That Was Then THIS IS NOW Vol. 10: The End - Period, Full Stop. No More Jarring Juxtapositions of Female Vocalists Past and Present!

 You've come a long way, baby... 

 Is that Denny Crane 

 hosting a beauty pageant? 

Welcome to Vol. 10 of my series 

Jarring

Juxtapositions:

That Was Then -

This Is Now! 

Why did I strike through Jarring Juxtapositions and This is Now?

To be honest, I have run out of enjoyable modern songs

to serve as counterpoints to the oldies but goodies.

And so, I am bringing this long running series to an end

and presenting, in this 10th and final volume, ten great

"That Was Then" songs, with no "This Is Now" metal

and hip hop madness to remind us of how much times

have changed and how much innocence has been lost.

So join me in a celebration of the look,

sound and the attitude of female singers

then... and now!

THAT WAS THEN

THE LENNON SISTERS

It's a different world, my friend. When

I was a boy in the 1950s, girls looked

and acted like The Lennon Sisters, the

darlings of The Lawrence Welk Show.

The wholesome meter was pegged

when 'lil Chanet" and her singing

siblings appeared on a 1956 episode

of Welk's program and performed

"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be,

Will Be)," the song introduced by

Doris Day in the Alfred Hitchcock

film The Man Who Knew Too Much.

"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" - The Lennon Sisters

1956 perf. on The Lawrence Welk Show)

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be

In one of their early appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show

in the mid 50s, 'lil Chanet" and her siblings visited the

zoo and sang "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," a song from

the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South.

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
The Lennon Sisters (1950s ep.
of The Lawrence Welk Show)

THAT WAS THEN

LULU

Now here's Lulu, the cute, bubbly and wholesome Scottish

pop singer and actress who stole our hearts in the movie

To Sir With Love and had a hit record singing the title song.

Sung by Lulu, "Boom Bang-A-Bang" is best known as the British

winning entry at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest held in Madrid.

 The single made #1 in Ireland and Norway, #2 in the UK and was a

major hit throughout Europe as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

In the rare and brilliantly restored clip you are about to see,

Lulu performs the song on Pop Goes the Sixties, a TV special

co-produced by the UK's BBC and West Germany's ZDF.

The show, broadcast New Year's Eve 1969, reviewed

the top hits of the 60s decade.  Here's perky Lulu

singing her award winning "Boom Bang-A-Bang." 

"Boom Bang-A-Bang" - Lulu

(Mar. 1969, highest chart pos. #1 Ireland & Norway,

#2 UK/#3 Switzerland/#4 Belgium, co-winner of

1969 Eurovision Song Contest, Madrid, Spain,

Dec. 31, 1969, perf. on Pop Goes the Sixties) 

THAT WAS THEN

THE SHANGRI-LAS

Now here are the fabulous drama queens of pop, The Shangri-Las,

with a song that might be the biggest Underachiever of all time.

Amazingly, it never rose above #99 on the Billboard chart!

 In August, 1965, "Right Now And Not Later" was released as a

single from the edgy girl group's second album "Shangri-Las - 65!

The backing track sounds like it was inspired by Motown's highly

successful H-D-H composing team and, in particular, by Supremes

songs like "Stop! In the Name Of Love" and "Come See About Me."

The Shangri-Las scored substantial hits before and after this single

but, for some reason, the groovy song failed to catch on. 

Watch and listen as The Shangs appear on an October, 1965 episode

of the teen music TV series Shivaree and perform a song that's too cool

for school and should have been a hit-- "Right Now And Not Later!"

"Right Now And Not Later" - The Shangri-Las

Sept./Oct. 1965, highest chart pos. #99 Hot 100/#150 Cash Box,

#106 Record World, perf. on Oct. 2, 1965, ep. of Shivaree)

THAT WAS THEN

BONNIE AND

THE TREASURES

The times they were a changin' in the 1960s. No longer were

songs only about love found, love lost and having good times.

More and more compositions were calling attention to social

issues. The song you're about to hear, "Home Of The Brave,"

is one of them. Recorded by Bonnie And The Treasures, 

"Home Of The Brave" was released as a single a few

weeks before Barry McGuire's chart-topping hit

"Eve Of Destruction."  The girl trio's single

didn't do as well on the chart, but it's a

cool Shangri-Las style girl group sound.

