If — like me — you spent your formative years growing up at the Jersey Shore in the 1960s, you probably remember hot summer evenings hanging out with your friends listening to 77 WABC-AM radio’s premiere DJ, Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow, introducing the latest hits by groups like Herman’s Hermits and Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
If so, you’d understand just how thrilling it is for this kid from the Jersey Shore — now a grown-up — to be at the PNC Bank Arts Center this past hot summer September 9, 2016 evening seeing Cousin Brucie — currently of Sirius XM radio — introducing the classic hits of Herman’s Hermits and Gary Lewis & The Playboys LIVE! and IN PERSON to an audience of 10,000+ NJ music lovers!
The concert — free to NJ residents of all ages — was sponsored by the Garden State Arts Foundation. Since 1984, the GSAF has provided free programs for senior citizens, families, and children at the PNC Bank Arts Center and at other locations throughout New Jersey.
According to Ronald Gravino, Vice President of GSAF’s Board of Trustees, “no federal, state, local, or Garden State Parkway toll money” is used to fund any GSAF presentations. Rather, the programs are presented by donations from such long-time GSAF partners as PNC Bank, Live Nation, Serius XM ’60s on 6 radio, WOLD Oldies 1079 radio, Sills Cummins and Gross, and the Hon. Jerold Zaro, in addition to support from new partners including The Two River Times, the Hon. Jerry Langer, The Hovnanian Foundation, NJ Resources, First Energy, and Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., along with contributions from the general public.
At 7pm, before the stars come out, the audience — a mix of young and old — is treated to a performance by The Stone Bullets, a talented group of teens from the Jersey Shore. Despite their young ages, these boys from Middletown and Shrewsbury have a wealth of experience having already played the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park and, also, performing as a warm-up act at the PNC Arts Center for Tommy James & The Shondells.
Following an electric version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” played by guitarist Max Kyrillos, a high school junior, the Stone Bullets open the show with a rockin’ version of Tommy James’ classic, “Mony Mony.”
With Steve Ansell on bass, Mikey Pianoforte on drums, and Charlie Weisman on vocals, Kyrillos and The Stone Bullets put on an energetic presentation of tunes featuring everything from their own original songs to such classic rockers as Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?,” and the Rolling Stone’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
Perhaps the highlight of the young group’s performance, however, is the boys’ take on Stevie Wonder’s great Motown hit, “Superstition,” featuring a light-’em-up guitar solo by the group’s guitarist, Kyrillos.
Having played together for 4–5 years now, the group originally came together at Red Bank, NJ’s Musician’s Studio. Although most kids their ages tend to perform cover versions of more contemporary tunes, Kyrillos reveals why this group draws on classic 50s, 60s, and 70s hits as part of the Stone Bullets repertoire saying, “We were born in the wrong time.” “This music just sounds right to me,” explains Kyrillos, going on to add, “I often think I should have been born in 1950.”
After a short intermission, as the clock begins to strike 8pm, the crowd starts to chant, eager for Cousin Brucie to appear. And looking forever young in his suit and tie, despite the heat, Cousin Brucie — Bruce Morrow — enters the stage by way of the audience’s main aisle, high-fiving and shaking hands like a long-lost cousin one hasn’t seen in years!
“I’ve never seen so many sweaty people,” says Morrow, 8o. “Can you believe there are 10–15,000 people here sweating together in this wonderful temple of Rock ‘n Roll?”
After chatting it up with his fans, Morrow introduces Gary Lewis, describing him as an entertainer who has sold 45 million records and who was names Cash Box Magazine’s 1965 Male Vocalist of the Year. He then singles Lewis out by saying he’s the only 1960’s era recording artist other than The Lovin’ Spoonful to have his first seven hits go straight to Billboard’s Top 10. Lastly, Morrow also goes on to reveal that Gary got the name for his group, The Playboys, because the guys in his band always arrived late for rehearsal.
