Published on Apr 13, 1998
What do you think of when the “band” Sha Na Na comes to mind?
Most likely your answers would be that they had their own TV show.
They were the dance band in the movie
Grease. And what you may not have known that they played at
the first Woodstock.
Sha Na Na, an 50s-early 60s oldies band, released albums back in
the 1970s. Back when oldies were hip, thanks to the TV show
Happy Days, Sha Na Na was a happening group that brought
back the early days of rock and roll. Of these albums,
Hot Sox, released in 1974, is probably considered their
best.
The common oldies are here as usual, plus some originals! The
oldies list is here, as in previous albums:
The Reflections’ “Romeo and Juliet”
The Essex’s “Easier Said Than Done”
The Crew Cuts’ “Sh-Boom”
Joe Jones’ “You Talk Too Much”
The Jive Bombers’ “Bad Boy”
Huey Piano Smith’s “Don’t You Just Know It”
And each version by Sha Na Na is fresh and exciting as the
originals.
Then there are the originals, something that wasn’t expected as
in previous releases. “Maybe I’m Old-Fashioned,” a song that starts
out the album. A very well-done tune, in the late 50s oldies
style.
The title track “Hot Sox,” is more of a novelty song, and
probably the best song on the album. It features vocalist Jon
“Bowzer” Baumann, and for those of you who remember him, this
big-mouth singer was a very comedical character. “Hot Sox” is no
exception. It’s a very funny tune about dancing with those “Hot
Sox” on. As much as Robert Parker’s dancin’ “Barefootin'” was,
ShaNaNa puts clothing attire on those feet, and makes it just as
much fun to dance and listen to.
“Stroll All Night” is a nasal-type vocal tune, that is almost as
good as the remaining tunes on the album. Another “novelty” number,
is “Too Chubby To Boogie.” The lyrics are hysterical: “Too Chubby
to Boogie, Too Chubby to Rock & Roll. Too Rolly-Polly to Rock
& Roll.”
And the last selection is a slow-dance song, which is great to
end the album, “Dreams Come True.” Most of the Sha Na Na albums
ended with a slow-dance tune such as this one.
When Sha Na Na first started releasing albums, they were mostly
from live performances.
Hot Sox is an all-studio album, which makes this album even
greater than their previous releases. And most of their albums
included posters of the band. In
Hot Sox, it featured small baseball-card sized pictures of
each member of the band, and like baseball cards, they were
autographed. If you get a chance to see the back side of this
album, a circle of pictures is shown of these autographed picture
cards.
Sha Na Na has only one CD on the record stores shelves. It’s
their live recording of
From The Streets Of New York. As much as this band may not
have been as popular as the big names in the Seventies, this band
was very enjoyable to watch, especially for those who lived through
the rock and roll 50s, and for those who like the oldies in
general. Maybe one day their remaining releases will be reissued on
CD.
Sha Na Na has gone through personnel changes, and there are only
4 original members remaining today: Jocko Marcellino (drummer),
Donny York (vocals), Lennie Baker (sax) and Screamin’ Scott Simon
(piano). They performed at the Woodstock ’69 Reunion. They, along
with Crosby, Stills & Nash were two of the original groups who
performed at the original Woodstock in 1969.
For those who love the oldies, and for those of you who were
around back then, I’m sure that Sha Na Na was one of the bands that
were playing in your area. Sha Na Na was the very first concert I
ever attended. Our seats weren’t the greatest, but from what I
remember, they did a great impersonation tribute to Elton John.