Endless Summer (Part Two)

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By Tim Armstrong, Groovy Reflections Team Member


This is part 2. For part 1, click here.


I groggily awoke the next morning to the wonderful smell of the sea and to the even more wonderful smell of coffee brewing on our camp stove.


Then it was time to grab the boards. We trekked down to the beach and checked out the waves. Not much of a swell going on but we decided to paddle out anyway and just enjoy the drifting. We tried a couple of swells, but nothing gave us a good ride so we just stayed out there, eventually falling asleep.


Something in the water bumped my friend Steve’s leg, then my friend Greg’s.  We thought… SHARK!!!  It turned out to be a seal, but we paddled to catch any swell we could to get back to shore. We hadn’t realized how long we had been out there, and, during that time, the tide was receding. As we reached the shore break, we discovered something else – we had to carry our boards across about 75 feet of slippery, rocky beach to get to the sand! Finally, with foot pain from cuts and bruising, we reached the sand and just collapsed on the beach.


The next day the surf was too rough. As we were waxing down our boards, one dude walked past us carrying the two pieces left of his board after his venture out!  The following day, however, proved to be perfect. I was excited! This was my big chance to finally surf on a board! After some final pointers from my friend Steve, I paddled out feeling a huge adrenaline rush. 

On my fourth try to catch a wave, I DID! I didn’t realize how hard it would be to stand up on a board, but my friend Steve had given me good pointers and I jumped right up. I was in a big wave that was moving fast, and as I raced down the face of it just at the curl the peaceful sound of the wave, the air rushing past and the intoxicating smell of the ocean mesmerized me. Then I realized that if I didn’t cut back soon I was going to plow into another group of surfers! 


I tried to remember how to cut back and eventually made a hard left into the developing face of the wave. Before I knew it, I was flying back up over the top of the wave; only a “leash” now tethered the board and me. With big splashes, we both hit the water. I retrieved the board, got back on and headed to shore. 

I had done it! I had caught a wave!  Just like the Beach Boys song, I was sitting on top of the world!

Source: Eil.com

I caught three more decent waves that day and many more in the years to follow; but that trip, that day and that wave will forever define for me my perfect Endless Summer!  Cowabunga!


For part 1, click here. Visit us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, or G+ and GRoove on! 

Endless Summer (Part One)

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By Tim Armstrong, Groovy Reflections Team Member

This time of year always brings back fond memories of camping trips and family vacations for me, but my fondest memory of summer is one particular year, 1976, just after my junior year in high school.


I had lived all my life in Los Angeles and so obviously had been to the beach a zillion times. Most of my beach experiences were good and I loved the smell of the sea.  I had cousins (10 years older than I) that lived directly across Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu beach. There we would have beach cookouts and my cousins would teach my brother and me the fun and exciting world of body surfing in some pretty big swells and waves. 

There is nothing quite as exhilarating as flying through the surf toward shore in a giant tube of powerful seawater!  My cousins also introduced us early on to all the newest Beach Boys album releases, my favorite being “Pet Sounds”. Our visits there always ended up with me taking home a Beach Boys album or two that I would listen to for hours on my portable turntable at home.


Fast forward to the summer of 1976.  Shortly after their graduation, my surfing friends invited me to go camping with them at Leo Carrillo State Beach, north of Malibu. This was to be a “Surfing Safari” camping trip four days at the beach, with boards and all. I had never surfed on a board before, but my friend Steve said, “It’s a breeze”.  I was psyched up for this!

Leo Carrillo State Beach

However, I had to run it by my parents.  It took two weeks of pleading, begging and endless chores before they relented and allowed me my dream!  Now I was super psyched!!!  I played all my Beach Boys LP’s nonstop as I prepared for this trip, still a little nervous about not having surfed on a board – I didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of all my friends!


The day came, and so did my friends with surfboards and camping gear piled high onto an old Oldsmobile. I added mine and off we were on our Surfing Safari!  


At the campsite (actually two together), we built a bonfire, set up our tents and enjoyed the fresh beach air. Sometime later and somehow, beer arrived. With it came a friend with a guitar and we spent the whole night singing Beach Boys tunes.

Hearing the waves crash onto the shore that night, I was reminded that the next day was going to be my first chance to surf on a board, and was I nervous! Would I wipe out? Would I get hurt, or worse, would I drown?



For part 2, click here. Visit us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, or G+ and GRoove on! 

The Groovy Way Back Machine (Part One)

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We recently ran a poll (click here if you haven't taken it yet) asking If you could go back in time, which of these would you choose?   

• Dick Clark’s American Bandstand: Meet all the different guests from Lesley Gore to Paul Anka, the Monkees to The Byrds and be a featured dancer.

• Drive your Woody (or other hot rod) to the beach for surfing and partying’ with the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Frankie & Annette and all the rest.