Opening the show by saying, “We’re gonna bring back good memories for you,” Gary Lewis & The Playboys open their portion of the show with a rollicking version of a song dedicated to one of the most-visited amusement parks in the United States in the 1960s— New Jersey’s very own “Palisades Park.”
Going on to perform their 1965 hit which bulleted to #2 on the charts, Gary & The Playboys perform the infectious “Count Me In,” and follow that up with another 1965 #2 smash, the nostalgic “Save Your Heart For Me.”
Next, the group rocks the PNC Arts Center with the crazy dance tune, “Barefootin,’” with Gary’s keyboardist doing the 60’s dance “the Freddie” while encouraging audience members to clap their hands over their heads.
Following that up with their 1966 #8 nod to summer, “Green Grass,” Lewis and the boys perform a rousing cover version of Van Morrison’s 1967 smash, “Brown Eyed Girl.” When Gary croons, “Do you remember when… we used to sing…?,” the crowd remembers and joyfully joins him in singing along on the ubiquitous “Sha-la-la la-la-la-la la-la la-la te-da” lyric.
Moving on his 1965 chart-topper — which he proudly reveals “kicked the Beatles out of the #1 spot!” — Lewis and the band perform a dynamic rendition of “This Diamond Ring.” They follow that up with tunes like 1966’s “Sure Gonna Miss Her” and Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs’ 1966 hit, “Wooly Bully,” the crowd singing along and cheering for guitarist Mike Goldstone following his solo and yet again at the end of the song.
Next up is 1965’s #4 hit — a song written by Lewis along with well-known music producer, Snuff Garrett, and 1970s-era singer/songwriter Leon Russell, “Everybody Loves A Clown.” Following enthusiastic applause, Gary and the boys sing their version of their 1967 Top 20 remake of the Brian Hyland 1960s’ hit, “Sealed With a Kiss,” the crowd joining in on the singing.
Ending their portion of the show with a bang, Gary and group perform another tune Lewis wrote with Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell — 1966’s Beach Boys-influenced #3 hit, “She’s Just My Style.”
Taking bows to a standing ovation, Lewis makes a pledge to the crowd promising, “Rock ‘n roll will never die!”
Backstage during intermission, Lewis talks about how it feels to be back in the area performing for a Jersey crowd saying, “I was born in Manhattan but I lived in Newark from 1945 until 1947. At that point, my father met his partner, Dean Martin, and then we moved to California.” Making a point to note that his famous dad, Jerry Lewis, was from Irvington, NJ, Lewis goes on to add, smiling, “I always feel a special connection to the New York/New Jersey area whenever I come back.”
After intermission, Cousin Brucie arrives back on stage and proceeds to take a selfie with the audience to post on his Facebook page. Announcing to the crowd, “In 1961, Peter Noone was a 15-year-old who captured the British sound of rock ‘n roll and also, the American sound,” he proudly introduces Herman’s Hermits starring vocalist Peter Noone.
Fans in the crowd begin to wave British flags in addition to blue and red glow sticks. As the band members enter the stage clapping — all the while enticing the crowd to clap along with them — the back curtain opens to reveal a huge Union Jack proclaiming “Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone.”
Noone enters the stage to tremendous applause singing his 1964 Gerry Goffin-Carole King-penned Top 20 hit, “Something Tells Me I’m Into Something Good.”
The crowd joyfully clapping along, Noone and the group segue into his 1965 #4 hit — a remake of Sam Cooke’s 1960 tune — “Wonderful World.” As he sings, Noone walks along the perimeter of the stage to shake hands with members of the smiling crowd while guitarist, Vance Brescia, and bassist/keyboardist, Rich Spina, dance and twirl with their instruments.
Following a rockin’ cover version of the Clovers’ 1959 Leiber/Stoller hit, “Love Potion No. 9,” Noone does a bit of comedy telling the elated crowd that when he and the rest of Herman’s Hermits were young boys they “dreamed of playing the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ” near such magical places as “Middletown” and “Keansburg.”
