Debbie the Dellette Meets The Rat Pack - Vol. 2: Starlight Tonight at the Shady Dell

(below) "Hey, get up and ask Helen

to make me a cherry coke to go."

"It's time for us to

split the snack bar

and meet up with

Debbie the Dellette

and the Rat Pack

down in the dance hall."

"Starlight Tonight" - The Inspirators

{June/July 1958, B side of "Oh What A Feeling (In My Heart)"}

From the summer of 1958, that was B-13 on the Dell Jukebox, "Starlight Tonight,"

a glorious old school sound on Old Town Records by The Inspirators, a group

also known as The Five Stars. The Inspirators were one of many doo-wop

groups to emerge from Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood

in the 1950s. High school friends since 1949, they performed in

 Brooklyn clubs and placed second in the Apollo Theater's

amateur competition. The group released three singles

but failed to make it as a recording act. The ballad

you just heard, "Starlight Tonight," features the kind

of sweet doo-wop harmony teenagers of the 50s and 60s

loved slow dancing to at The Shady Dell in York, Pennsylvania.

Hi! I'm Debbie

the Dellette!

As you know, I'm "The Hostess with the Mostest"

and president of the Old York/Shady Dell chapter

of the Top Hit Club of America. I'm a dancing Dell

teenager of the 50s and I'm back with my friends,

four Dell teenagers of the 60s, who'll play more

of the Shady Dell's greatest hits. This is not an

SPMM radio program. We will be taking turns

dropping our coins into the slot and playing

the Dell's jukebox. At this time, I'd like to

reintroduce my friends from The Rat Pack

who are ready to entertain themselves

and you with their favorite Dell

songs of the mid to late 60s.

THE RAT PACK

(LEFT to RIGHT)

JULIE

PETE

LINDA

DOUG

Looks like Rat Packer Julie's taken her position at

the jukebox and is selecting her first Dell song.

JULIE: Deb, I wish that you had

still been going to the Dell in the

mid 60s when The Temptations

came along. They were Shady Dell

heavy hitters, landing eleven songs

on Shady Del Knight's list of The 200

Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell. I just

pressed N-11 for one of the group's

great mid-tempo love ballads, a song

written by two of Motown's Miracles,

Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore.

From the spring of 1965, here now

are The Temps singing their top 3

R&B hit-- "It's Growing!"

"It's Growing" - The Temptations

(Apr./May 1965, highest chart pos.

#3 R&B, #18 Hot 100/#19 Cash Box) 

PETE: My turn, Julie. As you pointed out,

The Temptations placed 11 of their songs

on Shady's list of the Top 200 Dell Songs

of the mid 60. Well, these guys also have

11 songs on that exclusive list. They're

the Four Tops, another great Motown

group, and I just pushed G-17 to play

one of those soulful sides. This Tops

45 made the top 3 winner's circle on

the R&B chart and top 5 on the pop

survey. Here are The Four Tops

with Dell song #175, a giant

of the jukebox in the spring

of 1967-- "Bernadette!"

DELL SONG #175

"Bernadette" - Four Tops

(Apr. 1967, highest chart pos.

#3 R&B/#4 Hot 100/#8 Cash Box) 

LINDA: Scoot over, Petey. I'm gonna

play one of the most popular but

unlikely Shady Dell hits of the

mid 60s. It's an example of the

Dell's "killer bee" phenomenon -

a B side that equaled or surpassed

the popularity of the A side. In fact,

I don't remember the A side of this

45 ever being played at the Dell.

The biggie I'm talking about is J-8,

a song by Sam The Sham And The

Pharaohs, the Tex-Mex band best

known for their 1965 novelty hit

"Wooly Bully," the first American

record to sell a million copies during

the British Invasion.  The song I'm

playing is on the back of their top

30 charting follow-up "Ju Ju Hand."

Way up there at #12 on the list of 

200 Greatest Dell Songs, here's

"Big City Lights!"

DELL SONG #12

"Big City Lights" - Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs

(Aug./Sept. 1965, B side of "Ju Ju Hand")

DOUG: Hey guys, I'm sure we all

agree that The Motown Sound was

hot down here "in the barn."  We've

already played records by two great

Motown boy groups. Now I'd like to

hear a Dell hit by one of the record

label's top girl groups, Martha And

The Vandellas. These ladies placed

five of their songs on the Dell's

Top 200 list. At #48 this is their

highest ranked Dell song and

one of their biggest national

hits, a single that topped the

R&B chart in the early spring

of '67. I just punched L-16

and here's- "Jimmy Mack!"