• Visit Motown and Chess records in their respective heydays with the likes of Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley etc.

• Hang out in Memphis/Nashville with the stars of Sun Records and the Grand Old Opry, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Roy Orbison and others.

And here’s what three members of the Groovy Reflection team had to say:

Gerry: Swayed by the thought of ponying on television I’d have to go with American Bandstand though I think Hullabaloo might suit my personal style just a wee bit more.  Do I get to wear go-go boots? Sure hope so if Nancy Sinatra is a guest on the show; yeah, I can show how those boots are going to walk all over you! And since the show had moved to sunny California in 1964 I wouldn’t have to worry about those white boots getting dirty in the winter slush.


And when The Monkees come on the show, I’ll be shaking a tambourine too! And of course I’d only want to dance to a song if I felt that it had a good beat. After all, It’s My Party!

Paul: Make mine a one way ticket please!


I would love to have a chance to drive some of the classic hot rods of song: a Fuel Injected Stingray, a Little GTO, maybe a Chevy 409, or the classic 427 Cobra or that Little Deuce Coupe!


I’d drive them to the beach and see if the surf’s up! I have always loved the water and have never seen the big waves they have on the west coast. The closest I ever got was the beach/surfin’ movies in the 60’s. Would love to try surfing with Fabian, Frankie and Tab Hunter, heck, I’d even let Gidget teach me! And speaking of Gidget, what about all those beautiful ladies dancing on the beach? Annette, Shelly Fabares, Barabara Eden, Deborah Walley and even Nancy Sinatra! 


These were the people and music I grew up with. So hand me down my baggys, let me slip into my huarache sandals and then light the torches, fire up those guitars and we’ll party all night! This beach bum’s never coming back!

Joe: While all four choices are fascinating, I would HAVE to hang out in Memphis/Nashville with the stars of Sun Records and the Grand Old Opry.... Johnny Cash, Elvis, Roy Orbison and others. Visiting Sun Records where Carl Perkins joined Johnny, Elvis & Roy as "The Million Dollar Quartet" would make my life almost complete. 


The fellas who inspired The Beatles....where would we be now without Sam Phillips and Sun Records? And remember, Buddy Holly popped into Nashville before he made it big.....they actually turned down "That'll Be The Day". If I ran into Buddy.....oh boy!


Stay tuned for part 2! While you’re waiting, visit our website or join the parties on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and of course, the poll.

Picture This

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By Paul Dugan, Groovy Reflections Team Member

The best pictures I’ve ever seen transmitted over the airwaves didn’t come from a big screen HD TV. They didn’t come from a state-of-the-art home computer either, nor from the smartest of smart phones. The best pictures I’ve ever seen came from a six transistor radio!

As a kid I was an avid baseball fan and watched every game that was broadcast on TV, however many games weren’t shown. When they played on the weekday afternoons it meant listening on the pocket transistor with an earpiece. Wearing a sweater was useful for helping hide the telltale cord from the prying eyes of teachers!

The picture? It was the best; the announcers knew how to paint, right down to the finest detail: When the pitchers “brought the heat”, the “high hard one”, or the classic “frozen rope”. Sometimes they even threw “smoke”! Any little leaguer worth his salt could see it just as clear as day.

When the slugger went up to bat you were there with them when they “crushed” the ball. You could see yourself jogging around the bases in his place with a proud as a peacock strut in your step.

It wasn’t just baseball games that I saw; that transistor let me see some of the greatest rock ‘n rollers ever: Elvis in all his pelvis gyrating glory, rocking around the clock with Bill Haley, and Chuck Berry doing his duck walk. Sometimes the pictures weren’t so pretty. I remember crying when I saw what we lost the day the music died.

My transistor went to bed with me. Sorry Mom. I lied all those times I said I turned it off. How could I? Man, then I’d miss seeing the smooth and sultry Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and the moves of the Four Tops. I’ll never forget the night Nancy Sinatra and her boots walked through my dreams; how could a picture ever be better than that!

I saw the Beach Boys in all their baggy wearing glory catch the last wave. I stood on that shore and watched as the British invaded with the Beatles, the Stones and Herman’s Hermits. All of them gave private concerts that could never compete with anything they did on television. I viewed Bob Lind chase that elusive butterfly with his nets of wonder, something never seen on the big screen!

I was in the capsule the day Navy Commander Alan Shepard Jr. rocketed into space. I crawled deeper under the covers for protection when the Russians pointed their missiles at us from Cuba. I saw a man’s dream from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and it was one of the spectacular pictures I’ve ever seen.

It’s certainly laughable in the face of the advanced technology of today but my little six transistor brought me the world in a way that the children of today will ever know. The imagination paints the greatest picture of all and I for one will never forget all the magical things that I watched on my radio!

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!!