SfanGoch

You read between the lines. If you squint while facing away from the screen, you won't see mention of either. Really!

That was a history lesson, Harry. As Casey Stengel said, "You can look it up."

The EPA's agenda is to totally eliminate the use of fossil fuels. They are banking on the general ignorance of the public-at-large to accomplish this. They want to turn this country into a giant-sized version of Amsterdam, where everybody rides bikes. Everybody except the ones who pull the strings, that is.

Cool link. Saw this:"rubber baseball". That is a variation of stickball. The ball of choice for any game requiring one was the good ole dependable Spaldeen. Pensy Pinkiys were never used because they just plain sucked. They had the tendency to split in half if hit on the seam. The two halves would float through the air like flying saucers after the ball was split. Spaldeens cost a dime more; but, they were worth it.

I can't believe I didn't get that one. She was like the Liz Taylor/Marilyn Monroe/Grace Kelly of Germany. I used to see her face plastered all over the covers of German gossip magazines when I was stationed in FRG. It seemed like there was a hundred articles written every day about her after she died in 1982.

Could be. What about stickball, slap or punchball? Or, two sewer touch football? Street hockey? How about skully/skelzies? Youse guys in Chicago got streets, you must've used them for something? Check out this site. Any of those games ring a bell?

Never mind if your car can run on it. You're taking food out of the mouths of my future steaks.

What's with the eye rolling? No blood involved, just plenty o'splinters. A lot safer than throwing tops across a classroom, I'd say.

Great site for "Old Time Candy". I get the party favor bags loaded with stuff so my son could give them out to his classmates on his birthday. I always include candy cigarettes and, in seven years, have yet to hear a complaint from the other parents. I think that they're probably glomming the candy cigs for themselves.

Did you ever play "Crack The Top"? Everybody throws their top at the same time. The object is to see whose top spins the longest. The first top to stop spinning stays down and the other players take one turn to either "crack the top" by hitting it with their top on the throw or by picking the spinning top with the palm of the hand and dropping it onto the downed top. If you were really good, or, lucky, you'd hit the top with the point and literally split it in half. After everybody had a turn, the whole thing was repeated. Also, if you threw a dud (the top didn't spin) at the downed top, your top would be the next target. Duncan tops were useless because they had plastic points which broke easily. They couldn't handle the rigors of the game. The best were the tops with metal points. You could sharpen them.

Assyrian and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic are dialects of the Syriac language. They are spoken in northern Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. It was the lingua franca of Mesopotamia. It's also the liturgical language of the Assyrian Church of the East and The Ancient Church of the East.

That's also the preferred medium for cutting bottom shelf liquor in some bars. Used to be liquid camphor.

Reindeer meat is the secret to longevity. Not dying is another.

The ones not covered aren't allowed. Perhaps, you can discreetly PM those pics.

I read, speak and understand Polish; read, understand and to a lesser degree speak German and read, speak and understand Spanish at the same level as my German. I'm also working on Engrish and checking out an online study program for Assyrian. I'm weird like that. When I was in elementary school, we had Polish classes. I attended a Polish parochial school; so, everybody learned Polish, even the Puerto Rican kids. Most of my Puerto Rican friends I went to school with still can understand and speak some Polish to this day. When I was in high school, we had a choice of Spanish, German, French or Italian. My friend, who attended Regis High School in Manhattan, had to study ancient Greek and Latin. Today, my kid has one option when he starts high school in September............SPANISH. That's it. I guess it's our duty to make all those "undocumented" immigrants feel at home in our country.

