Rescue Me (from Boring Music & Dull DJs) - Meet SPMM Newcomers Asher, Antonia, Sloan, Emily, May and Grace!

Hi, I'm Asher Keddie...

 one of Australia's leading actresses. According

to Shady Del Knight, I'm part Meryl Streep,

part Jennifer Aniston... and all that. 

I "absolutely shined" (Shady's words) in 3 hit Australian TV series -

Love My Way, Offspring and Party Tricks -

  I also had the iconic lead role in an Aussie miniseries - Paper Giants:

The Birth of Cleo and was in the main cast of the American

dramatic miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers.

I'm Antonia Prebble...

one of New Zealand's most popular actresses. Shady says

I'm part Audrey Hepburn, part Liz Taylor... and all that. 

DON'T "MISS" WITH "Lo-ritta Wist" 

Antonia Prebble as OUTRAGEOUSLY OUTSPOKEN Loretta West

Shady calls me a Kiwi Kewpie Doll, because I starred in four TV series he

 watched and loved- Outrageous Fortune, The Blue Rose, Westside and Sisters.

I also starred in the gripping indie film White Lies and

in The Cure, a science-fiction thriller he enjoyed.

Asher and I share the distinction

of being the only presenters on

S-P-M-M radio shows that hail

from the lands down under...

Australia and New Zealand.

Plus we are the only members of

The Shady Bunch that will go by

our real names, Asher & Antonia,

not the names of characters we play.

Shady says it's because Antonia and

I have appeared in so many things he

has watched and liked that he couldn't

pick just one character for each of us

to play here at Shady's Place.  

Asher and I will be hosting a new

show coming soon to S-P-M-M called

Thunder Down Under.

Inspired by the Weekly Song Challenge and

similar blog hops, Thunder Down Under

asks us to pick and play songs in one of

the following three categories: songs

with titles or lyrics that mention

weather phenomena like thunder,

lightning, rain, wind or storms,...

songs with titles that contain the

word "down" or songs with titles

that contain the word "under."

 See how it works? Sound like fun?

Remind you of the WSC?

Asher's got a sample. 

The words to this hit song include

the following weather references: 

Bus stop, wet day, she's there,

I say "Please, share my umbrella" 

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW! 

All that summer, we enjoyed it

Wind and rain and shine

That umbrella, we employed it

By August, she was mine. 

The Hollies! 

"Bus Stop" - The Hollies

(Aug./Sept. 1966, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box) 

Oops, sorry. You caught me in the

middle of  sexting  texting a friend.

Hi... I'm

Sloan Sabbith

...a reporter and anchor on the highly

acclaimed HBO series The Newsroom.

I'll be joining four other women

journalists hosting the new

Shady's Place radio series

The I-Team.

 Like the show hosted by Asher

& Antonia (maybe we should

call them The A&A Team...)

ours has a twist. Every song

my colleagues and I play will

have an "I" word in the title. 

I've got a sample, an I-Team

"I" song by The Regrettes, a

Los Angeles based punk rock

and riot grrrl band fronted by

innovative songwriter and

charismatic lead singer

Lydia Night. Regrettes

songs feature elements

of garage rock, 60s

doo-wop and surf,

rockabilly and pop. 

The song you are

about to hear was

released as a single

from The Regrettes

2019 album How

Do You Love?

START VIDEO NOW! 

As you listen to the sound and watch the choreography in this official music video,

they might remind you of the opening theme from Friends. Here now are the

captivating Lydia Night and her band of Regrettes playing- "I Dare You!" 

"I Dare You" - The Regrettes

(June 2019) 

I'm Emily

Rhodes...

Special Advisor to the President

of the United States on the ABC -

Netflix political thriller drama

TV series Designated Survivor.

Join me and other White House

Wonder Women as we host our

new radio show starting soon

on S-P-M-M. It'll be called:

The 1600 Club:

Meet The Supremes

of Pennsylvania Ave. 

The 1600 Club

will feature the greatest hits and

performances of Motown's most

popular girl group The Supremes.

As a sample, I'd like to play a clip

of the ladies performing their first

#1 charting hit in October, 1964,

on The Steve Allen Show.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

The Supremes ask

the musical question

"Where Did Our Love Go?" 

"Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes

(July/Aug. 1964, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box ,

#1 R&B, Oct. 7, 1964, perf. on The Steve Allen Show )

I'm May Grant...

a young 911 operator serving LA on the first responder rescue TV series 9-1-1.

BOLO (be on the lookout) for me and six other women as we host

The M Squad...

 yet another new radio show coming soon to S-P-M-M Retro Radio. 

  

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need

to dispatch units to the sets of

the TV music shows Shindig

and Hollywood A Go-Go.

There's a report of a woman

in distress. Witnesses I.D.

her as Fontella Bass and

say she's shouting--

"Rescue Me!"

"Rescue Me" - Fontella Bass

(Oct./Nov. 1965, highest chart pos. #1 R&B/#3 Cash Box,

#4 Hot 100, perf. on Nov. 6, 1965, episode of Shindig! 

and on Oct. 23, 1965, ep. of Hollywood A Go-Go) 

I'm Grace Ryder...

 May Grant's counterpart. May is a

911 operator living in Los Angeles.

 I'm a 911 operator in Austin, Texas, and the wife of a firefighter

on the spin-off Fox TV action first responder rescue series

9-1-1: Lone Star. Be watching for my new show

Grace Kelly Rear Window

coming soon to S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio. 

