Top Hit Club of America Inc. - Old York/Shady DellChapter, Vol. 4: In the Wee Wee Hours (Of the Nite) Whisper (Softly) You're Mine, Oh Baby Doll

Hi, I'm Debbie the Dellette...

a teenager of the 50s dancing at the Dell.

I am also president of the Old York - Shady Dell

chapter of the Top Hit Club of America!

 Today my friends and I will make  

 you regret the day you were born! 

What do I mean by that? When you hear the records my fellow Dell rats

play at today's meeting, you will wish you had been a teenager in York, PA,
in the 1950s and 60s and a regular at Shady Dell during those golden years.

Spoiler alert! Seven songs will be played at today's meeting.

They are all gems of the genre and were local or regional hits.

Yet, incredibly, only one of these songs made the national

chart... and that includes the Bubbling Under chart!

Remember, as these original rats spin their songs:

"Don't just listen with your ears - listen with your heart."

The rats are restless and eager to get started, and I second that emotion.
The meeting of the Old York - Shady Dell chapter of the
Top Hit Club of America will hereby come to order!

As I review the minutes of our last meeting,
I am reminded that in volume 3, original

Dell rat Ron Shearer teamed up with  
Dell rat Tom Anderson, and the
veteran vermin took turns
playing Dell classics.

Today it's our good friend Jerre Slaybaugh's
turn to play dueling turntables with Tom.

Jerre was sworn in as a Dell rat in 1959

and ran with the pack through the mid 60s.
Jerre sent us a list of the memorable tunes
played in the Dell dance hall during the years
he hung out there, and I am proud to play
them for Jerre's entertainment and yours.

 THE LAFAYETTES 

Jerre's first play of the day is a mid-Atlantic

regional biggie, a sizzler from the summer

of 1962, and the only song you'll hear at

 today's meeting that registered on the

national chart. It's a neat doo-wop sound

by The Lafayettes, a pop rock 'n' roll band

from Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of

D.C. As you listen to the record, take note

of the clave rhythm that seems inspired by

The Gladiolas'/Diamonds' hit "Little Darlin'

and vocals that might remind you of the early

60s lineup of The Drifters" with Rudy Lewis

on lead replacing Ben E. King. Here are

The Layafettes with their best known

song-- "Life's Too Short!"

 "Life's Too Short" - The Lafayettes 

 (July/Aug. 1962, highest chart pos.

 #78 Cash Box/#87 Hot 100) 

 JAMES BROWN AND 

 THE FAMOUS FLAMES 

Jerre digs the sound James Brown was puttin' down

early in his career, and he wants you to hear a song

from JB's important but vastly underrated album

James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the

U.S.A. Released on the first day of January in

1962. the long-play was the first by Brown to

place a significant amount of emphasis on

heavy rhythm and uptempo numbers, giving

listeners a preview of what would become his

trademark style in the decades that followed.

Listen now to James Brown And The Famous

Flames-- "In the Wee Wee Hours (Of the Nite)."

 "In the Wee Wee Hours (Of the Nite)" 

 - James Brown And The Famous Flames 

 (from Jan.1962 album James Brown and 

 His Famous Flames Tour the U.S.A.) 

 THE CHANTELS 

The Harlem-based Bobbettes were the first

black girl group to have nationwide success.

The Bronx-based Chantels were the second.

With Arlene Smith on lead, The Chantels

enjoyed a string of crossover R&B - pop

hits from the late 50s through early 60s.

The sensational ballad you are about to

hear, released at the start of summer in

1959, was not one of them. Incredibly,

it didn't make the pop chart, didn't

make the R&B chart, didn't even

Bubble Under. Here now are

The Chantels to sing-

"Goodbye To Love."

 "Goodbye To Love" - The Chantels 

 (June 1959) 

 THE AVONS 

Jerre's last play of the day is another glorious

ballad, this one by The Avons, a five member

doo-wop group from Englewood, New Jersey.

