Friday, June 19, 2009

Gillian's Found Photos #16

These found photos are dated Febuary 3, 1964, and were taken at the Brooklyn Fox Theater during one of Murray The K's package shows. Murray the K was a motor mouth DJ on New York's WINS, then the biggest top 40 station in the city, Murray was known for his "Ah bey" howl and hyping himself as the fifth Beatle and sixth Rolling Stone (he turned the Stones' onto the Valentinos' It's All Over Now which they soon recorded and had a hit with).
Yes, that's the Shangri-Las, notice the motorcycle onstage in the second shot from the top. I like the view from the third row, especially the backs of the audience's heads. In the second and third photo down, second from the left in the back is Eric Burdon, the Animals must have been on the bill, I assume this is the big finale of the show. The Shangri-Las will always be best remembered for Leader Of The Pack, (Remember) Walking In The Sand and Give Him A Great Big Kiss, but their best record was Out In The Street. I remember seeing them sing it on Shindig as a kid (the clip is below), they made a huge impression on my pre-pubescent brain. Out In The Street still gives me the chills. It was, oddly enough the last song WINS played before switching to an all news format. Out In The Street wasn't a hit because Red Bird records was in the process of going out of business when it was released, but in a better world it would have been #1. In case you've never heard them, here's some funny vintage radio spots from lead singer Mary Weiss, the first is a Revlon endorsement, here's one is about etiquette, and here's a funny Dating tips spot. In case you've been in the Khyber Pass for the last year and missed it, lead singer Mary Weiss cut her first record since the Shangs breakup, released last year on Norton Records-- Dangerous Games, features tunes mostly from Greg Cartwright of the Reigning Sound/Oblivions, and a great album it is. I don't like too many modern records, but I sure like Dangerous Games. Norton also issued a 45 from the LP-- Don't Come Back with a non-LP b-side (A Certain Guy, a re-write of Benny Spellman's A Certain Girl), which is essential for any Shangri-Las fan.
Twins Mary Ann and Marge Gasner both passed away, Mary Ann in 1970, Marge in 1989. The Shangri-Las name was sold to an awful trio that still tours under that moniker (featuring a singer who was once the fake Reperata, in a fake Reperata and the Del-Rons), avoid these fake Shangs at all costs, but Mary occasionally gigs and she's still a fantastic performer.
Anyway, these pics came out of a pile of snapshots from two Murray The K shows at the Fox, the other pile of out of focus snaps are dated January 2, 1965. There's some shots of the Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, the Hullaballoos, the Animals, Clay Cole, Dick and Dee Dee, the Drifters, and some groups I can't identify. Oddly enough, I can't find the Stones mentioned in any advertisements or programs for any Murray The K shows, but it's definitely them in the photos, so they must have played. I'll post 'em one of these days. Danny Fields was the publicist for the last Murray The K shows at the Fox in '66, he gave acid to at least one of the Cream, and met the Who for the first time. Danny's got a lot of good dirt on Pete Townshend, hopefully he'll write it all down someday. But that's another story...

12 comments:

  1. With Murray's "K" backdrop bigger than anything else on stage!
    PJL

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  2. I was there at both shows! I had just turned 14, but would not of miss those shows for Anything! Harold C. Black

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  3. Could the guys in the white shirts be the Hullabaloos?

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  4. "Could the guys in the white shirts be the Hullabaloos?"

    It's them alright, there's other photos of 'em in the pile. I assume they were also backing the Shangs that particular show, which I find rather odd for no particular reason.

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  5. man them ladies were damn right sexy...

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  6. have you got their first - "Wishing Well"

    pure sex appeal:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo0i5j505T8

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  7. "have you got their first - "Wishing Well" "

    I've got all their records, if you need 'em you can download their complete works here:

    http://idreverberations.blogspot.com/2009/03/shangri-las-myrmidons-of-melodrama.html

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  8. I think the photos you have posted are from Murray's Christmas Holiday 1964-1965 show. Therefore, the photos could not have been processed by February 3, 1964. The Christmas Holiday Show '63-'64 was pre-British invasion so there were no Animals or Hullabaloos in that lineup.

    Assuming then that the 3 photos are indeed from the '64-'65 Holiday show (possibly processed in Feb. '65), then some of the gang on stage would be from the Nashville Teens. I know one of the Teens drove the motorcycle on stage for Leader of the Pack.

    I don't think the Animals were on the bill for Murray's '64-'65 Holiday show. If memory serves me well, they were at the Paramount with the WMCA Good Guys.

    Ken Bielen

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  9. "The Christmas Holiday Show '63-'64 was pre-British invasion so there were no Animals or Hullabaloos in that lineup."

    I have other pix from the same batch with the Animals and Hullabaloos onstage (you can see a couple of 'em in the background of the Shangs shots). The other batch of pix are in color and are from the '65 Holiday show, I'll post 'em soon. These pix might be the '64-'65 holiday show dated wrong by the original owner.

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  10. I was hoping my copy of Murray the K's Greatest Holiday Show Live from the Brooklyn Fox (Brook-Lyn 301), a live recording of the Christmas '64-'65 show would shed some light on whether or not the Animals were there, but it does not. The only acts included on the record are American, and the one picture of the Fox marquee does not show all the acts and only shows one British act, the Nashville Teens. For your information, the American acts included on the disc include Dionne Warwick, Vibrations, Patti and the Blue Bells, Dick and Dee Dee, Shangri-Las, Shirelles, Ben E King, Drifters, and Chuck Jackson. The band was led by Earle Warren. The liner notes are by Bob Altshuler.

    Ken Bielen

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  11. Memories of the shows (besides the great lineups & I don't remember what years I attended): we got on line at 4 a.m., admission was $2.50 and you got a free Murray the K "Submarine Race Watchers" album. Before the live show began they showed some irrelevant movie with the lights on before the actual show.

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