DELL SONG #48

"Jimmy Mack" - Martha And The Vandellas

(March/April 1967, highest chart pos.

#1 R&B/#6 Cash Box/#10 Hot 100)

JULIE: Step aside, Doug, because I've

got another great Motown song in mind,

this one by Edwin Starr. You know, it's

funny to me that The Nashville born,

Detroit based soul man is best known

for his hit protest song "War." At the

Dell, his biggest and best remembered

record was "Agent Double-O-Soul," a

single released during the secret agent,

spy and detective craze of the mid 60s.

Three years later, this Edwin Starr 45

merely Bubbled Under nationally, but

it was hot in the Shady. I just pressed

O-9, and here's that cool sound from

Shady Dell the College Years - Edwin

Starr in the spring of 1968 boasting--

"I Am The Man For You Baby!" 

"I Am The Man For You Baby" - Edwin Starr

(May 1968, highest chart pos. #45 R&B/#112 Bubbling Under)

PETE: It's almost curfew. Time for

the last record of the night. As we

prepare to walk away from the

Dell dance hall, I'm playing

"Walk Away Renée" by the

New York based baroque

pop band The Left Banke.

This single reached the top 5

on Billboard and continued on

to #2 on Cash Box, held back

from the top of the chart by

The Monkees and their smash 

hit "Last Train To Clarksville."

This hauntingly beautiful sound

was a powerful memory maker

at the Dell during the Halloween

season in 1966. Coming in at #129

on the Greatest Hits of The Dell,

here's H-1 - The Left Banke -

and "Walk Away Renée!"

DELL SONG #129

"Walk Away Renee" - The Left Banke

(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos. #2 Cash Box/#5 Hot 100)

CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!

I hope you enjoyed our second

meet-up, a bash in the barn...

the Dell dance hall... down here

where all the cool kids hang out.

Stay tuned. We'll be back soon

to feed the jukebox and play

more Dell gold. Now for

The Rat Pack - Julie,

Pete, Linda and Doug,

this is Debbie the Dellette,

"Your Hostess with the

Mostest," Bye bye!

"In The Basement - Pt. 1" - Etta James And Sugar Pie DeSanto

(Aug./Sept. 1966, highest chart pos. #37 R&B)

Debbie the Dellette 5 years later

Shady Train - Ep. 15: Body in the Middle of the Night!

BOOTH ANNOUNCER:

Shady Train...

the hippest trip in America!

60 nonstop minutes across the

tracks of your mind into the

exciting world of Soul!

And now, here's your host...

Don Cornelius!

Hey now,

welcome aboard.
You're right on time for
another super hip trip
on the Shady Train.
I guarantee you'll
enjoy the ride...
so let's roll.

And we are delighted to welcome for the first time three extraordinary canaries -
a soulful trio from Detroit consisting of the lovely and talented Body sisters:

Francina, Peggy and Letitita, the youngest children in a family of twelve.
They specialize in a form of music called swingbeat, also known as
New jack swing, a fusion of hip hop and R&B. As they join us
to do their debut single for MCA Records entitled "Middle
Of The Night," I'm sure you will agree that the ideal

name for this exciting new girl group is-- Body!

"Middle Of The Night" - Body

(May/June 1987, from 1987 album Body)

START PLAYING VIDEO

AT 40 SEC. MARK!

And look out now, don't hurt yourself.

It's the Shady Train gang, the Shady

Train line. They're bustin' loose to

their love jones with the latest by

Jesse Johnson. We think it's one

of the baddest sounds in town

or anywhere else around,

a little thing called--

"Love Struck!"

"Love Struck" - Jesse Johnson

(May 1988, highest chart pos. #4 R&B/#78 Hot 100)

And we are excited to have with us on

today's ride a veteran Detroit soul man

who is currently part of the changing

sound of Motown. He is riding high

at the top of the chart with his latest

single for the label, a song originally

recorded by The Temptations. As he

joins us to do what is fast becoming

one of the most popular protest songs

ever recorded entitled "War," make

some big noise, gang, for Agent

Double-O-Soul-- Edwin Starr!

"War" - Edwin Starr

(Aug./Sept. 1970, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B)

And now it's time to bring in one of

the true musical geniuses of our time.

As he joins us courtesy of our friends

over on The Midnight Special to do his

latest single on the A&M label entitled

"Will It Go Round In Circles"... how

'bout it, gang, for-- Mr. Billy Preston!

