Saved By the Belle - Volume 1: Psychedelic Lollipop Surrealistic Pillow Thingy

COLD OPEN:

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - The Platters

(Dec. 1958 thru Feb. 1959, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box/#3 R&B, scenes from

Aug. 1973 film American Graffiti)

Smile and say "cheese!"

It's time to meet the newest member of

the Shady Bunch Rodentia Intelligentsia! 

 Hi, folks!  I'm... 

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

 ...the ladies' answer to Denny the Dell Rat. 

Welcome to my new S-P-M-M radio show

 Saved by the Belle 

 The Music and Musings of 

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

I'm on a mission to save you from boring elevator music.

I'm no Minnie Mouse, and the tunes I play are not Mickey Mouse.

My show brings you the best and most memorable sounds

from the glory days of your boomer youth.

At the top of the show, you experienced an awesome split-screen effect,

a custom YouTube video with The Platters performing "Smoke Gets In

Your Eyes," their chart-topping hit from late 1958 and early '59, while

on the large portion of the screen you were treated to scenes from the

1973 coming-of-age comedy film American Graffiti. Set in the summer

of '62, Graffiti features The Platters' romantic ballad in the soundtrack.

Watching the nocturnal adventures

of Steve, Laurie, Terry "The Toad,"

Debbie, Curt and the rest of those

California teenagers reminds me

of when I was their age. I used to

sneak out of my bedroom window

to meet up with guys and girls

I wasn't supposed to be with.

Alright, let's shift gears now

and jump ahead in time to the

rockin' psychedelic 60s as I

play one of the biggest and

most important hits of the

genre presented in another

awesome split-screen vid!

CLICK TO

START VIDEO!

It's the San Francisco-based Jefferson Airplane

with their signature song-- "Somebody To Love!"

"Somebody To Love" - Jefferson Airplane

(May/June 1967, highest chart pos. #5 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

scenes from May 27, 1967, ep. of American Bandstand)

That was Grace Slick and company,

the Jefferson Airplane, performing

their 5th single but first major hit,

"Somebody To Love," together on a

split-screen with the studio dancers

on American Bandstand groovin' to

the band's exciting new hard rock

sound. Speaking of breaking on

through to the other side of the

success barrier, here's another

band that did just that in the

weeks and months after

"Somebody To Love"

peaked on the chart.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW! 

It's Jim Morrison and his psychedelic rock band The Doors with

their own sig-song, a record that went all the way to #1

in the summer of 1967-- "Light My Fire!"

"Light My Fire" - The Doors

(June thru August 1967, highest chart pos.

#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

Come on, baby, "Light My Fire" cried rock legend Jim Morrison...

a Doors ditty that rode high on the chart throughout the summer of '67.

Belle Rat the Dell Rat keeping you company

here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio.

Baby, it's cold outside... and I'm warming you up

with red hot platters fresh from the jukebox. 

Ready for another split-screen

dazzler? I've got it. Check out

Motown's mighty Temptations

on the left side doing their chart-

topping 1966 single "Ain't Too

Proud To Beg," and on the right,

a cool dance routine performed

on Dick Clark's music TV show

Where The Action Is.

CLICK TO

START THE

VIDEO NOW! 

Watch as Jeri, Lesley, Roberta

and The Action Kids entertain

you with The Temptation Walk!

"Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - The Temptations

(June/July 1966, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,

#10 Cash Box/#13 Hot 100, dance perf. by

The Action Kids on Where The Action Is)

From 1966, that was rare and nicely

restored footage of The Action Kids,

the exciting dance troupe on the

TV series Where The Action Is,

doing The Temptation Walk

along with a restored clip

of The Temp's on stage

performing one of

their biggest cross-

over hits-- "Ain't

Too Proud To Beg."

If you're just tuning in, I'm

your Hostess With the Mostest...

Belle of the ball, leader of the pack,

queen of the Rodentia Intelligentsia...

 Belle Rat 

 the Dell Rat 

...newest member of the

Shady Bunch deejay team.

Far from mousy, I'm the

pick of the litter - the

prettiest, perkiest and

 most personable

member of the

Rat Pack.

 I'm playing the best tunes in town and telling my rat tails tales

here on S-P-M-M Rat-ro-sonic Radio. This is the premiere of

 Saved by the Belle 

and we're right in the middle of a 7-in-a-row cheddar cheese block party,

so let's get back to the songs from the soundtrack of our boomer youth.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

Here now are The Mama's And The Papa's in various performances and

outfits, doing their breakthrough hit and signature song "California Dreamin'."

"California Dreamin'" - The Mama's And The Papa's

(Feb./Mar. 1966, highest chart pos. #4 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, that was the LA-

based psychedelic sunshine pop and folk rock quartet

The Mama's And The Papa's. (Yep - that's the exact

 spelling on the label of the original Dunhill single.)

