Who could have guessed that a cute little Broadway show designed to appeal to nostalgic Baby Boomers and their slightly older siblings would go on the become such a multi-generational cultural touchstone? But Grease did just that – largely because of a movie version that shrewdly soft-pedaled the 50’s and instead substituted a lot more of the 70’s.

The blockbuster film jettisoned several of the original Broadway show’s tunes and inserted 4, count ‘em, 4 modern pop tunes (Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” John Travolta’s “Sandy,” the duo’s “You’re the One That I Want” and Frankie Valli’s title tune, written by Barry Gibb).

Looking at the original show’s tunes, 3 of them were clearly “homages” (a polite way of saying “rip-offs”) of some authentic tunes from the actual age of grease. Here are those tunes and the original hits that inspired them.

“Freddy, My Love” – inspired by “Eddie, My Love”: The song’s title gives away its inspiration. The original is a doo-wop classic from 1956 that originally charted for the group, the Teen Queens. The original song was written by Maxwell Davis, Aaron Collins, Jr. and Sam Ling. Davis played sax on the original record. Collins was brother to the two sisters who made up the Teen Queens and “Sam Ling” was a pseudonym for Saul Bihari, the man who owned the RPM record label that released the record.

The song reached the top 20 for the Teen Queens as well as for the Chordettes and the Fontaine Sisters all in 1956.

“We Go Together” – inspired by “Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)”: This up-tempo ditty was sung twice in the original Broadway show to close both the first and second acts. In the movie, it’s heard only once as the film’s finale. Its tribute to dozens of classic doo-wop nonsense words has its roots in a novelty record written and sung by one of rock’s great early composers, Barry Mann. Mann usually wrote songs in collaboration with his wife Cynthia Weil. But for this record, he co-wrote it with Gerry Goffin (who usually was writing songs with his then-wife Carole King, maybe you’ve heard of her?).

For whatever reason, Mann chose to sing this one himself rather than giving it to an established singer. It reached #7 on Billboards Hot 100, making it one of the most successful novelty records of its time (1961).

“Born to Hand Jive” – inspired by “Willie & the Hand Jive”: Like “Freddy, My Love,” it’s not hard to determine where this song came from. The original, featuring “Way-Out Willie” was written and recorded by r&b great, Johnny Otis in 1958. His version reached as high as #8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and inspired teenagers from coast-to-coast to do their own version of the Hand Jive at dances and sock hops for many years after. The song was covered by Eric Clapton in 1974 and again charted on Billboard, this time getting to #24. The “tribute” (another polite word for “rip-off”) of the song in Grease really doesn’t mess with the essentials.

If you ever see the stage show, it will probably now include some of the songs written just for the movie, but it may also include two wonderful tunes that never got the attention they deserved in the film. The first is “Magic Changes,” a wonderful little hymn to the simplicity of sweet early rock & roll. In the stage show, it’s sung fairly early by one of the Burger Palace Boys as a way of demonstrating how he’s learning the guitar. In the movie, it’s sung by Johnny Casino at the school dance, but it’s heard mainly in the background as the film’s major characters interact at the dance.

The other song is “Alone at the Drive-In Movie.” This is a hilarious song about the thwarted lust Danny feels when Sandy dumps him at the drive-in. The song takes the form of a 1950’s teen weeper. In the movie version, it’s replaced by the ultra-saccharine, “Sandy.”  In the movie, it’s only heard as instrumental background music.

Okay, what are they putting in that V-8?

Think you may have some valuable old stuff in the attic or garage & now is the time to sell?

That may be as toys & other stuff from our childhood can bring big bucks. But before you start maxing out the credit cards in anticipation of the untold riches your old stuff will bring you, here are few things you should do first!

Visit eBay – Or a similar auction site. Don’t simply looking to see if your item(s) are listed and what sellers might be asking. Instead, check that little box that will display sold items. That way you can see if there are actually buyers for that item and what they’re currently paying.

Is it selling for $200 or less? – Then experts say you’re probably best off listing it on that auction site. If you’ve never sold anything on an auction site before, most have tutorials that will guide you through the process.

Is it selling for more than $500? – Then experts say you’re better off bringing in a professional appraiser to give you a valid estimate on the item or consigning the item to an auction house that specializes in whatever it is you’re selling. Those auctioneers have already cultivated an audience of people who want whatever you’re selling and used to paying what it’s worth.

Keep in mind that appraisers charge for their services and auction houses will take a healthy percentage of the final sale price.

That said, happy hunting & good luck!

With rare exception, most rock bands of the 1960s came out of nowhere, burned brightly for a year or two and then faded away. The Turtles fit the first two parts of that formula, but they have stubbornly refused to fade away.

