Meet Pop Music's Unsung Heroine
GINNY ARNELL
and watch LIVE AND IN COLOR
as investigative reporter
GERALDO RIVERA
probes one of history's greatest
musical mysteries and scores
a ratings hit "In the Grotto."
The regularly scheduled program
will not be seen tonight... but will
return next week at its regular time.
Now stay tuned for the following
Shady's Place exclusive presentation:
"In The Grotto." Here's your host,
I-Team reporter Geraldo Rivera!
Join me as I attempt to solve:
A MYSTERY
WRAPPED IN A RIDDLE
INSIDE AN ENIGMA!
Tonight, as you sit in your easy chair in the comfort and safety of your home,
you will witness broadcast history being made as I boldly go where no man
has gone before. Experience the excitement and suspense as I venture deep
beneath the earth's surface and travel through a dark, some say "haunted"
cave in a remote, undisclosed location somewhere in the desert southwest.
It is here in this isolated, God forsaken subterranean cavity that our
adventure begins. I will sweep aside spider infested cobwebs and
crack open an ancient vault that is believed to hold treasure.
It might just as easily contain the funk of 40,000 years.
Alright, we're heading underground. From this point on, my
production crew will turn the camera away from me and
give you a p.o.v. shot. Your eyes are seeing exactly
what I am seeing as we make our way deeper
and deeper into the foreboding pit.
We are already close to a hundred feet below ground level.
The long trek to rock bottom has only just begun.
Say goodbye to the last rays of sunlight we'll see for a while.
I'm starting to feel claustrophobic and apprehensive.
As we continue on, in the interest of transparency and full disclosure,
I need to tell you that, although no man has gone here before, two
young women actually did explore this creepy isolated cavern
back in 1959. Millie Brubaker, an ambitious cub reporter for
the local newspaper who fancied herself an amateur sleuth,
went looking for this very same vault. We might never
know if she found it... and here's why.
The disturbing picture below was taken by Millie's friend and
colleague, Polly Patagonia, the newspaper's staff photographer,
who accompanied Millie into this isolated hell hole.
Seconds after Polly's camera captured this terrifying moment,
she lost consciousness. When she awoke, her friend Millie
was gone and was never seen or heard from again. On a
happier note, Polly's amazing picture went viral and she
won the "Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography."
How's that for a happy ending?
Okay, as you can see, I'm now deep in this creepy crypt
and approaching the long abandoned vault.
Does it contain buried treasure... or will this turn out to be,
as it was for Millie Brubaker... a chamber of horrors?
We are now at ground zero, the vault, and suddenly there is literally electricity
in the air. The walls are crackling with some kind of energy and emitting
strange ribbons of light. I've never seen anything like this bizarre,
unsettling phenomenon. It's as if someone... or something
doesn't want us here... doesn't want us
violating this sacred place.
With the help of five bodybuilders from Gold's Gym,
I am now prying open the massive steel door.
This is the moment we've been waiting for... the moment of truth.
The excitement and suspense are palpable. I'm hyperventilating.
Now, here's a word from the makers of America's Most Famous Dessert...
J-E-L-L-O. Kids of all ages know: "There's Always Room for Jell-O."
And we're back live. During the break, I emerged from the pit.
I can now reveal what I discovered inside the vault, an airtight
compartment that had remained sealed for nearly 60 years.
I found a box containing the recordings of Ginny Arnell, a Connecticut
singer who began her career paired with another Connecticut native,
Gene Pitney, who you might recall rose to fame as both a singer
and a songwriter. In 1959, coincidentally the same year that
Millie Brubaker went missing, Gene and Ginny released
two uncharted singles as the duo act Jamie And Jane.
You can listen to their first record, "Snuggle Up Baby"
released in March 1959, by clicking here. You can
listen to their second 1959 single, "Classical Rock
And Roll," a song that starts out sounding a lot
like "Jailhouse Rock," by clicking here.
I'm more interested in the records Ginny made as a solo artist in the
years that followed, and I'm going to listen to ten of them right now.
