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Colt1861Navy

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Colt1861Navy

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Re: Colt1861Navy post# 824

Tuesday, 07/09/2002 6:34:55 PM

Tuesday, July 09, 2002 6:34:55 PM

Post# of 1767
Rock 'n' Roll Artists A-Z...Sha Na Na

http://www.shanana.com/

“Rock’n’roll has nothing to do with a
generation gap any more.
Today, it’s really a generation bridge.”

Donny York, co-founder, Sha Na Na

Sha Na Na may not have invented rock nostalgia, but the group has successfully – very successfully – celebrated the music and the memories for the past three decades…in clubs and in concert, in the movies and on TV, and on record.

Sha Na Na’s story is an all-encompassing one: they were in the original Woodstock Festival lineup, starred in “Grease” (the most successful movie musical), hosted the “Sha Na Na” TV series for four years, and still play more than 100 concerts a year, from state fairs, performing art centers, casino showrooms to mega corporate functions world wide.

And through it all – flower power, hard rock, metal music, disco, hip hop, rap and more – Sha Na Na remains true to the original concept: rock’n’roll is here to stay!

The Sha Na Na story begins oddly for a group that, in appearance, runs the gamut from greaser to gold lame. Attired in turtleneck and blue blazers, the nucleus of Sha Na Na were undergraduate members of The Kingsmen, a glee club ensemble at New York’s Columbia University that used to perform a cappella versions of 50s rock songs as part of the performances.

These proved very popular and eventually rock’n’roll took over, instruments were added and Sha Na Na – the name comes from the 50s Silhouettes’ hit, “Get A Job” – was born.

Heard of Woodstock?

If the original 1969 Woodstock Festival was a defining moment in rock history, it was also a defining moment in the history of Sha Na Na. The group’s appearance – only the seventh in Sha Na Na’s career, followed by the Woodstock album and movie, cemented their reputation and style. “We went on second to last, at sunrise on the final day, but, importantly, just before Jimi Hendrix,” recalls co-founder, drummer Jocko Marcellino. “We did 40 minutes and were paid $300…and the check bounced!”

Sha Na Na was the only group at Woodstock without a record deal. Immediately afterwards, they had one and today the group has released more than 25 albums in total, with worldwide sales of more than 20 million.

TV was another important step for the group…

The group taped 97 episodes of the Sha Na Na music variety shows from 1977 to 1981 that were seen – and still can be – in worldwide syndication. The shows, which featured Sha Na Na’s music, plus the group in comedy skits with special guests, further established the group’s credentials as a part of the landscape of rock’n’roll America.

“Grease: The Movie” became another significant building block in the Sha Na Na story. The group appeared in the 1979 musical, as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers, and contributed to the original music score with six Sha Na Na versions of rock classics and one original song, “Sandy,” co-written by Screamin’ Scott Simon for John Travolta to sing. (Between takes, Travolta also sang a little doo-wop with the group.)

The accompanying “Grease” soundtrack album was a major hit, Grammy-nominated and certified eight times platinum.

And it still makes an impact for Sha Na Na…

Recalls Marcellino: “Whole new generations get swept up in the nostalgia craze, effectively becoming our potential audience.”

“For example, Sha Na Na played the immense Los Angeles County Fair in front of a special audience – 20,000 girl scouts! They were too young to have seen our TV show, but they had seen ‘Grease’ on video. We played a 90-minute set and they knew the words to every song from the movie.”

Working for the past three decades throughout the world – from Carnegie Hall to the Grand Ole Opry, in Asia and in Africa, Paris to London to Tokyo – Sha Na Na has had some interesting unknown performers opening for their shows. Such as: Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Jay Leno!

Live performances remain at the heart of Sha Na Na. Whether it is those girl scouts or their baby boomer parents, the reaction to the group is the same – the discovery of a common joy in the music from a time when part of the world was “greased and ready to
rock.”

More recently…

Sha Na Na starred in a national tour of LEADER OF THE PACK, the Ellie Greenwich Musical which opened at the Thousand Oaks California Performing Arts Center in early 2001. Along with a company of over twenty performers, Sha Na Na played themselves as well as other roles and performed all the music in Ellie Greenwich’s autobiographical journey featuring some of the greatest hits of rock’’n’roll written or co-written by Ellie Greenwich: Da Doo Ron Ron, Be MY Baby, Do Wah Diddy, Baby I Love You, River Deep Mountain High, Chapel Of Love, Hanky Panky and Leader OF The Pack.
Marcellino says, “As a band of musicians, actors, singers and dancers, doing a Broadway musical is a logical progression for us.” Simon adds,” And of course Ellie’s musical legacy is legendary”

Meet the Greasers

Jocko

Jocko, now starting his fourth decade with Sha Na Na, was the first to walk onstage “greased and ready to rock ‘n’ roll” in 1969. That same year, the drummer was the youngest performer at the Woodstock Festival. Jocko and fellow Sha, Donny York hold the distinction of performing in both the most successful documentary ever (Woodstock) and the most successful film musical ever (Grease).
Juggling his schedule around his touring, Jocko nevertheless earned a B.A. from Columbia and a Masters in Drama from New York University.
When not with Sha Na Na, Jocko is an actor, songwriter, screenwriter and “basketball dad.” His acting credits include TV’s “Alley McBeal,” “The Tiger Woods Story,” “NYPD Blue,” “Herman’s Head,” “Good Advice,”,”18 Wheels of Justice”, “The Invisible Man”, ”Amazing Stories,” and the “Gary Shandling Show,” and the motion picture Rainman, for which he wrote and performed songs, as he has for the films, That’s Life and The Night of the Comet. Jocko will appear in the upcoming Martin Lawrence film, National Security
He lives with his family in La Jolla, California.

