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'60s Choreography

Watch and learn!

Paul and Linda: 29 years of marriage - 10 days apart

You'll be amazed to find out that Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, stayed only 10 days apart in a 29-year marriage!

Why? Paul spent ten days in a Japanese jail cell when he was busted for marijuana possession :)

However, they never spent any other night apart, usually living quietly in a West Sussex farmhouse, in Scotland. Moreover, Linda always accompanied him on his tours.

They first met on the 15th of May 1967, as she was in the UK on an assignment to take photographs of "Swinging Sixties" musicians in London :)

Beatles' album - Second in Top Most Shocking Banned Album Covers

Guitar World presents the 20 most shocking banned album covers of all time. An Alice Cooper album cover is placed first, followed by The Beatles' "Yesterday and Today".

For their 1966 album, Yesterday and Today, the Beatles presented themselves as grinning butchers, complete with raw beef and dismembered baby dolls. However, the image was not appropriate to the Fab Four's clean public image. Upon receiving advance copies, radio DJs were outraged and Capitol Records quickly repackaged the record with what was apparently the only image of the band it had available.

You can see below the album covers:






The complete top is here.

Then and now: Dion

You can find him on Facebook :)

I wonder why...

"I Wonder Why" is a doo-wop song, written by Maxwell Anderson and Ricardo Weeks, and first recorded by Dion and the Belmonts in 1958. The song was used in the film, A Bronx Tale, in the pilot episode of the television series The Sopranos and in John Carpenter's film adaption of Stephen King's "Christine". (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Dion & The Belmonts




The Chiffons

Shout!

"Shout" is a popular and influential popular song, originally recorded by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1959, it was written by the brothers themselves. The song was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. It ranked #118 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

The Isley Brothers




The Shangri-Las




The Beatles

"Imagine" John Lennon at 70

Yoko Ono declares:

"Now, 99% of the world is taking a stand against wars like Iraq and Afghanistan. John would have done that but he'd have loved the new communication media.

He would have been writing statements and sending them out to the world as a blogger and a tweeter."

Vanity Fair imagined an interview with John Lennon... today. Everything would have been different:
- he would have lived in his dairy farm in Delaware County
- he would have received the reporter "shirtless—nearly naked, in fact, wearing only skimpy white tennis shorts with the top snap undone and a pair of olive-green Wellies"
- he would have been something like this: "slim, with a deep late-summer tan; the longish hair is mostly white and a bit thinned out on top"
- he would have had a young blond assistant taking care of the animals
- he would have been divorced from 1983
- in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks and Harrison being on his deathbed, Lennon and McCartney would have reached a lasting peace :)

More about this interview, here.

He would have been 70

9th of October was his birth day. Not his birthday anymore.






In order to pay John Lennon a tribute, Google decided to celebrate this date :
(using his own self-portrait)



And Youtube did the same:

John Lennon's birth and early childhood

70 years ago, John Lennon was born. Being the son of Julia and Alfred Lennon, he was named after his paternal grandfather, John "Jack" Lennon, and Winston Churchill (as his complete name was John Winston Lennon).

According to some biographers, a German air raid was taking place, and Julia's sister, Mary "Mimi" Smith, used the light cast by the explosions to see her way as she ran through the blacked-out back roads to reach the hospital. Mimi said later, "I knew the moment I saw John in that hospital that I was the one to be his mother, not Julia. Does that sound awful? It isn't, really, because Julia accepted it as something perfectly natural. She used to say, 'You're his real mother. All I did was give birth.'"

Lennon's father, a merchant seaman during World War II, was often away from home and sent regular pay cheques. The cheques stopped when Alfred Lennon went absent without leave in 1943. When he eventually came home in 1944, he offered to look after the family, but his wife (who was pregnant with another man's child) rejected the idea. Under considerable pressure, she handed the care of Lennon over to her sister, Mimi.

In July 1946, Lennon's father visited Mimi and took his son to Blackpool, secretly intending to emigrate to New Zealand with him. Lennon's mother followed them, and, after a heated argument, his father forced the five-year-old to choose between his parents. Lennon chose his father—twice. As his mother walked away, Lennon began to cry and followed her. Lennon then lost contact with his father for 20 years.

