FEATURE SONG: PATTY BABY by FREDDY (Boom Boom) CANNON

It’s human nature I’m sure, but when we Baby Boomers were young, and we’d hear a song that mentioned a person by name, we would wonder if the person was real; if the lyrics were truly autobiographical. You don’t think so? Think about it, what bobby-soxer didn’t wonder if Annette really had a tall boyfriend named Paul, or if poor Elvis really got two-timed by a black-haired chick named Marie? You're right, maybe it was just the gals who wondered about things like that. Whatev'. Our feature song today is one I wanted to pay tribute to simply because it’s a great little song, and I always really liked it. But when I looked it up, I discovered that it, too, is about a real person.

The “Patty” in the song is one of the famous American Bandstand regulars from the early days, Pat Molittieri. I logged a lot of hours watching Bandstand, so all the old names are practically as familiar to me as my own high school classmates. As the years roll on, some of the Bandstand Committee members have begun to “graduate” in a different sense, but I was shocked to learn that Pat passed away at such a young age. Still, she is remembered as part of rock and roll history, the Philly chapter. The Freddy Cannon lyrics goes on to include all the other dancin’ “Pattys” all over the country, so we girls can all say we owned a little piece of this tune, in spirit. So, let’s take a moment to remember a great song, a great Philly dancer, and the days when we were young. Ya baby!

Freddy Cannon – “PATTY BABY” 1963

REPORT FROM THE CHECK-OUT LINE, or more on mags

Like many (I suspect) people, I secretly enjoy waiting in line at the grocery store. No, really. It’s a wonderful opportunity to call a time out in our busy lives, to stop and, if not smell the roses, at least catch up with the latest news around the world, and frequently off-planet as well. I’m talking about those trashy tabloids. I don’t know about you, but I have learned loads of extremely interesting things over the years. Some headlines seem more outrageous than others, but after I saw the movie, Men in Black, I realized that even the most bizarre claims could be the truth, hiding in plain sight: “Dog-Faced Boy Marries Cat-Faced Woman!” “Werewolves Sank the Titanic!” “Loud Rock Show Makes Teen’s Head Explode!” One memorable header from back in the ‘90s announced that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton had given birth to a UFO baby. There was even a photo. Evidently, the baby favored the father, that’s all I can tell you.

Of course, those weekly cage-liners are not the only source of 411 available in the supermarket racks. Fortunately for all us shoppers, we also have those celebrity and entertainment magazines. These shiny full-color beauties are miles ahead of the newsprint tabloids in style, but the trash is still pretty much the same. Only instead of UFOs and exploding body parts, the headlines tattle out the most lurid gossip and embarrassing details in the lives of all the uber-rich and famous. I genuinely feel sorry for all the celebs who can’t even go pick up a pregnancy test at the all-night drugstore without light bulbs flashing. Even more, I pity the poor hybrids, the Bennifers, Brangelinas and TomKats of the industry. How awful to have every tiny detail of your hook-ups and de-hookings spread all over those glossy pages. Awful – yet strangely, I’ve heard rumors that some celebs actually like the publicity, and have even make up scandalous stuff to keep their names in print. I find that harder to believe than an exploding head…what, am I being naïve?

Anyway, back when I was a teen, there was very little of that kind of gossip/news available. I’m sure it wasn’t because there was nothing going on. Probably my fave teen singers and movie stars were whooping it up behind the scene back then, too, but that was well before the current avalanche of so-called entertainment mags and TV tell-alls. Oh, there were a few modest Teen magazines back then, but the details were hardly shocking. Back in ‘60s, we just had a very different idea of what constitutes news, or gossip, or propriety for that matter. A few short decades ago, the Disney machine forbade Annette to wear a bikini in her debut beach movie with Frankie Avalon. No one, whether interested or not, was allowed to view Annette’s bare midriff. But these days there simply isn’t, to paraphrase Martha and The Vandellas, any place to run or to hide. These days, anyone with a computer (and no real life) can relive being flashed by Britney, or review David Hasselhoff consuming a (much needed) hamburger. There is no privacy any more; voluntary or not, it’s all out there.

So imagine my surprise when I saw this headline recently: “ Madonna Opens Up!” Excuse me, would you run that by me again? Now, I say this as someone who genuinely likes Madonna, but, really, can there be anything about Madonna that we haven’t already heard, or seen, for that matter? What could possibly, at this point in her career, be left? Those last two questions are purely rhetorical, BTW.

Okay, now that I’ve opened up about checkout line magazines and celebrity gossip, let’s have a look at a neat little video of the famous teen show, American Bandstand, and remember how simple life used to be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRu-q1lfdWI And, fittingly, the vintage footage is part of an entertainment TV show!

Photo from answers.com. Check out the "IFIC" button (see May 15/08 post on Silly Love songs)

MORE THAN ONE WAY TO NAME YOUR BAND

As we saw in the previous post, one way to come up with a name for your band is to name it after a handy nearby intersection. I think that’s an admirable way to do it. The Hollywood Argyles might not have been the first to use this method, and there certainly could be others out there since. Maybe you know some. The closest I can come is the E Street Band and Highway 101 (not truly intersections). Then there’s the more contemporary Sleater-Kinney, which is actually more of an off-ramp than an intersection, but hey, why be picky at this point.