They originally called themselves The Robins,

but needed to change their name to avoid being

confused with a Robins group in Los Angeles.

Two members of that LA-based Robins group

later signed with Atlantic Records and formed

the highly successful novelty rock & roll act

The Coasters. The Jersey Robins changed

their name to The Avons and released

singles on New York's Hull label.

Taking us back to the fall of 1961,

here now are The Avons and--

"Whisper (Softly)." 

 "Whisper (Softly)" - The Avons 

 (fall 1961) 

Thanks for the music

and memories, Jerre!

Now I'm gonna hand the

mic to Dell Rat Tom who

 brought a few of his own

favorites to the meeting.

Take it away, Tommy boy!

 THE SENTIMENTALS 

Thanks, Debbie. It's always a pleasure to

get together with you and the guys here at

our Top Hit Club tree house headquarters.

 By the way, I love it when you call me

"Tommy boy." 😍😍😍

It's a well known fact that Dell Rat Jerre

likes doo-wop group ballads of the 1950s

 and early 60s. By and large,  I prefer

beats over ballads, and I can't wait to

play the three up tempo killers that

I brought to the turntable.

 Like The Robins mentioned in the intro to Jerre's last song, there were

at least three different groups recording in the late 50s and early 60s

using the name The Sentimentals. The group that I'm featuring was

from Coney Island, New York, and featured Sylvester Jackson

on lead vocals. This record was released in April 1962 on the

B side of  "Danny Boy." I say it should have been pushed

as the A side because it's a knock out. Here now are

The Sentimentals on New York's Mint label

rocking the block with "You're Mine!"

 "You're Mine" - The Sentimentals 

 (rec. 1958, rel. Apr. 1962, B side of "Danny Boy") 

 THE DANLEERS 

My second spin is by The Danleers, the Brooklyn,

New York, doo-wop R&B group best remembered

for their 1958 top 10/top 5 (pop chart/R&B chart)

hit single "One Summer Night." I found a terrific

song of theirs released around Christmas that

same year that should have been another hit

for the act. Instead, it came and went on the

B side of a poor selling single. Here are

The Danleers with-- "A Picture Of You!"

 "A Picture of You" - The Danleers 

 (Dec. 1958, B side of "Prelude To Love") 

 BOB AND EARL 

To finish my set, I've got one of the coolest

sounds around. It's a record by the soul duo

Bob And Earl released during the Christmas

season in 1962. "Bob" was Bobby Byrd, who

went by the name Bobby Day on the 1958

hit "Rockin' Robin." "Earl" was Earl Nelson,

who used the name Jackie Lee to record

"The Duck" and other R&B hits of the 60s.

Both talented men had been members of

the popular Los Angeles-based doo-wop

group The Hollywood Flames.

 

As Bob And Earl, the talented men are best remembered for their

early 1964 hit "Harlem Shuffle." This one made waves a year earlier

at the start of '63. Here are Bob And Earl with-- "Oh Baby Doll!"

 "Oh Baby Doll" - Bob And Earl 

 (Dec. 1962) 

Many thanks to Dell rats Jerry Slaybaugh and Tom Anderson

for sharing their Shady Dell music and memories with us.

I hope you had a good time eavesdropping on this meeting of the

Old York - Shady Dell Chapter of the Top Hit Club of America. 

Stay tuned for more golden greats of the 50s and 60s spun by

Dell rats Jerre Slaybaugh, Ron Shearer and Tom Anderson

 coming up in future volumes. This is Debbie the Dellette

saying bye-bye for now and see you next time!

March Gladness: It's a Slam Dunk as Jim Sieling and Dell Rat Tom Introduce THE BIG THREE!

You've heard of the Sweet Sixteen,

the Elite Eight and the Final Four. 

Dell Rat Tom circa 1961, age 11

Today Jim and I are spreading 

  MARCH GLADNESS

and introducing you to

 THE BIG THREE! 

Hi, friends!