"Nowhere boy" is relevant for revealing this period of Lennon's life. You can read more here.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Please Mr. Postman

Its origins:



And then:

Gently whispering lyrics (2)

"There's a shimmer in your eyes
Like the feeling of a thousand butterflies"
(Abba - Andante, Andante)

What is wrong with the '60s audience?

Although the songs are brilliant and the performance great, the public seems clumsy, awkward and even scared!

Take a look, they definitely have a problem...

Kokomo Island - named after the Beach Boys' hit

Although few people know, the place referred to as "Kokomo" in the song is fictional!

After the success of the song, two sea resorts took over the name :) One is Grassy Key, Florida and the other - Sandals Cay, Jamaica, as the song also mentions many places around the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Aruba, Bermuda, Bahamas, Martinique or Port-au-Prince (Haiti).

And now, at the end of the summer, listen :)

Gently whispering lyrics

"The leaves on the trees would be softly sighin',
If they heard from the breeze that you left me cryin',
They'd be sad, don't be bad to me."
(Lennon/McCartney)

Blue Moooon

Although I thought it was a '60s hit, "Blue Moon" is much more older, being written in 1933! More info about its origin, here.

Here are some of its numerous versions:

1935 - Connie Boswell



1950 - Billie Holiday



1954 - Elvis Presley



1961 - The Marcels - doo-wop version :)



1964 - Dean Martin



1967 - Diana Ross & The Supremes



1994 - Chris Isaac



2004 - Rod Steward

Unexpected Best Beatles Song

To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' 12th and final studio album, "Let It Be"(1970), Rolling Stone magazine released a special collector's edition issue entitled "The Beatles: 100 Greatest Songs".

And... "A Day in the Life", written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, was ranked first.

On of my favourites, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", was placed second. Here it is, with some explanation :)

Here is the top, enjoy! :)

1. "A Day in the Life"

2. "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

3. "Strawberry Fields Forever"

4. "Yesterday"

5. "In My Life" - this I particularly like

6. "Something"

7. "Hey Jude"

8. "Let It Be"

9. "Come Together"

10. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

Brilliant Paul Anka Mix

1966 great video:

Girl dancers in oldies videos

Or... ladies dancing in a funny way!

Neil Sedaka - "Calendar Girl" - '60s hot ladies




Del Shannon - "Little town flirt" ... but the girls seem to be outside the town :)

Beatles fans Twist and Shout

Lennon used to say he never "sang" when he performed this song... all he
had to do was to shout :))

Here's a piece of Beatlemania*



*Beatlemania = a term originated during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success; Andi Lothian, a former Scottish music promoter, claims that he first used the term while speaking to a reporter at the Caird Hall Beatles concert that took place as part of the Beatles Mini-Tour of Scotland, on 7 October 1963.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Petula Clark... Why Petula? :)

Born in 1932, her name is Petula Sally Olwen Clark. Her father gave her the first name, jokingly it was a combination of the names of two former girlfriends, Pet and Ulla :)

Petula Clark is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.

Her professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio, during World War II. During the 1960s she became known internationally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I know a place", "My love" or "Colour my world". She has sold in excess of 68 million records throughout her career.

"Downtown" ( must see the dancers ;) )

"This is my song"

Then and Now: Paul Anka

He recorded his first single at 14 years old and became famous at 16, with "Diana":). This song is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist. Here's the oldie video!

"Please Mr. Postman" and John Lennon's letters

"Please Mr. Postman" is the debut single of The Marvelettes and the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart (1961).

"Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975, when The Carpenters' cover of the song also reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100.

The song has been covered frequently, including a version of The Beatles on their "With the Beatles" album. Sung by John Lennon, their version reverses the genders: "There must be some mail today/ From my girlfriend so far away... " and so on.

