#171 – A Summer Song by Chad & Jeremy
– Being a Classic Rocker is not always an exact science. Especially when the archeological dig through our minds lack video or photographic evidence from the world of pop and rock, which was once considered disposable.
If you’re not familiar with what I’m alluding to, the eras of what we consider now as pop culture during the 1950s and ’60s were thought to be nothing more than a passing fad. Many live television shows were just that – live for that moment and then gone forever. Television studios could save money by taping shows in advance of airing and then reuse that same film for the next broadcast. So a lot of what we might remember exists only in our memories.
We’re lucky when a program like The Ed Sullivan Show was a national hit, filmed for airing in all time zones and saved for later repeats. Otherwise, we might not even have these performances by Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many others from the ’50s and ’60s to watch again and again.
This is the dilemma I faced when trying to find exact information, including video and photographic evidence, of my personal television debut. And that’s frustrating because I think of it as a worthy (personal) pop culture moment since it happened in a Dick Clark Production with Chad & Jeremy.
So to begin this archaeological dig through my mind…
Chad & Jeremy were always one of my favorite British Invasion acts on the (Cuban) heels of the Beatles kicking things off in early 1964. I’ve mentioned in earlier Classic Rockers that as a preteen I didn’t have the funds to splurge on every great record that hit the charts, so after spending on the Beatles’ latest I had to be selective. One I couldn’t resist was the duo’s Yesterday’s Gone. I loved it then and still do.
Jeremy & Chad with Laura Petrie
Though the Beatles and other groups might have been more selective on what television shows they appeared on, Chad & Jeremy seemed more accessible. Along with the usual must watch television variety shows like Ed Sullivan, Hullabaloo and Shindig, they guest-starred (with speaking roles) on The Patty Duke Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
So yeah, I knew who these guys were. I didn’t confuse them with Peter and Gordon, like some of the other kids had an annoying habit of doing.
The summer of 1966 was huge for me. I turned thirteen in June – finally a teenager – the music was great and I earned enough money in my parents’ bakery to have a decent record collection. I also went to my first concert, which was The Beatles at Cleveland Stadium.
Like I said… huge.
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But also being a teenager meant having more freedom than when I was just a “kid.” Now, this is where it morphs into not being an exact science, but sometime in either July or August I was allowed to spend a week living on my cousin’s boat at the popular amusement park, Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio. You might know it now as America’s Roller Coast for it’s outlandish collection of HUGE roller coasters and other thrill rides, and to us in the 1960’s it had that same reputation. It was one of the coolest places on earth to a thirteen year old and I would be staying there with my fifteen year old cousin John with nothing more to do than ride rides, swim on the beach (where we learned to surf on wooden “pizza boards”) and roam around with no parental supervision.
Like I said… cool.
The place to be!
One of our favorite rides at that time was the go-cart track. This was very different than you might be picturing during an immediate archaeological dig through your mind. There were no loud gas-powered motors. The track was a large oval with raised curves and electrical strips imbedded into the track. The go-carts had connectors (brushes) underneath and were powered by electricity. When the guy running the ride switched on the power, we’d race around the track using the cart’s accelerator and (sometimes) the brake. When the power was turned off, that’s where we stopped.
It was a popular ride and always had a line of wannabe racers. Since John and I were living on the boat docked in the park’s marina, we’d run in as soon as the gates opened so we could race around at least a few times before it became too crowded. We followed our plan that morning and though we weren’t first in line, we were pretty close.
It was a nice day, sun was out and the sky was blue. The ride was right next to the beach, which I’ve always considered to be one of the nicest beaches on Lake Erie and we could watch boats and people swimming while we waited.
I mentioned the sun and blue sky because if you were going to film anything there really wouldn’t be a need for “studio lighting.” I’m not sure when I noticed there were television cameras set up alongside the track but being a typical thirteen year old I was more concerned about when we would get on the ride. I also remember we waiting a bit longer than what should have been “opening” time. But since we had a good place in line we weren’t about to leave.
Sort of like this – but not really.
Then a guy who seemed to be in charge of the ride asked, “Who wants to ride go-carts?” Before I knew it, John had grabbed my arm and raised it up in the air with his. Obviously he had been paying better attention than me. We were both selected along with about six or eight others and were let in to choose our go-carts.
We drove around for awhile, stopping when the power was shut off and then starting again. After a bit we were told this would be filmed for a television special and before it had a chance to sink in, Chad & Jeremy walked in through the exit gate and sat in two empty go-carts.
Yeah… very cool.
