Comin' Home Baby

Two versions of the 1961 hit by Mel Torme and Dee Dee Sharp.

Sunday morning dose of The Beatles

A slice of The Ed Sullivan Show from February 9, 1964.

Saturday morning dose of 1965

Solid Gold tv show

As a teenager in the early 1980s, Solid Gold was my Shindig! unfortunately. On Saturday nights from 7 'til 8, I grooved with, sang with, boogied a little, and laughed at the hooker outfits on the Solid Gold Dancers. The hosts over the years were Dionne Warwick, Andy Gibb, Marilyn McCoo, Rex Smith and Rick Dees. The show aired from 1980-88.
How did I come out of this cheesiness unscathed?
Or did I? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Help!

• Blondie     • Toni Basil     • Josie Cotton     • Bill Cosby
• Rick James     • The Go-Gos     • Olivia Newton-John
• Peaches and Herb     • Joe Jackson     • 70s countdown

Da Doo Ron Ron

The Crystals perform their fabulous 1963 "Wall of Sound" tune on Shivaree in 1965. How cool were the go-go girls from Shivaree?

Sunday morning dose of The Beatles

Before their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, The Beatles were introduced to the United States via a film that was shown on The Jack Paar Program in January 1964.

Get a load of how loud their Shea Stadium concert was in 1965.

The Beat tv show

The Beat was a syndicated tv show from Dallas, Texas that aired for one year in 1966. It was hosted by Nashville-based deejay Bill "Hoss" Allen and featured a house band led by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Below, are some fine, soul performances from the program.

• show intro
• Jerkin' the Dog, The Mighty Hannibal
• I Can't Turn You Loose, Jimmy Church
• Uptight, Jimmy Church
• You'll Lose a Good Thing, Barbara Lynn
• Suffering Soul, Mighty Joe Young
• Hold On To What You've Got, Joe Tex
• Something's Got a Hold On Me, Etta James
• Hide Away, Freddie King

Somebody Help Me

A teenage Steve Winwood and The Spencer Davis Group perform
live on the German television show Beat Beat Beat in 1966. Below,
are some fantastic, live performances with groovin' audiences.

• James Brown's I'll Go Crazy
• Sha La La La Lee, Small Faces
• Cherry Wainer and Don Storer
• With a Girl Like You, The Troggs
• I Can't Control Myself, The Troggs
• more Wainer and Storer
• C.C. Rider, Eric Burdon

Happy New Year

What was going on in London for New Year's Eve 1965? Big heads.

Christmas gifts

Nothing says "I love you" like a Hoover. Now get cleaning!

Sunday afternoon dose of 1969

The Dutch group Shocking Blue had a humongous hit with this.

Carrie Anne

A tremendous live performance on the BBC with a strange string
interlude by The Hollies sans Graham Nash from 1969.

take a break from skiing...

...with The Supremes on Where the Action Is from 1965.

time for Christmas music...

...and watching Rudolph. Enjoy the mix and Happy Christmas!

Ronnie Spector

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Ronnie Spector a few nights ago in a very intimate setting at TCAN in Natick, Massachusetts. She looked gorgeous and sounded gorgeous. Her hair was bigger than huge, thank God, and her band and backup singers were the best.

I've never sat so close to a performer and could not make my smile go away. In between each song she sat and told stories about her career and the song she was about to sing. There was a slide show with video too. One of the top 5 shows I've ever seen. Thanks, Ronnie!

She ended the show with Frosty the Snowman. The Ronettes
were a huge part of Phil Spector's Christmas album from 1963.




• Kids Cha Cha to Be My Baby on American Bandstand
• Appearing on American Bandstand, September 1963
• Say Goodbye to Hollywood, 1977

learning "The Hustle" to "Popcorn"

In the summer of 1975 when I was 10-years-old, my family went camping with some of our neighbors. One night at the campground rec hall there was a square dancing party. Besides do-si-doing, we learned The Hustle, the new dance of the day to the song Popcorn.
Just when the big, bad world is getting me down, I find this.
Thank you, Jesus. Whoooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Some references to "penquins" and "drying your nails" in the comments section for the video above – a European Community Auditions.

Saturday morning dose of The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons belt out a medley of some of their biggest hits.

Black Is Black

Los Bravos perform then run from the fanatical chicks.

Hand Jive

Johnny Otis, Three Tons of Joy and Lionel Hampton perform Willie and the Hand Jive on The Johnny Otis Show in 1958.

Happy Halloween!

Screamin' Lord Sutch and the Savages perform Jack the Ripper in 1964 and creep out the audience. Rrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaahhhhhhh!

beware of monsters today

They can really be a pain in the neck I tell ya. Ooooooowwwwww!

Crazy Cafe

Let's go get an egg and groove to the jukebox at the Crazy Cafe.

Saturday Night Beech-nut Show

This Dick Clark show was broadcast live from NYC and featured almost every pop singer from the 1950s. It aired from 1958-1960.

radio station countdowns

88 Rewound counts down the hits of the day. Have a listen.

Ranch Party tv show

Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline perform in 1957.

The Dusty Springfield Show

Here are some performances by Dusty from her 1960s tv show:

• The Real Thing
• Heat Wave
• Show Intro, Get Ready
• Nowhere to Run
• ending and closing credits 
• Anna (El Negro Zumbon)

Pink Martini does a fabulous version of Anna (El Negro Zumbon). I've seen them many times. One of the best shows out there.





Check out Anna being sung in the 1951 film of the same name.

Who's under there?

How cool is the beatnik girl mask? Like, Happy Halloween.


Have a fix of this vintage Halloween mix.

Halloween approaches

Time to watch Disc-O-Teen for some costume ideas.

Upbeat tv show

The Cleveland, Ohio music show aired from 1964-71. Read about host Don Webster's recollections here. Otis Redding appeared on Upbeat the day before his death. Below, Redding sings Respect on Upbeat.

Otis Redding

One of the greatest singers in the history of mankind was Otis Redding. He died at age 26 on December 10, 1967. Below, are three performances from Upbeat, the Cleveland, Ohio tv show that aired from 1964-71. He was killed in a plane crash the day after these performances:

• Wow
• Wow again
• Once again, wow

The RRHOF displays part of the fuselage bearing Redding's name.

building a jukebox

See how this 1958 jukebox was made. I'll take one please.