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. 

Let's Go-Go to a Surf Party, a Ski Party and a PJ Party! (Part 2 of My Series A+ Songs from B, C and D Movies)

 Hi, I'm Clarence Rutherford. 

 The guys call me Lumpy uh, a real cool friend. 
 Welcome to Pt. 2 of Shady Del Knight's series 
 A+ Songs from B, C and D Movies. My father 
 says I'm grounded if he catches me hanging 
 out with Shady Del Knight.  He says Shady's 
 an even worse influence than Eddie. I'll take 
 my chances. Here's Shady now with more 

 cool tunes from low budget beach party, 
 ski party and PJ party flicks of the 60s. 

I did the math. 99% of low budget "teensploitation" movies are schlock.
I'm pretty sure the actors who played
teenage characters in them were older
than I am now. 😃 The plots of those
movies are preposterous, the acting
is terrible and so is most of the music.
Watch the trailer of the 1965 cheapy
The Beach Girls and the Monster!

I read somewhere that 60s beach movies were aimed, not at teenage audiences,
but instead at middle aged men (like Shady) who wanted to gaze at bikini clad
women and relive their youth. I loved Annette Funicello but didn't care for
her beach movies. They aren't funny, most of the characters are unlikable
jerks and the music is awful. Occasionally however a genre film delivers
on the music, and that's what this series is about, salivating the best
performances culled from those B (as in bad), C (as in camp)
and D (as in dumb and dumber) flicks.

 JAMES BROWN 

 AND THE FAMOUS FLAMES 

Holy Godfather of Soul, Batgirl! It's James Brown along with the
late, great Yvonne Craig, together in the 1965 flick Ski Party
starring heartthrob Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman
from TV's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis!

You wouldn't expect to find Mr. Dynamite on the slopes or hanging out
with a bunch of snow whites at a ski lodge, but anything goes in these
lowbrow teen romps. Brother James steals the show in this picture,
performing a brand new song that went on to become the biggest
hit of his career a few months later-- "I Got You ( I Feel Good)."

 "I Got You (I Feel Good)" - James Brown 

 (Dec. 1965/Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. 
 #1 R&B/#2 Cash Box/#3 Hot 100, scene 
 from June 1965 movie Ski Party) 

 LESLEY GORE 

Why beach movies are released in wintertime and movies set at ski lodges

are released in summertime is beyond me. Anyhoo, one of the shortest pop

hits on record was used in the Ski Party soundtrack. Here now is lovely

Lesley Gore singing her top 20 hit "Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows"

as she and her friends take the bus to fun and folic at a mountain retreat.

 "Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows"  - Lesley Gore 

 (July 1965, highest chart pos. #13 Hot 100/#19 Cash Box, 
 from June 1965 movie Ski Party) 

 JACKIE DeSHANNON 

 PATRICIA MORROW & LORY PATRICK 

Prolific singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon appeared in two
rock & roll movies, C'mon, Let's Live a Little, a 1967 film
featuring Bobby Vee, and Surf Party, a beachy keen
1964 picture starring pop crooner Bobby Vinton.

In this scene from Surf Party, pajama partiers Jackie DeShannon,
Patricia Morrow and Lory Patrick stay up way past their bedtime
and feel a song coming on. Watch the fun as the girls cavort
their way through "Never Comin' Back."

 "Never Comin' Back" - Jackie DeShannon 

 with Patricia Morrow and Lory Patrick 

 (from Feb. 1964 movie Surf Party) 

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 58 SEC. MARK!

 STAN GETZ & 

 ASTRUD GILBERTO 

In Part 1 you saw and heard The Animals perform a song in the 1964 movie

Get Yourself a College Girl. Also appearing in the film are Astrud Gilberto,

the Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer who cracked the top 5 on

the U.S. chart that year with the single "The Girl From Ipanema,"

and legendary tenor sax player Stan Getz who backed Astrud.

Here are Astrud and Stan doing their hit in College Girl.

 "The Girl From Ipanema" - Stan Getz/Astrud Gilberto 

 (June/July '64, highest cht. pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box, 

 from Dec. 1964 film Get Yourself a College Girl) 

 DONNA LOREN 

As we gaze at Dr Pepper Girl Donna Loren above on the cover of the
September - October 1964 issue of the Dr Pepper Clock Dial Magazine,
a publication that was only available to Dr Pepper employees, and below
gracing a Dr Pepper calendar in the summer of 1966, the time has come to
wrap up my scholarly two-part salute to quick and dirty B, C and D movies.

Before we sail into the sunset, let's take one last spin around the dance floor,
groovin' to a hot number by that Pepper of a Girl, Donna Loren, as she sings
"Among The Young" in a scene from the 1964 teen romp Pajama Party
starring Disney regulars Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello!

 "Among the Young" - Donna Loren 

 (from Nov. 1964 film Pajama Party) 

 Beaver, I hope you 

 learned your lesson. 

 If you spend your 
 time watching B, 
 C and D movies, 
 you'll become 
 an F student.  

 Yeah, woll... here's the thing, 

 dad. I don't know much about 

 history. Don't know much 

 biology. Don't know much 

 about algebra. Don't know 

 what a slide rule is for.  

 But I do know 4 and is 8,  

 and if Donna Loren took me 

 on a date, what a wonderful 

 world this would be. 

Hey, got time for one more

drive-in ditty? Check out this

performance by an unknown

band in the 1965 film Go Go

Mania aka Pop Gear (UK title).

I never heard of these chaps...

but I think they've got potential.

