That Was Then THIS IS NOW Vol. 10: The End - Period, Full Stop. No More Jarring Juxtapositions of Female Vocalists Past and Present!

 You've come a long way, baby... 

 Is that Denny Crane 

 hosting a beauty pageant? 

Welcome to Vol. 10 of my series 

Jarring

Juxtapositions:

That Was Then -

This Is Now! 

Why did I strike through Jarring Juxtapositions and This is Now?

To be honest, I have run out of enjoyable modern songs

to serve as counterpoints to the oldies but goodies.

And so, I am bringing this long running series to an end

and presenting, in this 10th and final volume, ten great

"That Was Then" songs, with no "This Is Now" metal

and hip hop madness to remind us of how much times

have changed and how much innocence has been lost.

So join me in a celebration of the look,

sound and the attitude of female singers

then... and now!

THAT WAS THEN

THE LENNON SISTERS

It's a different world, my friend. When

I was a boy in the 1950s, girls looked

and acted like The Lennon Sisters, the

darlings of The Lawrence Welk Show.

The wholesome meter was pegged

when 'lil Chanet" and her singing

siblings appeared on a 1956 episode

of Welk's program and performed

"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be,

Will Be)," the song introduced by

Doris Day in the Alfred Hitchcock

film The Man Who Knew Too Much.

"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" - The Lennon Sisters

1956 perf. on The Lawrence Welk Show)

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be

In one of their early appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show

in the mid 50s, 'lil Chanet" and her siblings visited the

zoo and sang "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," a song from

the 1946 Disney movie Song of the South.

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
The Lennon Sisters (1950s ep.
of The Lawrence Welk Show)

THAT WAS THEN

LULU

Now here's Lulu, the cute, bubbly and wholesome Scottish

pop singer and actress who stole our hearts in the movie

To Sir With Love and had a hit record singing the title song.

Sung by Lulu, "Boom Bang-A-Bang" is best known as the British

winning entry at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest held in Madrid.

 The single made #1 in Ireland and Norway, #2 in the UK and was a

major hit throughout Europe as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

In the rare and brilliantly restored clip you are about to see,

Lulu performs the song on Pop Goes the Sixties, a TV special

co-produced by the UK's BBC and West Germany's ZDF.

The show, broadcast New Year's Eve 1969, reviewed

the top hits of the 60s decade.  Here's perky Lulu

singing her award winning "Boom Bang-A-Bang." 

"Boom Bang-A-Bang" - Lulu

(Mar. 1969, highest chart pos. #1 Ireland & Norway,

#2 UK/#3 Switzerland/#4 Belgium, co-winner of

1969 Eurovision Song Contest, Madrid, Spain,

Dec. 31, 1969, perf. on Pop Goes the Sixties) 

THAT WAS THEN

THE SHANGRI-LAS

Now here are the fabulous drama queens of pop, The Shangri-Las,

with a song that might be the biggest Underachiever of all time.

Amazingly, it never rose above #99 on the Billboard chart!

 In August, 1965, "Right Now And Not Later" was released as a

single from the edgy girl group's second album "Shangri-Las - 65!

The backing track sounds like it was inspired by Motown's highly

successful H-D-H composing team and, in particular, by Supremes

songs like "Stop! In the Name Of Love" and "Come See About Me."

The Shangri-Las scored substantial hits before and after this single

but, for some reason, the groovy song failed to catch on. 

Watch and listen as The Shangs appear on an October, 1965 episode

of the teen music TV series Shivaree and perform a song that's too cool

for school and should have been a hit-- "Right Now And Not Later!"

"Right Now And Not Later" - The Shangri-Las

Sept./Oct. 1965, highest chart pos. #99 Hot 100/#150 Cash Box,

#106 Record World, perf. on Oct. 2, 1965, ep. of Shivaree)

THAT WAS THEN

BONNIE AND

THE TREASURES

The times they were a changin' in the 1960s. No longer were

songs only about love found, love lost and having good times.

More and more compositions were calling attention to social

issues. The song you're about to hear, "Home Of The Brave,"

is one of them. Recorded by Bonnie And The Treasures, 

"Home Of The Brave" was released as a single a few

weeks before Barry McGuire's chart-topping hit

"Eve Of Destruction."  The girl trio's single

didn't do as well on the chart, but it's a

cool Shangri-Las style girl group sound.