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW! 

To close this special sneak preview, I'm dispatching all units to a structure fire

in progress. Witnesses report a group of Trammps are burning down the house.

They call the scene a "Disco Inferno." Now this is Grace Ryder saying thanks

for tuning in and we'll be seeing you soon! Stay safe. It's a jungle out there! 

"Disco Inferno" - The Trammps

(from OST of Dec. 1977 film Saturday Night Fever,

single Feb./Mar. 1977, highest chart pos. #1 Dance,

#9 R&B/#53 Hot 100, re-release Apr./May 1978,

highest chart position #8 Cash Box/#11 Hot 100) 

  ANTONIA PREBBLE STARS IN THE BLUE ROSE  

That Was Then - This Is Now, Vol. 8: The Jarring Juxtaposition of Female Vocalists Past and Present!

                                        

 You've come a long way, baby... 

 and these jarring juxtapositions 

 offer indisputable proof! 

Welcome to Vol. 8 of my series

Jarring Juxtapositions:
That Was Then - This Is Now!

It is not my intention to pass judgement. (That's your job. :) This series
merely invites you to compare apples and oranges. Hard as it might
be for you to believe, I enjoy all of the female recording artists
you are about to see and hear. Join me on this jarring journey
back and forth through time as we compare the look,
the sound and the attitude of female singers

then... and now!

THAT WAS THEN

ANNETTE

A "Teenage Wedding"? How romantic!

It's America's sweetheart Annette Funicello!

Watch and weep as our favorite Mickey Mouse Club mouseketeer

ties the knot and sings her song on a single released at the start

of 1963, an innocent teen pop relic found on the 1962 album

Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills Take You to Teen Street. 

"Teenage Wedding" - Annette

(January 1963 single from the 1962 album

Maurice Chevalier & Hayley Mills Take You to Teen Street) 

THIS IS NOW

 THE REGRETTES 

Now meet the California punk rock band The Regrettes...

a group I like so much that I arranged for them to be the only

"This Is Now" act in this edition of Jarring Juxtapositions. 

Prior to forming The Regrettes in 2015, lead zinger Lydia Night

(above in blue jacket with pink flowers) fronted the LA-based

pop rock duo Pretty Little Demons. Before joining Lydia and

The Regrettes, lead guitarist Genessa Gariano (right) led her

own LA band called Genessa. Best known for performing

punk rock, garage and "riot grrrl," a music genre I will

explain in a bit, The Regrettes lace their songs with

elements of 1960s doo-wop, surf rock and pop.

On her list of influences, leader Lydia includes

Phil Spector's popular girl group The Crystals,

Patsy Cline, Lesley Gore and Motown artists

The Marvelettes, Diana Ross and Four Tops.

You can hear those 60s influences in Regrettes songs and see it

in their videos including the one produced for their first single,

"Hey Now," a song co-written by Lydia Night. Travel back

in time with Lydia and her band to 1962 as they appear

on sleazeball Dick Dickey's American Bandstand 

style television dance show for teenagers. 

"Hey Now" - The Regrettes

(Sept. 2016) 

THAT WAS THEN

DIANA ROSS

Originally recorded by R&B/Disco diva Thelma Houston in 1973,

the song "Do You Know Where You're Going To" was

most famously performed by Diana Ross. 

Here's the former leader of the Supremes as a solo artist

singing her chart-topping hit, the theme to the 1975

romantic drama Mahogany in which she starred. 

"Theme from Mahogany

(Do You Know Where You're Going To)"

- Diana Ross (Dec. 1975/Jan. 1976, highest

chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#14 R&B, 

theme song from Oct. 1975 film Mahogany) 

THIS IS NOW

 THE REGRETTES 

As I mentioned earlier, The Regrettes are associated with the genre

"Riot grrrl" which is an underground feminist punk subculture

movement that combines feminism, punk music and politics.

Riot grrrl began in the early 1990s in the Pacific Northwest

and since then has expanded to at least 26 other countries. 

In the vid for their 2018 single "Seashore," songwriter Lydia

and her Riot grrrl posse are feeling their oats, laying it on

the line, telling it like it is and sending sexist men

back to the Stone Age where they belong. 

You're talkin' to me like a child

But my words are growin' stronger

And my legs keep gettin' longer 

You're talkin' to me like a child

But I'm not a helpless baby

Not waitin' on you to come save me 

"Seashore" - The Regrettes

(June 2017) 

THAT WAS THEN

PETULA CLARK

Penned and produced by ace UK composer Tony Hatch, the song

"Round Every Corner" was waxed by Brit pop star Petula Clark

and released in the summer of 1965. Pet described the ditty as

"an anti-protest song" - one that uses the musical structure of

a children's singing game to convey a message of optimism. 

"Round Every Corner" - Petula Clark

(Nov. 1965, highest chart pos. #21 Hot 100/#23 Cash Box) 

THIS IS NOW

 THE REGRETTES 

Far be it from The Regrettes to shy away from protest.

They practically invented it.

In the video for the band's 2018 single "Come Through," a song

co-written by Regrettes leader Lydia, the strong, independent

heroine calls out her bf and kicks him to the curb. 

You don't come through

Like you say you do

Now I don't need you to

'Cause I don't need you 

"Come Through" - The Regrettes

(Feb. 2018) 

Regrettes... I played a few

And hope you think

They're worth the mention

To show how far we've come

Long way to go, was my intention

I planned each charted song

Each dancin' step along the byway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way 

Have a Shady day!