The Council Room

[Jim Culleton]

So many come to mind, but during the folk era of the early '60's it had to be the Kingston Trio and the Chad Mitchell Trio.

Even before that I remember some DooWop tunes "Bells, Bells, Bells" . . Billy and Lillie when I was in J-4. Even the Kaylin Twins "When" in '57 or '58 I think! Remember the "Three Bells" by the Browns in '59 or '60? Or Don Rondo and "White Silver Sands"? How about "It's My Party" . . . Lesley Gore! I'm sure we could build a list of great tunes that we grew up with at Camp!

One of my 2 favorites was Jerry Keller's "Here Comes Summer" '58 I think and the Jamies great tune . . . . . . "Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime"! Maybe '58 or '59?

Just add your favorites to the list!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Jim Culleton]

I don't know how I left this one out and I think we sang it quite a bit at Campfires in the early 60's . . . . "Michael (Row Your Boat Ashore)" ~ The Highwaymen. I was a JA at the time when it was released during the summer.

Anyone remember "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On The Bedpost Overnight)" tune by Lonny Donegan?

As we approached '64 and a bit beyond it was the "Chad & Jeremy's", "Peter & Gordon's" and some of the other British groups which dominated the air waves it seemed.
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Mike Freeland]

OK, Jim, around the same time came a song which went

"They're coming to take me away ha ha
They'e coming to take me away he he
he he ha ha ho ho
Where life is beautiful all the time..."

Remember that one? Who did it? For some reason I'm at the stone gates leading into Wyanoke when I hear that one. It's kinda rare these days considering the political corectitude breaches.

Another one, which takes me back to S-8 in 1960 is "Alley Oop".

"They-ah's a man in the funny papahs we all know..." Wasn't that about the same time as chewing gum on the bedpost (and maybe "Tie me kangaroo down")?

Here's one Stew will remember:

"My mother gave me a nickel
To buy a Pick(el?)
I didn't buy a pickle
I bought some CHEWING GUM!" Not exactly tops on the hit parade that sumer, but the Midgets loved it.
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[Jim Culleton]

Yes, great tunes . . . . . .

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=675

"They're Coming To Take Me Away" ~ Napoleon XIV '66

Also "Alley Oop" ~ Hollywood Argyles '60

"Tie Me Kangaroo Down" ~ Rolf Harris '63

Remember "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda (Camp Grenada)" ~ Alan Sherman? Forget the year!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Jim Culleton]

Just 2 more, then I'll shut up and let some of the others chime in! LOL

Stew Borger will remember "Candy Girl" ~ Frankie Valle & Four Seasons '63. Actually I liked the "flip side" better . . . "Marlena". I think we played both tunes incessantly on yours & Pat's record player in the Midget Camp. I don't remember who owned the record.

Also "Heat Wave" ~ Martha & the Vandellas at the end of the summer '63.
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Jim Culleton]

Roy Orbison had many hit tunes while we were at Camp, i.e. "Blue Angel", "Pretty Woman", "Only The Lonely". Whether you remember him as Roy or as a member of the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne (Byrds, ELO), George Harrison and Tom Petty . . . . . . . great singer that spanned most of our days at Wyanoke from the late 50's well into the 60's and 70's.

http://royorbison.musiccitynetworks.com/

Most don't know this but Roy was not blind like many thought because he wore dark sun glasses often! He wore "Buddy Holly" sun glasses out of a true respect for and love for Buddy's music!

Just a little music trivia here!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[mfutoran]

Hi all. Marc Futoran here. It's been a while but back in '68 I was in J-8. One of my tentmates was Mike Williams, currently working on tracking him down, he really liked a song called "In the year 2525". I don't know who sang it. But every time it was on, he seemed to know it. We would be in the tent talking or something and he would suddenly lunge for a radio and turn it on, and that song would be on. At the time I didn't know how he did that, I thought he was psychic or something.
_________________
Marc
68 - J8:Mike Freeland, 69 - J8:Mike Freeland, 70 - J8:Mike Freeland, 71 - S2:Roland Simmons, 72 - S4:Paul W. K. Freeland, 73 - JA1:Stephen Downs, 74 - C2(JC):James Nagle

[Jim Culleton]

I remember that tune, Marc., Zager & Evans. It was #1 for quite a few weeks back in '69 I think! I didn't care for it too much as I was more into R&B and Soul at that time and still am. Always liked "Incense & Pepperment" . . . . . . . Strawberry Alarm Clock! And, "Whiter Shade Of Pale" ~ Procol Harum! Great tune!

Great to have you here, Marc!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Jim Culleton]

I fondly remember "Party Lights" by Claudine Clark during the summer of '62. The reason I remember this tune is because Brad & Edna used to host a councilors and JC get together at Red Roof on Thursday nights, after cookout! I think that they used to have some "Christmas" lights decorating the dock at Red Roof. I do remember the famous iced tea being served at that function!

