Yum Yum Dynasty A Taste of Bubblegum Pop Vol. 1: Meet Joey Levine - "The Bubblegum King"

 Alabaster Charm - Yum Yum Dynasty 

Hello to you.

My name is Alabaster Charm.

I am leader of Yum Yum Dynasty, a group of young Chinese,

Thai and Korean women brought to life in artwork and used

on the covers of YA romance novels. We were hand picked

by Shady's Place CEO Shady Del Knight to host our own

show here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio. Pop music is

big in our countries. My friends and I also love U.S. pop,

especially Bubblegum and Nursery Rhyme Rock, styles

that were most popular from the mid 60s to mid 70s.

We are here today to bring you a special report on a

man who was responsible for many hit recordings

in those two American music categories.

 IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MEET 

 THE KING OF BUBBLEGUM POP 

 J O E Y  L E V I N E !  

 REUNION 

Memories of Myrtle Beach, SC, fill
Shady's mind whenever he hears the
novelty 45 "Life Is a Rock (But The
Radio Rolled Me)." The single is
credited to a group called Reunion,
but it was actually performed by
Joey Levine aka "The Bubble-
gum King" accompanied by
studio session musicians
and backup singers.

"Life is a Rock” is one of the most unique

recordings ever produced. By means of

a rapid fire monotone that makes him

sound very much like an auctioneer,

Joey rattles off a seemingly endless

list of the who’s who and what’s

what of popular music and

cultural phenomena.

Heeeeeeeeeeer's

Joey!

 "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" 
 Reunion  (Oct./Nov. 1974, highest chart 

 position #7 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100) 

 Cyan Lime - Yum Yum Dynasty 

Joey Levine is a prolific songwriter, producer and performer. He sang lead

on singles released by several groups, some of them real, others merely
kiddie pop fabrications that existed only in the studio. Here are some
of Joey's bubblegum pop and nursery rhyme rock hits of the late 60s.

 THE 
 THIRD RAIL 

The Third Rail consisted of Brill Building
pop veteran Artie Resnick, his wife Kris
and Joey Levine backed by session
musicians. A one hit wonder group,
The Third Rail is remembered for
the 1967 single "Run, Run, Run"
which offered social commentary
on the hectic pace of the
modern rat race.

 "Run, Run, Run" - The Third Rail 

 (Aug./Sept. 1967, highest chart pos. 

 #53 Hot 100/#54 Cash Box) 

 Zing Zest - Yum Yum Dynasty 

 THE 
 OHIO EXPRESS 

The following year, Joey Levine fronted the

latest incarnation of The Ohio Express, one

of the groups established by producers

Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffrey Katz and their

Bubblegum factory Super K Productions.

Levine gave The Ohio Express its biggest hit  

with the top 5 single "Yummy Yummy Yummy," 

a recording that, over the years, found its way 

onto lists of greatest bad songs of all time 

and has been used as commercial jingles.

 "Yummy Yummy Yummy" - The Ohio Express 

 (June 1968, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100 & Cash Box) 

 KASENETZ-KATZ 
 SINGING 

 ORCHESTRAL CIRCUS 

 Wind Chime - 

 Yum Yum 

 Dynasty 

A few months after he hit big with

"Yummy Yummy Yummy," Joey Levine

was back on the chart as lead vocalist

of a pseudo group called Kasenetz-Katz

Singing Orchestral Circus. The Super K

act made the top 20 on Cash Box with

this gummy goody- "Quick Joey Small."

 "Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)" 

 Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus 

 (Nov. 1968, highest chart pos. #18 Cash Box/#25 Hot 100) 

 Indigo Pink - Yum Yum Dynasty 

 OHIO  EXPRESS 

In November 1968 Joey Levine staged a
one man battle of the bands. While his
Kasenetz-Katz "Quick Joey Small"
single was climbing the chart, Joey
put another Ohio Express record
in play. "Chewy Chewy" enjoyed
a substantial 13 week chart run
and reached the top 10 on

Cash Box in December.

 "Chewy Chewy" - Ohio Express 

 (Nov./Dec. 1968, highest chart pos. 