 Watch this rare clip from an October, 1965, episode of Dick Clark's

Where The Action Is as Bonnie & The Treasures, the trio of Charlotte

(Charlott) O'Hara (Charlotte Matheny), Sherlie Matthews and Clydie

King, perform "Home Of The Brave." Jody Miller had the bigger hit

with this message song about nonconformity, but this is the definitive

version. Adding to the magic of this performance are The Action Kids

female dancers Roberta Tennes and Jill Gordon. Lead singer "Bonnie"

left this world in 1976. The lovely Roberta Tennes (close-up at :37)

danced in movie musicals and was one of The Gazzarri Dancers

on Hollywood A Go-Go before joining The Action Kids. Roberta

passed away in 2015. I wish I had a time machine!

"Home Of The Brave" - Bonnie And The Treaaures

(Sept. 1965, highest chart pos. #77 Hot 100/#83 Cash Box,

scene from Oct. 8, 1965, ep. of Where The Action Is)

THAT WAS THEN

DONNA LOREN

When I was a boy in the 1950s, I never missed an episode of

The Mickey Mouse Club. On March 7, 1957, her 10th birthday,

budding pop singer and actress Donna Loren appeared on the

Disney series' Friday "Talent Round-Up Day."

  Behold how little girls looked, spoke, sang and conducted themselves

back then as you watch Donna's performance of "Pennies From Heaven!"

"Pennies From Heaven" - Donna Loren

Appearing on The Mickey Mouse Club
March 7, 1957

THAT WAS THEN

ANNETTE

Now let's flash back to 1962

and watch a nicely restored clip

of a song and dance number by

America's sweetheart, former

Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer

Annette Funicello, a multitalented

idol of the boomer wonder years.

Shirley, every mother's son and,

more importantly, every son's

mother approved of showgirl

Annette as she performed

the song "Mr. Piano Man"

in The Golden Horseshoe

Revue on The Magical

World of Disney.

"Mr. Piano Man" - Annette

 (Sept. 23, 1962, perf. on

"The Magical World of Disney" 

 - The Golden Horseshoe Revue) 

 INTERMISSION 

1950s Drive-In Intermission Animated Short – "Buttercup Popcorn"

THAT WAS THEN

CONNIE FRANCIS

By 1958, Connie Francis had gained a reputation for crooning

easy listening romantic ballads. Her recordings were popular

with older folks but, with the era of rock & roll transforming

the pop music scene, many teenagers found them boring. 

Struggling on the chart and in desperate need of a hit, Connie waxed

"Stupid Cupid," an uptempo rock & roll novelty number written by

the Brill Building composing team of Howard Greenfield and

the late, great Neil Sedaka who died earlier this year.

The result was a top 15 U.S. hit for the songstress that summer.

Across the pond, Connie's platter was a smash in the UK where

it spent six weeks at #1.  Here now is Connie Francis with

a catchy sound that appealed to younger ears and got her

career as a recording artist back on track-- "Stupid Cupid!"

"Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis

(July/Aug. 1958, highest chart pos. #14 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box)

THAT WAS THEN

THE SHIRELLES

Written by the Brill Building team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King,

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is one of the greatest pop songs of

the 60s and a chart-topping hit single for The Shirelles, one of

the greatest girl groups of all time. On the single's first pressing,

the title was simply "Tomorrow." After that it was lengthened

to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." (The word "Still" is not

in the title.) The fab flip is the killer bee "Boys" which was

famously covered by The Beatles and Pete Best. 

Hard to believe, but this innocent sounding Shirelles record

was banned by some radio stations due to its "sexually charged"

lyrics. (Shady says: Gangsta rap was still light years away!)

Watch, listen and remember the way we were back then as

The Shirelles perform-- "Will You Love Me Tomorrow."

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles

(Dec. 1960/Jan. & Feb. 1961, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

THAT WAS THEN

LESLEY GORE

The country ballad "Young Love" was co-written and first

recorded by Ric Cartey with backing by The Jiva-Tones.

