Top Hit Club of America Inc. Old York/Shady Dell Chapter Vol. 5: Ron & Tom Celebrate "V" Day!

Hi, I'm Debbie the Dellette...

...a teenager of the 1950s 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 songs

that my fellow Dell rats play at today's meeting...

...you'll wish you had been a teenager in York,

Pennsylvania, in the 50s and 60s and a regular

at the Shady Dell during those golden years.

Remember, as these original rats

spin their songs: "Don't just listen

with your ears - listen with your heart."

In case you lost track of the calendar, today is

February 14 - Valentine's Day.  What better time

than V-Day for you to meet the newest members

of the Shady Bunch, the cute vector art women of

 THE V-TEAM 

...sister series to

  Black & White World 

and

Call Girls

  Vesta (V-Girl) 

You'll see pictures of the V-Team

V-Girls scattered throughout the post.

 Viviane (V-Girl) 

 Learn all of their names because

there will be a quiz at the end. 

 Vectoria (V-Girl) 

Just kidding. There'll be no quiz today,

 Velvet (V-Girl) 

but you might have fun learning their names.

Okay, let's begin the musical part of our show.

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!

A review of the minutes of our last

meeting shows that, in volume 4,

original Dell rat Jerre Slaybaugh

joined Dell rat Tom Anderson,

and the veteran vermin took

turns playing Dell classics.

Today our good friend Dell rat

Ron Shearer returns to play

dueling banjos turntables

with Tom. Tommy Boy,

the floor is yours! 

 THE VALIANTS  (ALABAMA) 

Thanks, Debbie! Hey...

I like your outfits, just sayin'. 

So, this being Valentine's Day,

 Ron and I put our heads together

and came up with a special "V-Day"

presentation. We've got love songs

aplenty... and the "V" in today's

musical meeting also refers to

the first letter in the names

of all our featured artists.

Six of the songs are by The Valiants,

but they are two different groups.

In fact, there were at least 20

Valiants groups scattered

across the country. 

My first play by an act called The Valiants is a long lost relic from 1959 recorded

by a little known doo-wop group from the deep south, a single released on the

 label of the Speck Record Company located in Mobile, Alabama. The melody

of the song reminds me of the Jive Five's biggest hit "My True Story" which  

 topped the R&B chart two years later in 1961. The Jive Five is my good

 buddy Dell Rat Jerre Slaybaugh's favorite group. If Jerre is monitoring

today's club meet, I hope he'll report in and let me know if he hears a

 similarity. Here are the southern Valiants doing-- "Wedding Bells!"

"Wedding Bells' - The Valiants

(1959)

 Vanetta (V-Girl) 

 THE VALIANTS (LA) 

Sup, Tom & Debbie? The first record

I'm playing is by a different Valiants act,

a Los Angeles based R&B vocal group

fronted by Billy Storm. I remember

Shady introducing Billy and two

of his solo recordings in the 2022

Mother's Day post. I dug Billy's

sound so much that I decided to

dig deeper for Billy Storm gold.

Originally from Dayton, Ohio,

Billy Storm was a soulful R&B

singer who sounded a lot like

Clyde McPhatter, lead vocalist

for The Drifters on some of their

best records.  Billy had a string

of solo hits in addition to laying

down great sound as leader of

the LA group that went by

several other names before

settling on The Valiants.

From 1957 to 1960, Billy and his group waxed half a dozen singles on the Keen,

Shar-Dee and Ensign labels. Around Halloween, 1958, they released "Please

Wait My Love." I'd like you to hear the rare, long unreleased alternate take

issued for the first time in 1995 on the New York-based Early Bird label

and credited to Billy Storm and The Valiants.

"Please Wait My Love" - The Valiants

(Oct. 1958 alternate take) 

 Vernis (V-Girl) 

Ron, like you I'm flipping over the sound

Billy Storm and The Valiants put down.

Check this one out. It's the killer B on

the back of their March, 1958, single

"Lover, Lover." This is the craziest

and coolest sound I've heard since

Screamin' Jay Hawkins went into

the studio drunk as a skunk and

waxed "I Put A Spell On You."

It would be six years before

Roy Orbison had a hit singing

"Pretty Woman (walking down

the street)." In '58 The Valiants

had their sights set on another

-- "Walkin' Girl." 

"Walkin' Girl" - The Valiants

(Mar. 1958, B side of "Lover, Lover") 

 Vonnie (V-Girl) 

Wow, Tommy, that one's a far cry from

The O'Kaysions' "(I'm a) Girl Watcher"

or Andy Williams crooning "Music To

Watch Girls By." Okay, now that we're

on a Valiants roll, it's time to hear the

group's first single released in the fall

of 1957. It's their only charting record.

The song is "This Is The Nite " and,

as usual, Billy Storm is on lead vocals.

The backing band you'll hear is led by

Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, the man 

who orchestrated and produced the

early recordings of Little Richard, 

Ray Charles, Lloyd Price, Larry

Williams, Sam Cooke and other

rock & roll and R&B legends.

"This Is The Nite" reached #69

on the pop chart early in 1958.

Strangely, it didn't appear on

the R&B chart... nor did any

of the group's other singles!