"Will It Go Round In Circles"

Billy Preston (June/July 1973,

highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100

& Cash Box/#10 R&B, perf.

 on The Midnight Special)

And the Shady Train dancers are gonna

style awhile to a groove that makes you

wanna move real smooth. It's the latest

from the Change gang-- "Hold Tight!" 

"Hold Tight" - Change (July/Aug. 1981, highest chart pos. #40 R&B/#89 Hot 100

And let's welcome aboard four of Philly's

Phinest entertainers, a group that has been among the leading names in soul

since, believe it or not, the mid 1950s.

As they join us to do their latest single

on the Philadelphia International label,

the chart-topping ballad "If You Don't

Know Me By Now," lets put some

hands together, gang, for the mighty -

Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes!

"If You Don't Know Me By Now"

 - Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes (Nov./Dec. 1972,

highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#2 Cash Box/#3 Hot 100)

And across the river from Philly we go

to Camden, NJ, for the club sound. It's

a pleasure to have with us a talented

duo that is responsible for one of the

hottest freestyle dance-pop songs of

the year, a biggin everybody's diggin'

entitled "Catch Me, I'm Falling" from

the soundtrack of the John Cryer -

Annabeth Gish dramedy Hiding Out.

Featuring the vivacious Jade Starling

singing lead, here is-- Pretty Poison!

"Catch Me (I'm Falling)" - Pretty Poison

(Oct. thru Dec. 1987, highest chart pos. #8 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

#13 R&B, from Nov. 1987 film Hiding Out)

And if that don't do it for you nothin'

ever will. We hope you'll come back

and get into it with us next time when

once again we pop open a six pack

and toss in an extra cool one for

good measure, and you can bet

your last money, it's all gonna

be a stone gas, honey. I'm Don

Cornelius, and as always in

parting, we wish you love...

peace... and soul!

Dell Rat Tom's Jukebox Giants - Volume 1: Hold On!

BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:

...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.

And that's the latest from S-P-M-M news...
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by for

 DELL RAT TOM'S 
 JUKEBOX GIANTS 

on the station that's #1 for music and fun - S-P-M-M!

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"This Old Heart Of Mine" - The Isley Brothers

(Mar. 1966, highest chart pos. #12 Hot 100/#6 R&B)

The Isleys starting us off with a monster hit from my

Shady Dell years, "This Old Heart Of Mine," ranked #20 on
my exclusive survey of The 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell.

Hello and welcome to Jukebox Giants!
I'm your host Dell Rat Tom...

an alumnus of the famous and infamous Shady Dell hangout for teenagers
located on the south side of York, Pennsylvania. I am thrilled to be here
and proud to be a member of "The Shady Bunch," the DJ staff on the
all new S-P-M-M radio. On Jukebox Giants I will play the greatest
hits of the Shady Dell, the songs I came to know and love in the
mid and late 60s, the span of years during which I regularly
attended the Dell. Some of these records will be familiar
because they were national hits. Others will be new to
you because they are "Dell songs" - forgotten B sides
and records made by little known artists. Many of
these obscure recordings were elevated to mega-hit
status by the Rodentia Intelligentsia - the Dell rat gang -
the fastidious young men and women who knew the latest
dances and "voted" for danceworthy records by dropping
their dimes and quarters into the slot and playing them
on the jukebox. As you will hear on today's show
and future blogcasts, those kids were savvy.
They had radar for cool.

Without a doubt, the Central Pennsylvania blue-eyed

soul band The Magnificent Men were the #1 act at the

Shady Dell, and you are about to hear one of their best

recordings, a version of a popular French song written

by Charles Trenet. Translated into English, the title asks

"What Remains of Our  Love?" For American listeners

the words were rewritten by composer and lyricist

Albert Beach and the the title of the song became

"I Wish You Love." 

The song was introduced in the U.S. in 1957 by Keely Smith,

the Grammy Award winning singer who died at the end of last

year at age 89. Early in 1964 jazz singer Gloria Lynne reached

the top 30 on the R&B chart with a version of the song. Now

let's listen to a cover that's an absolute killer. In my opinion

this is Buddy King's finest vocal performance among many.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here they are - Buddy, Dave Bupp and the Mag Men-- "I Wish You Love."

"I Wish You Love" - The Magnificent Men

(from 1967 album The Magnificent Men)

The Magnificent Men there with a great version of "I Wish You Love."

