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! 

Dell Rat Tom's Jukebox Giants - Vol. 5: Soul & Inspiration

HEADPHONES ARE RECOMMENDED FOR LISTENING TO SPMM RADIO SHOWS.

BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:

...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.

And that's the latest from S-P-M-M news...
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by for

 DELL RAT TOM'S 

 JUKEBOX GIANTS  

on the station that's #1 for music and fun - S-P-M-M!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Alfie" The Magnificent Men

(from 1968 album The World Of Soul)

Buddy King on lead for The Magnificent Men, and a magnificent rendition of

"Alfie," the oft recorded Burt Bacharach - Hal David song used to promote the

1966 British film starring Michael Caine. Female vocalists on both sides of the

pond scored hits with the song - Cilla Black in the UK and Dionne Warwick in

the U.S. - but Dell rats agree the definitive version is the one that kicked-off

today's show - the one waxed by our hometown heroes The Mag Men.

Hi, I'm Dell Rat Tom back with

another edition of Jukebox Giants,

spotlighting the greatest hits played

in the dance hall of my old hangout

in York, PA... The Shady Dell.

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

Summer '67: Soon I would leave the Dell

behind and start college in another part of

the state. Every night the sound of Stevie

Wonder's harmonica filled the dance hall.

Rats formed a line, their feet kept time as

Stevie sang-- "I Was Made To Love Her!"

"I Was Made To Love Her" - Stevie Wonder

(July/Aug. 1967, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#2 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Coming in at #165 on the 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell, that was

Motown soul man Stevie Wonder with "I Was Made To Love Her," a sizzling

single that topped the R&B chart four weeks in the Summer of Love 1967.

Dell Rat Tom with you on S-P-M-M

where all the cool oldies come to play.

Now here's a song from Shady Dell -

The College Years, the period from the

fall of 1967 to the spring of '71 when I

was out of town attending that institute

of high & yearning, the span of time

during which I returned to York and

the Dell on holidays, spring breaks,

summer breaks and occasionally

on weekends to see my girlfriend.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

In the winter of '69 David Ruffin, former co-lead singer of The Temptations,

had a top 10 solo hit and a Dell biggie with this one. As his brother Jimmy

said in another Dell song, "Life lands a crushing blow, and once again

a heart is broken." David picks up the story with-- "My Whole World

Ended (The Moment You Left Me)."

"My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)" - David Ruffin
(Feb./Mar. 1969, highest chart pos. #2 R&B/#9 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

From Shady Dell - The College Years, that was

David Ruffin with "My Whole World Ended,"

his first big hit after leaving The Temptations.

If you're just tuning in, you're listening to

Jukebox Giants, the best of the Shady Dell,

here on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio...

with yours truly Dell Rat Tom.

In the mid 60s, the musical menu at the Dell

was an exciting mix of soul, R&B, doo-wop,

pop, garage, hard rock, folk-rock and British

Invasion. Here's a great example of the latter.

CLICK TO START VIDEO!

It's the bold sound of the Brit duo Peter and Gordon with-- "Woman!"

"Woman" - Peter And Gordon

(Feb./Mar. 1966, highest chart pos. #14 Hot 100/#17 Cash Box)

From February and March of 1966, Peter Asher and Gordon Waller with "Woman,"

a song written by Beatle Paul McCartney that landed the British duo at the #106

spot on my Shady Dell survey. Gordon refers to "Woman" as "the ultimate

Peter and Gordon track" and his personal favorite.

You are my personal favorite... yeah you,
and I've got more Dell jukebox gold.

It was later that same year-- 1966.

Fall turned to winter, and the nights

again turned nippy. Down in the barn

John Ettline had a roaring fire going.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

 Out there on the floor, Dell rats were

generating body heat dancing to the

Motown sound of-- The Supremes!

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes

(Nov./Dec. 1966, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box & R&B)

Closing out the year 1966, The Supremes with Dell song #150 -

"You Keep Me Hangin' On." It was the Motown girl group's

8th chart-topping hit single on the Hot 100 and spent

four weeks at #1 on the R&B chart.

"Blue-eyed soul" acts are white

artists who perform material

originally recorded by black

artists and do so authentically,

in the same style and with the

same feeling. In Shady's

Dell dictionary next to the

term blue-eyed soul, you'll

find a picture of Bill Medley

and Bobby Hatfield aka -

The Righteous Brothers.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

For months The Righteous Brothers' "Soul And Inspiration" was a

slow dance favorite at the Dell. Couples locked in warm embrace

swayed teary-eyed and, by song's end, were emotionally spent.

A record doesn’t make the Dell Top 10 unless it kills. This KILLS!

"(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" - The Righteous Brothers

(April 1966, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B)

Way up there where the air is rare, the Righteous Brothers

with the 6th highest ranked Dell song of the mid 60s... the

towering Wall-of-Sound recording “Soul And Inspiration."

Hey, time's up, and I gotta head

for home to beat the curfew.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Stay tuned on the flip side of news for

Shady Green who'll invite you aboard

his Wayback Machine, and I'll be back

soon with more Jukebox Giants here

on S-P-M-M... the station with Soul.

Now this is Dell Rat Tom reminding

you to make every day a holiday...

and every night a Shady Dell night!

"(Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need" - The Miracles

(Nov./Dec. 1966, highest chart pos. #4 R&B/#17 Hot 100 #25 Cash Box)