The kids left watching from the sides of the track looked pretty excited as we drove go-carts with Chad & Jeremy for about an hour (if I remember correctly) while the cameras filmed us. At one point we were stopped and I was next to Chad (if I remember correctly). With all my thirteen year old British Invasion inspiration and some unfounded need to sound English, I looked at him and said, “Hullo.”
Yeah… not very cool. At least he answered, “Hello.”
That was cool.
After they had enough film, we ended our marathon go-cart ride. The cameras were moved to the beach and Chad and Jeremy lip-synced a song. This is where video would help. I’ve always thought they sang A Summer Song, but my memory might have been influenced by the time of year. After some online research I learned they were heavily promoting their latest song Distant Shores at that time in 1966 so it might be that one instead.
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But going through my waking mind on September 1st was A Summer Song, which is what stirred this archeological mind dig in the first place. Being a C&J fan of course I own a copy and had just heard it, so it goes into the recent memory category of Dream Songs.
After the excitement of riding go-carts for television cameras, John and I found out Dick Clark Productions was at Cedar Point filming a television special. A lot of different areas were blocked off, but we found out – and saw on television a couple months later – that Paul Revere and The Raiders performed Hungry at the Pirate Ride and The Vogues lip-synced Five O’Clock World while riding in a golf cart along the Cedar Point midway.
Again… very cool.
Dick Clark bringing the action!
I don’t remember the name of the special, but I’m sure it was connected to one of Clark’s programs either American Bandstand or Where The Action Is. It was airing during fall 1966 and we watched, knowing it would be pretty exciting to see ourselves on television. An all too brief go-cart sequence (in black and white) was shown at the very beginning of the special announcing that Chad & Jeremy were featured artists. During this opening segment I remember seeing my cousin John zip by and just as my go-cart came onto the screen…
You could see me only from the neck down.
It was my national television debut, so it was still pretty cool.
But it could have been cooler.
As I said at the beginning of this rambling adventure, a lot of video from the 1960s has been lost and apparently this is one of them. Over the years I’ve occasionally been inspired to search online for any written record, video footage or photos from this Dick Clark Special and have found almost nothing. At one point there was a glimpse of hope when I found a title and air date, but never made a note of it. In other words, this slight bit of information has been lost to memory and I wasn’t able to dig it up again for this version of The Classic Rocker.
Yesterday’s gone, but C&J still cool
About five or six years ago during one of these inspired searches, I somehow found an online contact for Chad & Jeremy. Don’t ask me how, but it might have had something to do with an upcoming appearance they were making at a Beatles fan conference. Since I have written a couple books on the Beatles and been a guest author at a few of these events, maybe that’s how this connection was made.
The contact answered my query and thought it was an interesting story. He said he would ask Chad & Jeremy if they remembered anything about this and get back with me.
Yeah… okay…
But a few days later I was surprised when I received an email from this contact. He said he’d had the chance to ask. One or both said they had a memory of driving go-carts for a television special and… Well, that’s it. They had no photos, video or anything more than I did – which is a memory that’s still pretty vivid even though it took a deep archeological dig into my mind to find it.
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Please use the form below – and keep rockin’!
At least I didn’t have to dig too far to find of video of Chad & Jeremy performing Summer Song.
And to make it very cool – the duo is introduced by Dick Cark.
To purchase The Very Best of Chad & Jeremy with A Summer Song visit Amazon.com
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Dave Schwensen is The Classic Rocker and author of The Beatles At Shea Stadium and The Beatles In Cleveland. Visit Dave’s author page on Amazon.com.
Copyright 2018 – North Shore Publishing
– Okay, I know 10cc is a band from England. Since I just had to look up that last gem of knowledge online, I also know sometimes there were four guys in the band and sometimes there were only two. One of them (Eric Stewart) was an original member of Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders and scored a number one hit in 1965 with Game Of Love. After Wayne split the scene, his backing group released their own hit Groovy Kind Of Love in 1966.
– I find celebrity sightings to be more credible in major cities than I do in… well, say my backyard. I could tell you I partied with The Rolling Stones last night, but it only means I sipped a light beer while listening to Honky Tonk Women. I doubt anyone would believe Mick or Keith – or even Mick Taylor – would have wandered by and accepted my invitation for a cocktail.
– If you were a Boomer in 1982 and involved in any type of romantic relationship, it’s almost impossible to separate this song from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman. The grand finale when Richard Gere walks into the factory wearing his Navy whites and sweeps Debra Winger off her feet is still a highlight in the drama/romance genre and the movie soundtrack played an instrumental version of this song as it was all coming down.
– I’d say there’s about a fifty-fifty chance I heard the word “Stop!” during a concert by The Supremes. The problem was that it wasn’t followed by, “In the name of love.” More likely it was, “Where do you think you’re going?”