Hot during the cold winter months in the early part

of 1966, the song "California Dreamin'" became a

signpost of the California sound and heralded

the arrival of the 60s counterculture era.

You're boppin' with Belle on

S-P-M-M... the station with

personality. You've got a rat

to rock, and I'm her, she's me.

I'm runnin' down the groovy

sounds of the 50s, 60s and

70s, those Wonder Years

classics that never grow old.

 In the fall of 1970, singer -

songwriter Neil Diamond

achieved his first #1 hit on

the Billboard pop chart,

his third million-selling

single and his break-thru

UK hit, all with the song

you are about to hear.

 The pop troubadour is

literally beside himself in

this split-screen restoration

video. Here's Neil Diamond

appearing on The Johnny

Cash Show and singing

his soft rock favorite--

"Cracklin' Rosie!"

"Cracklin' Rosie" - Neil Diamond

(Sept./Oct. 1970, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

#1 Canada, perf. on Sept. 30, 1970, ep. of The Johnny Cash Show)

Hot-hot-hot in the chilly weeks leading up to Halloween in

1970, that was "Cracklin' Rosie," one of Neil Diamond's

 biggest hits and catchiest singalong songs. 

In addition to topping the pop charts in the U.S. and Canada,

"Rosie" reached #1 in New Zealand, #2 in Australia and Ireland

and also peaked at #2 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart. 

RATS!!!

Shady's waving me off, so I need

to scurry on home. It's just a hole

in the wall, but the food is good.

I hope you enjoyed the debut of

 Saved by 

 the Belle 

 The Music and 

 Musings of 

 Belle Rat 

 the Dell Rat.  

Earlier, you saw and heard the Jefferson Airplane perform "Somebody

To Love," their breakthrough top 5 charting hit from the spring of 1967.

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

To play us off, here's the band's follow-up single, a record that

approached the top 5 on Cash Box during that magical, mystical

Summer of Love. Grace Slick sings-- "White Rabbit!"

"White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane

(July/Aug. 1967, highest chart pos. #6 Cash Box/#8 Hot 100)

I gotta run

(because

Belle Rat's

hungry)...

but I hope

to see you

next time!

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

 Belle Rat the Dell Rat 

Artwork courtesy of my wonderful longtime friend Belle Unruh.

Born in California's Inland Empire... 

Belle moved to Canada as a teenager.

Thank you very much for contributing this delightful

"Belle Rat" drawing to Shady's Place, dear friend Belle!

Now this is Belle Rat the Dell Rat reminding you that a Dell Rat

must be brave, and a Dell Rat must behave.  See you next time!

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

Natural Hy - Vol. 6: How Cool - Solid COLD!

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

 NATURAL HY  

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

CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!

(COLD SHOW OPEN)

"Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)"

- The Temptations (June/July 1970, highest chart pos.

#1 Cash Box/#2 R&B/#3 Hot 100) 

"And the band played on." Starting us off with a heavy dose of

reality, those were The Temptations and "Ball of Confusion,"

a chart-topping hit for the Motown men in the summer of '70.

Calling all my beats, beards, Buddhist

cats, big time spenders, money lenders,

teetotalers, elbow benders, hog callers,

home run hitters, finger poppin’ daddies

and cool babysitters. For all my carrot

tops, lollipops and extremely delicate

gum drops. It's your pal on the radio,

Hyski ‘O Roonie McVouti ‘O Zoot

- “The South Philadelphia Kid” -

- "The Potentate of The Keystone

State" - callin' uptown, downtown,

crosstown, here, there, everywhere.

Your man with the plan, on the scene

with the record machine, welcoming

you to a special edition of my show

Natural Hy here on S-P-M-M.

News flash: it's winter, and I'm following Arnie Ginsburg's lead and playing

Solid Cold. Every record in today's lineup has a cold open, a cold intro.

That means no voice-overs by yours truly until we get to the end of 

the show. So hang out and chill as I spin these cool classics!

The ladies we're about to hear from next came from the world

of gospel music where they were known as The Heavenly Tones. 

They found fame on the secular side of the street as Little Sister,

backing singers for Sly And The Family Stone. In 1970, a month

before "Ball Of Confusion" started up the chart, the trio scored

a major hit of their own. Hyski digs this sound to the max.

Solid Cold now from Little Sister and "You're The One!"

 

"You're The One" (Tom Moulton Mix) - Little Sister

(Mar./Apr. 1970, highest chart pos. #4 R&B,

#20 Cash Box/#22 Hot 100)

I'm the one..."You're The One."  That was Little Sister,

the girl trio formed by Sly Stone, doing their

Hy-performance R&B hit from

the spring of 1970.

