COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - The Platters
(Dec. 1958 thru Feb. 1959, highest chart pos.
#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B, scenes from
Aug. 1973 film American Graffiti)
Smile and say "cheese!"
It's time to meet the newest member of
the Shady Bunch Rodentia Intelligentsia!
Hi, folks! I'm...
Belle Rat the Dell Rat
...the ladies' answer to Denny the Dell Rat.
Welcome to my new S-P-M-M radio show
Saved by the Belle
The Music and Musings of
Belle Rat the Dell Rat
I'm on a mission to save you from boring elevator music.
I'm no Minnie Mouse, and the tunes I play are not Mickey Mouse.
My show brings you the best and most memorable sounds
from the glory days of your boomer youth.
At the top of the show, you experienced an awesome split-screen effect,
a custom YouTube video with The Platters performing "Smoke Gets In
Your Eyes," their chart-topping hit from late 1958 and early '59, while
on the large portion of the screen you were treated to scenes from the
1973 coming-of-age comedy film American Graffiti. Set in the summer
of '62, Graffiti features The Platters' romantic ballad in the soundtrack.
Watching the nocturnal adventures
of Steve, Laurie, Terry "The Toad,"
Debbie, Curt and the rest of those
California teenagers reminds me
of when I was their age. I used to
sneak out of my bedroom window
to meet up with guys and girls
I wasn't supposed to be with.
Alright, let's shift gears now
and jump ahead in time to the
rockin' psychedelic 60s as I
play one of the biggest and
most important hits of the
genre presented in another
awesome split-screen vid!
CLICK TO
START VIDEO!
It's the San Francisco-based Jefferson Airplane
with their signature song-- "Somebody To Love!"
"Somebody To Love" - Jefferson Airplane
(May/June 1967, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box,
scenes from May 27, 1967, ep. of American Bandstand)
That was Grace Slick and company,
the Jefferson Airplane, performing
their 5th single but first major hit,
"Somebody To Love," together on a
split-screen with the studio dancers
on American Bandstand groovin' to
the band's exciting new hard rock
sound. Speaking of breaking on
through to the other side of the
success barrier, here's another
band that did just that in the
weeks and months after
"Somebody To Love"
peaked on the chart.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
It's Jim Morrison and his psychedelic rock band The Doors with
their own sig-song, a record that went all the way to #1
in the summer of 1967-- "Light My Fire!"
"Light My Fire" - The Doors
(June thru August 1967, highest chart pos.
#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
Come on, baby, "Light My Fire" cried rock legend Jim Morrison...
a Doors ditty that rode high on the chart throughout the summer of '67.
Belle Rat the Dell Rat keeping you company
here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio.
Baby, it's cold outside... and I'm warming you up
with red hot platters fresh from the jukebox.
Ready for another split-screen
dazzler? I've got it. Check out
Motown's mighty Temptations
on the left side doing their chart-
topping 1966 single "Ain't Too
Proud To Beg," and on the right,
a cool dance routine performed
on Dick Clark's music TV show
Where The Action Is.
CLICK TO
START THE
VIDEO NOW!
Watch as Jeri, Lesley, Roberta
and The Action Kids entertain
you with The Temptation Walk!
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - The Temptations
(June/July 1966, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,
#10 Cash Box/#13 Hot 100, dance perf. by
The Action Kids on Where The Action Is)
From 1966, that was rare and nicely
restored footage of The Action Kids,
the exciting dance troupe on the
TV series Where The Action Is,
doing The Temptation Walk
along with a restored clip
of The Temp's on stage
performing one of
their biggest cross-
over hits-- "Ain't
Too Proud To Beg."
If you're just tuning in, I'm
your Hostess With the Mostest...
Belle of the ball, leader of the pack,
queen of the Rodentia Intelligentsia...
Belle Rat
the Dell Rat
...newest member of the
Shady Bunch deejay team.
Far from mousy, I'm the
pick of the litter - the
prettiest, perkiest and
most personable
member of the
Rat Pack.
I'm playing the best tunes in town and telling my rat tails tales
here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio. This is the premiere of
Saved by the Belle
and we're right in the middle of a 7-in-a-row cheddar cheese block party,
so let's get back to the songs from the soundtrack of our boomer youth.
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
Here now are The Mama's And The Papa's in various performances and
outfits, doing their breakthrough hit and signature song "California Dreamin'."
"California Dreamin'" - The Mama's And The Papa's
(Feb./Mar. 1966, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100 & Cash Box)
If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, that was the LA-
based psychedelic sunshine pop and folk rock quartet
The Mama's And The Papa's. (Yep - that's the exact
spelling on the label of the original Dunhill single.)
Hot during the cold winter months in the early part
of 1966, the song "California Dreamin'" became a
signpost of the California sound and heralded
the arrival of the 60s counterculture era.
You're boppin' with Belle on
S-P-M-M... the station with
personality. You've got a rat
to rock, and I'm her, she's me.
I'm runnin' down the groovy
sounds of the 50s, 60s and
70s, those Wonder Years
classics that never grow old.
In the fall of 1970, singer -
songwriter Neil Diamond
achieved his first #1 hit on
the Billboard pop chart,
his third million-selling
single and his break-thru
UK hit, all with the song
you are about to hear.
The pop troubadour is
literally beside himself in
this split-screen restoration
video. Here's Neil Diamond
appearing on The Johnny
Cash Show and singing
his soft rock favorite--
"Cracklin' Rosie!"
"Cracklin' Rosie" - Neil Diamond
(Sept./Oct. 1970, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box,
#1 Canada, perf. on Sept. 30, 1970, ep. of The Johnny Cash Show)
Hot-hot-hot in the chilly weeks leading up to Halloween in
1970, that was "Cracklin' Rosie," one of Neil Diamond's
biggest hits and catchiest singalong songs.
In addition to topping the pop charts in the U.S. and Canada,
"Rosie" reached #1 in New Zealand, #2 in Australia and Ireland
and also peaked at #2 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart.
RATS!!!
Shady's waving me off, so I need
to scurry on home. It's just a hole
in the wall, but the food is good.
I hope you enjoyed the debut of
Saved by
the Belle
The Music and
Musings of
Belle Rat
the Dell Rat.
Earlier, you saw and heard the Jefferson Airplane perform "Somebody
To Love," their breakthrough top 5 charting hit from the spring of 1967.
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
To play us off, here's the band's follow-up single, a record that
approached the top 5 on Cash Box during that magical, mystical
Summer of Love. Grace Slick sings-- "White Rabbit!"
"White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane
(July/Aug. 1967, highest chart pos. #6 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100)
I gotta run
(because
Belle Rat's
hungry)...
but I hope
to see you
next time!
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Belle Rat the Dell Rat
Artwork courtesy of my wonderful longtime friend Belle Unruh.
Born in California's Inland Empire...
Belle moved to Canada as a teenager.
Thank you very much for contributing this delightful
"Belle Rat" drawing to Shady's Place, dear friend Belle!
Now this is Belle Rat the Dell Rat reminding you that a Dell Rat
must be brave, and a Dell Rat must behave. See you next time!
