| Sha Na Na | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Columbia University New York, New York United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, doo-wop |
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes.[1]
Billing themselves as "from the streets of New York"[2] and outfitted in gold lamé, leather jackets, and pompadour hairdos, Sha Na Na performs a song and dance repertoire of classic fifties rock and roll, while simultaneously reviving and sending up the music and 1950s New York street culture.[3] Sha Na Na hosted the Sha Na Na syndicated variety series that ran from 1977 to 1981.
Their current touring group features original members Donny York, and Jocko Marcellino, and another member from the TV show who joined just after the band's appearance at the Woodstock Festival (1969), Screamin' Scott Simon. Everyone else from the TV show has left the group. Current band members include bass player Jim Waldbillig, guitarist Gene Jaramillo, drummer Paul Kimbarow, and sax player Michael Brown.
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The group began singing as part of the longstanding Columbia University a cappella group the Kingsmen, but changed their name due to the Pacific Northwest group of the same name, famous for covering "Louie, Louie". Conceived by George Leonard,[4] then a graduate student in Humanities, Sha Na Na began performing in 1969, at the height of the hippie counterculture, and achieved national fame after playing at the Woodstock Festival, where they preceded Jimi Hendrix. Their 90-second appearance in the Woodstock film brought the group national attention and helped spark a 1950s nostalgia that inspired similar groups both in North America and in the United Kingdom, as well as the Broadway musical Grease and the TV show Happy Days.[5]
The degree to which their act was truly nostalgic, as opposed to the degree to which it was "invented nostalgia", has been called into question.[6]
The group's first manager, Ed Goodgold, codified Trivia as a nostalgic quiz game and conducted the nation's first trivia contests with Dan Carlinsky in 1965. The future Sha Na Na/Kingsmen were featured singers at these contests. Four years later, he co-authored "Rock "n" Roll Trivia" just as he and the William Morris Agency began steering Sha Na Na's career.
From 1969 through 1971, the band played at, among other places, the Fillmore East and Fillmore West, opening for such bands as The Grateful Dead, The Mothers of Invention and The Kinks.[7] When Sha Na Na began headlining at other venues, one of the opening acts was Bruce Springsteen. In 1972, Sha Na Na was one of just four acts invited by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to perform with them at their One-to-One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.[8] Subsequently, the group appeared in the movie Grease as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers. From 1977 to 1982, the group reached perhaps the height of its success with its own hit syndicated television show Sha Na Na, featuring guests such as James Brown, the legendary punk rock band the Ramones, and musicians such as Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Chubby Checker.
The original band line-up featured 12 performers: Alan Cooper (bass vocals), Rob Leonard (vocals), Frederick 'Denny' Greene (vocals), Henry Gross (guitar), John 'Jocko' Marcellino (drums), Joe Witkin (piano), Scott Powell (also known as Captain Outrageous and Tony Santini) (vocals), Donald 'Donny' York (vocals), Elliot Cahn (also known as Gino), (rhythm guitar), Rich Joffe (vocals), Dave Garrett (vocals) and Bruce 'Bruno' Clarke. The initial act had three up-front performers in gold lamé and the other nine in "greaser" attire (rolled up t-shirt sleeves, leather jackets, tank tops). On their album The Golden Age of Rock and Roll, the lead singer taunts the audience on one of the live tracks by announcing, "We've got just one thing to say to you fucking hippies, and that is that rock and roll is here to stay!". The act usually ended after several encores, and closed with "Lovers Never Say Goodbye". The closing song was changed to, "Goodnight Sweetheart" for the TV series. In concert, they would often return for up to seven encores - but none more meaningful than when performing in Toronto, Canada at Ontario Place and performing Hound Dog after announcing Elvis Presley's death earlier that same day (August 16, 1977).
Sha Na Na hosted the Sha Na Na syndicated variety series that ran from 1977 to 1981. It was among the most watched programs in syndication during its run.[9] The show was produced by Pierre Cossette and originally distributed by LBS Communications.
The show featured the group performing hits from the 1950s and 1960s, along with comedy skits. The "tough guys" road act from their original road shows was adapted for TV and the group moved to a comedy and self-deprecating routine. The mainstay continued to be the 1950s song and dance routines. The show opened in a typical concert scene, and then moved through various street and ice cream parlor scenes where they and their guests performed several songs. That was followed by a comedy-oriented song ("Alley Oop", "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah") and closed with a slow song, again in their concert format.