Hy Lit, your man in the tower with all the power, giving you all the boogie

you can handle in stereo. If the show's called Solid Cold, then it's apropos

that The Ice Man cometh! It's smooth soul man Jerry Butler, who took

his mama's advice about life and love and put it the words of a song.

Here's a fab slab from the spring of 1969... Mr. Jerry Butler

topping the R&B chart with-- "Only The Strong Survive!"

"Only The Strong Survive" - Jerry Butler

(Mar./Apr. 1969, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,

#4 Hot 100/#5 Cash Box, from Nov 1968

album The Ice Man Cometh)

Got to be strong, got to hold on, 'cause only the strong survive.

Mama's words of wisdom delivered in the form of a song

by an early member of The Impressions, Jerry Butler,

dubbed The Ice Man by my pal, Philly radio great

Georgie Woods - The Guy with the Goods.

If you're just tuning in, you're catching a

special Solid Cold edition of Natural Hy

here on S-P-M-M Retro Radio. We're in

the middle of a 7-in-a-row commercial-

free block party, and every record

but the last has a cold open.

Let's slow things down and go old school

with this next one, a dreamy sound from

1960. Released on Halloween that year,

it's scary to know that a great song like

this one never made the chart. It's a doo-

wop era remake of a ballad originally

penned and recorded in 1936. You've

got a date with The Fabulous Four,

and they wanna meet you "In The

Chapel In The Moonlight."

"In The Chapel In The Moonlight" - The Fabulous Four

(Oct. 1960, B side of "Mr. Twist")

Not to be confused with The Fab Four - The Beatles - or The Fantastic Four

from the Motor City, those were The Fabulous Four from right here in

Philly, a fine doo-wop group led by Junior Pirollo. They were also

known as The Four J's. That great version of "In The Chapel In

The Moonlight" went to waste as the B side of "Mr. Twist,"

an up tempo dancer that failed to make the chart.

Hyski ‘O Roonie McVouti ‘O Zoot with

you on the radio here at S-P-M-M...

where we go huntin' for the great songs

of the past and bring 'em back alive.

On my turntable right now... one

of the coolest of all Solid Cold

dance songs, a peppy platter

waxed by rockin' & rollin'

R&B, blue-eyed soul man

Mitch Ryder and his band

The Detroit Wheels. Time

to sing along with Mitch

 as he gets the joint jumpin'

with- "Sock It To Me - Baby!"

 

"Sock It To Me - Baby!" - Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels

(Feb./Mar. 1967, highest chart pos. #4 Cash Box/#6 Hot 100)

That was Motor City wild man

Mitch Ryder and his Detroit

Wheels, cracking the top 5 in

'67 with "Sock It To Me - Baby!,"

a phrase Mitch used the previous

year in his hit single "Devil With

A Blue Dress On." In 1968,

"Sock it to me" became the

catchphrase of the TV series

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. 

Hey you midnight movers and uptown

groovers, knock me your lobes— are

you ready for this? It's another hot

sound with a cold intro, this one

from the fall of '67. Get it on,

get into it, as my main man,

Mr. Brenton Wood, asks his

baby, pretty please, just

"Gimme Little Sign!"

"Gimme Little Sign" - Brenton Wood

(Sept./Oct. 1967, highest chart pos. #7 Cash Box/#9 Hot 100,

#19 R&B, perf. on Dec. 21, 1968, ep. of Top Of The Pops)

He was born Alfred Smith, but he found success as Brenton Wood,

and that was Brenton's contribution to our Solid Cold special, his 1968

appearance on Top Of The Pops in the UK doing "Gimme Little Sign."

Uh-oh, Shady D's giving me a little sign.  He's waving me off,

so it's time for me to put away my platters, turn off

the table and head for the exit.

Thanks for joining me for this

special Solid Cold edition.

CLICK TO START

THE VIDEO NOW!

 I wanna thank my guests Little Sister,

The Ice Man - Mr. Jerry Butler, the

Temptations, Fabulous Four, Billy

And The Essentials, Brenton Wood

and this wailin' sax man - Jr. Walker

& his All Stars - playing us off with

"Hip City," a top 10 sound from '68.

Stay tuned. Coming up on the B side

of news, my buddy Ernest P. Worrell

drops by to rock your billygoat on

SPMM, the station with personality.

And I'll be back soon to take you up to the sky on a Natural Hy.

Till then, till we meet again, this is Hy Lit reminding you to

maintain your cool, don't be nobody's fool. Later, baby!

"Hip City - Pt. 1" - Jr. Walker And The All Stars

(Sept. 1968, highest chart pos. #7 R&B,

#28 Cash Box/#31 Hot 100)