R & B, was an evolutionary outgrowth of Blues, Jazz, Swing, Gospel and early African-American spiritual styles. Doo Wop, properly known as vocal group harmony, was an outgrowth, and contains elements, of all those styles. Groups like the Mills Brothers, Ink Spots, Ravens, Delta Rhythm Boys and others, pioneered the vocal group sound as far back as the early 1930s. Stylistically, vocal groups used a "call and cadence" technique which was used in spirituals and working songs sung by blacks in the 19th century. That's when the lead singer's lines are echoed by the backup members. The bass was the most important member. It was up to him to maintain the beat and timing. Most, if not all, of the early vocal groups started singing in church choirs. This is why many of the early vocal group records had a distinct gospel music feel. You can hear it in the following song, "God Only Knows", recorded by Rena Hinton & The Capris, for Gotham Records in Philadelphia and released in 1954: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ArN9N-A-o You can also hear the Gospel influence in the next two recordings by another legendary Philly Group, George Grant & The Castelles: Both of these were recorded for Grand Records in Philly and were released in 1953. Whatever your feelings about Doo Wops, you have to admit these are beautiful, haunting songs. A note about "Heavenly Father": The Castelles recording is a cover of the song originally done by Edna McGriff, for Jubilee Records (recorded with Buddy Lucas and His Band of Tomorrow in Dec.1951 and released in Jan. 1952. She was sixteen when she recorded the song). "Heavenly Father" is one of the most covered songs in R&B/Doo Wop/pop music. Here is Edna's original version: What a voice! Unfortunately, she passed away in 1980. She was only 44. Some other Gospel music-influenced songs are "My Autumn Love" and "May God Be With You" by Chicago's Danderliers, recorded for Chicago's States record label, released in 1955 and 1956 respectively: "Doo Wop" wasn't used to describe this music when it was originally recorded. They were listed in the "Blues & Rhythm" categories of trade publications such as Billboard and Cash Box. As a matter of fact, "Rock and Roll" records were also listed under that category, from 1955, and didn't have a separate "Rock and Roll" section until 1958. This is diverging somewhat from where I intended to go; but, R n'R has its roots not only in the same music forms as Doo Wop, but also in Country, Western Swing and folk music. The prevailing thought is that "Rock Around The Clock", by Bill Haley & The Comets, was the first true R n' R song. Bill and the boys were originally a Western Swing group, dating back to the late '40s. Personally, I think Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" and Bo Diddley's self-titled "Bo Diddley" are the first. Nobody ever expressed teen angst and rebellion and fun the way Chuck could. He was the granddaddy of Rock n' Roll, hands down. All of the Brit rockers who appeared on the scene owe him more than a debt of gratitude for the way he revolutionized guitar playing. Heck, they grew up listening to him swinging his axe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmxBKWVOWwg If Chuck Berry was the granddaddy, this lady, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was the grandmother: Check out her solo in this clip: She scorches that Les Paul SG! Her record. "Strange Things Happening Ever Day", recorded in 1944 and released in 1945, has been cited as a precursor to rock and roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a major influence on early rock and roll musicians including Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. Getting back to the topic, Rock n' Roll linearly evolved from, and was influenced by, numerous music genres, including Doo Wop/vocal group harmony. Early Rockabilly was influenced by vocal group music. You can hear it in a lot of Warren Smith, Bob Luman, Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess recordings. Wait until I get to discussing the the "Great Split" of 1959, when R&B and Rock and Roll permanently parted ways and gave birth to Soul. it was to music what the Great Schism of 1054 was to religion.

Mr.Dadier's wife. Altaira. Liz Wirth.

Nah. Everybody knows rats love a slice of pizza with anchovies to go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPXUG8q4jKU

There probably are groups and associations in Chicago which cater to diehard fanatics of the genre. Besides, you listened to the stations and you would know better than me.

It wasn't any different than in New York. Once the British Invasion happened, very few stations played Doo Wop, dropping all pre-1964 music from their playlists. There were a number of smaller Stations which did stick to the music, though. The biggest thing in radio, insofar as Doo Wops were concerned, was when WCBS-FM 101.1 switched formats on July 7, 1972 to an all oldies format. It still is the highest-rated station in New York and one of the highest-rated classic hit stations in the U.S. I'd have to check on the radio scene in Chicago to see if there are any stations which have a classic hits format. There is an excellent book on the Chicago Doo Wop scene aptly titled, "Doowop: The Chicago Scene", by Robert Pruter.

