Helen Ettline - Every Dell Rat's Mom: He's Gone to Cha Cha Cha Up On The Roof

 Shady Dell owner Helen Ettline 

 didn't have any children of her own. 

 In a way, we were all her kids 

 and she was our mom. 

Clearly Helen & John

loved kids. Why else

would they have

put up with the

aggravation all

those years?

The Ettlines

believed in kids.

They enjoyed

counseling and

helping kids.

The pictures above and below remind me ever so much of Helen's snack bar

and the jukebox in the adjoining room where rows of diner booths were located.

To remember and honor

Helen on Mother's Day,

I picked four songs that

I think she would enjoy.

Helen, these are for you.

 LITTLE ANTHONY 

 AND THE IMPERIALS 

Over the years, on Helen's special days, I have often played

"Two People In The World," by Little Anthony And The Imperials.

I refer to the ballad as "Helen's Song" because I remember it

being played so many times on the snack bar jukebox. 

Today, as we honor Helen on Mother's Day, I'd like to spin another

Little Anthony classic. From the fall of 1964, here is the group's

top 20 comeback hit, a song written by Teddy Randazzo and

Bobby Weinstein. Little Anthony And The Imperials sing--

"I'm On The Outside (Looking In)."

"I'm On The Outside (Looking In)" - Little Anthony And The Imperials

(Sept./Oct. 1964, highest chart pos. #15 Hot 100 & R&B/#20 Cash Box) 

 THE DRIFTERS 

"The Second Drifters" is the name given in 1958 to the new lineup

of the veteran doo-wop/R&B/Soul group. In 1961, The Drifters

got another makeover when Rudy Lewis joined as lead singer.

Lewis led the group on a string of polished, sophisticated, orchestrated hits

of the pre-Beatles early 60s. I think Helen would enjoy this song, one of the

group's biggest successes of the period. Written by the Brill Building team

of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song reminds city dwellers that

they can escape the hustle and bustle of life on the street and

shed their cares and woes  -- "Up On The Roof."

"Up On The Roof" - The Drifters

(Dec. 1962/Jan. 1963, highest chart pos.

#4 R&B/#5 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box)

 THE CHANTELS 

Up next, the angelic harmonies of The Chantels, the pioneering Bronx-

based African-American R&B girl group of the 50s led by Arlene Smith. 

The Chantels gained their first charting record in the fall of 1957 with

 a song written by Arlene. The single made a dent in the pop chart

but, oddly, didn't show up on the R&B survey. Listen now to

this glorious ballad, one of The Chantels' best recordings

and a classic of the genre -- "He's Gone." 

"He's Gone" - The Chantels

(Oct. 1957, highest chart pos. #71 Hot 100)

 SAM COOKE 

To complete this year's Mother's Day song serenade for Helen,

here's singer/songwriter Sam Cooke with one of his biggest R&B hits. 

It's a song Sam wrote about the cha-cha-cha, a Cuban dance that gained
widespread popularity in America in the late 50s. Released at the start
of 1959, Sam's single reached #2 on the R&B chart and made a run
at the top 30 on the pop side. The young folks in the audience were
chewing up a storm as Sam appeared on Dick Clark's Saturday Night
Beechnut Show and declared-- "Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha!"

"Everybody Likes To Cha Cha Cha" - Sam Cooke

(Mar. thru May 1959, highest chart pos. #2 R&B,

#31 Hot 100, performance on Mar. 14, 1959, ep.

of Dick Cark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show) 

 Happy Mother's Day, Helen! 

 We love you and miss you! 

Helen Ettline - Every Dell Rat's Mom: To Know You... Is To Love You

 Shady Dell owner Helen Ettline 

 didn't have any children of her own. 

 In a way, we were all her kids 

 and she was our mom. 

Clearly Helen & John

loved kids. Why else

would they have

put up with the

aggravation all

those years?

The Ettlines

believed in kids.

They enjoyed

counseling and

helping kids.

The pictures above and below remind me ever so much of Helen's snack bar

and the jukebox in the adjoining room where rows of diner booths were located.

To remember and honor

Helen on Mother's Day,

I picked six songs that

I think she would enjoy.

Helen, these are for you.

 LITTLE ANTHONY 

 AND THE IMPERIALS 

Helen loved the doo-wop soul of Little Anthony And The Imperials.

To begin this year's tribute, I've got the record that enabled the group

to mount a mid 60s comeback after four lean and hitless years.

The song, written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein and released as a single

in 1964, went top 10 on the R&B chart and top 20 on the pop side. In a scene from

an episode of American Bandstand, the teenage studio dancers cuddle and sway

as Little Anthony and The Imperials sing-- "I'm on the Outside (Looking In)."

 "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)" - Little Anthony & The Imperials 

 (Sept./Oct. 1964, highest chart pos. #8 R&B/#15 Hot 100/#20 Cash Box, 

 #12 Canada, scene from Aug. 22, 1964, ep. of American Bandstand) 

 BILLY STORM 

This year, I am also playing for Helen two songs by a

U.S. solo artist and two by a popular UK duo.