The band was born in the surf music craze of the early 1960s. A bunch of students at Westchester High in Los Angeles put together a little combo in 1963 that went by the name of the Crossfires. Unlike most high school rock bands, they actually continued to play together even after their members moved on to college.

By 1965, folk rock had definitely replaced surfing music, so taking a page from the Byrds, the band renamed itself, the Tyrtles. Problem was most people had trouble pronouncing that name correctly, so the band settled on the conventional spelling and the Turtles were on their way.

They signed with the tiny White Whale Records and found their first success (like the Byrds) in covering a Bob Dylan tune, “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Between 1965 and 1969, they placed 9 singles in the Top 40 with 5 reaching the Top 10. Their biggest hit was their only #1, “Happy Together,” and it became their signature tune.

Despite all their achievements on the singles charts, the band could not sell albums. Only the LP containing the aforementioned “Happy Together” and their first Greatest Hits package even charted. By 1969, the band was fighting with their record label and fighting with each other, so they packed it in.

But that was not the last we would hear of the band. The group's two singers, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman stayed together and along with Turtles’ bass player, Jim Pons, joined Frank Zappa, resulting in the most commercially successful version of the Mothers of Invention. In fact, the Mothers’ live act during that time would culminate with the band actually playing “Happy Together,” always bringing down the house!

Kaylan & Volman became better known as Flo & Eddie. They hosted several nationally syndicated radio shows and found steady work as session plays (singing back up on Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” and several of Alice Cooper’s tracks, among others). Along the way, the duo also bought the rights to the Turtles original recordings and have done an excellent job of keeping the band’s catalog in print.

Starting in 2010, Flo & Eddie formed a new version of the Turtles and took to touring the oldies circuit. Unfortunately, Kaylan has had health problem, which have curtailed his touring, but Volman continues with well-known session singer Ron Dante (“Sugar, Sugar,” “Traces,” “Leader of the Laundermat”) stepping in to keep the Turtles performing into their 7^th decade.

New research has shown that what’s good for your heart may also be good for warding off dementia or cognitive decline. Studies are showing that hypertension and high blood pressure seem to be associated with decline in our mental facilities.

So, stay sharp; keep your blood pressure under control.

4-time Grammy winner, Olivia Netwon John passed away on Moday, August 8th after a long battle with cancer.

Although she had a truly stellar recording career, racking up a long string of hit records, she became best known for playing the role of Sandy Olsen, the good girl who finally goes bad in the movie. Grease. She is survived by her husband and daughter.

Anyone who’s seen the movie La Bamba (1987), knows the story behind Ritchie Valens rock classic, “Donna.” Valens wrote the song for his girlfriend, Donna Ludwig at a time when his career was starting to take off, but their romantic relationship was experiencing some bumps.

The movie is accurate in its portrayal of the difficulties the young couple faced. Donna’s father did not approve of her dating a Hispanic man. And Ritchie’s career put him on the road constantly before he had even finished high school. And yes, she cried like a baby when Ritchie first played the song he composed for her.

Nevertheless, the two persisted as a couple up to his tragic death on “the Day the Music Died.” Sadly, Ms. Ludwig also endured the premature death of her mother shortly thereafter. She also became permanently estranged from her father when he pushed her to try a recording career herself, to cash in on her notoriety and exploit what, to her, was a very personal tragedy.

Donna lived a small-town life, marrying 3 times and giving birth to two daughters. She did attend the world premier of the movie La Bamba and at last report, was still living a quiet life with her third husband.

Nichelle Nichols , who gained lasting pop culture fame as Lt. Uhura on the original Star Trek TV series has passed away at the age of 89.

She actually contemplated quitting the series after its first season as she felt her character had little to do. No less a figure than Dr. Martin Luther King urged her to stay with the show because, at that time, there were few parts for African-Americans on television that showed blacks in professional, white collar jobs, let alone a female in a highly professional job. So, she stayed with the show. She also was part of the first interracial kiss when, during the episode, "Plato's Stepchildren," she engaged in a lip lock with William Shatner's Captain Kirk.

When the original series wrapped production, she ultimately became a spokesperson for NASA and America's space program. She also released two albums highlighting her abilities as a singer - one was an album of standards, the other was more rock-oriented.

Off screen, she was known as a woman of grace and charm.

We are saddened to have just learned of the passing of Baby Boomer icon. actor & sculptor, Tony Dow has passed away.

Our website's founder was fortunate enough to have met Tony and the rest of the cast when they were filming the reboot series, Still the Beaver in Orlando. His morning show team actually spent some time socializing with the cast & crew, playing softball on multiple occasions and hanging out at a local pub or two. Tony was a very warm and easily approachable guy. He told us that he wished the show had continued longer as he and his wife enjoyed their time in Orlando.

He will be missed.