And following a boot-scootin’ sing-along version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Noone and the band perform a spirited rendition of Frankie Ford’s 1959 hit, “Sea Cruise.” Then, they bring huge smiles to the faces of many in the crowd when they entertain them with a jaunty version of Herman’s Hermits’ own 1966 Top 5 hit, “Dandy.”
A fan in the audience gets Noone’s attention and hands him a classic Herman’s Hermits’ album cover featuring a photo of Peter as a teenager captured from an appearance of his on TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show.
With the photograph covering his entire face, Noone walks around the stage singing his 1966 Top Ten hit, “Leaning on the Lamp Post,” making the audience belly laugh. Then, he ramps things up even further by strutting around the stage imitating the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger performing “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
His hair flowing, Noone, 68, goes on to sing his 1965 Top 5 remake of The Rays’ hit, “Silhouettes.” As he croons, members of the audience take out their mobile phones and make them glow as they sway to the music.
Next, Noone’s beautiful falsetto voice and power performance get the crowd applauding as he performs his 1966 #3 smash, “Listen People,” particularly each time he repeats the wistful lyric, “Everybody’s got to love somebody sometime.”
Following a lovely cover version of Gerry & The Pacemakers’ 1964 hit, “Ferry Cross the Mercy” — where he purposely changes the lyrics to “Ferry Cross New Jersey” — Noone and the Hermits perfom an energetic rendition of the Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich-penned tune, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.” As he sings, Noone meanders through the crowd of 10,000+ fans high-fiving and shaking hands, singing all the while.
Next, Noone entertains the crowd with his 1965 #2 tune, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat?,” and follows that up with his 1965 chart-topper, “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.”
Asking the excited crowd at PNC Bank Arts Center, “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve sung the ‘second verse, same as the first’, to this song?,” and then responding with “Millions!,” Noone performs his 1965 #1 song — at the time, the fastest-rising chart-topper in history — “I’m Henry VII, I Am.” The crowd joyfully joins Noone as he has various sections of the PNC audience sing the chorus one group at a time, after which he smartly comments, “That was the best that it’s ever been sung!,” to the crowd’s delight.
After rousing hurrahs, Peter concludes his portion of the concert with a wonderful and nostalgic rendition of his 1967 #4 hit, “There’s a Kind of Hush,” audience members’ arms and hands waving over their heads, the song ending with a standing ovation from the smiling crowd.
Following a fond farewell from everyone’s favorite relative — Cousin Brucie — members of the audience, many still sporting grins on their faces, start to exit the theater. As they do, several comment on this nostalic summer evening performance they’ve all just experienced at the PNC Bank Arts Center.
Says Betty from Caldwell, NJ, for instance, “It was terrific! Peter Noone never fails to entertain — he always makes it fresh” and, in doing so, “he always makes us feel young again.”
Marie, also from Caldwell, notes, “I’ve seen Peter many times and he’s really funny and charming. He plays to the audience and he has a lot of energy!,” going on to add, “When you go to a concert like this, you want to hear the songs the way you remember them and both Gary Lewis and Peter Noone did just that tonight.”
And for this Jersey kid — just like for the entire audience of Jerseyans — it was a happy evening spent listening to wonderful live performances of unforgettable 60s recordings by Gary Lewis & the Playboys and Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits.
Moreover, having Cousin Bruce Morrow there in person to introduce such classic hits — not to mention knowing that he’s still carrying the torch for timeless pop music on Sirius XM radio for all of us to enjoy and treasure — truly made for an evening which can simply summed up as…
“Dandy!”
For more information on The Stone Bullets, please go to thestonebullets.com. For more on Cousin Bruce Morrow’s ’60s on 6 radio program, see www.siriusxm.com. For information on Gary Lewis & The Playboys, check out garylewisandtheplayboys.com. For further info on Peter Noone and Herman’s Hermits, see peternoone.com. Lastly, for information on free upcoming Garden State Arts Foundation performances at the PNC Bank Arts Center — including Tony Orlando on Sept. 22 for NJ residents aged 55 and older — please go to gsafoundation.org.
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