Great memories!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Mike Freeland]

Hey Jim,

I didn't care for 2525 either, thought it was kinda pretentious and pseudo-profound like a lot of stuff those days, but I'm wondering if Mike had really great hearing. Since the only thing we could get on the radio (at least during the day) was Double-yoo(pause) Bee Zee (pause pause pause) Radio One-Oh-Three out of Boston, maybe he heard it playing down by J-4 or on the OD table during Siesta or Quiet Hour (the councilor's life-savers) in the distance and grabbed a (my?) radio to catch it? Think that could be it? Certainly didn't have to search for the station.

Music of the 50s never reached me at camp in the 50s because I don't think the transistor radio came along until the early 60s, did it? Anyway, the thought of listening to the radio at camp was taboo, so actually having one was probably punishable by death. Besides, at 9 or 10, I didn't give a rat's ass.

This is kinda off-topic, but what the hell:

I never heard this at camp, but I have to say that my favorite Doo-Wop song of all time is "Pretty Little Angel Eyes". I don't know who did it, but it's bouncy, happy and the backup guys with the "wop-wop-wop-wop" in the background on "love" in "I really love you so" are really tight, and sound like they're having a ball. Great mood-lifter.

Tied for second are "Bobby (Bobba) Lou's Gettin' Married" and "Rip Van Winkle", both really great for harmony and just plain good ol'-fashioned Soda Fountain Fun! I don't know the artists here either. Little help?

OK, what '50s Doo-Wop song is the only one I know of which used the odd combination of Castanets, Cow Bell and Harp for instrumental accompaniment? (Give 'em some time Jim...)

Finally, Jim, you of the Doo-Wop encyclopedia, or anyone for that matter, do you remember a "song" called "Hospitality Blues" by a guy who was a medical intern when he recorded it? '57 maybe. I say "song" because it was more talking blues than singing.

And also, be sure to forget Mitch Miller and his Sing-along gang with "This Old Man", unison men's chorus backed up by a harmonica and a state-of-the-art echo effect! Didn't get any better than that!!

"Little Blue Man". Now there's a sugared-over story of a dangerous stalker which probably wouldn't be cute these days.

I gotta stop this
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6

[Jim Culleton]

You are right, Mike . . . . . . . "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" by Curtis Lee and the HALOS. Great tune from that time frame!

I also liked Lou Christie from Pittsburgh, PA with such hits as "Lightening Strikes", "Two Faces Have I" and "The Gypsy Cried" during the early 60's. Great falsetto voice.
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Jim Culleton]

Mike, "Rip Van Winkle" was done by the Devotions in '62. Always loved the tune and a classic doowop! Great tune!
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[DavidAyars]

I do not recall Hospitality Blues, but Wikipedia credits it to Doug Harrell, recorded in 1956. It is not listed on iTunes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Records#Doug_Harrell

I can't think off the top of my head of a doo wop song with cowbell, castanets and harp, though some would argue that a harp disqualifies any song from being real doo wop. Not me, though.

The Eternals' Babalu's Wedding Day (1959), the Devotions' Rip Van Winkle (releases in 1961, 1962 and 1964!), and Curtis Lee's Pretty Little Angel Eyes (1961) are all on my iPod and are doo wop favorites of mine as well, though they came before my years at camp. Creative production and strong performances in all three recordings. I probably didn't hear Babalu's Wedding Day before the 1990s.

Pretty Little Angel Eyes was produced by... Bueller?? anyone??... yes, legendary hitmaker Phil Spector, now on trial for murder in Los Angeles. Like Paul Simon and Billy Joel after him, Phil Spector recorded only a little doo wop and had most of his success in other related genres, but he loved it in the 1950s, and it remained a strong influence on his music.

Welcome home, Marc, and oh, thanks for dredging up the 1969 memory of one-hit wonder Zager & Evans' 2525 (full official title, I kid you not, and giving more than a little support for MikeF's charge of pretentiousness: In The Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)). I don't know if MikeWms would have heard 2525 on WBZ 1030 AM out of Boston. Maybe yes, maybe no. WBZ still played Top 40 in the mid1960s but by about 1970 had progressed(??) to adult contemporary and talk, which would have played music our parents grooved to, and not 2525. The other two top 40 stations during the late 1960s in Beantown were WMEX 1510 AM (whose weak signal did not normally reach camp and was the home of Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg) and WRKO 670 AM, which went Top 40 in 1967 and whose signal did reach camp well, even in the daytime. WRKO had 2525 in heavy rotation in the summer of 1969, I remember all too vividly. Besides MikeF's radio, and RoV's spelling-bee-prize bulky transistor radio, 2525 got played on the radio in the Jr-Sr shop. Some Wyanokers loved it. Some liked to make fun of it. Others, like me, just saw no redeeming value whatsoever in it.

"In the year 2525... if man is still alive... if woman can survive, they may find..." The legend of the Great American Songbook sure took a brutal beatdown with lyrics like those. And the production was equally hamfisted. Phil Spector, whose early to mid 1960s hitmaking acumen was in rapid retreat by 1969, must have shaken his head in dismay at the charting success of In The Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus). In fact, it might just have sparked a touch of primal rage in the man that festered and grew until...

