Showing posts with label Patrick Swayze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patrick Swayze. Show all posts

June 7, 2024

20,000 vinyl LPs 364: Grease with a corkscrew & a Duck's Ass

 ~  
vinyl LP front cover detail
photo of album cover by Styrous®


The first Broadway production of Grease opened on June 7, 1972; when it closed in 1980, the 3,388-performance run of Grease was the longest yet in Broadway history, it was surpassed by A Chorus Line on September 29, 1983.            
          
 
vinyl LP front cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®

 
Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, it was named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers and set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Chicago (based on Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois, and named after rock singer Bobby Rydell), the musical follows ten working-class teenagers.            
 
 
 
vinyl LP back cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®
 
 
Having been a Greaser when I was in high school in the fifties, I related to Grease in a BIG way. I had a pompadour hairstyle complete with an Elephants Trunk in front (well, the best I could come up with was a corkscrew and I had never heard it called an Elephants Trunk until I researched this article) and a ducktail (commonly called a duck's ass or DA) in the back, all thanks to pounds of pomade. The hair was VERY heavily pomaded (greased, thus, the term Greaser), combed back around the sides, and parted centrally down the back of the head to create the DA. My mother was always furious about my greasy pillow cases.      




Adrienne Barbeau appeared as Rizzo with Timothy Meyers as Kenickie who was a 1972 nominee for Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical.       
 
Replacements later in the run included Jeff Conaway as Danny, Candice Earley as Sandy who was also in Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar; Peter Gallagher as Danny, Richard Gere as Sonny, Ilene Graff as Sandy, Randee Heller as Rizzo, Marilu Henner as Marty, Judy Kaye as Rizzo, Marcia Mitzman Gaven as Rizzo, Patrick Swayze as Danny, John Travolta as Doody and Treat Williams as Danny.           
 
 
 
 
vinyl LP back cover
detail photos of album cover by Styrous®
 

 
 
 
 
vinyl LP back cover details
detail photos by Styrous®
 
 
As usual, I have favorite songs, Greased Lightnin', of course, and Born To Hand Jive are at the top of my list.           
 
 
 
 
vinyl LP back cover details
detail photos by Styrous®
 
 
 
Grease went on to become a West End hit, a successful feature film, two popular Broadway revivals in 1994 and 2007, and a staple of regional theatre, summer stock, community theatre, and high school and middle school drama groups. It remains Broadway's 17th longest-running show.        
      
In 1978 Grease was adapted as a feature film also named Grease starring John Travolta (who had been in stage productions in a different role) and British-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John. The film version changed some plot elements, characters, and songs while adding new songs and elaborating on some plot elements only alluded to in the musical.       
    

vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
 
 
There have been professional productions of Grease in Argentina, Austria, Canada and Mexico. A Spanish revival ran successfully at Teatre Victòria, Barcelona from October 3, 2006, to January 6, 2008. After a short national tour, the production was transferred to Teatro Nuevo Alcalá, Madrid, where it ran from October 14, 2008, to January 31, 2010, and then continued touring Spain until it finally closed on August 1, 2010, becoming one of Spain's all-time longest running musical productions, with 1,090 performances.        
 

vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
 
   
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Alma Mater
A2 - Alma Mater (Parody) - 2:46
A3 - Summer Nights - 3:40
A4 - Those Magic Changes - 2:45
A5 - Freddy, My Love - 3:04
A6 - Greased Lightnin'    2:28
A7 - Mooning - 2:44
A8 - Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee - 1:56
A9 - We Go Together - 2:23
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - It's Raining On Prom Night - 2:26
B2 - Born To Hand Jive, Featuring – Grease Company* - 4:20
B3 - Beauty School Dropout, Featuring – Grease Choir* - 3:02
B4 - Alone At A Drive-In Movie - 2:49
B5 - Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen - 1:35
B6 - There Are Worse Things I Could Do - 2:44
B7 - Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise) - 2:16
B8 - All Choked Up, Featuring – Grease Company* - 3:21
B9 - We Go Together (Reprise), Featuring – Grease Company* - 1:57
       
Credits:
       