 #8 Cash Box/#15 Hot 100) 

  Panda Silk - Yum Yum Dynasty 

 THE BANANA SPLITS 

In 1969, Joey Levine lent his voice to The Banana Splits,

(Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky), a Hanna-Barbera

creation that became a kids TV sensation.  Levine sang

two Banana Splits songs, "It's a Good Day For A Parade"

and "I Enjoy Being a Boy (In Love With You)," both

issued on an EP 45 by series sponsor Kellogg's.

 "I Enjoy Being a Boy (In Love With You)" 

 The Banana Splits (winter/spring 1969) 

 OHIO EXPRESS 

  Coco Been - 

 Yum Yum   Dynasty 

Now, I have for you a third song

by Joey Levine and his studio

band Ohio Express. Session

musicians played on the

group's recordings, but an

entirely different lineup was

used for live performances.

Here is a rare video of Joey

and his Ohio Express touring

band appearing live on the

German music TV show

Beat-Club and begging

for-- "Mercy!"

 "Mercy" - Ohio Express 

 (Apr./May 1969, highest chart pos. #26 Cash Box, 

 #30 Hot 100/#24 Canada/#23 Australia, 

 live perf. on German TV show Beat-Club) 

 SHADOWS OF KNIGHT 

When he wasn't singing lead or background vocals on bubblegum

records, Joey Levine was busy writing and producing them.

 Joy Luck - Yum Yum Dynasty 

Joey wrote "Shake" and "From Way Out To Way Under," the two

songs on a psychedelic rock single by the Chicago-based band

Shadows Of Knight.  Led by the late great Jim Sohns,

SOK made the top 40 with the A side-- "Shake!"

 "Shake" - Shadows Of Knight" 

 (Nov./Dec. 1968, highest chart pos. 

 #39 Cash Box/#46 Hot 100) 

 CRAZY ELEPHANT 

Another hit on Joey Levine's list of credits is the infectious

"Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" by Crazy Elephant,

a song he co-wrote with Ritchie Cordell.

 Zenith Zodiac - 

 Yum Yum Dynasty 

The peppy pachyderm platter approached the

top 5 spot on Cash Box in the spring of 1969.

 "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" - Crazy Elephant 
(Apr. 1969, highest chart pos. #6 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100) 

 Ming Song - Yum Yum Dynasty 

Bubblegum pop recordings, along with those in the related nursery rhyme rock
category, were innocent, family friendly ditties that served as an antidote to
the harder and heavier styles of music that became popular in the 60s.

Taken as directed (in moderation), these sugar sweet sing-alongs
put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step, but beware
of an overdose! Get "Yummy Yummy Yummy" or one of
these other sappy Simple Simon songs stuck in your

head and it'll take the jaws of life to pry it out.

Alabaster Charm back with you.

If you liked what you saw and

heard today, I hope you will

join us next time for more

classic sounds of bubblegum

pop, nursery rhyme rock,

sunshine pop and soft rock

of the 60s and early 70s

when we return with

the next edition of

our series

 Yum Yum Dynasty: 

 A Taste of Bubblegum Pop 

 

here on S-P-M-M Retro Radio... the station with personality!

 "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)" 

 - The Banana Splits (Dec. 1968/Jan. 1969, 

 highest chart pos. #96 Hot 100/#96 Canada), 

 theme  of TV series The Banana Splits based 

 on the melody of  "Shortnin' Bread") 

 Bunny Snow - Yum Yum Dynasty 

SAVED BY THE BELL DELL #19

Salvaged and Restored -

The Shady Dell

Record Collection!

Vol. 19: Long Lost Dell Songs

of January & February, 1961

 BEWARE! NOTHING CAN 

 PREPARE YOU FOR... 

 JUKEBOX GIANTS 

 THAT TIME FORGOT! 

Hello, friends!  Dell Rat Tom

welcoming you to volume 19

of my exclusive 36-part

Shady's Place series

 SAVED 

 BY THE 

 BELL  

 DELL 

Today, you will

travel back to the

early weeks of

1961

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

1961?

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 1961 

 SAVED BY THE DELL 

 DELL SONG 91 

 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1961 

 SAVED BY THE DELL 

 DELL SONG 92 
















 SAVED BY THE DELL 

 DELL SONG 93 











 SAVED BY THE DELL 

 DELL SONG 94 

 SAVED BY THE DELL 

 DELL SONG 95 

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