 Watch this rare clip from an October, 1965, episode of Dick Clark's

Where The Action Is as Bonnie & The Treasures, the trio of Charlotte

(Charlott) O'Hara (Charlotte Matheny), Sherlie Matthews and Clydie

King, perform "Home Of The Brave." Jody Miller had the bigger hit

with this message song about nonconformity, but this is the definitive

version. Adding to the magic of this performance are The Action Kids

female dancers Roberta Tennes and Jill Gordon. Lead singer "Bonnie"

left this world in 1976. The lovely Roberta Tennes (close-up at :37)

danced in movie musicals and was one of The Gazzarri Dancers

on Hollywood A Go-Go before joining The Action Kids. Roberta

passed away in 2015. I wish I had a time machine!

"Home Of The Brave" - Bonnie And The Treaaures

(Sept. 1965, highest chart pos. #77 Hot 100/#83 Cash Box,

scene from Oct. 8, 1965, ep. of Where The Action Is)

THAT WAS THEN

DONNA LOREN

When I was a boy in the 1950s, I never missed an episode of

The Mickey Mouse Club. On March 7, 1957, her 10th birthday,

budding pop singer and actress Donna Loren appeared on the

Disney series' Friday "Talent Round-Up Day."

  Behold how little girls looked, spoke, sang and conducted themselves

back then as you watch Donna's performance of "Pennies From Heaven!"

"Pennies From Heaven" - Donna Loren

Appearing on The Mickey Mouse Club
March 7, 1957

THAT WAS THEN

ANNETTE

Now let's flash back to 1962

and watch a nicely restored clip

of a song and dance number by

America's sweetheart, former

Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer

Annette Funicello, a multitalented

idol of the boomer wonder years.

Shirley, every mother's son and,

more importantly, every son's

mother approved of showgirl

Annette as she performed

the song "Mr. Piano Man"

in The Golden Horseshoe

Revue on The Magical

World of Disney.

"Mr. Piano Man" - Annette

 (Sept. 23, 1962, perf. on

"The Magical World of Disney" 

 - The Golden Horseshoe Revue) 

 INTERMISSION 

1950s Drive-In Intermission Animated Short – "Buttercup Popcorn"

THAT WAS THEN

CONNIE FRANCIS

By 1958, Connie Francis had gained a reputation for crooning

easy listening romantic ballads. Her recordings were popular

with older folks but, with the era of rock & roll transforming

the pop music scene, many teenagers found them boring. 

Struggling on the chart and in desperate need of a hit, Connie waxed

"Stupid Cupid," an uptempo rock & roll novelty number written by

the Brill Building composing team of Howard Greenfield and

the late, great Neil Sedaka who died earlier this year.

The result was a top 15 U.S. hit for the songstress that summer.

Across the pond, Connie's platter was a smash in the UK where

it spent six weeks at #1.  Here now is Connie Francis with

a catchy sound that appealed to younger ears and got her

career as a recording artist back on track-- "Stupid Cupid!"

"Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis

(July/Aug. 1958, highest chart pos. #14 Hot 100/#16 Cash Box)

THAT WAS THEN

THE SHIRELLES

Written by the Brill Building team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King,

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is one of the greatest pop songs of

the 60s and a chart-topping hit single for The Shirelles, one of

the greatest girl groups of all time. On the single's first pressing,

the title was simply "Tomorrow." After that it was lengthened

to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." (The word "Still" is not

in the title.) The fab flip is the killer bee "Boys" which was

famously covered by The Beatles and Pete Best. 

Hard to believe, but this innocent sounding Shirelles record

was banned by some radio stations due to its "sexually charged"

lyrics. (Shady says: Gangsta rap was still light years away!)

Watch, listen and remember the way we were back then as

The Shirelles perform-- "Will You Love Me Tomorrow."

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles

(Dec. 1960/Jan. & Feb. 1961, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

THAT WAS THEN

LESLEY GORE

The country ballad "Young Love" was co-written and first

recorded by Ric Cartey with backing by The Jiva-Tones.

