The Big Picture, Part 1: The Holy Grail!

SOMETHING GREAT HAPPENED

50 YEARS AGO TODAY

ON JUNE 27, 1965...

THE PREMIERE OF A

TELEVISION SERIES THAT

SOON BECAME MUST SEE TV

FOR MILLIONS OF SCHOOL

AGE AMERICAN KIDS.

Look at the picture below.

Can you identify anyone in it?

I searched for years and this is by far the best

picture I have ever seen related to this subject.

I feel like I have found the Holy Grail!

I discovered the rare image in the archives of the
Monterey County Herald. It was taken June 20, 1966,
at Nepenthe, Big Sur, a popular tourist destination on
California's Central Coast where the Santa Lucia
Mountains rise sharply from the Pacific Ocean
offering stunning views to visitors.

Photo courtesy The Monterey County Herald

The picture was snapped during location shooting

for Dick Clark's Where The Action Is, the music

variety television series that aired every weekday

afternoon from June 1965 through March 1967.

Entertainment guest, the late Percy Sledge, can
  be seen performing in front of an ABC camera.
On the bench in back of Percy are the series
regulars, the dance troupe of Pete Menefee
and The Action Kids.

On that same field trip up the California coast to

the Monterey area in June 1966, the Action crew
shot a segment at Fisherman's Wharf. I was
thrilled to find video shot at that location.
Here's the Syndicate of Sound, a garage
band from San Jose, performing their

up-and-coming hit single "Little Girl"
accompanied by The Action Kids.

 "Little Girl" - Syndicate of Sound 

 (June 1966, highest chart position #8, 

 filmed on location at Fisherman's Wharf) 

I'm sure you couldn't help noticing that

the technical quality of the video was

very low by today's standards.

Unfortunately it is typical of the remnants of Action and many other television shows
of the 50s and 60s. Programs that lacked the potential to make money as reruns were considered disposable in those days. Entire series were wiped (bulk erased) and the tapes reused. Apparently all that remains today of the 400+ episodes of Action are a few dozen low tech Kinescopes like the one you just saw, leaving millions of Baby Boomers and younger fans alike wishing and hoping for a remastered DVD of the series that will probably never come. It's a painful reminder that show business is just that... a business.
Quite often it makes dollars but very little sense.

After watching so many grainy, washed out, faded

and distorted Kinescopes salvaged from the 50s and

60s, those of us who came of age during those years

might need to remind ourselves that we experienced

the halcyon days of our youth in living color, not

grainy black and white. That's why this picture

made my eyes pop. It's the only color image of

the Action series I have ever seen.

It is also the first time I ever saw those wonderful
dancers, The Action Kids, in color. In this three part
series I will focus on the talented troupe and show
you some of their greatest performances on Action.

In March 1964, singer Jackie DeShannon released

a cover of the Buddy Holly hit "Oh Boy." In this

video from one of the earliest episodes of Action

in July of 1965, Jackie performs the song in a
bowling alley surrounded by The Action Kids.

 "Oh Boy" - Jackie DeShannon 

 (July 7, 1965 episode of WTAI, 

 single released March 1964, uncharted) 

In another episode from the first season of Action,

the original five female formation of Action Kids

backs up Phil Spector's girl group the Crystals.

 "He'a a Rebel" - The Crystals 

 (August 1965 episode of WTAI, 

 single charted in November 1962, 
 highest position #1) 

Please skip ahead to the 1:50  mark of the next vid
and you'll see intermittent shots of The Action Kids
dancing in the street as the Vogues perform their
top 30 hit, "The Land of Milk and Honey."

 "The Land of Milk and Honey" - The Vogues 

 (July 1966, highest chart position #29) 

Keep in mind that this series is primarily
about the dancing. The music is secondary.
Try your best to disregard the poor sound and
video quality of most of these clips while you
enjoy the fancy footwork of The Action Kids.

They danced in the mountains, at the beach

and in parks. As you'll see in this next clip

featuring the Turtles, they even danced

on sidewalks along busy city streets.

Click at the  1:00  mark of this video and

watch as The Action Kids join Flo & Eddie

in an ebullient celebration of of life
and youth, California style.

 "You Baby" - The Turtles 

 (March 1966, highest chart position #20) 

In Part 2 you'll meet the individual
members of The Action Kids and see

more videos that show off their skill.