Released in November, 1956, Ric's record failed to chart. 

Within weeks, covers of the song were released by three other artists:

Sonny James, Tab Hunter and The Crew-Cuts.  All three of those

versions went on to become hits in February and March, 1957,

with movie star Hunter's cover enjoying the greatest success. 

In late 1965, pop star Lesley Gore released the song on a single

and had a minor hit in the U.S. and a more substantial one in

Australia where the record approached the top 20. To conclude

my series That Was Then - This Is Now on a high note,

here's Lesley with her biggest commercial success

of 1966, an excellent cover of-- "Young Love!"

 

"Young Love" - Lesley Gore (Apr. 1966, highest chart pos.

#50 Hot 100/#57 Cash Box/#43 Canada/#24 Australia)

I hope you enjoyed my 10-part series

Jarring Juxtapositions:
That Was Then - This Is Now!

Musically speaking, if I had my druthers, I'd choose to return to 

 Then

MARCIA!  MARCIA!  MARCIA!

End of series - period, full stop. 

That Was Then - This Is Now, Volume 9: The Jarring Juxtaposition of Female Vocalists Past and Present!

 You've come a long way, baby... 

 and these jarring juxtapositions 

 offer indisputable proof! 

Welcome to Vol. 9 of my series

Jarring Juxtapositions:
That Was Then - This Is Now!

It is not my intention to pass judgement. (That's your job. :) This series
merely invites you to compare apples and oranges. Hard as it might
be for you to believe, I enjoy all of the female recording artists
you are about to see and hear. Join me on this jarring journey
back and forth through time as we compare the look,
the sound and the attitude of female singers

then... and now!

THAT WAS THEN

CONNIE FRANCIS

It's a different world, my friend. When I was a boy, girls looked, sounded

and acted like Connie Francis and the other coeds in the coming-of-age

romantic comedy film Where the Boys Are (Spring Breakers 2012 was
 light years away!). Return with me now to the age of innocence as
Connie sings a song from the Brill Building songwriting team of
Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, the theme from the movie
that hit theaters at the end of 1960 and marked her acting
debut-- "Where The Boys Are.""

"Where the Boys Are" - Connie Francis

(Feb./Mar. 1961, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

THIS IS NOW

 NICKI MINAJ 

IMAGE COURTESY OF CDCOVERS @ deviantart.com

Like Connie Francis and her girlfriends, Trinidad-born rap star Nicki Minaj

loves to go where the boys are- the beach. And, wouldn't you know it,

Nicki's wearing an itsy bitsy teenie weenie bikini. Nicki believes in

partying hard, and she does just that on two Hawaiian islands,

the filming locations for the 2012 music video "Starships,"

an international hit single from her second studio

album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

"Starships" - Nicki Minaj

(May,June, July 2012, highest chart pos.

#2 Dance Club/#5 Hot 100/#2 UK/#1 UK R&B)

THAT WAS THEN

THE CHORDETTES

Nearly identical to Nicki Minaj in every single way 😋 are the singing sweethearts

of Sheboygan - The Chordettes. The traditional pop quartet made the hit parade

in the 1950s and early 60s with "Lollipop," "Zorro," "Never On Sunday" and the

song you are about to hear, a #1 charting best seller from Christmas time 1954

through the early weeks of 1955. Here are The Chordettes performing their

first single, the biggest hit of their career-- "Mr. Sandman."

"Mr. Sandman" - The Chordettes

(Dec. 1954, Jan. 1955, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

THIS IS NOW

 ADDIE NICOLE AMICK 

 & HALOCENE feat. 

 LAUREN BABIC & 

 ALANNA STERLING 

Lead zinger Addie Nicole's hair ranges from fire engine red to carrot orange,

and the exciting frontwoman is back at Shady's Place along with her fierce

 Phoenix-based rock band Halocene. They're here to perform a metal/rock

cover of "Bang Bang," the chart-topping 2014 hit by English singer

Jessie J in collaboration with American singer Ariana Grande and

the spark-plug who just sang "Starships," Trinidadian-American

rapper Nicki Minaj. Joining Addie Nicole on lead vocals is

Alanna Sterling aka "Mermaid Unicorn."  YouTube star

Lauren Babic will blow you away when she jumps in

on the rap part. Yessum, it's three rockin' ladies for

the price of one - Addie, Alanna  and Lauren -

comin' atcha with guns blazing, doing their

electrifying version of-- "Bang Bang!"

