the Hula Hoop

Hula Hoops have been around forever, but it wasn't until Wham-O marketed the product in 1958 that it became a world-wide craze.



It was still going strong ten years later. How cute are these kids?

Sunday morning dose of 1965

Saturday morning dose of 1967

Thank God for those who travel to the beat of a different drum. Linda Ronstadt performs Different Drum live. Hear a wonderful tribute to Ronstadt by some of the greatest female singers from today.

Darlene Love Induction

Check out Bette Midler inducting Love into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The two then perform a rendition of He's a Rebel.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

A friend and I recently journeyed to Cleveland, Ohio to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a rock and roll history junkie, I was in heaven. It felt like my life was flashing before my eyes, especially while viewing 1980s music videos at the MTV exhibit. Yahooooooooo!

Why is it in Cleveland you ask? Because Alan Freed, who coined the term "rock and roll" was a deejay there in the early 1950s.

Above, a mid-60s British Invasion exhibit featuring clothing, concert posters, instruments, video and drum covers. Groooooooooovy!

 Above, Ringo's drum set used during their 1964 world tour.

An hour from Cleveland in Sandusky, Ohio is Cedar Point. Being a roller coaster freak, we had to visit. Amusement parks sure have changed since I was a kid. Yikes. My voice is still hoarse from screaming with joy.

riding the school bus in 1977

I love hearing people's stories about their musical memories whatever the circumstances. Here's one from me about beginning the 7th grade in the fall of 1977. The high school I attended was comprised of grades 7-12. I went from riding on a noisy, boisterous, grade-school bus to a silent bus with high school kids. The bus driver always had a radio playing and it was tuned to WRKO, an AM station in Boston. We heard the same songs every morning and these tunes are forever burned in my brain. The songs ran the gamut of musical styles from disco to rock to easy listening to movie theme songs. The song that gave me the biggest chuckle was Donna Summer's hit I Feel Love. It would be 7:30 in the morning on a crowded, silent school bus and a sexy disco song would be blaring. I'll never forget that strange scene. Below, are some of the tunes that I remember from that 70s bus ride. Hey, I didn't say they were all good.

• I Feel Love, Donna Summer
• On and On, Stephen Bishop
• Cold As Ice, Foreigner
• Short People, Randy Newman
• Nobody Does It Better, Carly Simon
• You Light Up My Life, Debbie Boone
• Slip Slidin' Away, Paul Simon

Labor Day dose of Soul Train

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes perform Bad Luck from 1975.

Thelma Houston on my clock radio

In February of 1977, I was home on vacation from the 6th grade when my mom returned from grocery shopping. While helping her put away the groceries, I took out a clock radio from one of the bags. "Who is this for?" I asked. "You," she responded. From that day on, turning on the radio was the first thing I did when I entered my room. If I hear a song that was once played on the radio, I still remember what was going on in my life when that particular song was popular. This song reminds me of that day in 1977. Right on.

The song was originally recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (featuring Teddy Pendergrass) in 1975. Have a listen...

weirdness

Andy and Edie on Merv from 1965. Got 3 hours? Check out this documentary on Warhol. Learn more about Edie Sedgwick.

Australian Beatlemania

The continent wreaked havoc over The Beatles' arrival in 1964.

1960s Vespa commercial

Hop on and let's go. Vroooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

I attended a swell show last night at my favorite venue on Cape Cod. There were four groups and each performed several of their hit songs. Mitch Ryder was magnificent and hearing Rick Derringer and Joey Molland from Badfinger was a blast. The concert culminated with  
The Family Stone, featuring the original drummer and sax player and fronted by the talented daughter of Sly Stone.

While growing up, I discovered my sister's Sly and the Family Stone Greatest Hits album and it's still one of my favorites. If you like funk and are unfamiliar with Sly, get out from under the rock and have a listen. Dance to the Music and have some Hot Fun baby!

happiness is...

...swimming with Devil Dog. He just loves the cement pond.

Sunday morning dose of 1966

Here's the trailer for the film. Make love to the camera.

Check out The Yardbirds scene and groove along with the audience?

wild, way-out and with-it

Attend a German-style discotheque happening from 1967.

it's hot out

Johnny Cash performs Ring of Fire at the Grand Ole Opry in 1968.

Friday afternoon dose of 1965

It was 50 years ago this weekend that Bob Dylan "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival. Many peeps were upset for several reasons. Boohoo. He stayed away from the folk festival for 37 years.

Marty Robbins

Three great renditions of El Paso by Marty Robbins from 1960.

British coffee houses

Stimulate the nerves and alert your brain. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I wanna dance

Fantastic and fun jitterbugging. The colors are nice too.

Friday afternoon dose of 1965

Somebody must've put Mexican jumping beans in the water. Yikes.

Booker T. Jones

Looking forward to seeing Booker T. Jones in Boston soon – one of
my favorite musicians EVER and king of the Hammond B3 organ.



Check out Steve Cropper talking about his time at Stax Records.

Learn about the Hammond B3 organ from this GROOOVY video.

Diggin' the organ? Here are some previous organ posts, but this scene from 1944's Bathing Beauty starring Ethel Smith is a hoot.

Muscle Shoals

If you dig 1960s and 70s soul and rock, you'll find this documentary very engrossing. Singers and bands flocked to these Alabama studios for their iconic musical style and influence. Thank God they did.

sun, surf and screaming

The above animated GIFs were made from this and this. Summer!

amusement parks

As a kid, my favorite thing about summer was visiting an amusement park. My folks would call me "Carnival Charlie" during the summer.
Here's a 1960s/70s commercial for Hunt's Pier in New Jersey.
Here's the Palisades Park commercial from the 60s. Weeeeee!

It's summertime at last!

Head down to fabulous New Jersey for some fun in the sun.

Take a gander at the beauties from the Miss New Jersey contest.

And don't worry, nobody will make fun of your training wheels. NOT