 SDMM is Where The Action Is 

 so please be here next time! 

Have a Shady day!

John Ettline - Every Dell Rat's Dad

 Just in time for Father's Day 

 some friends dropped by 

 to offer a few words about 

 John Ettline, every Dell rat's dad. 

 JERRE SLAYBAUGH 

 How I remember John!  John was always the first one 
 to meet you when going into the Dell. He would be in 
 his booth waiting to get his quarter. I don't know how 
 many times he forgot to take my quarter so I could 
 spend it on the jukebox. I do know he always said  
 hello by being formal and using the last name and saying 

 "Hello Mr. Slaybaugh". 
 He would often have 
 some type of joke or 
 remark such as you're 
 early or late tonight. 
 Somehow he knew all 
 my close friends, also 
 Dell Rats, and would 
 let me know who was 
 already there and who 
 was missing. Of course 
 John was always in 
 control and had rules 
 that the "gentlemen" 
 were to follow. 
 My friends and I were not trouble makers and John knew 
 that. He also knew we would back him up if he needed it 
 to keep the peace. We respected him and we had earned 
 his respect. I guess that is why he often forgot to take our 
 quarters. I think he treated all the regulars that he knew 
 well as if they were his own kids. Somehow he learned 
 enough about the regulars to know them, their back- 
 ground and their friends fairly well. I know I always 
 looked forward to talking with John and made it a point 
 to say good night before ever leaving. It was not common 
 for teenagers to have good friends that were "old". But 
 John was a good friend to me and if he would have had 
 kids he would have been a great Dad for them. He was 
 just a great step-Dad for all the Rats. - Jerre Slaybaugh 


 RON SHEARER 

 John was the kind of man 
 that I think we all wanted 
 for a father. He wasn't 
 condescending, always 
 commanded and gave 
 respect, treated you like 
 an intelligent person. 
 If anything happened 
 that you screwed up 
 and got victimized, 
 he would resolve it to 
 his best, and pass on 
 advice to you without 
 making you feel stupid. 
 He would take time 
 out during the day if 
 you had to leave your 
 car there the night before 
 because it wouldn't run, and would help you with it---
 even to the point of advising your own Dad, inspiring 
 respect from parents that had previously thought ill of 
 the Dell. I can only say good things about John. 
 Wishing him a Happy Father's Day for all the teens 
 he "fathered". - Ron Shearer 


 GREG GULDEN 

 I'm trying to write some 
 words to honor John for 
 Father's Day. It's hard to 
 put down in words your 
 feeling about someone 
 that, if only for a short 
 time, played such an 
 important part in your life. 
 I cannot write this without 
 saying a few words about 
 another great man, my 
 father Clair N. Gulden. 
 These two men never 
 knew each other but they 
 both came from that great generation that fought a World 
 War in hopes that generations to come would never know 
 war. In my eyes these were the two best men I've ever 
 known. John never had kids of his own but was a second 
 Dad to hundreds of Dell Rats over the years. Whatever 
 made this man decide to devote so many years of his life 
 to having a home away from home for hundreds of kids 
 we may never know, but all of us that became Dell Rats 
 will all ways be grateful to John. He gave us his home 
 and then stayed in the background and let us make it 
 what we wanted. We all had a great deal of respect for 
 John and his words of advice when we needed them. 
 The Dell that I knew during the 60s was a place of pure 
 magic, you could feel it when you walked in the door to 
 the barn. John made the Dell a special place for all of us. 
 So to John and my Dad Thank You & Happy Father's Day 
 to all. - A DELL RAT ALL WAYS Greg Gulden 

 John Ettline never had children 

 of his own, but every Dell rat agrees 

 John would have made a great father. 

 Please play this video as we honor 

 John Ettline...every Dell rat's dad! 

 Happy Father's Day, John! 

 We love you and miss you! 

Counting Down the 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell (#125 to #121)

 It's time once again to put your 

 musical knowledge to the test 

 as we continue our countdown of 

 The 200 Greatest Hits of the Shady Dell! 

 You know the drill. 

I'll give you a line or two of lyrics taken from five

of the most popular Dell songs of the mid 60s.

Your mission, Jim, if you decide to accept it, is to

 Name That Tune. 