Au contraire, Mr. P. Chicago has a rich history in Doo Wop. Some of the most famous groups and labels were in the Windy City. The Flamingos, Dells, The Moonglows, to name just a few, all came from Chicago. Plus, it was the home of Chess Records which had Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins and a host of other great artists in its stable of stars.

Thanks for checking out the thread, guys. I never was a fan of '50s pop. Too bland and safe. This was the music of youth and rebellion. It was to the times as was punk in the '70s. The next group hailed from the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant. The Mello-Harps formed in 1955 and consisted of Arnold "Johnny" Malone (first tenor), Joe gowder (second tenor), Daniel "Bunny" Elder (baritone), Ossie Davis (bass) and Vernon Staley (high tenor). After appearing at Club Baby Grand, on Fulton Street in brooklyn, the group had a recording session with morty Craft's Do-Re-Mi label which produced the first song, "Love Is A Vow" and the flipside, "Valerie". This song features Johnny Malone on lead with Vernon Staley's amazing tenor echoing Malone's lines. This record is interesting in that the only instrument used was a standup bass. Craft only did a limited production run in the Fall of 1955, making this an extremely rare and valuable record selling for $2000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_5Dgr8mzjE After this session, Ossie Davis left and was replaced by bobby Hawkins, brother of basketball legend Connie Hawkins. The group switched to Jack Corvais' Tin Pan Alley label. Their first release for Tin Pan Alley was "I love Only You" and the flipside "Ain't got the Money", featuring Joe Gowder on lead, was released in December 1955. Here is "Ain't Got The Money": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xt9Lcd_G4 They recorded four more sides for Tin Pan Alley before moving to Rego Records. At the same time, Bunny Elder departed and was replaced by tenor William Brown. While at Rego, the re-recorded "Love Is A Vow" and backed it with "Walkie Talkie Baby", which was their only release (September 1956) for the label. They had recorded material which wasn't released by Rego, one of the songs titled "My Lost Love", an uptempo song featuring Johnny Malone on lead and a honking tenor sax break. Note that writing credits are given to Bunny Elder, who penned this song before he left the group. This number has "Ed Norton's type of music" written all over it.

At one time, Mad Magazine was located on the 13th floor of 485 MADison Avenue. In late June 1974, I decided to visit the place and buy some of the paperback anthologies I was missing from my collection. It was a lunatic asylum! I asked a a fat guy with a goatee, who turned out to be art director Leonard Brenner, where the mailroom was. He started yelling at me that I was late and asked if I was a complete idiot. Huh? "Huh?!? I guess you answered my question! You were supposed to start at 10. It's 1 in the afternoon and I suppose you want to take your lunch break now." No. I just..."You just what?!? What then?!? You just want to take your vacation with pay?!?" No. I just want to buy some books......"Buy books? You have money? I thought you were the new mailroom assistant! Buy books? Young man with money, please have a seat. Would you care for a sandwich? A cocktail? My apologies? Do you want the job? Follow me. I'll take you in to meet Bill (Gaines). Hey, you fat ba****d! The new mailroom assistant is here and he's not going to steal anything! He has money!! He can start yesterday! He needs the rest of today off!" I ended up getting a summer gig for the next three years at Mad. It was the best job a stupid teen could ever have. they were the nicest bunch of people I ever worked for. I still have a pile of stuff autographed by the "Usual Gang of Idiots".

It's always good to keep a tube of Brylcreem in your toolbox. You might need to lubricate a squeaky door hinge or grease up a battery post in a pinch. I'll be covering Chicago labels such as United and States, Sabre, Vee-Jay, Checker/Chess, Parrot and Chance in future posts.

Did we have neat stuff as kids, or what? With all these neat toys, Mad Magazine, baseball cards and Famous Monsters of Filmland, we had it pretty good. I had an electronics experiment lab, made by International Rectifier. There was one in the window of PIX Television Repair on the yavnya and I kept bugging my parents to get it for me. It was the same one as seen in this ad: You could actually perform some amazing experiments with it. Unlike the Polaris Nuclear Sub which was nothing but a crummy cardboard box, and X-Ray Specs which disappointed multitudes of hormone-raged pre-teen males, these electronics kits delivered as advertised.