Jon Bauman, Bowzer from Sha Na Na, did his first live performance at the Tiki Motor Lodge in Lake George, New York.

While waiting for Jimi Hendrix to come on stage on the morning of 18 August 1969 the Woodstock audience probably weren't expecting a 1950's covers band. The original line-up of Sha Na Na here perform the 1958 song Book of Love and 1961's Duke of Earl. Some of the audience reaction shots are priceless.

The three singers in gold lamé outfits (Robert Leonard, Dennis Greene and Scott Powell at the time of Woodstock) were a signature part of their act up until the early 80's. The outfits here came from a production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie where one is worn by a character not too far removed from Elvis Presley (who wore a gold lamé tuxedo on a 1959 album cover).

Chris Andrews SONG OF THE WEEK: “Dance It!” https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/dance-it —Right out of the glam rock sockhop dancehalls of the mind…get your dancin’ shoes on and let your backbone slip for this rock’n’rollin’ track by Chris. On a cosmic jukebox this would play next to Eddy & The Falcons (Roy Wood), the GREASE soundtrack, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard’s “Move It,” Little Richard, and Sha Na Na…from the download EP: YOU’RE TALL (& OTHER JUKEBOX FAVORITES). If this is your introduction to Chris, he’s a British singer-songwriter and recording artist whose songs have been covered by Roger Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees). Under the name Tim Andrews he was a champion of the late 60s psychedelic pop scene and part of the seminal freakbeat band Fleur de Lys. In the 80s, under the name Kris Ryder, he released New Wave synthpop sides. Meanwhile, check out what Chris is doing lately…

#dance #rocknroll #glamrock #sockhop #dancingshoes #jukebox #retrorock #roywood #grease #cliffrichard #jerryleelewis #littlerichard #moveit #shanana #chrisandrews #singersongwriter

help he’s being suffocated back there

Grease (1978)

It only takes one listen for Grease to plant itself into your head and set up a permanent home. In no time, you’ll be reaching for the remote so you can watch this classic musical again. You'll make it your mission to memorize the songs so you can sing along to Summer Nights, You’re the One That I Want, Greased Lightnin’ and the other memorable tunes.

It’s back to school at Rydell High, 1958. Sweet-natured Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) is shocked to discover her summer crush, Danny Zuko (John Travolta) is not the same boy she met on the beach. A greaser and member of the T-Birds, he plays it off as if their romance meant nothing to him, but that sentiment won’t last.

Grease starts on the right note with an animated intro that recalls the cartoons of the ’50s (Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends comes to mind). It sets the mood and, combined with Summer Nights tells you exactly what’s in store next. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John are perfect together, the choreography and sure-thing romance get you excited for more. There's not much depth to anything we see but that's perfectly suited to this nostalgia-fuelled, breezy love story filled with teenage drama and a lot of energy. 

Much of the film’s success comes from an unexpected source: Stockard Channing as Betty Rizzo, the sarcastic, cynical leader of the Pink Ladies, the clique who adopts Sandy. This movie has many moments of cheese, but Rizzo proves the screenplay by Allan Carr is also self-aware. As the audience gets ready to make a snarky remark at the “Why has he changed?” or “How can I romance her without being embarrassed in front of my friends?” sentiment, Rizzo beats you to the punch. Either by tossing a joke into the mix or introducing genuinely important teenage issues and sentiments. Ultimately the film is still a fantasy that leaves you cheering, but that slight edge prevents you from dismissing it as an airhead. That said, there is one element of the film that is dated: Danny's friends. Their toxic masculinity hints at an unintended, darker edge. For this reason, a few key lyrics have been tweaked in later production. It's easy to see why. Such is the price for enduring for this long. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Grease is too much fun for you to be offended.

There are many big laughs and heart-fluttering moments as director Randal Kleiser paints this picture of a time when things were simpler and every conflict could be expressed, then resolved through song and dance. The leads are splendid. The supporting cast members make even their small contributions impactful thanks to some witty lines and memorable moments. Is Grease going to convert those who don’t like musicals? I don’t think so, but for those who already like it when characters express their feelings through rhyme, music and footwork, it’s a blast. (On DVD, November 24, 2017)

Yeah, I'm that old 😉

September 1981.

An hour is a bit much.

Sha Na Na - Teen Angel Lost Treasures of WoodStock

To close the day there's a lost gem of Woodstock. But why is exactly a gem ? Anyway the guys praying at stage and the rockabillies making weird movements, Cuz is a cover of a song that hippie Generation remember from their childhood. Hendrix knows it at minute 1:18. the hippie at 1:25 suspect it and the guy of 1:35 is travelling to his childhood directly xDDD priceless jewel video.

The movie Grease was released this day in 1978 in the UK. I've still never watched the whole movie but I can remember this being huge at the time. If you have a Ultra High Definition 10K Blu-Ray of the movie and a cinema-sized TV screen you may be able to spot Johnny Casino & The Gamblers (below) performing in the background of the dance hall scene if you pause it in exactly the right spot. They were played by covers band Sha Na Na who, I'd say, can take a lot of credit for the resurgence of interest in 50's music in the 70's. You can hear them performing several songs in the movie but there are very few clear shots of them. The rumour was the Director wasn't a fan.

Grease debuted as a stage musical in 1971 and Those Magic Changes was a new song written for it in 1972 by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. This 'live' version of the song in the clip above is taken from the Sha Na Na TV show with Johnny Contardo, as in the movie, crystal clear on lead vocals.

The other big connection the band had to Grease was that their pianist, Scott Simon, wrote the lyrics to Sandy. This song was written for the movie but is now often included in productions of the musical. The clip below is another 'live' clip from the Sha Na Na TV show with Scott on lead vocals (the show didn't go out live but they usually sang the song live to a backing track as the show was recording).

Chris Andrews SONG OF THE WEEK: “Dance It!” https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/dance-it —Right out of the glam rock sockhop dancehalls of the mind…get your dancin’ shoes on and let your backbone slip for this rock’n’rollin’ track by Chris. On a cosmic jukebox this would play next to Eddy & The Falcons (Roy Wood), the GREASE soundtrack, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard’s “Move It,” Little Richard, and Sha Na Na…from the download EP: YOU’RE TALL (& OTHER JUKEBOX FAVORITES). If this is your introduction to Chris, he’s a British singer-songwriter and recording artist whose songs have been covered by Roger Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees). Under the name Tim Andrews he was a champion of the late 60s psychedelic pop scene and part of the seminal freakbeat band Fleur de Lys. In the 80s, under the name Kris Ryder, he released New Wave synthpop sides. Meanwhile, check out what Chris is doing lately…

#dance #rocknroll #glamrock #sockhop #dancingshoes #jukebox #retrorock #roywood #grease #cliffrichard #jerryleelewis #littlerichard #moveit #shanana #chrisandrews #singersongwriter

When Sha Na Na opened for Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock: 'Hippies thought they were on a bummer!'

(via yahoo music) by Lyndsey Parker When most classic rock fans think of the original Woodstock festival, held a half-century ago in Bethel, New York, certain iconic rock stars probably spring to mind. Grateful Dead. Janis Joplin. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Joe Cocker. Sly Stone. And, of course, Jimi Hendrix. Sha Na Na probably don’t spring to mind. But the kitschy ‘50s revival act, who’d…

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An account called destiny333 on archive.org is in the midst of uploading what looks to be the entirety of the Sha Na Na show :)