When in Hamburg (in early '60s), John Lennon used to send letters to Cynthia, his girlfriend whom he was to marry in 1962. On the envelopes, he was always writing: "Postman, postman, don't be slow, I'm in love with Cyn so go, man, go.":)

Nowhere Boy - Young John Lennon's biography

He got his passion for music from his mother. His uncle, George, gave him his first instrument, a harmonica, his mother, Julia, his first rock and roll lessons, his aunt, Mimi, his first 7 pounds guitar and Paul his first notions of musical notes and the dream of having their own songs and recordings. The witty sense of humor, his defiance, fierceness and his intelligence did the rest. Although uncle George and Julia left him early, Mimi took care of him for the rest of his life. As the ending of the film says: “John called Mimi as soon as he arrived in Hamburg… and every week thereafter for the rest of his life”.

"Nowhere boy" is the story of a troubled adolescence, with questions and no answers, with great talent and no direction. John Lennon is torn between his joyful mother and his rigid aunt, both concealing secrets or feelings. But when music came into his life, he found his way. The introduction of music into his existence was underlined at the beginning of the film by the wire that John and his uncle installed into his room, for listening to the radio.

I found the movie powerful, witty, vivid, exactly as I expected it to be. A very interesting fact was that the name of the band, "The Beatles", was never mentioned in the movie, maybe to highlight that the film is only about the "nowhere boy".

Strengths: Aaron Johnson was perfect for playing such a complex character as John Lennon and I particularly appreciated him for having the looks, attitude and tone of voice of John.

Weaknesses: no Beatles songs :); Paul and George do not resemble at all with the real ones (last picture, the second and the fourth from left); some details are not so exact: for example, I know that Julia Lennon was killed while riding a bike and the movie shows no sign of bikes.

All in all, you must see it!



Pictures in comparison :)


John Lennon




John Lennon (Nowhere boy)




John Lennon and Aunt Mimi




Aunt Mimi (Nowhere boy)



The Quarrymen



The Quarrymen (Nowhere boy)



The Quarrymen (Nowhere boy)

Three of my favourite songs

Gerry and The PaceMakers - I like it



The Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be nice



The Crew Cuts - Life could be a dream

Do you want to know a secret? - the story behind the song

This is a love song written by John Lennon and based on a song his mother would sing to him as a child (photo): "Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well." ("I'm Wishing" from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie).

Although rumors have persisted that John wrote this song about his girlfriend Cynthia, whom he'd just married, evidence remains inconclusive. It is true that he'd gotten her pregnant and was urged by Brian to marry her, yet keep the marriage a secret so as to make him appear available to female fans. But whether the "secret" in question is that John has decided he loves Cynthia, or that their marriage is the secret, is hard to tell. For his part, Lennon always treated it as a generic love song in interviews.

This was given to George to sing and was the first recorded Beatles song not sung by John or Paul. It was not, however, written specifically for him. (George and Ringo were often given songs to sing in the early days, so as to reach out to their individual fans.) John has said that "I thought it would be a good vehicle for him, because it had only three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world." :)

John Lennon's football drawing

Did you know that John Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" album cover shows a drawing made by him when he was 11? This is a depiction of the Newcastle vs Arsenal FA Cup final in 1952, drawn by him after seeing this match. Arsenal lost to Newcastle, 0-1 with several injuries on the field (no substitutions allowed then) and ended the game with just seven fit players.

The cover shows the unmistakable black and white stripes of Newcastle players and the red jerseys and white shorts of Arsenal. Lennon drew this in June, 1952 a month after the final.

The album "Walls and Bridges" reached no 1 in the USA and no 6 in England in 1974. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", a song from this album, was Lennon's only no. 1 single as a solo hit in the American Billboard, during his lifetime.

When did John and Paul meet?

Saturday, July 6, 1957 is the day John met Paul!

John (aged 16) and his band the Quarrymen were performing at a fête at St. Peter's Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool. Paul (aged 15) was wheeling around on his bicycle - hoping to pick up girls - and heard the Quarrymen play (photo). A mutual friend named Ivan Vaughan introduced Paul to John. Paul whipped out the guitar strapped to his back and played "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Be-Bop-a-Lula", among others. John was impressed that Paul could tune a guitar and "looked like Elvis", and John said that he "dug him." That October, Ivan told Paul that John wanted him in the band. The rest, as they say, is history.