Put on your thinking cap. Here are the lyric

samples for the next five Dell songs:

She's so fine

She'd give eyesight to the blind

There's a whole generation

with a new explanation

Wiggle your legs now, baby

Shake your head

I'm gonna do everything in my power

To keep her in my life

I keep coming back

for more of her love

There’s something about her

I can’t get enough of

SCROLL DOWN

Okay, let's find out how well you did.

Here are the Dell songs in today's countdown:

 125. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" 
 The Buckinghams (June '67) 

 124. "San Francisco" 
 Scott McKenzie (June '67) 

 123. "Funky Broadway" 
 Wilson Pickett (August '67) 

 122. "Midnight Hour" 

 (?) Question Mark & The Mysterians 

 (September '66) 

 121. "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind" 

 The Swingin' Medallions 

 (August '66) 

How many songs did you correctly guess from the lyric clues? Refer to the grading scale below to determine your musical I.Q.

 All 5 right – 

 Congratulations! You’ve been appointed 

 dean of the College of Musical Knowledge. 

 3 or 4 right – 

 Licensed lyric lover. 

 2 right - 

 Lyrically challenged. 

 1 right – 

 Sign up for remedial classes 

 at the School of Rock. 

 0 right – 

 You just dance and hum along! 

Have a Shady day!

Battle of the Banned... Volume 1: Remembering the Dell's Dirty Ditty!

NOTE: THIS IS AN EXHIBITION MATCH

FOR THE PURPOSES OF ENTERTAINMENT

AND EDUCATION. VOTING IS NOT NECESSARY.

Welcome to Volume 1 of

BATTLE OF THE BANNED!

 "Listen, honey... 

 they're playing our song!" 

You have no right to call yourself a Dell rat
if you don't remember Doug Clark & the Nuts
aka Doug Clark & the Hot Nuts, singing their
nasty novelty # "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box."

The song is about a male guest at a dull party
who sees a piano in the corner and asks the
female host's permission to liven things up
by pounding on it. The lyrics are overtly
and hilariously suggestive.

 "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box, Part 1" 
 Doug Clark  & The Nuts (October 1966) 

Actually the dirty ditty was recorded several times

and I intend to give you more bang for your buck.

A rhythm and blues group called the Toppers waxed

the original version of the rowdy party song in 1954.

 "(I Love To Play Your Piano) 
 Let Me Bang Your Box" -  The Toppers  
 (1954) 

The Bangers, another R&B group, came out with their
own rendition of "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box" in 1965.

The Bangers single was released by R&B Records,

a company in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box, Part 1" 
 The Bangers  (March 1965) 

In 1966 a third version of “Baby Let Me Bang Your Box”

was released by Doug Clark and The Hot Nuts.

Radio stations considered "Baby Let Me Bang
Your Box" too hot to handle and all three versions
were banned from the airwaves. As a result,
none of them registered on the national chart.

There's a time and place for everything.
"Baby Let Me Bang Your Box" was popular
at private parties and juke joints including
the Shady Dell where both the Bangers
version and the one by Doug Clark
& the Nuts were played often
on the barn’s jukebox.

Along with the forbidden forty-five on Jubilee,
a different production mix of “Bang Your Box”
was included on the Hot Nuts’ 1966 album
Summer Session released on the
Gross record label.  How fitting!

Deller fellers loved this raunchy party platter and
the outrageous group that recorded it. Doug Clark
& The Hot Nuts were also wildly popular on the
 east coast fraternity circuit and are credited
as the inspiration for Otis Day & the Knights,
the fictional group that performed in the
1978 comedy movie Animal House.

Early on, Doug Clark & the Hot Nuts were crowned
the “kings of gross out lyrics.” They solidified their
 reputation by appearing on stage at frat parties

clad only in velvet athletic supporters!

 Janet Jackson's halftime halter horseplay? 

 Fuhgeddaboudit! 

THESE CRAZY CATS

INVENTED THE

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION!

 "Milk the Cow" - Doug Clark and The Nuts 
 (December 1966, from 1965 album Panty Raid) 

 "A little bit now, a little bit later, 

 a little bit in between." 

 "A little but now, 

 baby, you know what I mean!" 

Have a Shady day!

