LOUDON WAINRIGHT. “Carrickfergus” From Boardwalk Empire
Archive for the ‘Blogfinger News’ Category
Century plant at the edge of the Pacific
Posted in Blogfinger News, tagged Century plant by the Pacific, MUSIC: Carrickfergus by Loudon Wainright on July 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
OG lifestyles: A happy August Saturday in the Grove… c. 2013.
Posted in Blogfinger News, Ocean Grove photographs, tagged Happy day in the Grove on July 14, 2023| 2 Comments »
Main Avenue. Ocean Grove, NJ. Paul Goldfinger photos.
It was a perfect summer day, and the Grove was jumping. The beach was beautiful, and downtown was really busy. Kids were buzzing around on skateboards and scooters. It seemed like everybody was happy and wanting to talk to each other.
It took us an hour to walk from Cheese on Main back up to Delaware. We had free samples of hard salami, Gouda cheese and salt watermelon jelly. Then we made our way back on Main, stopping every block or so to talk to somebody. We spoke to Sue, Carl, Fran, Nick, Arty, Charlotte, Kathleen and Ray.
Main Avenue. Ocean Grove, NJ
They say that Ocean Grove has a porch culture, but the friendliness extends beyond the porches. It spills into the parks, the shops, the beachfront and on the sidewalks.
Ocean Grove was a happening place today. It keeps getting better and better. —Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger
FRANK SINATRA:
Tuscany, Italy
Posted in Blogfinger News, Music from the movies, Photographic Gallery, Black and White, tagged Italy photograph, Tuscany on July 3, 2023| 1 Comment »
Chianti vineyards. By Paul Goldfinger. Click image for full view.
CLINT EASTWOOD. “Doe Eyes”—The love theme from the Bridges of Madison County”— album version.
Bridging the gap between OG and A. Park. Part II: Locking the gates across Wesley Lake. Note: 50 comments in 2013.
Posted in Blogfinger News, tagged Locking the bridges across Wesley Lake on June 26, 2023| 53 Comments »
New Jersey Ave bridge seen from the OG side. April, 2013. PG photo. Left click for full view.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
This 2013 piece brought 50 comments.
Every night at midnight, the NTPD locks the gates on the OG side of those two bridges. At 5:00 a.m. the gates are opened. This policy has been in effect since 1995 and was initiated by Neptune Township as a method to stop high crime rates on the bridge and on both sides of the bridge. Many of those crimes were happening in the late evening and early morning hours. The police tried foot patrols, a police substation by the bridge, covert ops and decoys, but despite some arrests, the problems continued.
The top priority for the NTPD was to do the right thing from a public safety perspective. Soon after the gates/locks idea was implemented, there was, according to NTPD Chief Robert Adams, a “dramatic impact” on crime in that location, on both sides of the bridges.
The Lock
In 1995 some individuals complained about the idea,* especially from the AP side, who viewed the locks as keeping Asbury Park citizens out. Others said that the purpose of the gates was to prevent criminals from quickly escaping the Grove, but Chief Adams says that cutting off escapes was not the main mechanism.
Instead the benefit came mostly from reducing the number of criminals hanging around in those locations, something that would help both communities. In recent years, the police have received no complaints about the bridge closures.
Chief Adams says that his department is “constantly re-evaluating” all its policies . However, at this time, he believes that vast number of Grovers support the continued implementation of the bridge closures and he continues to place “public safety” as the main focus for police work in Neptune Township and specifically in Ocean Grove.
* Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 12, 1995 link. From Jamie of Ocean Grove: 1995 newspaper article link
Editor’s Note: If you wish to comment on this topic, please tell us which side of the lake you live on. I think your comments will have more credibility if you do, especially if you say your name, but neither is required. —Paul
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL
Sweet Lorraine: “A pair of eyes that are brighter than the summer skies”
Posted in Blogfinger News, Music from the movies, Theatre and movie reviews, tagged Sweet Lorraine, Tin Men by Barry Levinson on May 23, 2023| 9 Comments »
By Paul Goldfinger MD, Editor @ Blogfinger.net. Re-posted.
Barry Levinson (b. 1942) is a film director known for his work featuring the city of Baltimore. I’ve always loved his movies, especially “Diner” and “Avalon. ” He also directed “Good Morning Vietnam” and “Rain Man.”
In 1987 he made the third in his Baltimore series—“Tin Men” starring Danny DeVito (a Jersey guy born in Neptune Township,) Richard Dreyfuss, and Barbara Hershey.
