Happy 4th of July

Let freedom ring! And I'll take mustard on my hot dog please.

Saturday morning dose of Shindig!

Gladys Kravitz

We've all encountered those pesky gossips. What's up with them?

hey space cadet

Planning a trip on Virgin Galactic? Get a new do for the occasion.

Elvis Costello

In an era when my friends and peers were swooning to Journey and REO Speedwagon, I thankfully had Elvis (the second one). Explore:

• Pump It Up
• Oliver's Army
• The Beat
• Radio, Radio
• (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
• Watching the Detectives
• Accidents Will Happen
• Green Shirt
• Alison live
• This Year's Girl

Shebang tv show

Here's a complete episode of Shebang from 1967 featuring Motown. Shebang was an LA-based dance show that aired from 1965-1968.

For me, Kasem will always be the voice of Shaggy. Punch it!

that's a spicy meatball

An early birthday present is taking me to see Mamma Mia! at Boston's Opera House tonight. Listening to the radio in the 1970s, Abba was all over the place. I cannot stop thinking of this commercial from 1969.

De La Soul

If you dig 1980s and early 90s hip hop, then you probably already know these guys. If not, sharing is caring...



• Say No Go
• Me, Myself and I
• The Magic Number
• Buddy
• Eye Know

Eclectic sampling at its best:

• Five Feet High and Rising, Johnny Cash (1959)
• You Showed Me, The Turtles (1968)
• Peg, Steely Dan (1977)
• Schoolhouse Rock (1973)
• I Can't Go for That, Hall and Oates (1981)

so long

A rock and roll pioneer and trailblazer has passed. A huge thanks to Chuck Berry. The clips below are from a 1965 Belgian television show.

• Maybellene
• Roll Over Beethoven
• Memphis
• No Particular Place to Go
• Promised Land/Johnny B. Goode medley

Good, Good Lovin'

I'll be seeing the tremendous Darlene Love tonight in Boston and I'm sure she'll be getting some good, good lovin' from the audience. In the video above, The Blossoms perform on the very last episode of Shindig! in January 1966. Groove along with them on Shindig!:

• Dancing in the Street
• Needle in a Haystack
• I Like It Like That
• Night Time is the Right Time with The Righteous Brothers
• Backing up Aretha Franklin

UPDATE: I was once again blown away. Gotta love Love!

Shirley Ellis

1965 was an energetic year. It was a good one for Shirley too.

Saturday morning dose of the 70s

Time to put on my "Get on Down!" t-shirt. Yeah, baby.

To love or to hate?

Here's a guide. 1971: The Persuaders  1984: The Pretenders

Saturday afternoon dose of 1958

Terrific footage of teens with music and dancing for everyone.

Devo

While decluttering recently, I came upon my Devo ticket stub (click to enlarge). Apparently, my mom let me see them on a school night.
Things became a little weird in the early 1980s and I loved it.

If something was quirky and made me laugh from its absurdity and wackiness, the better. Enter: Devo. If you like to dance or want a giggle, these will make you, at least, bob your head:

• Whip It
• Girl U Want
• That's Good
• Through Being Cool
• Beautiful World
• (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
• Peek-a-boo
• Freedom of Choice 

At the concert I bought a red flowerpot hat. I also bought a concert t-shirt. The concert was during their strange, plastic-shoulder, potato-body phase. When the t-shirt became too small to wear, I gave it to a friend with the stipulation to give it back when she no longer wore it.

A very Devo Christmas in 1982. The above photo is THIS.

I still have the 3 Christmas gifts I'm holding in the photo above. I used to enjoy wearing "loud" shirts and would often get flak for it – especially in the hallways at school. Gotta let your freak flag fly.

Devo appeared on the totally tubular Square Pegs tv show.

customer service dos and don'ts

Want a job at The Krystal? Then stop being a trollop already.

Oh No Not My Baby

Maxine Brown performs at The Bitter End in 1968. The Carole King-Gerry Goffin tune was recorded by Merry Clayton in 1972.
Here is a peek at the creative process with King on piano.

Have a listen to Maxine Brown's 1964 recording:

learn The Big Apple

Make it hot. Wiggle. Loosen up sister. If kids were roaming the streets today doing this, they would be teaching you how to twerk. Ugh.

Friday morning dose of 1967

The Move perform I Can Hear the Grass Grow on French tv.

Polk Salad Annie

Take your pick from several renditions of the 1969 hit by Tony Joe White. Polk salad, properly spelled "poke," is American pokeweed, a poisonous plant that needs to be boiled, rinsed, then boiled again before sautéing it in a skillet with bacon fat. A "poke" is a small bag or sack. Sock a little polk salad to me. Chomp, chomp, chomp.

• live on Swedish tv, 1969 
• with Johnny Cash
• live on British tv, 1970

Tina Britt

Dusty Springfield covers Britt's 1965 tune The Real Thing.

beautiful harmonies

The Everly Brothers perform live on The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show in 1961. Check out the go-go version of Ford's Sixteen Tons.

A Face in the Crowd

In the clip above, Andy Griffith talks about his role in the 1957 film directed by Elia Kazan. Here is the scene that he references. Discuss.

This Can't Be True

Eddie Holman belts out his 1965 Cameo-Parkway hit.

Uber? Lyft?

Call me old-fashioned, but I'll take a big yellow taxi instead.

perfect for today's lifestyle

A fun fashion sensation. Goes where you go. A fun part of your life. I couldn't have said it better. Thanks, K-TEL. Merry Christmas!

Ruby and the Romantics

It's 2017. Is this the year that our day will come?

Here It Comes Again

The Fortunes perform on the top of Montmartre in 1965.

Santa's been naughty, again

This has now made its way to the top of my Christmas wish list.

'tis the season...

...for listening to some of my favorite Christmas music. Enjoy the mix.

Darlene Love's Christmas Show

It's not Christmas season until I break out the Phil Spector Christmas album from 1963 featuring Darlene Love. I'll be seeing her Christmas show this weekend in the lovely town of Beverly, Massachusetts.
What a swell, early Christmas present. Whoopppeeeeeee!

UPDATE: I now have a new Christmas tradition since Darlene remarked that she'd be back next year. What an incredible voice and what a blowout of a show. Love sang her well-known Christmas songs, her iconic 1960s hits and tunes from her new album. Wonderful band and backup singers. Terrific show all around. I was extremely impressed.

Darlene lent her voice for this hilarious Saturday Night Live short.