Ask the Geator
By Jerry Blavat
Once again, greetings and salutations. I want to thank
the Avalon crew for making their annual bus stop last Saturday night at
Memories in Margate. And right before their Boston trip, the good Senator
Fumo, Congressman Brady and Commissioner Rubin again partied at Memories,
as did Admiral Jim Eastwood, who brought in a real four-star admiral,
Admiral Bill. Now on with your questions.
Geator, did you ever meet Dinah Washington? I remember
her big hit "What a Difference a Day Makes." I'm glad
you're such a fan of hers because you don't hear too many
stations playing her music.
-- Ruth Matthews, Atlantic City
Dear Ruth, In my opinion Dinah was one of the true
greats of the industry. She was born Ruth Lee Jones in Alabama in 1924, but
grew up and made her mark in Chicago, where she won an amateur show at the
Regal Theater and met Lionel Hampton, who takes credit for changing her
name. "What a Difference" was her breakthrough hit. I first met
her in 1958 when I was just 18 years old and she was appearing in
Philadelphia at Pep's. I was a big fan, and she became fond of seeing
me at Pep's every night. She was always in command of her craft when
on stage. Offstage she was a bit feisty and possessed a unique and broad
knowledge of the vocabulary of the street - as a matter of fact, when
I saw her later at the Black Orchid in Atlantic City, she had some choice
words for me, like "Where the (bleep) have you been?" But she
was the greatest, and when she died in 1963 at the early age of 39, show
business lost one of its true legends.
I grew up in the Philly area and have been a fan of
this music since my adolescence. While I can jitterbug, stroll, twist,
calypso, etc. with the best of them, I would like to learn the various line
dances done by the "regulars" at the dances you host during the
summer. Are there any videos? Another question: I have read that your given
name is Jerome. I have also read that it's Gerald. What's up? I
feel very happy that you will be at Lighthouse Point in Wildwood this year!
Keep rockin'!
-- Karen from Connecticut
Dear Karen, Unfortunately at this time I know of no
videos that teach the line dances, but we are in the process of getting
together with the folks from Ro-Nan Dance Studios, who come to all of our
dances, and creating a video in the near future. In the meantime, if you
come to any one of our Geator get-togethers, we will have some of our Geator Gold dancers teach you a couple of the steps. Or you can contact Rosalie or Nancy at
856-217-0072, or at nancyho@mindspring.com. And my name? Gerald Joseph
Blavat.
When you mentioned Frankie Valli recently, you reminded
me of a question I've had ever since the article in Vanity Fair about you and the
early days of the music business. Why did you refuse to accept the royalty
the Four Seasons wanted to give you for discovering "Sherry"?
-- Rosalie S.
Dear Rosalie, Frankie and the guys were all friends,
as I consider most of the artists I played in the past and still play
today. They've been a part of my show business family from the very
beginning of my career. They know that if I
like one of their recordings and if it fits my musical taste for my audience, I'll automatically play it.
They respect me for that. Furthermore, I come from an old school: if I ever
took any type of consideration for playing a record, I would feel obligated
to play something I didn't like. I have never been dictated to by a
program director or told to play anything that I don't think fits my
show. I've always had the freedom to pick and choose what I am
playing for my audience. It's as I've always said: I play my
music from the heart, not a research chart.
Dear Jerry, I'm confused about Bandstand. Was there a show called Bandstand before Dick Clark?
-- Marilee Sue Katz, Ocean City
Dear Marilee, Absolutely. Bandstand was created from a radio show called The 950 Club with Joe Grady and Ed
Hurst, where kids after school would go into a huge studio and dance to the
music that was being broadcast over the air. It was such a hit on radio
that WFIL tried to lure Grady and Hurst to re-create it on television. They
could not get out of their contract, so consequently WFIL picked Bob Horn
and Lee Stewart, who were both local personalities - Bob was a
top-rated disc jockey and Lee was a musician. Unfortunately Lee did not
adapt to TV, and it became Bob Horn's
Bandstand. The show began in 1952 and lasted
with Bob until 1956. When Dick Clark took over, it was still a local show
but then was picked up by the ABC network as a summer filler in the summer
of '56. It was so successful nationally that it became one of the
top-rated afternoon shows on the ABC network. But it all really began with
a radio show.
Got a question for Jerry? Send it to AskTheGeator@acweekly.com. Remember, keep on rocking 'cause you only rock once.
You can hear Jerry Blavat weekdays from 2-4pm on WNJC 1360, 5-7pm on Cruisin' 92.1, 7-9pm on Slammin' Gold Oldies 94.3, and 5-7pm on Fridays for his Musical Encyclopedia on WPEN 950. And you can dance with the Geator at Bubba Mac's in Somers Point Sundays from 4 to 6pm, and at Trump Marina Thursdays from 5 to 7pm, both live on 94.3 FM.
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