A.A. Meeting (Amy Adams), Vol. 1: Life's a Happy Song

COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Me Party" - Amy Adams and Miss Piggy,

scene from Nov. 2011 film The Muppets)

 Kicking-off the show, that was the self-nurturing song "Me Party"

 performed by me and my friend Miss Piggy. Hi!  I'm Mary...

the character played by actress Amy Adams...

 in the 2011 musical comedy film The Muppets.

 I'm an elementary school teacher...

a very capable mechanic... 

and longtime girlfriend of Gary...

who is a tremendous fan of the Muppets and human brother of Muppet Walter.

Together we travel to LA to reunite the Muppets for one last show

after a villain threatens to tear down their beloved Muppet Theater.

Critics call our Muppets movie colorful, cheerful

 and simply fun - a winning film for all ages.

"Life's A Happy Song (Finale)" - scene from Nov. 2011 film The Muppets)

Hi and welcome to your first

 A.A. MEETING 

here at the Shady's Place clubhouse.

Amy Adams in 1999

In addition to Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A. can be an

acronym for Altered Attitudes and Attitude Adjustment. 

Amy in Feb. 2008

You're getting warmer, because in this series, A.A. stands for Amy Adams,

a great actress and recent inductee into the Shady's Place Hall of Fame. 

Precious few are picked for this honor, and Amy, with many fine

performances and memorable character portrayals to her credit

in a distinguished career that started in the 1990s and is still

going strong today, was a shoo-in, a first round draft pick.

Amy in Feb. 2019

This series introduces you to Amy's characters and movies.

Wow, what a difference a script makes!  

Hi y'all. Welcome in for a heapin' helpin of Texas style hospitality!

I'm the A.A. character Kate, a gold digger playing house

with my sugar daddy... a rich married man.

 My ambition in life is to diddle with his family jewels long enough

to make it into his will and get my hands on his billions. In the

meantime, we're makin' sparks fly in our-- "Love Shack!'

"Love Shack" - B-52's cover by Mojo (Feb. 2023)

The action unfolds in the 2002 romantic comedy Serving Sara

starring Chandler Bing from Friends and Vanessa Kensington

from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Click on my theme song, "Little Town Flirt," and while it's playing...

scroll down to see more of me in The Nun's Story Serving Sara.

 

SCROLL DOWN AND WATCH ME!

Here she comes, that little town flirt 

 You're falling for her and your gonna get hurt

Yeah, I know it's so hard to resist

The temptation of her tender red lips

But you can get hurt, hur-hur-hurt

Yeah, you can get hur-hur-hur-hur-hurt 

Foolin' around with that little town flirt

(OKAY, STOP THE SONG NOW.)

   

Hello, I'm the A.A. character Lois Lane...

a reporter for the Daily Planet and the love interest for Clark Kent.

  (SPOILER ALERT!)

Clark turns out to be Superman! 

Let me tell you, girlfriend, you best believe that man is-- "Perfection!"

"Perfection" - Dannii Minogue And Soul Seekerz

(Nov. & Dec. 2005/Jan. 2006, highest chart position

#1 UK Upfront Club/#5 UK Dance/samples Vicki Sue Robinson's

disco hit "Turn The Beat Around (Love To Hear Percussions")

Clark aka Superman and I are the stars of four movies...

beginning with Man Of Steel (2013).

Our next appearance was in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016).

Then came Justice League (2017)

and finally Zach Snyder's Justice League (2021),

the director's cut of the 2017 movie.

That's a whole lotta work for Superman...

saving his city, saving planet Earth and saving me.

I don't spit into the wind or mess around with Jim. I don't pull the mask off

that old lone ranger... but I tug on Superman's cape... and he be lovin' it.

Simply put: I am a magnet... and he is steel.

"Magnet And Steel" - Walter Egan

(July/Aug. 1978, highest chart pos. #8 Hot 100/#9 Cash Box)

Time to wave bye-bye. I hope you enjoyed your first 

 A.A. MEETING 

Meet more of the memorable characters played by Shady's

favorite actress Amy Adams, coming soon in Vol. 2!

 Shady's Place Hall of Fame - Amy Adams 

Cruisin' 1961: All Aboard Woo Woo's Night Train!

 It's time once again to 

 hop into our time machine 

 and go Cruisin' through 

 top 40 radio history. 

This is the blog series
that pays tribute to
the Cruisin' albums,
those simulated radio broadcasts hosted by

some of the greatest
top 40 deejays of
the 50s and 60s.

As I have done in the past,
I will play a few songs
found on the original
Cruisin' album plus a
couple more favorites
released the same year.

