Beatles, Birthdays, Record Players

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By Pete Frecchio, Groovy Reflections Team Member

It was July 1968 and I was counting down the days until my eighth birthday. Among the things I was hoping to get were accessories for my G.I. Joe and Johnny West action figure collections, a new baseball bat and glove and my very own record player. 

I was just starting to get into rock and roll music and was tired of sharing a record player with my big sister.  To her credit though she was kind enough to share her records with me. 

My record collection was pretty thin; it consisted mostly of kid’s songs and novelty records. I figured I would work on getting a record player first, and then focus on get my rock and roll music collection going.

When the big day came, July 23, I was not disappointed. My mom threw a party for me and several of my good friends came over to share cake, ice cream and games. I do remember we played a few games of pin the tail on the donkey!  

Sure enough, when it came time to open the presents, I found I had a new General Electric Walt Disney record player, turquoise with white stripes and a big picture of Mickey Mouse on the inside of the cover. After my friends left the party I plugged it in and went in search of some 45’s to play.  To my surprise, my sister handed me a stack of her 45’s and said I could keep them. The creation of what is now a rather large record collection had begun.

Two of the 45’s she gave me come to mind, both by the Beatles: Please Please Me and From Me to You. I think that one of the reasons I remember those 45’s was the groovy record label they were on. Although most Beatle records would be released on Capitol Records, these early recordings were released on the small Chicago based label known as V-J Records. The labels were black with silver lettering and had a rainbow around the edge of the label similar to what Capitol Records was using on their albums at the time.

While I thought the labels were cool, the music simply blew me away. I heard my sister play the Beatles many times before and also heard the Beatles played often on Phoenix, Arizona radio stations KRIZ and KRUZ but this was different; they were now playing on MY very own record player! I was hooked!  

I had to have more Beatles records; I had to have ALL kinds of rock and roll records! In years to come, allowance money, birthday money, paper route money and part-time job money went towards feeding my Beatles habit.  I had a “Ringo” on my back and I didn’t care.

Well, that small collection of records I received from my sister grew into well over a thousand albums and 45’s. In addition to that, my home is filled with all kinds of rock and roll memorabilia with the focus being on the Fab Four.

After all these years, I still look back on my eighth birthday and think YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! What a great day that was!!

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Eddie and the Radio Skaters

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By Joe Haller, Groovy Reflections Team Member

Remember the days before global warming? Long, long time ago, back in the 1960’s it would actually be cold in December. It seemed every second year even brought us a “White Christmas”. By the way, I grew up in Rockland County, NY, about 30 miles northwest of the big city. My parents were Rockland County natives, as were two other sets of parents in our neighborhood.

The rest of the neighborhood consisted of New York City cops. The moms were the kind of stay-at-home moms that sent us outside to play while they watched soap operas and/or “kawfee klatched”. I had one brother, Eddie. He passed away in 1976, but that’s not what this story is about. It’s about a time when we could go out all day and our parents didn’t have to worry about us. We respected each other’s parents because we knew if we didn’t, our own parents would kill us.

AM radio ruled in those days. Everybody had transistor radios, the ones that took the rectangular 9 volt batteries. You knew you had a good battery if it jolted your tongue before you put it in the radio…the battery, not your tongue. We had two great AM radio stations. 77WABC had a powerful signal and great DJ’s. 57WMCA had “The Good Guys” as DJ’s but a much weaker signal in the suburbs. There was fierce competition between the two stations over us baby boomers. 77-W-A-Beatle-C!!!, they would call themselves.

WMCA would get Beatle records from London before they were released in the USA and play them first. 77WABC would play songs AFTER they were proven sellers in NY area record stores. The exceptions were of course The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, Herman’s Hermits and other major acts.

WMCA would take chances and play The Young Rascals, The Critters, The Turtles, or The Byrds before anybody ever heard of them. 77WABC had Cousin Brucie. WMCA had Harry Harrison, until he went to WABC in 1968. 77WABC had the great Dan Ingram. WMCA had Dandy Dan Daniel.

WMCA’s Good Guys “toured” together, wearing matching suits and haircuts like the early Beatles. You were REALLY cool if you managed to win one of their “Good Guy” sweatshirts. I never did. 77WABC lasted as a pop/rock music station from 1960 until 1982 while WMCA was only around from 1960 to 1970 as a music station.

So, WMCA was a bit hipper than 77WABC.