    Directed By – Tom Moore (4)
    Directed By [Staging Musical Numbers & Dances] – Patricia Birch
    Directed By, Arranged By [Vocal & Dance] – Louis St. Louis
    Engineer – Fred Christy
    Music By, Lyrics By – Jim Jacobs (2), Warren Casey
    Orchestrated By – Michael Leonard
    Presenter – Anthony D'Amato (2), Kenneth Waissman, Maxine Fox
    Producer – Arnold Maxin
    Producer [Associate] – Landy McNeal
    Technician [Sound By] – Jack Shearing
    Vocals [Betty Rizzo] – Adrienne Barbeau (tracks: A5, A8, B6)
    Vocals [Burger Palace Boy] – Daniel Deitch (tracks: A2, A3, A4, A6, A9, B4)
    Vocals [Cha-cha Di Gregorio] – Kathi Moss (tracks: B1)
    Vocals [Danny Zuko] – Barry Bostwick (tracks: A3, B4, B8)
    Vocals [Doody] – James Canning (tracks: A4, B5)
    Vocals [Eugene Florczyk] – Tom Harris (2) (tracks: A1)
    Vocals [Frenchy] – Marya Small (tracks: A5, B3)
    Vocals [Jan] – Garn Stephens (tracks: A5, A7)
    Vocals [Kenickie] – Timothy Meyers (tracks: A6)
    Vocals [Marty] – Katie Hanley (tracks: A5)
    Vocals [Miss Lynch] – Dorothy Leon (tracks: A1)
    Vocals [Patty Simcox] – Ilene Kristen (tracks: A1)
    Vocals [Pink Lady] – Joy Rinaldi (tracks: A2, A3, A4, A9)
    Vocals [Roger] – Walter Bobbie (tracks: A7, B5)
    Vocals [Sandy Dumbrowski] – Carole Demas (tracks: A3, B1, B7, B8)
    Vocals [Sonny] – Jim Borrelli (tracks: B9)
    Vocals [Teen Angel, Johnny Casino] – Alan Paul (tracks: B2, B3)
    Vocals [Vince Fontaine] – Don Billett (tracks: B9)
       
Notes:
       
"A New 50's Rock 'N Roll Musical"
Recorded at Media Sound, NY, NY.
Also numbered MGS 2812 & 2813 (A & B).
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
        
    Matrix / Runout (Side 1): A-1 KL-1-SE-34-AS-1-K MASTERDISK G.K.
    Matrix / Runout (Side 2): A-1 KL-1-SE-34-BS-1-K MASTERDISK G.K.
 
Various – Grease - The Original Broadway Cast Album
Label:    MGM Records – 1SE-34 OC, Lion Records (4) – none
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Musical


         
Viewfinder links:         
Adrienne Barbeau          
Warren Casey          
Jeff Conaway             
Marilu Henner            
Jim Jacobs        
Olivia Newton John        
Bobby Rydell         
Christine K. Simonson              
Patrick Swayze           
John Travolta        
Treat Williams             
        
Net links:               
Playbill ~ Grease        
        
YouTube links:        
         
Born To Hand Jive            
Greased Lightnin'        
Grease Original Cast (complete)        
Elephants Trunk and DA/Ducktail (2 min., 58 secs.)       
        
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Friday, June 7, 2024      
       
 
 















Patrick Swayze articles/mentions


  ~      
  Dirty Dancing @ 41    
     
     
mentions:     
Grease with a corkscrew & a Duck's Ass  
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
      
     















August 21, 2018

20,000 Vinyl LPs 144: Dirty Dancing @ 41

vinyl LP front cover
album cover photo by Adger Cowans
photo of album cover by Styrous®

       
Dirty Dancing was released on August 21, 1987. It is an American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, directed by Emile Ardolino and starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, and featuring Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach. According to Huffpost, Swayze and Grey hated each other (link below).        

The film used moves exactly like those I used in the "Love Act" I performed when I was dancing at the Hungy i in '77 - '78 (link below). I've wondered if perhaps someone saw my act and used the moves ten years later for this film.      


vinyl LP back cover
album phsoto by Adger Cowans
photo of album cover back by Styrous® 


It was a fun film and the cast was young, beautiful and exciting but the music used in the soundtrack was the standout for me; in particular the old songs from the 50's & 60's.    


vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo of album cover back by Styrous®


It has some of my very favorites songs from the 50's: Love Is Strange performed by Mickey & Sylvia, that wonderful doo-wop song written by Fred Parris, In the Still of the Night dreamily sung by The Five Satins. Oh, how I loved this song!  (links below)  


vinyl LP sleeve
sleeve photos by Adger Cowans
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


The 60's were represented by the sensual Stay by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, Be My Baby by The Ronettes and Hey! Baby sung by Bruce Channel (links below).     


vinyl LP sleeve detail
sleeve photos by Adger Cowans
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


My favorite modern song for the film is Hungry Eyes (link below), which was written in 1984 by John DeNicola and Franke Previte, whose father was an opera singer. It was performed by Eric Carmen. What a great dance song. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Cash Box Top 100 in 1988.    
        


vinyl LP sleeve detail
sleeve photos by Adger Cowans
detail photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


The album became a huge commercial success. It went on to sell 32 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United States the album spent 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales charts and went multi-platinum.              



vinyl LP sleeve
sleeve photos by Adger Cowans
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®


Originally a low-budget film by a new studio, Vestron Pictures, Dirty Dancing became a box office hit. As of 2009, it has earned over $214 million worldwide. It was the first film to sell more than a million copies on home video, and the Dirty Dancing soundtrack created by Jimmy Ienner generated two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles, including (I've Had) The Time of My Life, which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for best duet.        