Oh, and I haven't posted the radio play I still associate most with camp. The song was Stevie Wonder's Signed Sealed Delivered (recorded 1970). I have an indelible memory of being in the Jr-Sr Shop looking out the "window" (dropped flap) behind the counter with Signed Sealed Delivered on the shop radio, while David Bentley barreled into camp in the blue Bentley station wagon with blooming clouds of dust getting thrown up behind the car to the descending bass line hook of the song. It just fit the mood of the song perfectly, and I always visualize the moment when I hear that song. A close second is the Beach Boys' hit from the summer of 1967 which I thought was their best recording (and I'm a huge Beach Boys' fan): Heroes and Villains. I also connect that with camp, because I remember hearing it on the radio there often.
_________________
Camper: J-8 1965 (Kevin Ryan), J-8 1966 (Mike Freeland), S-6 1967 (Russ Hatch), S-3 1968 (Jeremy Cripps), and JA-2 1969 (Dan Mannis).
JC: J-2 1970 (Bill Bettison) and J-3 1971 (Gene Comella). Councilor 1972, J-5 1973, and JA-1 1974 & 1975

[Jim Culleton]

Mike, I think that the tune you are referring to with the castenets, cow bell and harp is "Little Darlin'" by the Diamonds in '56, an all white Canadian group with Dave Somerville on lead. All three of those instruments were used in that tune. "Little Darlin'" was probably their most popular hit along with "The Stroll" and "Walking Along".

Interestingly, the groups were mostly black during the early to mid doowop era 1952 - 1960 as the doowop sound eminated from gospel and R&B. The Diamonds, Dion & The Belmonts, Frankie Valle & Four Seasons and others were clearly an exception during that time frame.

Here's a link to the Diamonds:

http://www.history-of-rock.com/diamonds.htm

The Diamonds reformed to perform on a PBS TV special a few years back called "Remember When" which airs frequently on PBS particularly during telethons.

My first portable radio was a leather wrapped Philco tube set that was about 12-13" wide by 10" tall. It was fairly heavy because it used a 9 Volt Eveready battery that must have weighed 2 lbs. by itself and only lasted 4 hours of continuous play! I used to take this radio to Camp back in '58 - '60 and before the advent of transistor radios.
_________________
'56 - J-9 J. Moulton
'57 - J-11 J. Moulton
'58 - J-4 E. Web Dann, S. Hood
'59 - S-6 P. Leavitt
'60 - S-2 F. Avantaggio
'61 - JA-1 RK Irons
'62 - C-9 JC with P. Freeland
'63 - C-1 JC with S. Borger
'64 - C-6 Councilor

[Mike Freeland]

Bingo! Wow! Little Darlin' it is. Did you know that right off the bat, or did it take some time? I briefly thought of adding "Bomp-de-waddy-waddy" as a hint, but it would have been too easy for everyone.

I heard or read somewhere that Little Darlin was done as a parody. They didn't expect it to be a hit, just an in-joke. I had no idea (til now) that they were white ("Mahy Dahlin', I neeeed jooo..."). Not PC these days.

Speaking of which, I was completely stunned when I discovered that the Righteous Brothers were white. Still not over it.

Jim, you mentioned batteries. I was sent to camp with a head lamp with a HUGE 6 volt screw-on battery which was bigger than a standard motorcycle battery is now. The flashlight itself was a kind of cheesy metal plate with a big car-style lamp, a carrying handle for your convenience, and a slide switch on it. You screwed that onto the battery using knurled plastic nuts, making the whole thing look like the battery was part of a fine finished product. It all weighed about 40 pounds.

Well, that battery was available only from Oom-bwe-bwe, and only in January (going into greater downtown metropolitan Wolfeboro in mid-summer for something that exotic was an exercise in futility) , so when my light went dim, then out , I had no way to get around in the dark. And, I didn't have authorization to buy a new flashlight at the Camp(any) Store (but Mom, they're only $72.95... Good ones too I think -- Eveready... Well sure you have to get batteries... Um, yeah I guess they're extra but... Well how am I supposta... Mommmmm... OK, but... Yeah I love y... Aw Mommmmm, c'mon, jeeeze...).

So Jim, could you get batteries for your tube-radio at camp? Maybe just a few thousand D cells, or did you suffer my fate, losing it all mid-summer with no hope of recovery until it didn't matter any more?
_________________
'56-C-9 C. Mosher '57-C-9 Bill Feaster
'58-J-14 H. Peavy '59-J-11 G. Wood, C. Duncan
'60-S-8 R. Leavitt, D. Hemphill '61-S-1 E. Slocum
'62-JA-1 H. Dunbar '63-C-2 (JC)
'64-C-5, (JC) Councilor
'65-C-9 '66 - '72-J-8
'73-JA1 '75-J-6