Released in November, 1956, Ric's record failed to chart. 

Within weeks, covers of the song were released by three other artists:

Sonny James, Tab Hunter and The Crew-Cuts.  All three of those

versions went on to become hits in February and March, 1957,

with movie star Hunter's cover enjoying the greatest success. 

In late 1965, pop star Lesley Gore released the song on a single

and had a minor hit in the U.S. and a more substantial one in

Australia where the record approached the top 20. To conclude

my series That Was Then - This Is Now on a high note,

here's Lesley with her biggest commercial success

of 1966, an excellent cover of-- "Young Love!"

 

"Young Love" - Lesley Gore (Apr. 1966, highest chart pos.

#50 Hot 100/#57 Cash Box/#43 Canada/#24 Australia)

I hope you enjoyed my 10-part series

Jarring Juxtapositions:
That Was Then - This Is Now!

Musically speaking, if I had my druthers, I'd choose to return to 

 Then

MARCIA!  MARCIA!  MARCIA!

End of series - period, full stop. 

Austin Powers Presents: Hands Across the Water (and all over your mum's bum)…. Birds Across the Sky - a Shagadelic Valentine's Day Salute to Warbling Thrushes on Both Sides of the Pond!

 Allow myself to introduce..... myself. 

 I'm Austin Powers, super secret spy, 

 international man of mystery, 
 bon vivant, swinging playboy 
 and irresistible babe magnet. 

 London is my home, shag is my bag, 

 planet earth is my playground and 

 danger is my middle name, baby. 

Your regular host, Shady Del Knight, is indisposed. He's in Cabo playing
beach volleyball with the Swedish Bikini Team. Lucky bugger! Since our

boy Shady has his hands full, he asked me to pop over and fill in for him

again this year as host of his Valentine's Day dance potty. Shady wants

me to spin stacks o' wax. To each his own, mate, but I think you might

have more fun if I play vinyl phonograph records instead.  

These ditties by stateside sweeties and beauteous Britties are perfect

for V-Day because they teach you all about the birds and the bees.

Reminds me of the time a burly bloke in Liverpool accused me

of being the son-of-a-bee that pollinated his daughter.

 That's a gag, baby ... 

 I abso-bloody-lutely saw you 
 crack a smile just then, dove... 
 Go on now... admit it! 

Okay, enough levity. On with the show as I present a shagadelic
Valentine's Day salute to warbling thrushes on both sides of the

pond doing original songs along with some very groovy covers!

PETULA CLARK 

In the fall of 1968, English sparrow
Pet Clark released Petula, her last
album of original material produced
by Tony Hatch who, along with song-
writing partner Jackie Trent, was
responsible for several of Pet's
biggest hits. Here's one of the
Hatch - Trent compositions

from the album released that
year as a single. Petula Clark
sings-- "Don't Give Up!"

 "Don't Give Up" - Petula Clark 

 (Aug. 1968, highest chart pos. 

 #23 Canada, #27 Cash Box, 
 #37 Hot 100, from Sept. 1968 
 album Petula) 

THE SHANGRI-LAS

Now we're back in the U.S... back in the U.S... back in the U.S. of A., baby...

to hear one of the biggest and best by the drama queens of Queens, New York,

The Shangri-Las. In the summer of 1965, Mary Weiss and her streetwise

girl group appeared on Dick Clark's TV show Where The Action Is

and performed a song that cracked the top 20 earlier that year.

With Jeri Lyn Stapleton of The Action Kids dancers working it out on

the right, here are The Shangs and-- "Give Him A Great Big Kiss!"

You know you want to, baby - YEAH!

 "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" - The Shangri-Las 

 (Jan. 1965, highest chart pos. #15 Cash Box/#18 Hot 100,  

 perf. on July 29, 1965, ep. of Where The Action Is) 

LESLEY GORE

Hey now... it's time for me to introduce another

New York-based songstress, pop queen Lesley Gore.

 The poster above is fibbing, mate, because the seldom heard "Hey Now"

turned out to be one of the lowest charting non-hits of Lesley's career. 