 
vinyl LP, side 1
photo of record by Styrous®


vinyl LP label, side 1
photo of record by Styrous®



vinyl LP, side 2
photo of record by Styrous®
 

vinyl LP label, side 2
photo of record by Styrous®

     
     
                       
Tracklist:

Side 1:

1 – Bill Medley And Jennifer Warnes - (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, Arranged By Gene Page, Arranged By [Additional Arrangements By John D'Andrea, Arranged By [Additional Arrangements] – Michael Lloyd, Engineer – Carmine Rubino, Engineer [1st Assistant] – Dan Nebenzal, Engineer [2nd Assistant] Jeff DeMorris, Producer – Michael Lloyd, Remix – Carmine Rubino, Dan Nebenzal, Jimmy Ienner, Michael Lloyd, written by Donald Markowitz, Franke Previte, John DeNicola - 4:47

2 – The Ronettes - Be My Baby, Producer – Phil Spector, written by E. Greenwich*, J. Barry*, P. Spector* - 2:37

3 – Patrick Swayze - She's Like The Wind, Engineer – Carmine Rubino, Engineer [Assisted By] – Dan Nebenzal, Featuring – Wendy Fraser, Orchestrated By [Additional Orchestrations By] John D'Andrea, Producer – Michael Lloyd, written by Patrick Swayze, Stacey Widelitz - 3:51

4 – Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes, Engineer – Jim DeMain, Engineer [Remix Engineer] George Sipl, Jim DeMain, Producer – Eric Carmen, written by Franke Previte, John DeNicola - 4:06

5 – Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs* - Stay, written by M. Williams* - 1:34

6 – Merry Clayton - Yes, Arranged By Gene Page, Engineer – Carmine Rubino, Engineer [Assistant] Jimmy Hoysan*, Producer – Michael Lloyd, written by Neal Cavanaugh, Terry Fryer, Tom Graf - 3:15

Side 2:

7 – The Blow Monkeys - You Don't Own Me, Engineer – Ben Kape, Producer – Peter Wilson, written by D. White*, J. Madara* - 3:00

8 – Bruce Channel- Hey Baby, written by B. Channel*, M. Cobb* - 2:21

9 – Zappacosta     Overload, Engineer – Jeff McCulloch, Engineer [Assist.] – Andy Koyama, Walter Soeczak*, Producer – Alfie Zappacosta*, written by Marko Luciani*, Alfie Zappacosta* - 3:39

10 – Mickey And Sylvia* - Love Is Strange, written by E. Smith*, M. Baker*, S. Robinson* - 2:52

11 – Tom Johnston - Where Are You Tonight?, Engineer – Gene Foster, Music Consultant – Inside Track, Inc.Producer – Leon Medica*, written by Mark Scola - 3:59

12 – The Five Satins - In The Still Of The Night, written by F. Parris*
 - 3:03

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – BMG Music
    Distributed By – BMG Music
    Mastered At – Fullersound
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Vestron Music Inc.

Credits:

    A&R [A & R Direction] – Bob Feiden
    Art Direction [Soundtrack Art Direction] – Pam Rodi
    Design [Mechanical Design] – The Hub Graphics Corp.
    Executive-Producer [Soundtrack] – Jimmy Ienner
    Mastered By – Mike Fuller
    Other [Theatrical Campaign] – Sharon Streger / Seiniger Advertising
    Photography By – Adger Cowans*

Notes:

Mastered at Fullersound in Miami, Florida.

Booklet comes with lyrics and information on where each track was recorded.

Packaging: Jewel Case
Total Playing Time: 39 mins, 32 secs

Made in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode (Text): 7863-56408-2
    Barcode (Scanned): 078635640823
    Matrix / Runout: W.O. # 8058-11 64082R
    ASIN (com): B007SAT2SG
    ASIN (com): B000002W9Q

      

  
Viewfinder links:          
          
Golden Globe Award         
Leatherneck, Pillow, a Hungry i         
Jerry Orbach        

        Net links:      
          
Lion's Gate ~ Dirty Dancing        
The Guardian ~ Why Dirty Dancing would never be made today 
NY Times ~ Dirty Dancing: Where Kellerman’s Came to Life 
Huffpost ~ 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Dirty Dancing
       
YouTube links:      
          
Dirty Dancing ~ "Dirty Dancing" Clip        
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes
The Ronettes - Be My Baby         
Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs - Stay   
Bruce Channel - Hey Baby        
Mickey And Sylvia - Love Is Strange   
The Five Satins - In The Still Of The Night     
Patrick Swayze Talks About Working With Jennifer Grey       
Jennifer Grey Reveals Dirty Dancing Secrets   
Rogerebert ~ review       
       
        

     
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, August 21, 2018