Screamin’ Scott Simon

Screamin’ Scott Simon has been an integral part of Sha Na Na’s popularity since 1970 as a charismatic performer, multi-instrumentalist musician (from keyboards to guitar and bass) and prolific songwriter. His best-known composition, “Sandy” ,was sung by John Travolta in the hit movie Grease, in which Sha Na Na appeared. Two other songs of his have made the billboard Hot 100, “Top Forty” and “Only One Song” both on the group’s Sha Na Na (Gold Boots) album. Scott also wrote, “Wrestling Tonight,,” performed by Sha Na Na for the 1985 film Grunt, and recorded a solo album on Rolling Rock Records, "Transmissions from Space".
Raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Scott lives in Los Angeles, and can be seen performing at blues clubs throughout the L.A. area, as his alter ego Eddie “Hong Kong” Tailor. He is married and has two daughters in college. (Gulp!)

Donny

A 1971 graduate of Columbia, where he co-founded Sha Na Na. Donny penned a song on an early road tour, urging establishment of a “Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.” He later performed the song on Sha Na Na’s hit TV series. Finally, his prophecy came true with the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 1995.
These days, Donny lives an hour north of Los Angles with his wife, kids, and horses and often provides animals for film and video productions. He’s also on the faculty of the Vocal Power Institute, teaching singers from around Los Angeles, and he’s also a substitute teacher in his local school system. His students aren’t dazzled with who or where this square grown-up has been until he tells them he performed at Woodstock. Says Donny, “ Rock ‘n’ Roll has nothing to do with a generation gap anymore. Nowadays, it’s really a generation bridge.”

Reggie

A native Chicagoan, Reggie Battise started out in the fine arts, attending the school of the Art Institute of Chicago, before including the performing arts in his repertoire. At age 20, he was a local TV celebrity, hosting “Dancing with Robyn and Reggie.” Later, he toured as a member of the rock band, “The Bus Boys.” He also sang in “Porgy and Bess” with the Houston Grand Opera in Paris and on “Fantastico,” the #1 TV variety show in Rome, singing R&B in three languages.
Reggie choreographed Billy Crystal’s “You Look Mahvelous” video; sang on the soundtrack to the Civil War film Glory; appeared in “Moonlighting” with Bruce Willis and in commercials for Coca Cola, Pepsi and McDonald’s; and worked with Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Reggie was a principal dancer in Stayin’ Alive with John Travolta, and was both actor and script consultant for, White Men Can’t Jump. These days , between gigs with Sha Na Na, Reggie designs and builds avant-garde furniture.

Jim

Jim “Billy” Waldbilllig is Sha Na Na’s "Rockabilly Romeo". Though Jim is a man of few words, he’s always ready to rock. Jim, originally a guitarist, is primarily the authentic bass guitar player onstage and, on most nights, is very proud of his hair. He is also a skilled carpenter and building contractor. Jim recently built his own vacation dream home on the shores of Bass Lake in Sandstone, Minnesota.

Rob

Rob Mackenzie, Sha Na Na’s lead guitarist, first attained national attention in his homeland of Australia. In the 1960’s, he helped pioneer the introduction of surf guitar, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and his original music to the land down under.
During the 70’s Rob moved to Europe to broaden his musical horizons, then in the 80’s gravitated to LA becoming a respected session player.
Along the way, people have hired Rob for eclectic pop, blues, jazz, several ethnic and rock ‘n’ roll acts including Peter Gabriel, TV shows, commercials, and movie soundtracks. Also he loves playing his guitar music whenever possible.
Rob has become a great musical addition to Sha Na Na.

Frankie

The fortyish “ teen idol “ of the group began perfecting his pompadour back in the 70’s in the “Happy Days” town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played with the premier oldies act “Rocket 88 “ for many years. He moved onto play in a variety of other vintage show bands greasing and sliding on stages across the country.
Frank has a bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar, and is a black belt / National Champion in full contact Karate. Frankie currently resides in Northern California, where he continues to passionately study voice, sax, and a variety of other instruments.

Paulie

Originally from the Bronx, New York, drummer Paul Kimbarow now lives in San Diego where he is one of the most sought after musicians in the area. With his diverse musical background he has backed up a myriad of artists including A.J. Croce, the Ventures, Angela Bofill, Robin Henkel, Chuck Berry, Ashford and Simpson, the Platters and now Sha Na Na .

Discography

http://www.shanana.com/disks.htm

Photos

http://www.shanana.com/photos.htm

Frequently Asked questions

http://www.shanana.com/faq.htm



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