmate, fellow Shady Dell regular
and good friend Denny Neiman. 

Dennis "Denny" Neiman
1949 - 2010