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Peppermint twist chubby checker9/2/2023 ![]() They wrote music, they had multiple lead singers, they played instruments with style, and they could dance, dance, dance.Ī one-week gig at a New York City night club called the Peppermint Lounge turned into more than a year. Every record they cut sounded like the crowd was having a ball. As a teenager, Joe Pesci played the guitar briefly, as did a young Jimmy James, who one day would astonish the world as Jimi Hendrix.īy the time they recorded Peppermint Twist in 1961, the Starliters might have been the best party band in America. He helped introduce a dynamic girl group to the world - the Ronettes. They would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Joey recruited musicians, including Dave and Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere, who would become the Young Rascals. Although he grew up in the Italian-American doo-wop tradition, getting gigs required playing dance music. Over the years, DiNicola became Joey Dee. Mack - a straight arrow if there ever was one - understood the energy of this young band of working-class kids and showed his approval. At one point Joey took his sax, hopped on the upright bass and rode it like he was breaking a bronco. Young Joey played the saxophone in the seven-piece band that performed a wild blues song called Barkin’ Up My Tree. The two fragrances smelled alike, so, as we slow danced in tiny basements, we embraced each other in a redolent vapor of sweet young love. The boys wore Canoe cologne, and the girls wore Ambush. Dancing apartĪt the age of 13, we were invited to what were called boy/girl parties. The name of the song - and the dance - was the Peppermint Twist. Joey Dee had co-written a dance song that helped fuel a global phenomenon. Shout was a hit for the Starliters, but it was not their biggest. I played that album over and over in my bedroom until the needle almost wore through the grooves. I owned an album of their music, recorded live from a dance club in New York City. I first heard Shout as covered by Joey Dee and the Starliters. They had another great hit with Twist and Shout, which was my second-favorite song. The original version of Shout was by the Isley Brothers. I wrote that my favorite athlete was Mickey Mantle. In front there is a space to list your favorite things. ![]() Every page carries a message, except one blank page in the middle. It is filled with messages from classmates and relatives. ![]() All the kids got a green leather autograph book, and I still have mine. I graduated from eighth grade in 1962 from a strict Catholic school on Long Island. I will sit at the piano and play his greatest hit. I ask if I can have a photo taken with him.
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