Among the supporting members featured in the series were Avery Schreiber, Kenneth Mars and Phillp Roth (all of them in the first season); Pamela Myers and actress Jane Dulo (who played the crabby Lady in the Window, who watched over the street scenes from the window of her apartment with undisguised disdain) (Both throughout the show's run), June Gable and Soupy Sales (Seasons 2 to 4); Michael Sklar (Season 2); and Karen Hartman (Season 4).
Guests included Jan & Dean, Fabian, Chubby Checker, the Ramones, Ethel Merman, Frank Gorshin, Billy Crystal, Danny and the Juniors, and others
The members of Sha Na Na during the TV series were Jon 'Bowzer' Bauman (vocals), Lennie Baker (sax), Johnny Contardo (vocals), Frederick 'Dennis' Greene (vocals), 'Dirty Dan' McBride (guitar) (left after third season), John 'Jocko' Marcellino (drums), Dave 'Chico' Ryan (bass), 'Screamin' Scott Simon' (piano), Scott 'Santini' Powell (vocals), Donald 'Donny' York (vocals). Each was introduced only by his nickname or his first name in a voice-over by Myers at the beginning of each show.
Sha Na Na appeared in Grease, the movie, as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers. The group remains well-known for their tracks on the Grease soundtrack, including "Those Magic Changes", "Hound Dog", "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay", "Blue Moon", "Born to Hand-Jive", and "Tears on My Pillow". Sha Na Na's performance in Grease was during the school dance scene. The song "Sandy", sung by John Travolta for the film, was co-written by Screamin' Scott Simon. The group also appeared as themselves in the documentaries Woodstock and Festival Express.
Vinny Taylor (1949–1974) (born Chris Donald), who replaced Henry Gross as the lead guitarist in 1970, died of a drug overdose in 1974. Escaped child killer Elmer Edward Solly assumed Taylor's identity and performed as him, which eventually led to his discovery and capture.[10]
Former Sha Na Na bass player Dave "Chico" Ryan, from their television show lineup, died in 1998. Former Sha Na Na guitarist Danny "Dirty Dan" McBride, from their television show lineup, died in 2009. Member Reggie Battise died in October 2010.
Founding member of the band Robert Leonard is a professor of linguistics at Hofstra University, and had an appearance as a qualified expert in linguistics for the murder case of Charlene Hummert in the episode "A Tight Leash" of the TV medical detectives series Forensic Files in 2004.[11][12]
The group's first guitarist, Henry Gross, went on to become a solo performer, and had a hit single with "Shannon" in 1976. Another founding member, Alan Cooper, the lead singer in the group's performance of "At the Hop" in the Woodstock film, went on to pursue an academic career. He taught religious studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, for ten years, then became a professor of Bible studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, and now serves as the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies and provost at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.[13]
Longtime member Jon "Bowzer" Bauman replaced Alan Cooper and became a recognizable member of the group as he taunted audiences while he flexed his muscles, burped and spat in the direction of the bass player. In the 1980s he had a brief career as a game show master of ceremonies. Today, Bowzer continues to tour under his own banner.
Elliot Cahn, the group's original rhythm guitar player and musical arranger, later became the first manager of Green Day. "Screaming" Scott Simon replaced Joe Witkin, the original keyboard player (and singer of "Teenager in Love" on their first album). Witkin left the band in 1970 to finish medical school, and subsequently moved to San Diego in 1975 to do his internship and residency at the University of California in San Diego. He worked at Scripps Hospital East County from 1978 to 2000 as an ER physician, and currently holds the same position at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa. Witkin lives with his family in San Diego, California and plays with a band called "The Corvettes"[14] doing an oldies revue in his spare time. Witkin's son, Brian Witkin, is the founder of Pacific Records.
Scott Powell is a specialist in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine.[15] He performed on the TV show under the stage name "Santini" (another alias was "Captain Outrageous"). Powell left the band in 1980 and returned to Columbia to take pre-medical courses. He is a member of the medical staff of U.S. national soccer teams, and is the team physician for the Federation Women's National Team and an associate clinical professor at USC. While Powell was with Sha Na Na, he sang the bulk of the Elvis revival songs.
Frederick "Denny" Greene left the group to pursue studies in law. After graduating from Yale Law School, he became the vice president of production and features at Columbia Pictures. He is currently a professor at the University of Dayton. Greene was known for his skilled dancing, and sang the lead in "Tears on My Pillow", "Duke of Earl", and others.
Bruce "Bruno" Clarke is now a professor of English at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Richard Joffe is currently a class-action litigator for a law firm in New York City.
Original Sha Na Na vocalist Dave Garrett ran Earth Sound Research, a Long Island-based musical instrument amplifier company, during the 1970s. His whereabouts today are unclear.
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