They shared the passion for music and, sadly, the early loss of their mothers. In 1956, Mary McCartney, a heavy smoker, died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer. Lennon's mother died in 1958. John was living with his Aunt Mimi and her mother came to visit him. After spending the day with his son, Julia Lennon waved goodbye and began to cross the road in order to catch the bus home. She never made it. She was hit by a car being driven by an off-duty policeman and died instantly, aged 44.

Then and Now: Chubby Checker, the twister :)

Then and Now: The Righteous Brothers

Then and Now: Ringo Starr

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Then and Now: Diana Ross

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Leslie Gore

Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.

Lesley was a junior at the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood when "It's My Party" became a no. 1 hit. It was later nominated for a Grammy Award for rock and roll recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Gore's first hit was followed by many other songs, including "Judy's Turn to Cry" - the sequel to "It's My Party", "She's a Fool", the proto-feminist "You Don't Own Me" which held at no. 2 for four weeks behind The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "That's the Way Boys Are", "Maybe I Know" and Grammy nominated for Contemporary Rock and Roll female vocal performance "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows". Her record producer was Quincy Jones, who would later become one of the most famous producers in American music. "You Don't Own Me" also sold a million copies, and was awarded gold disc status.

Instead of accepting the television and movie contracts that came her way, Gore chose to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. This limited her public career to weekends and summer vacations and undoubtedly hurt her career. Nevertheless, throughout the mid 1960s Gore continued to be one of the most popular female singers in the United States and Canada.

Gore was given first shot at recording "A Groovy Kind of Love", but Shelby Singleton, a producer, recommended that she not record a song with the word "groovy" in it. The Mindbenders went on to record the song, and it went to no. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Gore announced in 2005 that she is a lesbian. Some commentators consider the lyric content of some albums to contain implicit references to Gore's sexuality. For example, she covered the song "You're the One That I Want" (from the film Grease), altering the line "'cause I need a man" to "'cause I need a friend". Leslie Gore currently lives with her partner of more than 23 years.


Source: wikipedia.org

The Dixie Cups

The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for their 1964 million selling disc, "Chapel of Love". The group hit the top of the charts in 1964 with "Chapel of Love," a song that Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had originally written for The Ronettes. The trio consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins, plus their cousin Joan Marie Johnson, . They first sang together in grade school. Originally they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets :), but were named The Dixie Cups just prior to their first release.

By 1963 the trio had decided to pursue a career in music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successful singer in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single "You Talk Too Much," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York, where record producers / songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their new Red Bird Records.

Their first release, "Chapel of Love," proved to be their biggest hit, although they had other hits with "People Say" (no. 12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (no. 39, 1964), "Iko Iko" (no. 20, 1965), and "Little Bell" (no. 51, 1965). "Chapel of Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Source: wikipedia.org

Little Peggy March

Peggy March is an American pop singer, primarily remembered for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him".

Her real name is Margaret Annemarie Battavio.. but why did she choose the name "Little Peggy March"? She was discovered at age thirteen singing at her cousin's wedding and was introduced to the record producer partnership Hugo & Luigi. They gave her this nickname because she was only 1.47 m (4'10") in height, she was only thirteen, the first record she did with them was "Little Me", and her birthdate was in the month of March.

In 1963, when she was only 14 years old, she released the single "I Will Follow Him", which soared to number one on the U.S. charts. March became the youngest female artist with a number one hit, a record that still stands for the Billboard Hot 100. The recording also took the number one spot in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and Scandinavia.

As in many cases, the success also came with financial trouble. She was a minor and the Coogan Law prevented her parents from managing her money. The responsibility was placed on her manager, Russell Smith. It was discovered in 1966 that he had squandered the fortune away, leaving her with $500. But she soon had a new manager, Arnie Harris, who later on became her husband.