First, here's Billy Storm aka

Billy Fortune, Bill Spicer and

Billy Jones, a Los Angeles

based R&B/Soul singer who

sounded a lot like R&B star

Clyde Mcphatter who sang

lead for The Drifters and had

a string of solo hits. Keep in

mind that Helen played Drifters

records on the jukebox in her

snack bar. In the summer of

1954, Clyde McPhatter and

The Drifters scored a chart-

topping R&B hit with the

calypso styled "Honey Love."

Listen to Billy Storm's fine

cover released in July 1961.

 "Honey Love" - Billy Storm 

 (July 1961) 

Billy Storm's vocals can also be heard in A Symposium

on Popular Songs, an animated Disney short released

to theaters just before Christmas 1962.

All of the songs in the production were written by the Sherman

Brothers - Richard & Robert. This one, "Puppy Love Is Here

To Stay" by Jackie Babylon and the Babylonians (with Billy

Storm as the voice of "Jackie"), is a parody of 1950s love

songs and some of the songs that the Sherman Bros.

themselves wrote for pop idol Annette Funicello

and similar artists. Here again is Billy Storm!

 "Puppy Love Is Here To Stay" - Billy Storm 

 (Sept. 1962 single from Dec. 1962 Disney/Sherman Bros. 

 short A Symposium on Popular Songs) 

 PETER AND GORDON 

I think Helen would also enjoy these two great cover ballads recorded

by the UK duo Peter And Gordon. London born singer, guitar player

and producer Peter Asher is still with us and will turn age 78 next

month. His partner, Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist

Gordon Waller, died young at age 64 in 2009. Let's press

rewind and go back to happier times when Peter and

Gordon were at their peak and in the middle of

an impressive British Invasion hit streak.

Buddy Holly & Norman Petty

wrote "True Love Ways" and

Buddy recorded the song in

the fall of 1958, four months

before his tragic death in a

plane crash. In 1965, this

remake by Peter & Gordon

went top 3 in the UK, top 5

in Ireland and top 15 on

the U.S. pop chart.

 "True Love Ways" 
 - Peter And Gordon 

 (May/June 1965, highest 
 chart pos. #13 Cash Box, 
 #14 Hot 100/#2 UK 
 #4 Ireland) 

Phil Spector wrote the song "To Know Him Is To Love Him,"

inspired by words written on his father's tombstone that read:

 "To Know Him Was To Love Him." Spector and his group

The Teddy Bears recorded the song and achieved

a chart-topping hit in 1958.

In mid 1965, two months after the release of "True Love Ways," Peter And Gordon

gained another hit with a cover of Spector's song using the title "To Know You

Is To Love You." The Peter And Gordon single reached the top 5 on the

charts in Canada, the UK and Ireland and the top 25 stateside.

 "To Know You Is To Love You" - Peter And Gordon 

 (July/Aug. 1965, highest chart pos. #24 Hot 100/#25 Cash Box, 
 #5 Canada, UK & Ireland) 

 THE DIXIE CUPS 

Spring is here. Sky is blue.

Birds all sing as if they knew

This song, Helen, is just for you.

To close my Mother's Day salute to Helen, I present a nicely remastered clip

of The Dixie Cups, the soulful trio from New Orleans, appearing on the TV

music show Shivaree performing their signature song, the chart-topping,

million selling hit single from the spring of 1964-- "Chapel Of Love."

 

 "Chapel of Love" - The Dixie Cups 

 (May/June 1964, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box 

 & R&B, performance on Apr. 10, 1965, ep. of Shivaree) 

 Happy Mother's Day, Helen! 

 We love you and miss you! 

Cruisin' 1960 With Dick Biondi - The Wild I-tralian!

 QUESTION: 

 Where do people go in February 
 to escape old man winter? 

 ANSWER: Buffalo, NY! 

It's time once again to go Cruisin'.

The year is 1960 and we're

goin' north to Alaska

shuffling off to Buffalo

to join radio personality

 Dick Biondi at WKBW!

Listen to this 2 minute aircheck to get familiar with Dick's voice and style.

 BUSTER 

 BROWN 

The wailing blues harmonica intro
allows oldies fans to name that tune,
"Fannie Mae," in two seconds flat.
In his intro on the 1960 Cruisin'
album, top 40 DJ Dick Biondi,
the self-described Wild I-tralian
of Buffalo, shouts "Buster Brown!"

at the perfect moment, just before
the melody kicks in. "Fannie Mae"
was Buster Brown's biggest hit.

The blues rocker topped the
R&B chart and reached the
top 40 on the pop survey.