"This Is The Nite" - The Valiants

(Jan./Feb. 1958, highest chart pos. #69 Hot 100)

 

 Vanna (V-Girl) 

 THE VELVELETTES 

Ron, in today's "V" Day special, "V" also

stands for Velvelettes, a fine, underrated

Motown girl group that failed to achieve

anywhere near the success of Diana Ross

and The Supremes and other female acts

on the company's roster. The song you are

about to hear was written by Harvey Fuqua,

the famed R&B singer, scribe and producer

who led the popular group The Moonglows

in the 50s. The Velvelettes recorded this one

in 1964, but it remained in the Motown vault

unreleased, even though it's better than a lot

of the material released by more popular acts.

Listen now to the great yet underappreciated

Velvelettes as they make a demand of their

lover man, "Stop Beating Around The Bush!"

"Stop Beating Around The Bush" - The Velvelettes

(1964, unreleased)

 Victoria (V-Girl) 

 THE VALIANTS (LA) 

Tommy, a while ago, you played

"Walkin' Girl," the wild and crazy

song on the B side of The Valiants'

March 1958 single "Lover, Lover."

It's about time we listen to that

A side song. Once again, you're

gonna swear the voice you're

hearing on lead is that of

Clyde McPhatter... but it's

the fabulous Billy Storm!

"Lover, Lover" - The Valiants

(March 1958)

 Vonita (V-Girl) 

To complete our tribute to 

Billy Storm and his LA- based

group The Valiants, I've cued-

up the A side of their second

single released early in 1958,

the follow-up to "This Is The

Nite." Listen again for the

Clyde McPhatterish vocal

on this mid tempo R&B love

song that boasts an irresistibly

bouncy back beat.  Here are

Billy and his Valiants letting

that special girl know that -

"(You're the) Temptation

Of My Heart." 

"Temptation Of My Heart"-

The Valiants (Feb. 1958)

 

 Vectory (V-Girl) 

 THE VIBRATIONS 

Tom and Deb, no V-name band salute

would be complete without a tune by

my favorite "V" vocal group of all -

The Vibrations. For my last spin of

the meeting, I bring you a dreamy

ballad The Vibes waxed in 1961.

If the song had been released as

a single, it could have been a hit.

Unfortunately, it remained un-

released for decades, locked in

the vault at Checker Records.

I can picture Dell rats swaying

to this one all night long, but

it was not meant to be. Here

now are The Vibrations

and-- "You're Mine."

"You're Mine" - The Vibrations

(1961, unreleased)

 Vanity (V-Girl) 

 THE VELS - THE VELLS 

 THE VANDELLAS 

Okay, Ronny, here comes my last play

of the day. "V" is for Vels, Vells and

Vandellas... the group that became

famous as Martha & The Vandellas.

The group formed in the late 1950s

as The Del-Phis with Gloria Williams

singing lead. Martha Reeves was not

yet part of the act. Renamed The Vels,

the group waxed "There He Is (At My

Door)" and released it October 1, 1962,

on the B side of the single "You'll Never

Cherish A Love So True ('Til You Lose It)."

Both sides of the record were written

and produced by Berry Gordy.

It's interesting that the groups's name was spelled "Vels," but a misspelling

on the label caused the single to be released as by "The Vells." Although

released as the B side, "There He Is (At My Door)" received more air-

play than the A side song with it's long, cumbersome and hard to

remember title, but neither side charted. Around that time, the

original lead singer, Gloria Williams, left the group, replaced

by Martha Reeves, and they were renamed Martha And The

Vandellas. According to original member Rosalind Ashford,

Berry Gordy came up with the name "Vandellas," but no one

seems to know the reason why. "There He Is (At My Door)"

was re-recorded using the original instrumental and vocal

backing tracks but with Martha singing lead. The updated 

version was released on the group's 1963 debut album

Come and Get These Memories, as the B-side of their

1964 hit single and signature song "Dancing In The

Street" and on their 1965 album Dance Party. 

"There He Is (At My Door)" - Martha And The Vandellas

(Sept./Oct. 1964, B side of "Dancing In The Street") 

 Venice (V-Girl) 

 RITCHIE VALENS 

Hey, guys, we have time for one more

song, so if you don't mind, I'd like to

play a performance that will bring this

meeting of the THC to an exciting end.

It's by Ritchie Valens, the Chicano rock

& roll pioneer who died tragically at age

17 in the February, 1959, plane crash

that also took the lives of rock & roll

legend Buddy Holly and J.P. Richard-

son, better known as The Big Bopper.

In June of 1959, four months after that fateful

"Day the Music Died," Ritchie appeared in

the Alan Freed - Jimmy Clanton rock & roll

movie Go, Johnny, Go and performed the

Little Richard-inspired song “Ooh! My Head.”

The merry Mr. Chuck Berry does the intro.   

"Ooh! My Head" - Ritchie Valens

(scene from June 1959 film Go, Johnny, Go) 

 Verica & Verna 

 (V-Girl Twins) 

Many thanks to Dell rats Ron Shearer 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 Ron, Tom and Jerre Slaybaugh coming up in future

volumes.  This is Debbie the Dellette. See you next time!

 Debbie the Dellette aka "DD" 

 Veronica (V-Girl) 

I'm V-Girl Veronica. I hope you enjoyed meeting us V-Girls.

 Valerie & Velorie 

 (V-Girl Twins) 

Hugs and smooches until we see you again in Vol. 1 of

 THE V-TEAM 

 Valentine (V-Girl) 

Happy Valentine's Day!

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