To transport us back in
time, set the mood and
create a party atmosphere,
I tacked up on the wall
these nostalgic vintage
soda pop print ads.

 The year is 1961 and we're 

 heading up the road to Beantown.  

 That's where "Old Aching Adenoids" 

 Arnie "Woo Woo" 

 Ginsburg 

 is hosting 

 The Night Train Show on 

 WMEX, Boston! 

 THE MARCELS 

Listen to this brief clip to familiarize yourself with Arnie's voice
and DJ style. Arnie begins speaking at the 40 sec. mark
and introduces the first record-- "Blue Moon!"

"Blue Moon" - The Marcels

(Mar./Apr. 1961, highest chart pos.
#1 Hot 100/#1 Cash Box/#1 R&B)

 DEL SHANNON 

Del Shannon's "Runaway" was one of
the biggest hits of 1961, topping the
Billboard chart four weeks in a row.

In the late 80s, Del reworked the
lyrics and re-recorded the song for
use as the theme of the NBC TV
series Crime Story, a cop drama
from executive producer Michael
Mann, the guy who transformed
the genre with the cult phenom
Miami Vice a few years earlier.

"Runaway" - Del Shannon

(Apr./May 1961, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100,
#1 Cash Box, /#3 R&B, re-recorded version used
as theme of TV series Crime Story, 1986-1988)

 NEIL SEDAKA 

Brooklyn born singer, songwriter and

pianist Neil Sedaka made enormous

contributions to pop music, yet he is

still locked out of the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame, leading some fans to

conclude it's because Neil wrote

and recorded pop instead of

rock 'n' roll. That's crazy talk.

In the 50s and early 60s, pop

was a big part of rock 'n' roll,

especially the danceworthy

up tempo style of pop that

was Neil's specialty.

"Calendar Girl," a song written by Sedaka
along with his composing partner Howard
Greenfield, is a great example. Released in
December 1960, "Calendar Girl" climbed the
chart in the early weeks of 1961 and finished
at #4, Neil's first single to reach the top 5.

"Calendar Girl" 

(Scopitone film)

- Neil Sedaka

(Jan./Feb. 1961, highest

chart pos. #4 Hot 100,

#4 Cash Box)

 JOEY DEE & THE STARLITERS 

Joey Dee went to school with the
classic girl group The Shirelles in
Passaic, NJ. Joey formed a band
called The Starliters which briefly
included actor Joe Pesci on guitar.
Joey Dee and The Starliters became
the house band at The Peppermint
Lounge, a club in New York City.
In late 1961 the group released a
single inspired by the trendy night-
spot and by the wildly popular
dance craze-- Peppermint Twist!"

"Peppermint Twist - Part 1"
Joey Dee And The Starliters

(Dec. 1961/Jan. '62, h.c.p.
#1 Hot 100/#2 Cash Box/#8 R&B)

 THE REGENTS 

You heard it last week on the sneak preview of Wordless Wendi.

In the early weeks of 1966, The Beach Boys cover of "Barbara Ann"

reached #2 on the chart, denied the top spot by two other records,

"We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles and "My Love" by Petula Clark.

 Some folks don't remember the original recording of the song by

the New York doo-wop vocal group The Regents. Arnie Ginsburg

sure does... and he played it on his volume of Cruisin'!

"Barbara-Ann" - The Regents

(June 1961, highest chart pos. #7 R&B,
#13 Hot 100/#13 Cash Box)

 LITTLE EVA 

From 1956 until he left WMEX in 1967, Arnie Ginsburg was

the number-one disc jockey in Boston. Let's Cruise past 1961

to the following year and let Arnie introduce the last song in

 the style he used to delight listeners on his Night Train Show.

It's the Ginsburg Go on

Color Radio, and here's

the record that's perched

at the tip top of the Wimex

Tunedex - number one in

Beantown and all around.

START VIDEO NOW!

It's the perfect dance ditty for

the summer of '62.  If you've

got the ocean, the lotion and

the notion, Little Eva's got --

"The Loco-Motion!"

"The Loco-Motion" - Little Eva (July thru Sept. 1962,

highest chart pos. 1 R&B, Hot 100 & Cash Box,

June 2021 enhancement) 

 Don't miss the next thrill packed 

 episode of Cruisin' coming soon! 

 NEWS FLASH! 

Hey, gang, this is your pal

Arnie Ginsburg of WMEX

Boston with exciting news.

Beginning next year, I'll be

bringing my Wimex-Tunedex

Night Train Show to S-P-M-M

when I join The Shady Bunch

deejay team. The "Woo Woo"

wants to see you-you in '22

right here at Shady's Place

Music & Memories!