Summer’s here and the time is right for podcasting at the pool! (Player above, Apple and Spotify links below.)
This show is a reunion of sorts. Attendees are solid gold seniors who had no relation to each other, other than their heydays and their expiration dates. They hooked up for one mad love affair in the Troy Donahue-Connie Stevens summer of 1963, then went their separate ways. Sometimes they might see one another on a Rhino oldies collection, but other than that they were cast into that great audio convalescent care stack-o-wax we know as Golden Oldies.
It’s a great bunch once you get to know them. Collectively they represent one of the last summits of pop culture before The Beatles hit the beaches and the rest of the fab but gear British Invasion followed. Culturally, what was on the horizon was the equivalent of sound coming to the movies.
The artist contributions are significant. They offer a sweet last snapshot of Fifties culture that lingered well into the early Sixties. Focusing their talents on the singles market, still the only game in town, they were a mixture of young talent and old business. They played by rules that had been around too long and still managed to deliver unique and original product. Cool, young, and under contract, they rocked the radio, jolted the cash registers, and spoke to young people.
There were so many songs that charged this magical last summer of the before times. This is only the tip of the iceberg floating in the deep end. Some of these songs haven’t been played next to each other in over a half century. They still play well together, unaware of the future, masters of their space in their time. On the beach.
Poolside ‘63 listeners weren’t thinking of all these cultural changes as they showed up in their swimsuits with their beach towels, their lotions and potions, their flotation devices. The pool was for fun and relaxation and the tunes blasting the chlorine filled air just felt right. It felt loud.
Special thanks to the artists who made this magic summer so unforgettable, to DJ B. Mitchell Reed, to the Coca-Cola Company, to The Chantays on Lawrence Welk) to Japan, to the Bronx, to Saigon, to country, to the blues, to jazz and everything else that got shaken up in this sound kaleidoscope from an endless summer.
IT’S MY PARTY - Lesley Gore
THE MONKEY TIME - Major Lance
DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals
SUKIYAKI - Kyu Sakamoto
EASIER SAID THAN DONE The Essex
IF YOU WANNA BE HAPPY - Jimmy Soul
HEATWAVE - Martha and the Vandellas
FINGERTIPS PT 1 & 2 - Little Stevie Wonder
SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES - The Jaynettes
IN DREAMS - Roy Orbison
PIPELINE - The Chantays
SURF CITY - Jan and Dean
YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN - The Dovells
DENISE - Randy and the Rainbows
HE’S SO FINE - The Chiffons
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK - The Angels
WIPEOUT - The Surfaris
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