However, 77WABC did one thing that WMCA didn’t do. Beginning in 1964 they had a top 100 songs of the year list you could send away for. The last week of every year they would play only songs off that list in random order. That week was of course part of Christmas vacation as it was called back then.

The un-named pond behind Kreider’s house was always frozen. We would spend that week ice skating around with our transistor radios, trying to fill in the Top 100 list because we didn’t want to wait until mid-January for it to arrive in the mail. There was always one song that they didn’t seem to play, like #91 or #96 or one of those. If we finally heard it, there would be a huge celebration that we completed the list.

One other thing happened every year during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

The pond wouldn’t freeze over where the stream came in. You know how still waters run deep, and freeze? Well flowing waters don’t freeze unless it gets extremely cold. So there would be a half circle of open water at the mouth of the pond with thinner ice blending into thicker, safe ice.

My brother Eddie would always have to test the limits. Every year he would skate out closer and closer to the water. Every year he would break through the ice. Fortunately, the pond wasn’t deep and he always got out alive. My mother would threaten to kill him each time he walked home soaking wet and freezing cold, but she never did.

It’s my favorite memory of my brother Eddie….dripping wet, cold, and in trouble again! If I had the whole Top 100 it was a perfect day!!

If You Could Go Back to the 60’s …Part Two

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By Groovy Reflections Team Members, Pete, Maria, and Guy


For part one, click here.


Time to hear from the rest of the team, and then we have a special surprise, for you.

Pete: I would want my time machine to take me back to January, 1961 and let me have a front row seat to the greatest historical event in rock and roll history - the birth of the Beatles and the British Invasion.


I'd want to follow the fab four to Germany as they played the hot clubs of Hamburg. Then I would ride along with the "boys" as they returned to Liverpool and played their gigs in the local club scene there including their legendary gigs at the Cavern Club. 


I'd be there when they first hooked up with Manager Brian Epstein, signing with EMI/Parlophone and their first encounters with producer George Martin. I'd be at the London Palladium in late 1963 when John told the rich folk in the audience to just "rattle yer jewelry!" 


As the Beatles made their way across the Atlantic to America and the beginning of full blown international Beatlemania, I would spend my time travelling the English countryside "discovering" the sounds of the Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, Gerry and the Pacemakers and so many others. I would be there as London became the fashion mecca of the world. And I would buy up as many collectables as my time machine would allow me to take as I made my way back to 2012. Alas, I would die a very happy man!!

Maria: I was born in 1969 and very much cherish that year because it was the year of “Woodstock”. I would have loved to be old enough to be there and enjoy the music. I watch videos today and it just emanates peace and caring from a group of people that don’t even know each other. 


Music consumes the soul, comforts the heart and maybe even makes us cry. But the general cause was there and the emotion of peace filled the air with the music of souls who were very insightful and they did it wholeheartedly without malice. I would have loved to be part of this amazing peace rally because I feel for the world and I see what these people had in their hearts and soul. 


Peace and love can happen and it was proven on those three days with 600,000 people in very close quarters. No one judged and no one hated. They were all there for one purpose: Peace and love. So if that many people could so love then in that time era, I don’t see why they couldn’t now. I wish you all peace love and light. Embrace the music and feel because you can.

Guy: They all sound appealing. As funny as this is going to sound, my least favorite would be Woodstock, mostly because there was so much rain while it was going on. My wife and I are both OK with rain as long as we don't have to be stuck out in it.


I chose The Summer of Love because of the novelty. All these artists I was already familiar with plus the new ones singing about peace and love. At the age of 13 I decided, and haven't wavered from that one iota since, that those were the things that were important in life. John Phillips and Scott McKenzie said it all with the song San Francisco. And I'd love to go to the Monterey Fair because as Art Garfunkel said, that was the "first one."


And the results from the GRoovy poll are:

Well over one-third of you wanted to hear GRoovy music and dance in the rain! Maybe this calls for Woodstock Fifty Years Past in 2019? Ah, but that can be another poll question some other time. Hope you enjoyed the trip back. 


Did you know? We give away an original Groovy Reflections tee every time we reach 500 new fans on Facebook. If you can't wait, they're available on our site as well as our hand dyed tees ($3 to help those in Kentucky from the sale of each limited edition tee) ....FAR OUT! www.groovyreflections.com

If You Could Go Back to the 60’s …Part One

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By Groovy Reflections Team Members Gerry, Paul, and Joe

Recently, we asked fans and followers of Groovy Reflections “If you had a time machine and could go back to one of these times, but only one, which would you choose? The four choices were:

• Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco and the 1967 Summer of Love

• 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair

• The Village, Lower Manhattan NYC During Folk’s Heyday: Dylan, Guthrie, etc.