Dell Rat Tom

back to share with you another

surprise from my hometown -

York, PA. It's another picture

that's directly related to my old

alma mater - The Shady Dell. 

The picture arrived in an

email sent by my friend

Jim Sieling, a Yorker

with family ties to

John Ettline and

The Dell. 

As you recall, Jim is the husband of Nancy Rae Sieling,

the niece of Dell owner John Ettline. 

 Last year, Jim sent me pictures of a 45 rpm record, "Close Your Eyes" by the

Five Keys, the song that tops my list of the 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell.

Writing on the label indicates that my first wife and I shipped that record to

Helen & John at the Dell in 1973. I had forgotten all about it over the years!

Jim found the 45 in a large batch of records salvaged from the Dell's

dance hall jukebox (above) which Jim also owns. A few months later,

Jim surprised me again by sending pics of another record of special

interest to Dell rats, another record that I had sent to the Ettlines

and forgot about - "Jingle Bell Rock." Today I present the third

surprise from Jim, yet another priceless picture. Jim explained: 

Tom -- It’s been a while since I last contacted you. I’ve been busy organizing

 the 45’s that were saved from the Shady Dell. Most are now in artist sequence,

 have title strips, and are in sleeves. There are still a few that need title strips

and some of them also need sleeves. Once they are merged together the

final step will be log them into my computer so a particular record

can be found either by artist or song. There may be as many as

2500 records – once they have been entered into the

database we will have a good count. 

In any event, after reading your blog I kept my eyes open and found

the original copies of your Shady Dell top three songs and have

attached a photo of all three together to this note. 

Apparently at one time ‘Close Your Eyes’ was at location A 3...

...and N 8 was pressed for ‘Peace of Mind’.  I hope the pictures

bring back even more fond memories of The Dell. - Jim 

Jim, you have me shaking my head

and smiling ear to ear, my friend!

I am very grateful to you for sharing

these priceless pictures with me and

with Shady's Place readers. It blows

my mind to gaze at these records,

"The Big Three" - the top three

Jukebox Giants of the Dell -

and to realize these are the

actual records I listened and

danced to hundreds of times

at the Dell in the mid 1960s.

It's surreal that these are the

same title strips I squinted

to read as I peered into that

Seeburg  jukebox in the

 dimly lit Dell dance hall,

the strips that compelled

me to play these great

songs countless times.

 Yes, Jim, thanks to you my mind is indeed reeling and filled with fond

memories. Thank you very much for this kind gesture, my friend! 

Now that the field of 200 Greatest Dell Hits has been whittled down to

THE BIG THREE, let's listen to a few songs. Last year, in my first

post inspired by Jim's generosity, I played "Close Your Eyes."

To listen to the song again, click HERE. For today's post,

Jim sent me the picture below, a marvelous closeup of

 the label and the many different title strips used in

the jukebox over the years for "Close Your Eyes."

 Jim wrote: This one record (out of all the records found at the Dell) had

so many title strips. (I don’t think any other one had more than 4). There

must have been something special about this 45 !!!! Probably about 90% +

of all of the hand written strips over all the years were printed by the same

person (notice the L’s, G’s, & T’s). I’m guessing it had to be either John or Helen. 

Yes indeed, there was something special

about that 45, Jim. As you already know,

"Close Your Eyes" ranks #1 on my list of

The Dell's Greatest Hits. It also earned

the title of Record of Greatest Longevity

because it first entered the Dell jukebox

shortly after its release in January, 1955,

and it was still being played frequently

 ten years later in 1965 when I arrived

on the scene. In fact, "Close Your Eyes"

was still in the "Barn box" and still

popular in 1971 when I ended my

stint as a Dell rat and moved away

from York. To my knowledge, no

other record lasted that long on the

Dell's main jukebox. It should be noted

that many other 1950s doo-wop records

were eventually retired from the jukebox

in the Barn and found a new home inside

the music machine in Helen's snack bar.

