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! 

Helen Ettline - The Mother of All Dell Rats: Adorable... and a Little Bit of Heaven

 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.

"Straight A's for Helen." My "A to Z" friends

might appreciate knowing that the titles of

all four songs begin with the letter "A." 

 RONNIE DOVE 

The first of my 'A" songs for Helen is by Ronnie Dove, a Virginia

country pop singer whose records were quite popular in Central PA.

Ronnie put together a string of hits in the mid 60s and here's one of

them. Cracking the top 5 on the Easy Listening chart and hovering

around the top 15 on the pop survey, Ronnie Dove describes what

it's like to be with his girl-- "A Little Bit Of Heaven." 

 "A Little Bit Of Heaven" - Ronnie Dove 

 (June/July 1965, highest chart pos. #4 Easy Listening, 

 #15 Cash Box/#16 Hot 100) 

 THE DRIFTERS 

The song "Adorable" was first recorded in the fall of 1955 by the California

based R&B group The Colts. The original 45 on the Mambo label is worth hundreds

of dollars to collectors. At Christmas that year and into the early weeks of 1956,

The Fontane Sisters, famous for recording capable covers of R&B originals,

charted their version of "Adorable" on the B side of their hit "Daddy-O."

The most successful recording of the song was by The Drifters who

hit #1 on the R&B chart during the Christmas holiday season.

 "Adorable" - The Drifters 

 (Nov./Dec. 1955, highest chart pos. #1 R&B) 

 JEANETTE JURADO 

In the early weeks of 1961, the San Diego doo-wop group Rosie & The Originals

achieved a top 5 crossover hit with "Angel Baby." A great cover of the doo-wop

classic can be found in a scene from the 1995 film My Family. In the movie

Jeanette Jurado, lead singer of the popular 80s freestyle group Exposé,

portrayed Originals' lead singer Rosie Hamlin. Watch and listen!

 "Angel Baby" - Jeanette Jurado 

 (orig. version Jan. 1961, highest chart pos. #5, 
 scene from May 1995 film My Family) 

 RICKY NELSON 

Finally, I'm thinking Helen might enjoy being serenaded by teen idol Ricky Nelson.

In March, 1957, Ricky waxed his first set of songs and so began his very successful

recording career. One of the songs, a cover of Fat Domino's chart-topping R&B hit

"I'm Walkin'," was released as the A side of Ricky's first single. Ricky's version

became a major hit as well, cracking the top 5 on the pop chart and reaching

the top 10 R&B. As it turned out, Ricky's first record was a doublesider.

The killer B, "A Teenager's Romance," surpassed the A side and went

all the way to #2. Ricky performed the ballad on an episode of his

family television series The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet. 

 "A Teenager's Romance" - Ricky Nelson (June/July 1957, 

 highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100, #8 Cash Box, B side of 

 "I'm Walkin'"... scene from 1957 ep. of TV series 

 The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet) 

 Happy Mother's Day, Helen! 

 We love you and miss you! 

Helen Ettline - Every Dell Rat's Mom

 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 and 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 three songs 

 I think she would enjoy. 

 Helen, these are for you. 

 FRANK SINATRA 

 with THE NUGGETS 

 & BIG DAVE'S MUSIC 

This record might be the closest Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, ever came to R&B.

The song "Two Hearts, Two Kisses (Make One Love)" was first recorded by the

doo-wop group Otis Williams and the Charms, a top 10 hit on the R&B chart

in the spring of 1955. Clean cut crooner Pat Boone covered the song and

brushed the top 15. Here's The Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra,

with his version of "Two Hearts" released in late March, 1955,

backed by The Nuggets, a black doo-wop group signed to

Capitol Records, And Big Dave's Music. Their record

swings but somehow failed to reach the chart.

 "Two Hearts, Two Kisses (Make One Love)"  

 - Frank Sinatra With The Nuggets And Big Dave's Music 

 (March 1955, uncharted) 

 JIMMY JONES 

To entertain Helen this year, I now present the Birmingham, 'Bama-born

singer Jimmy Jones whose smooth, soulful falsetto drew comparisons to

R&B greats Clyde McPhatter and Sam Cooke. In 1960, Jimmy scored

two major hits in a row with "Handy Man" and "Good Timin'"... but

subsequent releases stalled near the bottom of the chart. Here now

is Jimmy doing his first and biggest hit, a record that went top 3

on the pop chart and on the R&B chart-- "Handy Man!"

 "Handy Man" - Jimmy Jones 

 (Feb./Mar. 1960, highest chart pos. 
  #2 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B) 

  perf. on The Dick Clark {Beechnut} Show) 

 SAM COOKE 

Finally here's soul/R&B great Sam Cooke who went from singing hymns
in the church choir to recording a string of secular crossover hits.
In the summer of 1961 Sam gained a top 20 hit with "Cupid."
Released in May, the love song might have been a bigger
hit had it been released in January and climbed the
chart in the weeks before Valentine's Day.

 "Cupid" - Sam Cooke 

 (June/July 1961, highest chart pos. 
 #16 Cash Box/#17 Hot 100/#20 R&B) 

 Happy Mother's Day, Helen! 

 We love you and miss you! 

Helen Ettline: Every Dell Rat's Mom

 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 and 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. 

 To remember and honor 

 Helen on Mother's Day, 

 I picked two songs that 

 I think she would enjoy. 

 Helen, these are for you. 

 THE DANLEERS 

Here's a great R&B doo-wop group from Brooklyn with a name that caused

some confusion. The Danleers were named after their manager Danny Webb,

who wrote their hit song "One Summer Night." Some confused the act with

another R&B group called The Danderliers. The record I am about to play

for Helen was originally released as by The Dandleers. A mint copy of

the "Dandleers" 45 is worth more than $150 to collectors. Listen!

 "One Summer Night" - The Danleers 

 (originally released as by The Dandleers, 

 July/Aug. 1958, highest chart pos. #7) 

 THE DRIFTERS 

Composed by Brill Building vets Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded

by The Drifters, "Saturday Night At The Movies" was inspired, at least in part,

by the NBC TV series of the same name. NBC Saturday Night at the Movies

premiered on September 23, 1961, and ran throughout the 60s and most

of the 70s. The series aired relatively recent feature length color films

produced my major studios. Here now are The Drifters with Johnny

Moore on lead and their top 20 crossover hit from the Christmas

season of 1964-- "Saturday Night At The Movies!"

 "Saturday Night At The Movies" - The Drifters 

 (Nov./Dec. 1964, highest chart pos. #18) 

 Happy Mother's Day, Helen! 

 We love you and miss you!