The recording style is R&B influenced, a departure from Lesley's

earlier recordings. As such, it didn't tickle fan fancy. Sales also

suffered from controversy over the B side, "Sometimes I Wish

I Were a Boy," which some people thought contained misogynistic

lyrics. Just before Halloween, 1964, Lesley performed "Hey Now"

on the star-studded T.A.M.I. Show which alternately stood for

"Teenage Awards Music International" and "Teen Age Music

International," an event that was released as a film at the

end of the year. "Hey Now," here's Lesley! 

 "Hey Now" - Lesley Gore 

 (Oct. 1964, highest chart pos. #54 Cash Box/#76 Hot 100, 

 Oct. 28 & 29, 1964, perf. on T.A.M.I. Show, film released Dec, 29, 1964) 

FIRST TO ELEVEN

In 1980, the American new wave band Blondie scored the biggest hit

of their career with "Call Me," the theme from the movie American Gigolo.

The Blondie platter spent six weeks atop the U.S. pop chart. Fast forward

42 years to present and enjoy frontwoman Audra Miller and her popular

Erie, Pennsylvania, rock band First To Eleven aka F211, doing their

exciting cover of the Blondie classic-- "Call Me! 

 "Call Me" - Blondie cover by First To Eleven 

 (January 2022) 

THE SHIRELLES

In 1958, the song "Everybody Loves a Lover" was a big record for Doris Day,

the last major hit in the U.S. for the veteran singer and actress. In the fall of '62,

the New Jersey girl group The Shirelles released a cover that made the top 20

in the early weeks of 1963.  Here now are The Shirelles, one year later at

the start of '64 appearing in the UK TV movie It's Little Richard and

wowing the crowd with their New Orleans R&B-style

performance of-- "Everybody Loves A Lover!"

 "Everybody Loves A Lover" - The Shirelles 

 (Dec. 1962/Jan. 1963, highest chart pos. #15 R&B/#17 Cash Box, 

 #19 Hot 100, Jan. 8, 1964, perf. in UK TV movie It's Little Richard)  

THE PAPER DOLLS

The Paper Dolls were a Brit girl pop trio of the late 60s. Seeing

as how each bird had a nickname (lead zinger Susie 'Tiger' Mathis,

Pauline 'Spyder' Bennett and Sue 'Copper' Marshall)... the act

predated The Spice Girls and paved the way for future

girl-pop trios like Bananarama and Atomic Kitten. 

In 1963, "My Boyfriend's Back"

by the U.S. girl group The Angels

spent three weeks at the top of the

chart, earning it a spot high on

Billboard's list of 100 Greatest

Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Here now, for your listening

and dancing pleasure, are those

pretty Britties, The Paper Dolls,

with their toe-tapping cover

released in 1970.

"My Boyfriend's Back"

- The Paper Dolls

(Feb. 1970, uncharted)

PETULA CLARK

We started the party with a number by Petula Clark, and Pet gets the nod

to sing the last song of the night. Everybody knows Petula is one of

Britain's biggest singing stars, but you might not know that she is

also a gifted songwriter. Ironically, some of Petula's songs and

recordings were more popular in the U.S. and France than

they were back home in the UK.

Along with famed British composer Tony Hatch, Petula co-wrote "You're the One"

and it became a top 5 hit stateside for the vocal group The Vogues. Pet released

her own version of the song as a single and it fell short of the UK top 20.
The B side, an English version of a French song that Petula co-wrote
with French poet Pierre Delanoë, might have been a better choice

to promote as the A side. To wind up this year's V-Day bash

and send us running along home to mum, here's Pet Clark

 with her killer bee entitled-- "Gotta Tell The World,"

 "Gotta Tell the World" - Petula Clark 

 (Nov. 1965, B side of "You're the One") 

 I hope these super sounds put you in 

 a shagadelic mood, baby. Oh behave! 

 This is your old chum Austin Powers 

 international man of mystery 

 (and music history)... 

 saying ciao for now. 

 Let's do it again real soon, baby... 

 You know you want to... YEAH! 

Cool Moon Rising: The Wolfman Returns!

AHHHOOOOO!!!

Oh my my, baby,

this here's your old
friend, Wolfman Jack,

back on the air
at S-P-M-M...

the greatest little

station in the nation!