• Cavern Club, Liverpool and Carnaby Street, London in the “Swinging 60’s”

Our Groovy Reflections team thought about it too and here’s what three of the team members said:

Gerry: Are you a dedicated follower of fashion?

It was a VERY close choice between the Summer of Love and Carnaby Street, but MOD won out for me as I envisioned shopping at Mary Quant and hanging out with people resembling members of the Small Faces. The mini-skirt made a bold statement in fashion and independence; you had to be downright groovy to wear one.

I was too young to properly participate in any of the choices in the poll, but the thought of being transported to Swingin’ 60’s London just for a short time...oh yeah! The fashion, the music, and the accents! Would the Brits laugh at me when I say “kawfee”…oh wait, tea is the drink of choice.

Paul: The Village. I’m a folkie that loves music and words that come from the heart: Music that speaks not only to the people but is ABOUT the people. Folk music tells a story, sometimes happy, often sad. In the words of Phil Ochs, “there but for fortune, go you or I”, and as Pete Seeger said, “there are many kinds of folk music, go to China and there’s Chinese folk music, Russia and Russian folk music, there’s as many kinds of folk music as there are folks”.

I love a good story and just can’t imagine wandering into places like Gerde’s Folk City, The Bitter End, and the Village Gate and hearing people like Arlo Guthrie, Odetta, Bob Dylan and Tom Paxton playing their latest tunes for nothing more than pocket change when the “hat” was passed.

Imagine hanging at Dave Van Ronk’s apartment while folks like Joan Baez, Richard Farina or Ramblin Jack Elliot show up to critique each others work? You could wander the coffee houses and bars on MacDougal Street or the infamous Bleeker Street and see Peter, Paul and Mary or maybe Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

Pass through the Arch at Washington Square Park and hear an impromptu jam session with Tim Hardin or Richie Havens and so many others! I would love a chance to relive the most famous and prolific time in the music of the people, by the people and for the people!

Joe: Hmmmm….I was there. I lived thru the 60’s, starting them as a 7 year old and ending them as a 17 year old. Old enough to see what was going on, too young to participate. Woodstock? Too muddy. San Francisco….pretty cool. The Village? Also cool, but not as cool as LIVERPOOL!!

Watching the baby Beatles grow would be the best use of a time machine for me, out of the four choices given. Keep Carnaby Street, I’ll take The Cavern Club. And while I’m there, I will teach John and Paul a thing or two about songwriting! I’ll tell them to write a song about a day in the life…….And then…………I woke up, fell out of bed…

But wait, there’s more! Click here for part two…

And if you haven’t taken the poll yet, click here.

So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star

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By Paul Dugan, Groovy Reflections Team Member


Late in 1963 the beginnings of a revolution could be heard coming from radio speakers across the world. The British Invasion was about to begin, led of course, by the Four Mop Tops as the main stream media dubbed The Beatles.

We all know the impact the Beatles had on the music industry, but did you ever stop to think about what other economic impacts they were at least partially responsible for? I've often wondered how many barber shops went out of business. How many comb manufacturers had layoffs? You get the idea, but while some industries suffered, others prospered. According to my parents, ear plug manufacturers saw a boost. Not sure if that's based on fact or wishful thinking on the folks part.

One industry that I know for a fact saw a boost is the guitar makers. Think about it, before the Beatles, guitars were just a musical instrument, usually in the background, sometimes out front, but only if you were a cowboy. Then, after the Beatles dominated popular music, everybody wanted a guitar; I know I did. I was pretty sure I could be a star, if I only had an electric guitar. I practiced constantly with my Mother's corn broom, since the air guitar hadn't been invented yet.

We were far from poor, closer to hard working middle class I guess but an electric guitar was a pretty extravagant gift, and even though that “was all I wanted, nothing else, if I could just have a guitar for Christmas”, I knew it wasn't very likely.