Although she is remembered by some as a one-hit wonder, her singles "I Wish I Were a Princess" and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" made the Top 30 in the United States. She began making a strong presence in the European and Asian music markets (you should see this video :)), and she moved to Germany in 1969. Her commercial success in Germany continued through much of the 1970s and she also tried her luck in representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, only to be placed second in the national final. March made another Eurovision attempt in 1975. Again she was placed second.

Source: wikipedia.org

The Shirelles

The Shirelles, an American girl group in the early 1960s, were the first to have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. They were the first major female vocal group of the rock and roll era, preceding Motown as a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. The members of the quartet were Shirley Owens, Doris Coley (who sang lead on "Dedicated to the One I Love"), Beverly Lee, and Addie 'Micki' Harris.

The quartet formed in New Jersey in 1958 and went on to release a hit after hit including "Mama Said", "Baby It's You","Foolish Little Girl", and the no. 1 Pop hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy".

Their "Sha La La" became an international hit when covered by the British group Manfred Mann, giving them a Top 5 hit in 1965, and the song "Boys" was covered by The Beatles. The Beatles also covered "Baby It's You" on their album Please, Please Me in 1963.

Other artists that recorded The Shirelles' hits were Cher, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Pattie LaBelle, Neil Diamond or Dionne Warwick.

Source: wikipedia.org

The Beatles and their loved ones

This video says more than words:

The Rubettes

The Rubettes were an English pop band of the 1970s. As a trademark, they were wearing on stage white suits and cloth caps. Their first release, "Sugar Baby Love", was an instant hit remaining at number one in the UK for four weeks in May 1974 and remains their best-known record. The album "Sugar Baby Love" was sold in around 500,000 copies in the UK and three million copies globally. Two million copies were sold in France alone, an achievement matched by no other British group! Maybe their French style caps contributed a little bit :)

In 2008, "Sugar Baby Love" was declared to be the most successful oldie of all times by the German television station RTL!

They also had other hits, but none of them reached the success of "Sugar baby Love".

Here are two that I particularly like: "Juke Box Jive" and "Tonight" :)

Source: wikipedia.org

The Ronettes - a family business :)

The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City: singer Veronica Bennett, her sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They reached the peak of their success after releasing "Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica" in 1964.

They began singing together as teenagers in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The sisters grew up listening to rock and pop and their grandmother encouraged them to harmonize. Their grandmother was the one that entered them into a talent show at the Apollo Theatre in 1959 as The Darling Sisters, which they subsequently won. Phillip Halikus, who was to become their manager, saw their potential and promoted the group's early appearances at hops and charity shows.

The group's first four singles had little success. They released their first single, "I Want A Boy", during the summer of 1961, under their new name, Ronnie and the Relatives. :)

In 1963 they came to the attention of producer Phil Spector. He loved Veronica's voice and style and wanted to sign her as a solo artist, but the three girls refused to be broken up. As Spector's new protégées, they assumed the image of the first “bad girls of rock and roll,” with beehive hairdos, heavy eyeliner and tight skirts. Their songs were addressed directly to their subjects, giving them a more seductive manner, using lyrics such as “I love you” instead of “I love him.” :)

And the rest is history: hits like "Be My Baby" or "Baby, I Love You" and opening the 1966 Beatles' tour.

The saddest thing is that, in 1968, Ronnie Bennett married Phil Spector and retired from performance for several years under his oppressive control. In 1988, the original Ronettes sued Spector for nonpayment of royalties. In 2001, a New York court announced a verdict in favor of The Ronettes, ordering Spector to pay nearly three million dollars in back royalties.

The Ronettes' influence on music was significant: Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both cited Veronica Bennett as an influence.

Source: wikipedia.org

Aerosmith in Bucharest

Not so oldies, but certainly goldies, Aerosmith made my dream come true! (June, 18th 2010)

Diana's copyright :)

Like father, like son! - The Beatles

Take a look :)

Sean / John Lennon

Dhani/ George Harrison

James / Paul McCartney

Ringo Starr/ Zak