Don Canney

Hearing recently of the unfortunate death of former teen idol Bobby Rydell, (whose hits included Volare and Wild One and whose last name inspired the naming of the high school in the movie Grease) just out of curiosity, did you ever see or hear of entertainers of the past and wonder, “I wonder if they are still with us?”

Morbid, maybe. But I sometimes I hear a song or a story that triggers that thought. While listening to a great new local oldies station, I heard a classic tune titled, “A Hula Love” by a fifties’ singer named Buddy Knox. Of course, I immediately thought, “I wonder if he is still with us?” Following a Google search, I discovered that old Buddy had since passed, but that search triggered even more artists who were idols of the day.

Two greats who are indeed still with us and who were even still touring with Mr. Rydell before his passing include Frankie Avalon, whose biggest hits were Venus and Why, and Fabian, with hits like Turn Me Loose and Tiger and whose last name, Forte, was not commonly made public. I remember growing up with these tunes blaring in the background of our Tyler Street abode when my sisters hosted teen parties where the strongest substance available was the caffeine in the Coke or Pepsi. Adding to the “danger” was the fat and salt in the multiple bags of Wise potato chips. Oh, if those were the only dangers at many of today’s parties. (Note: Long before Tyler Street became one of Nashua’s medical meccas it included several small residential cottages dotting Tyler and Dearborn streets, owned by what was then Memorial Hospital. The houses were consumed for construction of some of the current buildings).

Frankie, Fabian, and Bobby could often be seen on that afternoon version of a sock hop known as American Bandstand, hosted by the world’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark. A sock hop was an actual after school event where all attendees would wear socks while dancing so the floor of their high school gymnasium wasn’t damaged by a shoe’s scuff marks. Does anyone remember being reprimanded for walking on a gym floor with leather shoes? Poodle skirts were typically plentiful with the ladies (no actual dogs were involved) and greased back hair with “pegged” black slacks were sported by the guys. Pegged slacks were simply pants that were tailored so that the lower leg was as tight as possible around the calf and ankle. I didn’t get it. I guess it was an early fashion statement.

Mr. Clark is no longer with us, but most of us know how successful he later became, hosting and producing such shows as the $10,000 Pyramid, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes and the American Music Awards. Not to mention subsequent Bandstand specials. The man just never seemed to age.

Some of us remember what came to be known as the day the music died, when a very young Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson perished in a plane crash. Yes, it was long ago, but as Don McLean wrote, “Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.” Who knows what would have been had they lived on?

In addition to poodle skirts and pegged pants, remember Speidel ID Bracelets? At the time, Speidel was a company known for their twistable watch bands that one could slip on with the flick of a finger.

They would never kink or break, no matter what. But their ID bracelets became quite the fad. One would have engraved on a blank piece of metal affixed to the bracelet, your name, or initials. Quite cool at the time and they were found mostly in higher quality jewelry stores.

Today, we can find just about anything on YouTube and watching those retro videos of Bobby Knox, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, and Bobby Rydell make me want to sit in front of a black and white TV, enjoying a Pepsi and a bag of Wise potato chips while admiring my new Speidel ID bracelet, sans the pegged pants of course.

Don Canney is a freelance writer and professional voice artist. He was born and raised in downtown Nashua with great interest in Nashua history circa 1950-1970. He now resides in Litchfield.