Spring Cleaning - It Ain't Much Fun and You're Always Happy When It's Done. Introducing..... Battle of the Banned!

I'm On The Outside Looking In

(Know what I mean, Vern?)

:-(

Once upon a time...

I was encouraged to join the Battle of the Bands group.

I had never before taken part in a hop, but BOTB is
all about music and so I decided to give it a try.
When, after only two of my posts, the group's
organizers decided to cancel their subscription to
The Resurrection Shady Dell Music & Memories,
I made the brilliant deduction that it wasn't
going to work out. Ya think? The old retort
"You can't fire me - I quit!" comes to mind.
All kidding aside, I think the three of us
realized at the same time that it wasn't
a good fit. Therefore this outcome is
best for all concerned. Hey, at least
we tried. There are no hard feelings
on my part and I sincerely wish
them well in their future endeavors.

The upshot of the break-up is that
I have 30+ finished drafts that I prepared
in advance for the BOTB. It seems a shame
to let them go to waste. Since I no longer
have the support of the principals I've
decided to go rogue and call my
series Battle of the Banned.

 Yeah... that's the ticket!

Out of consideration for your valuable time,
I plan to run my banned battles on days of
the month other than the 1st and 15th.
Think about it. The BOTB hop is
growing by leaps and bounds,
right? That means there's a glut
of reading, listening and commenting
on the 1st and 15th. I intend to lighten
your load by spacing my battle posts
in between those days of the month
and spreading them out over
a period of three years.

IMPORTANT

If you belong to the BOTB circle I will not abandon you.
I will happily continue to support the blog of anyone
who continues to support mine.  If you are still here
then please know that I am grateful for your loyal
friendship. (That includes you, mommy.) If you are
no longer here, then I'm wondering how you could
possibly be reading this. Enough of this small talk.

It's time for me to dry my eyes and launch the new
series and I will do that next Wednesday, June 10.
See ya then!

Battle of the Blands

 BLAND #1 

READ MY LIPS...

NO NEW TAXES!

JUST TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR,

THIS IS THE FIRST COMPETING SONG

IN TODAY'S BATTLE OF THE BLANDS.

 BLAND #2 

JUST TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR,

THIS IS THE SECOND COMPETING SONG

IN TODAY'S BATTLE OF THE BLANDS.

JUST TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR,

I WANT YOU TO LIST 10 WAYS

THOSE TWO SONGS ARE SIMILAR

TO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING:

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

...in theaters this Christmas

Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil,

But everyone knew her as Nancy.

"Sadie" the world famous diving horse

at Atlantic City's Steel Pier circa 1967

 WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY POST? 

 I'M SURE YOU'RE DYING TO TELL ME. 

PICK THE ANSWER THAT MOST CLOSELY

MATCHES YOUR OPINION:

A. Too confusing

B. Too many songs (it got confusing - see "A")

C. Too different (me no likey different)

D. Did not follow the BOTB rules and regulations established by the founding fathers and handed down through the millennia.

E. Needs more Debby Boone

F. Did I mention confusing? (Oh yeah, I did.)

G. All of the above

H. None of the above

I. Scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream 

 Allow myself to introduce...(long pause)...myself. 

 I'm Austin Powers...super secret spy, 

 international man of mystery, bon vivant, 

 swinging playboy and irresistible babe magnet. 

 London is my home, shag is my bag, 

 planet earth is my playground and 

 danger is my middle name, baby. 

 Maybe I should change that. 

 Confusion is my middle name. 

 How's that luv? 

Your regular host, Shady, couldn't make it today.

He's in the slammer. Seems he was pulled over last night
during a routine traffic stop and wrestled to the ground
when deputies found one of those Swedish-made pump
thingies on the passenger seat of his Nash Rambler.
They slapped Shady with additional charges when
he insisted on demonstrating the device.  

As you might have guessed, this is not a real

Battle of the Bands post. It's only a gag, baby.

It's Shady's way of letting you know that he is

out of town for the day and that he will visit

your blog, read your latest post and leave a

comment a.s.a.p... so please be patient.

Oooops, mum's calling so I gotta go, mate.

Goodbye for now and remember.....

don't take any wooden knickers!

 That's a joke, pussycat, oh behave yourself. 

 I saw you crack a smile just then, luv - YEAH!