Danny DeVito on the Asbury beach July 29, 2002 during the Springsteen launch of “The Rising.” Paul Goldfinger photo. © Blogfinger.net
The film, set in 1962, is about the con-men who sell aluminum siding door-to-door in Baltimore. The characters and dialogue are wonderful including several scenes with the guys sitting in a diner discussing television, gambling, women, money and their adventures as tin men. It features a soundtrack from the 1960’s including our song below by the Nat King Cole Trio, recorded in 1940.
“Sweet Lorraine” is a jazz classic written in 1928. There have been several hit versions, and the Cole Trio rendition is the one featured in “Tin Men.”
Here it is:
I think that “Sweet Lorraine” is one of the best musical tributes written as a paean to a woman with a particular name. I found a list of 200 songs that contain a woman’s name in the title. These are the ones that have Sweet——: Lorraine, Mary, Melissa, Annette, Caroline, Virginia and Adeline.
But here is my list of favorite songs with a woman’s name in the title: (feel free to add your favorites:)
1. Judy is a Punk
2. Jennie From the Block
3. Wake Up Little Susie
4. Song for Myla Goldberg
5. Patricia the Stripper
6. Help Me Rhonda
7. Long Tall Sally
8. Lonesome Suzie
9. Christine Sixteen
10. Believe Me, Natalie
11.Run Around Sue
12. Donna and Blitzen
13. Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter
14. And finally my favorite: Don’t Walk Away Eileen
Modern OG history: Gathering crowd in the Great Auditorium. “Sh-boom, Sh-boom” 10 years ago.
Posted in Blogfinger News, Great Auditorium Musical Event, tagged Sh-boom, The Chords, Wide angle photo of the Great Auditorium on May 21, 2023| 1 Comment »
The Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove. September 7, 2013. Doo Wops concert. CLICK IMAGE for a thrill. Paul Goldfinger photo ©
Paul Goldfinger Editor. Blogfinger.net. 5/23.
In 1954, an R & B group called the “Chords” wrote this song and were the first to record it. ” Sh-Boom” became the first Doo Wop song to make it to the top rung of the “pop chart.” That same year, the “Crew Cuts” made a more sanitized version which became a hit.
This song and “Earth Angel” were the first rock and roll songs I ever heard. This music changed my life and that of all my friends at Rutherford High School where we all had crew cuts and thought about sex every 20 seconds.
We did, however, find time to see “Blackboard Jungle” (1955) and to hear the soundtrack by Bill Haley and the Comets who performed “Rock Around the Clock” (first recorded in 1954). It became a massive hit with the arrival of that film.
At the Doo Wops concert on Sept. 7, 2013, in the GA, the Duprees performed “Sh-boom.” It was the only actual Doo-Wop selection in their set. Mostly they offered a Vegas style show. —-
Here is a re-mastered (2007) recording of the Chords’ version, from an album called “Atlantic Top 60:”
OG modern history: Ocean Grove landmark appears in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” 2013.
Posted in Blogfinger Movie Review, Blogfinger Music Department, Blogfinger News, Music from TV, tagged Albatross Hotel appears in Boardwalk Empire, Ocean Grove appears in "Boardwalk Empire." on May 17, 2023| 7 Comments »
Boardwalk Empire: A 1920’s Atlantic City nightclub. HBO photo
Boardwalk Empire. A young Al Capone (center) and his two brothers are busy creating the family business, out of Chicago. It’s good I spell his name correctly, because in this episode, Capone makes a personal visit to a newsman who got the spelling wrong. HBO photoBy Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
Ocean Grove and its buildings have appeared in a number of movies including Woody Allen’s “Stardust Memories” (1980) and “According to Greta” with Hillary Duff (filmed in 2007). Except for Greta, Ocean Grove has appeared because of it’s unique seaside appearance rather than because it is Ocean Grove. In Stardust Memories, the town was presented as a generic seaside resort, and the Great Auditorium became the Stardust Hotel. In Greta, the town actually was portrayed as OG.
Which brings me to the opening episode of Boardwalk Empire’s 4th hit season on HBO. This multi-award winning series is film-making at its best. Set in 1920’s Atlantic City, during Prohibition, it is about Nucky Thompson, a gangster who struggles to maintain his hold on the booze trafficking into New Jersey. As many of you know, we at BF are big fans of the production including its music, and we often post songs by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, the Grammy winning group that provides much of the music.