 "Fannie Mae" - Buster Brown 

 (Mar./Apr. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #1 R&B/#34 Cash Box/#38 Hot 100) 

 THE ROLLING STONES 

I'm breaking the Cruisin' rules by jumping ahead to 1965. (You'll just

have to sue me.) I'm doing so because this is the perfect time to play

one of my favorite B sides, the fab flip of The Rolling Stones'

Jaggernaut "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

Listen to "The Under Assistant

West Coast Promotion Man,"

a song the Stones based on

Buster Brown's "Fannie Mae,"

written as a poke in the ribs

aimed at their promo man at

London Records, the fellow

who accompanied Mick and

his mates on their first

American tour. Note the

familiar riff which sounds

a lot like "Fannie Mae."

 "The Under Assistant West Coast 

 Promotion Man" - The Rolling Stones 

 {July 1965, B side of "(I Can't Get 
 No) Satisfaction"} 

 LITTLE ANTHONY 

 AND THE IMPERIALS 

When lead singer "Little Anthony" Gourdine joined the New York doo-wop

group in 1957, they were called The Chesters. A label change and a new

name, The Imperials, led to the top 5 hit record "Tears On My Pillow"

in the fall of '58. In the early weeks of 1960 the group, now called

Little Anthony And The Imperials, were climbing the charts

with their latest hit "Shimmy, Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop."

 "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" 

 - Little Anthony & the Imperials 
 (Jan./Feb. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #14 R&B/#21 Cash Box/#24 Hot 100) 

 CHUBBY CHECKER 

Written in 1949, the dance ditty "The Hucklebuck" was a top 5

hit for Tommy Dorsey and a top 10 hit for Frank Sinatra.

In the fall of 1960, Carolina born, Philadelphia raised

singer Ernest "Chubby Checker" Evans released

a rollicking version of the song as the follow-up

to his monster hit "The Twist." By year's end,

Chubby's "Hucklebuck" record was another

 crossover hit, reaching the top 15 on the

pop and R&B charts. 

 "The Hucklebuck" - Chubby Checker 

 (Nov./Dec. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #13 Cash Box/#14 Hot 100/#15 R&B)  

 MARV 

 JOHNSON 

Detroit soul man Marv Johnson sang

on the first record released by the

company that became Motown.

Marv racked up million sellers

in the U.S. and was also quite

popular in Australia and the UK.

In 1960, Marv hit the top 10

Pop and came close to the #1

spot on the R&B chart with the
 infectious up tempo dance 45

"I Love the Way You Love."

 "I Love the Way You Love" - Marv Johnson 

 (Apr. 1960, highest chart pos. #2 R&B, 

 #8 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100) 

 THE EVERLY BROTHERS 

"Wake Up Little Susie," the smash

hit by The Everly Brothers, was

one of my favorite songs as a boy.

With a style that was a pleasing

blend of country, rockabilly and
rock 'n' roll, Phil & Don proved
that old school is cool. I'll never

forget that night in the late 60s

when I was listening to an

oldies radio show and was
blown away when, for the

first time, I heard the

Everlys' cool cover

of  Little Richard's

R&B hit "Lucille."  

 "Lucille" - The Everly Brothers  

 (Oct. 1960, highest chart pos. 

 #21 Hot 100/#41 Cash Box) 

 Don't miss the next 

 thrill packed episode 

 of Cruisin' coming soon! 

Have a Shady day!

Happy Birthday, Helen!

This is a very special occasion.

 Helen Trostle Ettline 

 was born 108 years ago 

on January 9, 1911.

Every evening Helen was stationed behind the counter of the
Shady Dell snack bar preparing treats to feed the masses.

As Helen worked, a steady stream of 1950s
doo-wop records played on the jukebox.

 THE CRESTS 

Let's celebrate Helen's birthday by listening to three doo-wop songs
I think she'd enjoy. First we have The Crests, led from 1956 until 1960
by the late, great Johnny Maestro. Our featured song was released in
December 1962 with James Ancrum on lead. It's an updated version
of "Guilty," a song that had been a top 5 hit in 1931 for actress and
singing star Ruth Etting and again in 1947 for Margaret Whiting.
The Crests' cover didn't perform nearly as well, and remained
 trapped in the Bubbling Under basement. Is the intro,
based on Amos 'n' Andy, politically incorrect?
 You be the judge!

"Guilty" - The Crests
(Feb. 1963, highest chart pos. #123)





 THE DUPREES 

Next, here are The Duprees, the Italian-American vocal group from
Jersey City featuring lead singer Joey Vann, doing a fine cover
of "Why Don't You Believe Me," the original a chart-topper
in 1952 for traditional pop songstress Joni James.

"Why Don't You Believe Me" - The Duprees Featuring Joey Vann
(Sept. 1963, highest chart pos. #37)





 LITTLE ANTHONY 
 AND THE IMPERIALS 

And finally here is a song that must have been Helen's favorite
because it played on her jukebox more often than any other.

It's the ballad "Two People in the World" by Little Anthony & The Imperials,

a Dell slow dance favorite from the summer of 1958, the one I have
come to think of and refer to as... "Helen's Song."

"Two People In The World" - Little Anthony And The Imperials

(Sept./Oct. 1958, B side of "Tears On My Pillow")

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELEN! 

 We love you and miss you.