 I'm filling in as your host while Shady Del Knight

is outta town delivering the keynote address

before the U.N. General Assembly.
(He told me to say that.)

I got stax-o-wax, a ton of tuneage,

a platter party you won't ever forget.

While the rest are talkin'...

the Wolfman's rockin'...

and every time

I spin... you win!

Yes, yes... everybody's talkin' about

the Wolfman's pompatus of love.

I want you to remember what the
old Wolfman says.  It's all according

to how your boogaloo situation

stands, ya understand.

So take it from me

and my friend Curt.

Grab your honey

child and let the

Wolfman drive

you wild!

Now, you pay close

attention to these

songs, baby, or

the Wolfman's
gonna GETCHA!

Mercy me, this little girl breaks down and cries

right in the middle of her song. It's 12 year old

Philly singing sensation Maureen Gray with a

ballad written and produced by the team of

Madara and White. Maureen passed away a

few years ago, ya understand, and "I Don't

Want To Cry" but I do when I hear her voice!

 "I Don't Want To Cry" - Maureen Gray 

 (Nov. 1961, B side of "Come On and Dance") 

That was little Maureen Gray with her sob story
"I Don't Want To Cry," the flip side of her 1961

single "Come On And Dance." Now put your ear

on this one. It's a biggie from 1963 by one of

the best girl groups there ever was, the Jersey

girls who gave us "Will You Love Me Tomor-

row," "Dedicated To The One I Love,"

"Mama Said" and "Soldier Boy." Here are

The Shirelles with-- "Foolish Little Girl!"

 "Foolish Little Girl" - The Shirelles 

 (May 1963, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100/#6 Cash Box/#9 R&B) 

Mercy sakes alive, the old Wolfman's turning a double play! It's another one by The Shirelles. This song was covered by The Beatles and by former Beatles drummer Pete Best. It was released by The Shirelles at the end of 1960 on the B side of their smash hit "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." Here again are those fabulous girls, The Shirelles, this time talkin' about-- "Boys!"

 "Boys" - The Shirelles 

 (Jan./Feb. 1961, B side of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow") 

Awwwww baby, this is The Wofman, your doctor of love,

and that was the original version of "Boys" waxed

in 1960 by the sensational Shirelles.

When Joey Heatherton wasn't acting she was
dancing, and when she wasn't dancing she
was singing. In 1966, this multi-talented
cutie released the Northern Soul doublesider
"When You Call Me Baby" backed with "Live
and Learn," a collectible waxwork wonder
that's today regarded as a gem of the genre!

 "When You Call Me Baby" - Joey Heatherton 

 (May 1966, uncharted) 

Awww yes yes, you thought Joey was diggin' you... but she was
diggin' me (hehehe!) This is your pal on the radio, Wolfman Jack,
and I got another groovy tune on my turntable.

It's a song made popular by the Beatles. You've

heard the Fab Four sing "Devil in Your Heart."

Now you're gonna hear the American original,

"Devil in His Heart" by the Donays, a girl

group from Detroit led by Yvonne Symington

aka  Yvonne Vernee, who later joined the

Motown group The Elgins. You've got

the Wolfman on your radio and he's

got a devil in his heart! 

 "Devil in His Heart" - The Donays 

 (Aug./Sept. 1962, uncharted) 

Oh my gracious, those were the lovely ladies
from the Motor City, the R&B girl group called
The Donays, with the original of "Devil In His

Heart." Now here are those Mop Tops from

Liverpool who made the song famous with

their cover entitled "Devil in Her Heart."

Mercy sakes alive, they're-- The Beatles!

 "Devil In Her Heart" - The Beatles 

 (from Nov. 1963 album With The Beatles) 

Look up. Is that the moon I see? Can't be.
Looks like the sun to me. It's late...
past the Wolfman's bedtime...
and I gotta get on home.  

The good Lord willing
and the creek don't
rise, we'll do it
all over again
next time.

Now this is your old pal

Wolfman Jack reminding

you to obey your ma and pa,

and I'll be back soon at the

greatest little station in

the nation, S-P-M-M.

I guarantee we gonna rock 'n' roll ourselves

to death, baby. If I'm lyin'... I'm dyin'.

AHHHOOOOO!!!