Last Sunday it began again with its usual precise and georgeous portrayal of an era and a place. The costumes and the settings are magnificent. The plots are fascinating.
Now it is 1924, and Nucky has carved out his territory which is from Cape May up to Asbury Park and west to Trenton. He is having trouble with rival gangsters from New York and Chicago, and his marriage has failed. Now he is living in a fancy suite in an Atlantic City hotel.
Late in the episode he steps onto the porch to get some sea air, and this is what we see:
TV photo. HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, season 4, episode 1. Sept. 8, 2013. This scene is set in Atlantic City. On the porch is Nucky Thompson (foreground) and his personal assistant. Paul Goldfinger still photo from the TV series.The setting is Atlantic City, but that sure looks like our Albatross Hotel. So I went over to Ocean Pathway to compare, and, as you see, the look is very close—too close to deny. Inside, owner Bill Reilly decided to let the cat out of the bag.
A crew from HBO showed up a couple of months ago. They thought that our Albatross looked like a 1924 seaside hotel. So they took photos and measurements inside and out, and then, somehow, with some modifications, re-created our Albatross in Atlantic City.
The Albatross in Ocean Grove, Sept. 13, 2013. Paul Goldfinger photo.So once again, OG is shown in a successful film production, but this portrayal is unique because the hotel exterior scene in this episode was not actually filmed in the Grove.
Considering the sex scenes, the booze, the violence and the chorus girls (and the current absence of a boardwalk in the Grove) it is amazing that a part of OG has actually found its way into this production, especially one ironically called “Boardwalk Empire.” But that did happen, and maybe more scenes of the Albatross will show up later.
VINCE GIORDANO AND THE NIGHTHAWKS, From the original soundtrack of Boardwalk Empire: “Margie” Their soundtrack recording won a Grammy. Vince appears regularly in New York City.
STEPHEN DeROSA as Eddie Cantor with a tune from Boardwalk Empire:
Modern OG history: Doo Wops in Ocean Grove. Are they permanently banned? Re-post from 2013 and a 2023 update.
Posted in Blogfinger News, Great Auditorium Musical Event, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association Activity, tagged Doo Wops in Ocean Grove, Doo Wops still kicking, Kenny Vance, Shirley Alston Reeves, The Duprees on April 30, 2023| 4 Comments »
Pat Brenan of Neptune has been attending every Planotone concert for thirty years, dressed as Kenny and his guys do. Paul Goldfinger photo 9/7/13. Ocean Grove, NJ. Great Auditorium.
By Paul Goldfinger, who wrote the Book of Love, and Editor of Blogfinger.net
2013: The official count for last night’s Doo Wops concert was 2,700, but it sure looked like more than that—downstairs practically all seats occupied, and the balcony seats about 1/3 full. The crowd was wide awake, alive and well. We lost count of the standing O’s, whistles, shouts and applause.
Each of the three performing groups thanked the audience for helping to keep a musical era alive—an era of nostalgic, romantic and understandable music. This was music that you could dance slow with, under low twinkling lights in gyms decorated with crepe paper.
That music, in OG last night, clearly was attracting some people who were born after the actual Doo Wop times of 1950’s going into the ’60’s when it helped form the basis for rock and roll.
The Beatles found inspiration in performers including Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Drifters and many others.
Last night, the show opened with the Duprees–not my idea of a Doo Wop act now, but they are polished performers. The Duprees have had many hits during their 50 year history (1962-2012) and they do put on a musically excellent show, and they are an example of a traditional group that has modernized their act. Unfortunately the loudness of their presentation sometimes made the music a bit muddy. The personnel of this group has changed many times over the years. The current group are all fine singers.
The Duprees are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a new album. (2012), and I did like their rendition last night of the Bobby Darin hit “Beyond the Sea” from that album.
THE DUPREES, from their 50th anniversary album with “Behind the Sea.”
When the CMA decided to end secular performances in the GA, we were already seeing modernizing of the doowop music. Some groups brought in female voices to replace wobbly falsettos of the old timers, many of whom were ready for a bed at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.
And, the CMA has recently re-done their sound system—-thank goodness.
KENNY VANCE has had a long career dating back to the fifties. He is now 79 years old and was a yearly favorite in the Great Auditorium. But he has modernized his performances as evidenced by his album. (2017) Lost and Found—Archives volume I. His version of “Tears on My Pillow” shows how this music can be made alive again, and he has a volume II as well. I wish he could be seen live again in Ocean Grove.