If you can’t even come up with a general category of name for your band, you might go to Dave Marsh’s weighty tome, “The Book of Rock Lists.” There you might consider any kind of critter: bird (The Ravens, Counting Crows), four-legged (The Spaniels) creepy-crawly (The Scorpions) or the slimy (The Arrogant Worms)…. Or maybe you could try places in the larger sense. Beyond mere streets and intersections, there are bands named after towns and cities (Boston, Chicago) bodies of water (Little River Band) states (Kansas) provinces (Manitoba) regions (Kamchatka) whole countries (The United States of America) and continents (Asia). I hear there's even a band called Earth. Then there’s deep space; a huge untapped source of band names as far as I can tell. I don’t think Clownface Nebula is taken yet.

Still not finding what you want? Some bands named themselves in tribute to other songs. The Rolling Stones (after a Muddy Waters tune) and The Lovin’ Spoonful (after a Mississippi John Hurt number) are two well-known examples. I found a song by Beck titled “Satan Gave Me a Taco.” Your band could be The Satanic Tacos! See how it works? In the later sixties, band members started coming up with real trippy names, like Strawberry Alarm Clock and Chocolate Watch Band. I call that process the Three Hat Method. Two hats for adjectives, one for nouns. It may take a while to prepare all the little strips of paper and find a wide variety of interesting words, but once you’re done, you can name dozens of bands without taking a break. And then there are the really obscure band names; ones that come from references to pop culture, literature, or one of the best sources ever…out of thin air. Here’s a link to Wikipedia’s article on Band Name Etymologies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_band_name_etymologies I highly recommend it for study before naming your band. Find out what it takes to come up with something truly memorable and endearing like Flaming Lips or Beastie Boys.

Finally, there are groups who take their names from other people. Edison Light House comes to mind, and also a group from the dim days of the 1958, Dickie Doo and the Don’ts. This groups, known for several hits, including “Click Clack” “Tears Will Fall” “Flip Top Box” and my particular fave (and the only one I truly remembered) is “Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu.” I know what you’re thinking. Who the dickens is Dickie Doo?? Well, the story goes that the band took their name from the son of the legendary Dick Clark of American Bandstand. Though he was officially Richard Clark Jr., papa Dick’s affectionate nickname for the little fella was Dickie Doo (he was a toddler at the time). It’s not too much of a stretch to come up with the "Don’ts" after that. I think it’s a terrific group name. It’s going to be a tough act to follow, name wise, but I know you’re up to it.

Here's Dickie Doo and The Dont's...get ready to dance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmX6NhyHtTk

P.S. - I don’t think Alphagetti On Toast is taken either.

FEATURE SONG: SUSIE DARLIN' by ROBIN LUKE

Robin Luke’s big 1958 hit, Susie Darlin’ has always been a fave of mine. Back in the late 50s I kept my 45 of it in my handy (but heavy - everything back then was made of metal) carrying case, designed especially to hold 45rpm records. At 12 years of age, I used to practice my rudimentary cha-cha/calypso moves to this song, up in my bedroom. I still have a 45 of it today, but not my original copy.

Although Robin did record a bunch of other songs, Susie Darlin’ is basically an OHW (one hit wonder). But it’s a very durable hit, and it still gets played regularly on the “better” oldies stations, the ones who still play the early stuff. I heard Susie Darlin’ not long ago, and went straight to YouTube, where I found this. There’s the opening shot of the record, a few opening bars of the song, and…ho-lee!…there he was, young Robin Luke! I had never seen what he looked like (he’s cute). Neither my original 45 nor the replacement came with a picture sleeve. Never caught him on TV either, not on Bandstand or Perry Como, either. What a terrific time-travel moment to see the photo on YouTube. I said to myself: “Whatever happened to Robin Luke?” Over to the Internet. There I found an article titled, “Whatever happened to Robin Luke.” Just the ticket! The article is well worth the read, if you’re so inclined http://www.rockabillyhall.com/RobinLuke1.html but the gist of it is that Robin wrote this song, using the name of his little sister (rather than create trouble for himself with the girls he knew), recorded it on a shoestring with lo-tech sound equipment, and some seat-of-their-pants instrumentation (guitar, ukulele, drumming on an LP cover with ball point pens!) in his bedroom at home (Hawaii).

Once recorded, Susie Darlin’ got local airplay, which led to it being heard by a honeymooning record distributor from Cleveland. Robin ended up meeting his idol, Buddy Holly, and hanging out with Jan and Dean. Ya gotta love it! Anyway, rather than pursue a music career, Robin used the money from Susie Darlin’ to put himself through school, and has gone on to a distinguished career in academia. What it the best choice? Well, that would be pointless speculation, and it sounds like Luke has no regrets. And we have Susie Darlin.’ I think everybody’s happy.

Susie Darlin' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdgR-XX9gfE

Let me see you cha-cha-cha!