In the Dell popularity sweepstakes, this next act wasn't

far behind the Mag Men. They're The Emperors, another

hot band from the Susquehanna Valley, Harrisburg to

be exact. These cool cats laid down a wailin' pound

of sound, a mix of garage funk, R&B and Soul. Their

first single, "Karate," released in December 1966,

was their biggest hit. "Karate" reached the top 30

on the national R&B chart, chopped through

almost half the rungs on the pop ladder

and was a regional smash. 

"Karate" played on the Dell jukebox several times every night

through the Christmas season of '66 and the early months of '67.

In 1971 Carlos Santana waxed a cover of "Karate" using the

same melody with different lyrics. Santana's single,

"Everybody's Everything," brushed the top 10.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Dell rats know that the Emperors original is still the greatest.
Here they are, The Emperors of Harrisburg, with a record
that ruled at the Shady Dell-- "Karate!"

"Karate" - The Emperor's (Dec. 1966, Jan. 1967,

highest chart pos. #55 Hot 100/#30 R&B)

The Emperors with "Karate," #25 on my survey of

The Shady Dell's Greatest Hits of the mid 60s.

Hey, if you're just tuning in, I'm Dell Rat Tom and you're

listening to Jukebox Giants on S-P-M-M radio. Speaking

of giants of the jukebox, The Temptations were another

group of towering titans at the Dell, and I've got one of

their best. Written by Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore

of the Miracles and produced by Smokey, this mid-tempo

Motown sound has it all - strong lyrics that resonate,

sweet soul harmony and tasteful orchestration.

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

This one was hot on the jukebox when I first arrived at the Dell as a

15 year old newbie. Here they are, The Temptations, with one of the

smoothest soul songs ever recorded. At #71 on the Shady Dell
hit parade-- "Since I Lost My Baby."

"Since I Lost My Baby" - The Temptations

(Aug./Sept. 1965, highest chart pos. #17 Hot 100)

Motown's top male group, The Temptations, with another

Jukebox Giant - the mellow favorite "Since I Lost My Baby."

Up next is a top 40 hit by The Strangeloves...

the fake Australian band created by New York

record producers Feldman, Goldstein and

Gottehrer, the guys best known for their hit

"I Want Candy." Although it wasn't as big as

"Candy" nationally, my next featured single

was a regional hit, one that I like more for

two reasons, first because I played drums

and dug the big beat sound, and second

because of the song's theme and lyrics.

 My buddies and I made up our own set of naughty words and sang

them whenever the record played at the Dell or across the hill at

Bud's Drive-In, another popular hangout for teens.

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

Here now is one of the coolest and sassiest sounds of the Sixties--

F-G-G aka The Strangeloves and-- "Cara-Lin."

"Cara-Lin" - The Strangeloves

(Sept. 1965, highest chart pos. #39 Hot 100)

That was "Cara Lin" - #84 on my list of The 200 Greatest Hits of The Shady Dell,

and this is Dell Rat Tom with Jukebox Giants here on S-P-M-M Radio,

where all the cool oldies go to play.

Now here's a memory maker from Shady Dell The College

Years, the four year period when I was out of town atten-

ding an institute of high and yearning. It's Detroit soul

man Edwin Starr with what I call a killer bee (killer B)

 - the fab flip side of his 1968 single "I Am The Man

For You Baby." This 45 is an example of a "double-

sider" or a "two-fer" because you get two great

songs for the price of one. Dell rats always

checked out the B sides of records for

hidden gold and many Dell hits

were born that way.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

This side features the dramatic pounding of "war" drums.

From the spring of '68, Edwin Starr-- "My Weakness Is You."

"My Weakness Is You" - Edwin Starr

(May 1968, uncharted B side of

"I Am The Man For You Baby"

which Bubbled Under at #112)

Edwin Starr and "My Weakness Is You," a fab flip side

popular at the Dell during my freshman year at college.

Gosh, time's up for this edition of Jukebox Giants. Thanks for tuning in.
I invite you to join me next time for more of the Shady Dell's greatest hits
on S-P-M-M - the station that's number one for music and fun.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Now this is Dell Rat Tom reminding you to make
every day a holiday and every night a Shady Dell night.

Hold on, it's Sam & Dave with Dell song #15. Bye bye!

"Hold On! I'm A Comin'" - Sam And Dave

(May, June, July 1966, highest chart pos.
#21 Hot 100, #1 R&B)