—Paul Goldfinger, Music Editor @Blogfinger.net
Modern OG history: Harry Eichhorn and the OG Summer Band hit a Sousa home-run on July 3, 2012.
Posted in Blogfinger News on April 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A large audience attended the event in the Great Auditorium including Eddie (left) and Karen from OG, and Ernie and Ronni from Edison. Paul Goldfinger photo. July 3, 2012. Blogfinger.net.
Blogfinger has posted a number of articles about this unique musician: Harry Eichhorn (1927-2019.) The post (below) is from 2012. Note that his wife Mary, mentioned in this article, pre-deceased him.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net
Harry Eichhorn and the Ocean Grove Summer Band performed in the Great Auditorium on July 3, 2012. Harry, who founded the group 60 years ago and who has been its conductor all that time, brought a varied program to the GA on Tuesday night. There was something for everyone including Irving Berlin, Tchaikovsky, The Jersey Boys and John Phillip Sousa.
Harry is a musical multi-tasker. One of the selections featured snippets from at least 30 different songs.
Another consisted of a medley of songs from the Music Man. One of those was “Till There was You,” probably a tribute to Mrs. Eichhorn who plays baritone horn and sits along the edge of the brass section. Intermittently she would jump up from her seat and rush over to the organ or the piano. Harry owes her—she’s like a utility infielder for the band.
The tradition of keeping Sousa’s music alive in Ocean Grove was repeated at this concert. The first act ended with the “Washington Post March,” while the show closed with the “Stars and Stripes Forever.” My favorite part of Stars and Stripes is towards the end when the piccolos get to shine. Wouldn’t it be great if this wonderful march could start with the piccolos? Well that’s what we would do in the Blogfinger version.
In this video, the GA sound quality is sub-optimal recorded with an iPhone, but you can get an idea as to a classic Summer Band concert in the GA playing Sousa. At the point where everyone stands up, the video became tangled due to a collision with the guy in the next seat, a senior veteran who said, “Get that iPhone out my face sonny.”
But the big finish is always a goose bumper with the flag lit up and everyone clapping. A nice conclusion to a gorgeous beach day in the Grove. —Paul Goldfinger
Casino in Transition 2013
Posted in Asbury connection with Ocean Grove, Blogfinger News, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photography at The Jersey Shore, Photography in Asbury Park, tagged Asbury Park at night, Asbury Park Casino on April 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Boardwalk Casino, Asbury Park, as seen from the Ocean Grove side, 2013. By Paul Goldfinger. Click to enlarge
The name Casino conjures up life in 1950’s Havana.
This song is from the Casino Life album featuring Don Azplazo and the Havana Casino Orchestra with “Amor Sincero” (True Love)
Garden at the Tali Essen Morgan house.
Posted in Blogfinger News on March 8, 2023| 1 Comment »
Ocean Grove, NJ. By Paul Goldfinger. © October, 2013.
ASTRUD GILBERTO: “It Might As Well Be Spring:” from the album Astrud For Lovers. Of course, it’s Stan Getz on tenor sax—unforgettable.
Chester Township Pastoral
Posted in Blogfinger News, tagged Sleigh ride with Diana Krall on February 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Chester Township, New Jersey. By Paul Goldfinger. 2012.
SOUNDTRACK: Diana Krall from her Christmas album. Diana appeared last summer (2012) in the Great Auditorium –a rare performance there by a jazz artist. Let’s hope for more. — Paul Goldfinger
Blogfinger has received visitors from 153 countries, around the world, in the last 365 days.
Posted in Blogfinger News, tagged Visitors to BF from around the world, What's a shtarker on February 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
We had 87 visitors from Israel, so since it’s Passover, here’s a tune that you might recognize if you have ever attended a bar mitzvah or a Jewish wedding. You can get up and dance a hora–you join hands and go round and round in a circle. Not very good if you suffer from motion sickness as I do. Or you can let some shtarkers* carry you around in a chair–a fairly terrifying experience.
* shtarker: a Yiddish word for a strong person, usually a male. I used to be a shtarker who could help carry the bride around, but now I sit at my table and nurse a scotch and water while checking out the dancers. Here is Hava Nagila. (which means “Let’s rejoice” which is what my people like to do–which is good to do after 4,000 years of ups and downs.) —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.