Through the miracle of modern technology, I have loaded Ginny's
ten songs onto your computer and combined them with the covers
of vintage teen romance comics. These colorful pulp magazine
illustrations will help set the mood for Ginny's story songs
about teenage infatuation, puppy love and broken hearts.
Listen to Ginny sing and afterward read my review.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO PLAY GINNY'S SONGS!
"Yesterday's Memories"
Brenda Lee - Skeeter Davis
Sound by Ginny Arnell
(June 1964)
"Portrait Of A Fool"
Glorious Country-pop Ballad
by Ginny Arnell (Jan. 1965,
B side of "Just Like A Boy")
"Trouble's Back In Town"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(June 1963)
"I'm So Afraid Of Loving You"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(From 1964 album Meet Ginny Arnell)
"Tell Me What He Said"
by Ginny Arnell (Dec. 1960, B side
of "Look Who's Talkin'")
"Dumb Head"
by Ginny Arnell (Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964,
highest chart pos. #50 Hot 100,
#60 Cash Box)
"How Many Times
Can One Heart Break"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964, B side
of "Dumb Head"
"I Wish I Knew
What Dress To Wear"
GERALDO'S "PICK TO CLICK"
by Ginny Arnell (Mar./Apr. 1964,
highest chart pos. #130 Bubbling under)
"He's My Little Devil"
Gene Pitney Sound by Ginny Arnell
(Mar./Apr. 1964, B side of "I Wish
I Knew What Dress To Wear")
"Watch What You Do
With My Baby"
By Ginny Arnell (from 1964
album Meet Ginny Arnell)
GERALDO'S
REVIEW:
After listening to the recordings of
Ginny Arnell, I can draw only one
conclusion. She's Old School Cool.
A little bit Brenda Lee, a little
bit Connie Francis, a little bit
Sue Thompson, a little bit
Everly Bros. and a whole
lotta Gene Pitney, Ginny
is a delightful singer who
deserved a much greater
measure of success and
fame, every bit as much
as her early singing
partner... the late,
great Gene Pitney.
Incredibly, only one of Ginny's solo singles, "Dumb Head," made it even
halfway up the Hot 100 chart. It should be noted that "Dumb Head" was
one of the casualties of the JFK assassination. The record entered the
Billboard chart in November, 1963, just 6 days before the president
was shot. In the weeks that followed, the nation was in mourning
and many excellent pop recordings released during the period
struggled on the chart and sold poorly. To top it off, Ginny
and other teen pop queens and kings suffered a knock-out
punch when The Beatles and their kind burst onto the scene.
Furthermore, my Pick To Click, "I Wish I Knew What Dress To Wear,"
lingered near the bottom of the Bubbling Under chart at #130. Seriously?
In the early months of 1964, with The Beatles and other British and
American rock bands coming on strong, "I Wish I Knew What Dress"
To Wear" was one of the last glimmers of hope for sweet girl pop
artists and songs about proper attire and etiquette, adolescent
insecurity and innocent teenage romance, although it should
be remembered that Lesley Gore continued having hits
with the formula for a couple more years.
GINNY ARNELL
The Female Gene Pitney and
Pop Music's Unsung Heroine
And so, my perilous journey down into the ancient catacombs did indeed
yield treasure - the long lost gold nuggets of pop songstress Ginny Arnell.
Ginny's was one of the most beautiful singing voices of the 1960s.
She made significant contributions to the teen pop and girl group
genres. Ginny's teen angst anthems were released by major record
labels, Decca and MGM. Why then didn't she become a major star?
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer. With all she had to offer,
so much talent and so many great recordings... the fact that
Ginny Arnell isn't one of the big names in music remains
one of music history's greatest unsolved mysteries.
Her case truly is:
A MYSTERY
WRAPPED IN A RIDDLE
INSIDE AN ENIGMA
I'm Geraldo Rivera. Thanks for being here for this Shady's Place exclusive,
an unprecedented television event brought to you live and in color -
the cracking open of an ancient hidden vault in search of musical treasure.
This was merely a sneak preview of things to come. Please check your
local listings and stay tuned for the official launch of my new series
coming soon to Shady's Place Music & Memories. It'll be called:
It's My Vault... and That's Vinyl.
So long!