Have a Shady day!

A+ Songs from B, C and D Movies. Part 1: Caution - Bikini Bunnies Are Bustin' Out All Over!

 Beaver, I just got a 

 disturbing call from 

 Miss Landers about 

 an essay you wrote. 

 Gee, dad... all I did was 
 prove that the earth isn't 

 flat. It's just the opposite! 

 When I saw this movie, 
 I found out the truth. 

 It's a bikini world! 

 THE 
 CASTAWAYS 

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Oh, Beaver... you never fail to

crack me up with those zingers

of yours! But, know something,
folks?... the little guy is right.
Skeptics might cry "Liar Liar,"
but The Castaways, the frat rock
garage band from the Twin Cities,
are here to prove Beav's theory.

Check out this performance by The Castaways, punctuated by that epic
primal scream on the original recording, in a scene from the 1967 beach flick
It's a Bikini World, winner of 50 Academy Awards including Best Picture! 😋

 "Liar Liar" - The Castaways 

 (Sept./Oct. '65, highest cht. pos. #12 Hot 100 & Cash Box, 
 scene from April 1967 movie It's a Bikini World) 

 THE TOYS 

It's a Bikini World also gave us a rare glimpse of the Jamaica, NY, trio
The Toys led by Barbara Harris. With a melody based on a Bach minuet,
"A Lover's Concerto" was the act's biggest hit, a #2 charting smash.
Their follow-up single, "Attack," featuring more of that angelic
girl group harmony, made the top 20 and is my Pick to Click!

 "Attack" - The Toys 

 (Jan. 1967, highest chart pos. #18, 

 from Apr. 1967 film It's a Bikini World) 

"Liar Liar" and "Attack" were
hit records, but bad beach
movies often relied on
throw-away songs and
nondescript instrumentals.
A good example is found
in this next scene from
Get Yourself a College Girl.
The rock & roll reel was
released around Christmas
in 1964, deep in the heart of
Beatlemania, yet the producers
would have us believe that
mid 60s teenagers preferred
jiggling to goofy, generic surf-
rock instrumentals. In the
following clip, look for stars
Mary Ann Mobley, Joan
O'Brien, Nancy Sinatra
and Chris Noel.

For me, what is particularly noteworthy about

this scene is one of the other dancers, the one

wearing a white blouse and black pants. It's

Roberta Tennes, the blonde beauty who

soon after became one of the Gazzarri

Dancers on the LA-based syndicated

television series Hollywood A Go-Go.
Shortly after that, Roberta wowed me

every weekday as a member of the

Action Kids, the dance troupe on

Dick Clark's Where The Action Is.
Sadly, Roberta died in 2015.

Let's relive happier days with

Roberta and the other women

as they take a dance lesson in

Get Yourself a College Girl!

 "Dance Lesson" (from Dec. 1964 

 movie Get Yourself a College Girl. 

 THE ANIMALS 

Recordings by Eric Burdon's Animals have been used in the soundtracks
of three dozen movies and television shows, and the Brit band made
live appearances in several of them, including the above featured
film Get Yourself a College Girl. Burdon and company are seen
here in brilliant HD performing a cover of the Chuck Berry

song "Around and Around," a track from The Animals'

1964 debut US album.

 "Around and Around" - The Animals 

 (from Aug. 1964 album The Animals, 

 scene from December 1964 movie 
 Get Yourself  a College Girl) 

 DICK AND DEE DEE 

In 1966 the popular duo Dick And Dee Dee joined Jay And The Americans,

The Astronauts, The Beau Brummels and Jackie & Gayle at Alpine Meadows

Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, for the musical romp Wild Wild Winter

aka Snowball. Sadly Dick died in 2003 after falling from the roof of his house.

Let's turn back the clock and smile again as we watch this scene from the

film in which Dick And Dee Dee sing the soundtrack song "Heartbeats."

 "Heartbeats" - Dick and Dee Dee 

 (from Jan. 1966 film Wild Wild Winter) 

 DONNA LOREN 

Sixties "Dr Pepper Girl" Donna Loren appeared and performed in several
of the movies in American International Pictures' Beach Party series.
In 1965, in the 5th AIP release Beach Blanket Bingo, Donna sang
"It Only Hurts When I Cry" which, in some circles, is considered
her signature song (apart from the Dr Pepper jingle).

 "It Only Hurts When I Cry" - Donna Loren 
 (from April 1965 film Beach Blanket Bingo) 

 HERMAN'S HERMITS 

In 1966 Peter Noone and his British group Herman's Hermits starred

in the American musical comedy flick Hold On! aka Beat! Beat! Beat!

aka There's No Place Like Space. The cast included Shelley Fabares,

Sue Ane Langdon and Herb Anderson, the dad on Dennis the Menace.

In this scene, Herman's Hermits do one of their top 10 U.S.hits

and one of my favorites by the group-- "A Must To Avoid."

 "A Must To Avoid" - Herman's Hermits 

 (Jan. 1966, highest chart pos. #6 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100, 

 from June 1966 movie Hold On!) 

 Easy there, Gertrude. Maintain 

 your cool, Sam. Don't get your 

 panties in a wad, Mildred! In 

 Pt. 2, Shady's got more surfer 

 girls, beach honeys and even 

 ski bunnies boppin' to the 

 beat of super cool tuneage. 

 It's all comin' up after this 

 word from our sponsor. 

 HEH HEH HEH! 

R.I.P.

Ken Osmond

(Eddie Haskell)

(June 7, 1943 – May 18, 2020)