But come Christmas morning, there it was under the tree. The most beautiful electric guitar I'd ever seen! It was red and white and glossy; I had to rub my eyes to be sure I wasn't seeing things. My older brother, who was in the Air Force at the time, had made a surprise visit home and he'd bought it off a fellow airman that was being transferred and didn't want to take it with him. That had to have been one of my happiest Christmas' ever; it didn't matter that it was an inexpensive model made for Sears by a company in Japan. It had the latest technology, it was the first guitar ever made with a built in speaker/amplifier, and the best thing about it was; it was mine!

I practiced and practiced, I just knew I was gonna be a Rock 'n' Roll Star. I even joined a couple garage bands, where we spent more time arguing over the name of than band than actually playing.
Then later that year my parents were getting ready for a big party, with lots of relatives and Mom said I could play a song. This was it! My chance at stardom!

I sought out my older sister's advice and she said “What ya know kid?” so I played The Beatles “I want to hold your hand” and “Satisfaction” from the Stones. She said “Not bad but ya have to remember kid, this is an older crowd, got any thing a little slower?” So I said “How about “These boots are made for walking”? She said I'd look silly in a mini skirt; I told her I have one other and she said “Then play it, I'm sure it'll be fine”.

The big day was finally here and I was ready. The crowd was hushed as I made my way to the middle of the room and played “The Sounds of Silence” and I nailed it! Paul Simon himself would've been proud of me! When I finished the last “of silence”, I waited for the applause....nothing...silence (not what the song means people!) and then my Uncle said “Not bad kid but can you do this?” He pulled out his accordion and played a polka; everyone started clapping and laughing and dancing. I was devastated. Fortunately The Who hadn't invented smashing guitars on stage yet, let alone on Uncles! I went to my room to lick my wounds. My sister followed me in and told me what a great job I'd done and that “They were too old to understand our music”! That meant a lot to me, almost as much as getting the guitar did.

I never did become a Rock ‘n’ Roll star and long ago sold my electric guitar, but I still play my acoustic sometimes for my grandson and he appreciates it and for a little while I am a star, at least in the eyes of one of the most important people I know.

Written by Paul Dugan, Guest Groovy Reflections Blogger

The Times Weren't the Only Thing Changing

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By Paul Dugan, Groovy Reflections Team Member

I'm so lucky to have grown up in such a magical time. The early 60's found me just entering my teens and thanks to an older brother and sister, I'd been listening to rock 'n' roll for some time. It was amazing! Every time you turned on the radio there was something new and exciting to hear, ranging from the early days of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Buddy Holly and Gene Vincent to the 1960’s with The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons.

Rock ‘n’ Roll and dancing: We learned to twist with Chubby Checker, and I remember doing the stroll at high school sock hops, trying to maneuver into the line so I'd "stroll" with that pretty girl that hardly knew I existed! Elvis was still king and girl groups were in their heyday. And fashions were changing as well.

Me? I was a greaser, through and through, with tight jeans and pointed toe boots with "taps" on the bottom for making noise when walking in the school hallways. Of course, that was against the rule but hey, I was a rebel! Now, no self-respecting greaser would be seen without their slicked back D.A. and a comb outlined in the pocket of those tight jeans. Everything was "cool" until THAT day, don't remember which one exactly, but it must have been one specific day because it happened so fast.

We were invaded! Some guys from England took over the musical charts! Overnight it happened! And these guys had long hair and heaven forbid, bangs! What were we to do? Well I know what I did. I listened to my brother and let him give me a "Beatle" cut!

I've made bigger mistakes in my life but at that time, this was definitely top five. If he would have placed a puddin' bowl on my head and cut it would've looked better, but he convinced me it was the way all the "cool" kids his age were wearing their hair. Okay, if I'd been just a bit wiser, I'd have noticed that he wasn't wearing his that way.

Without the D.A. the whole greaser look was history for me, so for school the next day I tried a new look and wore white slacks and a mohair sweater. I was now Mod, or Collegiate as it was called in my area of the world. However, there was still that brotherly haircut to deal with. The reactions? The kids were cruel, but when the teachers joined in, I definitely knew something was wrong. When I arrived home, Mom gave me the money to go to a barber and get my brother’s barbering job "fixed". It's still a funny little memory with me.

A few years went by; we were listening to folk rock and heavy metal and, we got groovy. Haircuts? They were a thing of the past; grew my hair until it was in the middle of my back, making me a full fledged "long haired hippy weirdo freak" and proud of it! Still proud of it. And today, as I run my fingers through the skin on my head, I'd give anything to have that puddin' bowl haircut back.

Written by Paul Dugan, Guest Groovy Reflections Blogger