"Bang Bang" - Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj

metal/rock cover by Halocene ft. Lauren Babic

and Alanna Sterling (Feb. 2022) 

THAT WAS THEN

MARIANNE FAITHFULL

Marianne Faithfull turns age 76 this year.
I repeat. Marianne Faithfull turns 76 this year.
The English singer, songwriter and actress was
discovered by Rolling Stones manager and
producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Marianne

had a long and turbulent relationship with
Mick Jagger and the two were part of the
hip Swinging London scene of the mid
to late 60s. Here is Marianne singing
her best known hit, a song penned by
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and
Andrew Loog Oldham entitled--
"As Tears Go By."

"As Tears Go By" - Marianne Faithfull

(Jan. 1965, highest chart pos.

#22 Hot 100/#30 Cash Box)

THIS IS NOW

 ANNALISE MAHANES 

 and imy2 

Lastly but not leastly, here's eye and ear candy for your feastly. Her name is

Annalise Mahanes and she fronts the Nashville-based pop trio imy2 which

stands for "I miss you, too."  The band writes and records original music

with, in their own words, "a dose of confidence, individuality and self-

love... powerful, nostalgic female vocals supported by the band's

undeniable chemistry." Here's Annalise supporting a woman's

right to chews... performing a song you can really

sink your teeth into-- "Bubblegum!" 

 

"Bubblegum" - imy2 (June 2020) 

'Til he holds me

I wait impatiently

Where the boys are,

where the boys are

Where the boys are,

someone waits for me

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 memory 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

remember the

name of a lovable

cartoon character

 of the early 60s.

Read the list

of clues below

and see if

you can

NAME THAT CARTOON CHARACTER!

* He is orange and magical.

* He is the mascot of a General Mills star-shaped breakfast cereal

advertised as "the only cereal in a storybook package" -

"stars inside, stories outside!" 

* His friends include Fulton the Camel, Sanford the Parrot

and Wilbur the Monkey.

* He has a rotor-tail.

* When he and his pals face danger, his familiar chant is

"Nose, nose, anything goes..." 

* His adventures were embedded in the animated cartoon series

King Leonardo and his Short Subjects and, for a short time,

in Rocky and His Friends. 

* Every 90 second vignette ends with "(name) only smiled"

or "(name) only laughed."

WHAT IS HIS NAME?

SCROLL DOWN

TRIVIA ANSWER:

HE'S TWINKLES THE MAGIC ELEPHANT!

Twinkles was introduced as a "Big G" cereal in 1960.

Twinkles Cereal TV commercial - early 1960s

King Leonardo and his Short Subjects, the program

that carried Twinkles the Magic Elephant 90 second

adventure vignettes, started airing October 15, 1960.

"Twinkles and the Haunted House"

ON OCTOBER 15, 1960, THE # 3 SONG ON THE CHART WAS:

"Chain Gang" - Sam Cooke

THE #2 SONG ON THE CHART THAT WEEK WAS:

"My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own" - Connie Francis

THE #1 SONG ON THE CHART THAT WEEK WAS:

"Save The Last Dance For Me" - The Drifters

   Did you guess

   the correct

  answer before

 scrolling down?

Denny the

Dell Rat

wants to

know!

If you were able to identify Twinkles from the

clues... 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

Joyce Martin's a Gold Digger!

Hi again! I'm Joyce Martin.

I'm sure you

remember me

from last year's

post here at

Shady's Place.

As you recall, I'm a good girl breaking bad...

falling under the influence of the

mean girl gang known as the

I'm just trying

to fit in, but

ever since I

got mixed-

up with the

Hellcats, my

grades have

been slipping

and my folks

have been in

my face and

on my case.

Not knowing which way to turn for help, I found a friend
in Professor Shady Del Knight who offered to be my private
tutor and help me bring up my grades. To earn extra credit,
I am doing a special research project for Professor Knight

and hosting this new blog series at Shady's Place called

Joyce Martin's  a  Gold Digger!