 

Since I played the A side

song "Close Your Eyes"

last year, today I'd like

to spin the seldom heard

B side of that Five Keys

single. I honestly don't

remember this song

being played at Dell,

even though it's on

the back of the #1

ranked Dell hit.

From what I've gathered

on YouTube, the song is

an early example of the

Carolina Beach Music

genre. Here now are

The Five Keys with--

"Doggone It, You Did It." 

"Doggone It, You Did It" - The Five Keys

(Jan. 1955, B side of "Close Your Eyes") 

The second biggest hit of the Shady Dell is by the local York group

The Del-Chords aka Del-Cords led by Dave Bupp and Buddy King. 

Released in 1964, this dreamy soul ballad was played on radio stations

across the mid-Atlantic region and is one of Pittsburgh's Favorite Oldies.

In "the Barn" at the Dell, it was a monster, a genuine Jukebox Giant.

Here are Bupp, King and The Del-Chords reminding us that--

"Everybody's Gotta Lose Someday." 

"Everybody's Gotta Lose Someday" - The Del-Chords

(1964, uncharted nationally #2 Shady Dell) 

I consider the Del-Chords' platter a double-sider, because the flip

is also fantastic. Here's a sad story that's got to be told, a song

originally titled "Daddy's Lonely," and officially released

as-- "Your Mommy Lied To Your Daddy." 

"Your Mommy Lied To Your Daddy" - The Del-Chords

(1964, B side of "Everybody's Gotta Lose Someday")

We now move to the third record scan sent in by Jim Sieling,

the #3 ranked Dell song "Peace Of Mind" by our hometown

heroes... The Magnificent Men. Lead singers Dave Bupp

and Buddy King founded the all white member R&B

 and soul band after dissolving The Del-Chords.

Along with "Stormy Weather," this is one of the group's signature songs,

a smash hit at the Dell in 1966 and beyond. Rats scurried out to the

dance floor, formed a line and rode the tempo as The Mag Men

performed-- "Peace Of Mind."

"Peace Of Mind" - The Magnificent Men

(Mar. thru Sept. 1966, uncharted, #3 Shady Dell )

Those were The Magnificent Men with

 the sweet soul anthem "Peace Of Mind,"

a single that missed the national chart

but hit the Dell like a tsunami, earning

the lofty position of #3 on my list -

the third most popular song on the

Shady Dell jukebox in the mid 60s. 

Now let's flip that platter, because

it's another genuine double-sider...

two great songs for the price of one.

Here again are "our blue-eyed soul

brothers," The Magnificent Men,

with the Northern dancer-- "All

Your Lovin's Gone To My Head."

"All Your Lovin's Gone To My Head"

- The Magnificent Men (Mar. thru Sept.

1966, B side of "Peace Of Mind,"

#18 Shady Dell)

As a bonus, I will expand 

THE BIG THREE

into

 THE VINYL FOUR

and play the 4th biggest hit of

the Shady Dell in the mid 60s. 

The majestic fanfare at

the start of this record

was the signal that sent

Dell couples flocking to

the floor for three minutes

of heavenly embrace -

ample time to do some

huggin' and smoochin'.

Hands down this is one of

the greatest R&B ballads

of all time. At #4 on the

Dell's 200 Greatest Hits

survey, Mr. Dynamite,

James Brown, sings--

"It's a Man's Man's

Man's World."

"It's A Man's Man's Man's World"

James Brown And The Famous Flames

(May, June 1966, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,

#4 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100/#4 Shady Dell)

You just witnessed a steaming, sizzling, sweat-drenched performance by

The hardest working man in show business, James Brown, along with

his crackerjack band, The Famous Flames, doing "It's A Man's Man's

Man's World," the song ranked #4 on my Dell's Greatest Hits list.

Once again I wish to thank my good friend Jim Sieling in York

for his kindness and generosity, and for doing so much

to preserve the Shady Dell legacy. 

Have a Shady day!