I have achieved a close friendship with VideoBeat. I have
purchased the Shindig and Hullabaloo sets as well as a few movies.
Currently I am waiting to receive my Beatles Cartoons series. I have
been comparing my memories of Shindig and Hullabaloo with what was
actually shown on TV and find that they differ somewhat. I don't care, I
really enjoyed watching both shows as they presented and represented
the music I loved. Most of the time. If they didn't, I quickly forgot
that episode and moved on. Which is why watching them again is in many
ways a new experience.
Hullabaloo
was more organized, choreographed and in COLOR. Shindig rolled along
from song to song, performer to performer quickly and reminded us that
with the right mouth wash, deodorant, pimple cream and milk ... we could
do and be anything we chose to be. Unfortunately, due to the thinking
that nobody would want to watch these shows in the future, VideoBeat has
had a difficult time restoring them and most of the Hullabaloo segments
are not in color. The peacock at the beginning of each show lies!
If
I were to select my favorite shows and review them here, you might
disagree with my picks, even though it would be easy for me to defend my
thoughts. Well, here's a way to be impartial in my show selection. This
piece I am writing is appearing on December 2nd. So why not talk about a show
that ALSO appeared on December 2nd ... 1965? That would be an episode of
Shindig! Not only will I relate my thoughts and feelings on this one
specific show, but we will post a link so that you also can watch it and
decide if you agree or disagree. Here we go!
Our toothy grinned host is Jimmy O'Neill (1940-2013) who announces tonight's performers:
Leroy Van Dyke
Bobby Sherman
We Five
The Hollies
The Searchers
(Here's a question for someone ...
When The Searchers
perform, they focus on Chris Curtis, Frank Allen and Mike Pender. I do
believe John McNally is the fourth member there but why isn't there a
close up, or at least, a shot that clearly shows him? I thought it odd.
Maybe it was not John? My curious teacher/student mind wants to know. -- Shelley)
Melody Patterson (from F Troop)
Gloria Jones
Tommy Turner
Billy Preston
The Blossoms
My
first confession is that I don't remember Gloria Jones and Tommy
Turner. OK, this blog is called Forgotten Hits, so they belong here and I
am sure there is someone reading this who has info to share.
Leroy
Van Dyke starts the show off with 'The Auctioneer.' I remember this song
and his 'Walk On By' that I hear from time to time on SiriusXM radio.
He uses his eyes as he sings to express intensity, but to me, it is a
bit scary.
I had totally
forgotten that Bobby Sherman was a regular on Shindig! Now I have a
collection of dvds where he is prominent, either in singing covers or
performing his own hits. Tonight's show does not have the best
selections for him. 'Down the Mississippi Down to New Orleans' is
overdone in its portrayal of Mardi Gras and sloppy choreography. I can
accept the costumes as being typical of the parades, but it needed a
cohesion that was missing. 'Lucille' with Billy Preston was better, but
the song definitely suited Billy more than Bobby.
Melody
Patterson???? Yes, the attractive pony express rider in the F Troop
series, but as she sings 'You're the One' there is no tonal quality or
singing ability. Agreeably, the sound is not the best on these
recordings, but the other performers could stay on key. During the
finale, 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands,' I think they turned her
mic off. What do you think?
If
there is a battle of the bands on December 2, 1965 between America and
the UK; the British have won. The Hollies have a fantastic showing of
'Look Through Any Window', while The Searchers' 'Needles and Pins' is also
dynamic. I do believe it is entirely live and not using pre-recordings.
From America, We Five do well with 'You Were On My Mind' but fall short
on 'Get Together.' Their interpretation makes the song intense and
forceful, thus losing the beauty of the song and its meaning.
Now
it is your turn. Relax, grab a cuppa (whatever you want in your cup)
become your age in 1965 and relive what we thought was the magic of the
time, bringing out the music. After originally watching this show, I
believe my feelings would have been similar to what I just wrote. I
would have loved watching it, no matter what. I would come back each
week. I would gossip about my likes and dislikes with my friends. I
would believe that this music would be around forever. In that last
thought, I would be correct.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
NE Correspondent
Forgotten Hits
Boy, I would LOVE to have the complete Shindig! and Hullabaloo series on DVD ... and those Beatles Cartoons, too!!! Glad that some of our readers have been able to go out and pick these up. (Hopefully our little Video Beat plugs along the way helped in this regard.)
Thanks, Shelley! (kk)