In each volume I will display vintage top tunes surveys,

the hit parades distributed by radio stations in the 50s

and 60s. Next I'll go digging for gold - picking a

favorite song from each list and playing it for

your listening and dancing pleasure.

I'm lucky to have this

chance to make good,

so... if you're ready...

let's dig some gold!

WAEB - ALLENTOWN, PA

This edition of my series features radio station

play lists from across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Let's begin with the survey

in green above, issued by WAEB 790 in

Allentown. It's the week of May 23, 1960,

and I'm poring over the station's list of the

"Top Tunes in the Lehigh Valley." I think

I'll play #23, "Young Emotions," a song

by Ricky Nelson, a cool guy I dated!

"Young Emotions" - Ricky Nelson

(May/June 1960, highest chart pos.

#11 Cash Box/#12 Hot 100, scene from

The Adventures of Ozzie And Harriet)

WFBG - ALTOONA, PA

Courtesy of PopBopRocktilUDrop

Our next stop is Altoona, PA, and radio station

WFBG 1290 - "The Voice of the Alleghenies."

It's the week of June 8, 1963, and I'm picking

#17 on the survey, Connie Francis, one of the

most popular female singers of the late 50s

and early 1960s, beginning to struggle a bit

on the chart by mid 1963 when this rock 'n'

roll style record, "If My Pillow Could Talk."

missed the top 20 on the Billboard chart.

"If My Pillow Could Talk"

Connie Francis (June 1963, highest

chart pos. #16 Cash Box/#23 Hot 100)

WLAN - LANCASTER, PA

Courtesy of PopBopRocktilUDrop

We now head southeast to Professor Shady's

old stomping ground and a visit to Lancaster,

home of AM station WLAN 1390. My choice

from the LAN Tunivac Top 60 for the week

of November 25, 1961, is #6, "Heartaches"

by The Marcels, a group from Pittsburgh.

"Heartaches" was recorded in 1933 by

bandleader Ted Weems, but his version

didn't catch on and become a hit until

a DJ revived it in 1947. It has since 

been waxed by many artists. This

version, by The Marcels, made

a run at the top 5 on Billboard.

"Heartaches" - The Marcels

(Nov./Dec. 1961, highest chart pos.

#7 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box/#19 R&B)

          WJET - ERIE, PA

I'm digging this gold and I hope you are,

too. We now travel all the way back up

to the far corner of the state, Erie, and

another station with a top 60 instead

of a top 40 format. It's "The Jet" -

WJET 1400. We're revisiting the

week of May 22, 1961, and the

tune I've selected from Erie’s

Original Top 60 Music Survey -

The Jet Sixty is #14, the neato

girl pop song "Triangle" by

one-hit wonder Janie Grant,

real name Rose Marie Cosili

of Paterson, New Jersey.

"Triangle" - Janie Grant

(May/June 1961, highest chart pos.

#23 Cash Box/#29 Hot 100)

           WSBA - YORK, PA

Next we travel all the way back across
the state to Shady's hometown, York,
and a top tunes list issued by WSBA
"The Nifty 910"... later known as
 "The Mighty 910." It's the week

of July 29, 1961, and I'm gonna
play #5 on the survey "I Like It
Like That," a major crossover

hit for New Orleans R&B
great Chris Kenner!

"I Like It Like That, Part 1"

Chris Kenner (July/Aug. 1961,

highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100

#2 Cash Box/#2 R&B)

KDKA - PITTSBURGH, PA

From station KDKA Pittsburgh, here above is a survey listing the top hits

of 1964. I'm spinning the #22 song that year, a Four Seasons record that
would have topped the chart if not for The Beatles and their two smash
hits "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" which held the
#1 and #2 spots and for three weeks in a row prevented the Seasons'
record from rising higher. Here now are The Four Seasons doing
their best to fend off Beatlemania with-- "Dawn (Go Away)."

"Dawn (Go Away)" - The 4 Seasons

(Feb./Mar. 1964, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

I hope you

dug this gold.

Please join me

for volume 2 of

Joyce Martin's
 a  Gold Digger.

coming soon!