Music lovers stream into Morristown, NJ’s MPAC on this first day of summer — Saturday, June 21, 2025 — for a sold-out concert of music from the ’60s presented by the stars of the 2025 Happy Together Tour: The Turtles, Jay and the Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett, The Vogues, and The Cowsills.
Inside the MPAC auditorium, the members of the Happy Together Band — bassist Greg Smith, drummer Chris Camilleri, keyboardist Manny Focarazzo, and musical director/guitarist Godfrey Townsend — take the stage for tonight’s performance.
The pre-recorded voice of DJ Shadoe Stevens introduces The Cowsills and siblings Susan, Paul, and Bob Cowsill take the stage and open tonight’s show with a bouncy rendition of their catchy ’67 hit, “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things” (aka “The Flower Girl”).
Rich vocal harmonies fill the air as the siblings perform with energy to avid cheers and applause.
Paul exclaims, “This goes out to everybody in the balcony!” as the trio soars into their 1967 hit, “We Can Fly.” Music lovers clap along to Bob’s lead vocal which is supported by Susan and Paul’s high-flying choreography.
Bob recalls, “We needed a hit record in 1968… we hope you remember it!” as the trio segues into a lively version of “Indian Lake.” Then, colored shapes morph on screen as The Cowsills sing and play the TV theme song they recorded in 1969 — the theme from Love, American Style.
Concertgoers cheer and Paul says “We’re going to do our biggest hit” as The Cowsills end their set with a high-energy rendition of their 1969 smash, “Hair,” which has music lovers happily standing and applauding.
The Vogues — Elliot McCoy, Troy Elich, and Royce Taylor — take the stage and open their portion of the show with their 1966 hit, “Five O’Clock World.” The trio gets the audience clapping along to the beat and the crowd sings along on the song’s “A-da-lay-ee-ee” refrain on this tune which was used as the opening theme for TV’s The Drew Carey Show.
Music lovers cheer as The Vogues move on to their 1968 million seller, “My Special Angel.” The audience enjoys the smooth sound that Troy Elich and his colleagues create as they expertly harmonize with one another.
Elich thanks the crowd, joking that this particular MPAC audience is “considerably younger than every other audience!” before beautiful vocal harmonies on The Vogues’ 1968 Top Ten hit, “Turn Around, Look at Me,” bring concertgoers to their feet.
Elich exclaims, “Let’s do one more!” and The Vogues end their set with their upbeat 1965 hit, “You’re the One.” The crowd sings along with Elich and Co. on this happy-go-lucky tune which inspires cheers, applause, and another standing ovation.
Gary Puckett, the original lead singer of Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, takes the stage in his pastel green overcoat and opens his set with a powerful rendition of his 1968 hit, “Lady Willpower.” Concertgoers sing along on the tune’s “Lady Willpower/It’s now or never” refrain as Puckett croons center stage.
“I hope you’re having a good time,” says Puckett, announcing, “I’m dedicating my part of the show to the veterans of the US military because freedom’s not free.” Moving on to 1968’s “Over You,” Puckett croons, “Why am I losing sleep over you?” before the audience happily joins him in singing the song’s tuneful “I guess there’s just no getting over you” chorus.
Announcing, “Here’s a tune that became one of America’s coming-of-age songs,” Puckett presents a dynamic version of his 1969 Top Ten smash, “This Girl Is a Woman Now.” Singing with emotion, his vibrato fills the MPAC auditorium and the audience avidly responds with cheers and applause.
Puckett reveals, “We recorded this song and you guys loved it so much, you went out and paid your 69 cents for it and it sold over 18 million copies.” Here, Puckett invites the audience to join him in singing his 1968 hit “Woman Woman,” and the crowd happily joins in on the well-known “Woman, woman/Have you got cheating on your mind?” refrain.
Puckett concludes his set with 1968’s “Young Girl” where the audience joins in singing on the “Young girl/Get out of my mind” chorus. As concertgoers applaud on their feet, Puckett thanks the audience and responds, “Don’t forget, the glory goes to God,” before taking a bow and exiting the stage.
During intermission, several concertgoers share their thoughts on tonight’s concert thus far. Exclaims Karin from Newark, “I’m really having fun tonight! The Cowsills were great and they looked like they were really enjoying themselves, The Vogues can really harmonize, and Gary Puckett sounded and looked great, too!”
Elliot from Short Hills agrees, adding, “I’m glad to be here and a part of tonight’s show! The Cowsills were really good — they did all the songs you thought you forgot but knew, and were very entertaining, The Vogues were fantastic, and Gary Puckett was amazing with all the stamina he has!”
Lastly Joann from Morristown exclaims, “The Cowsills were really great — they had a lot of energy and were a lot of fun,” before her husband, Doug, adds, “The Vogues were wonderful, and it was great the way Gary Puckett addressed the crowd with his energy and personality!”
Following intermission, Shadoe Stevens’ voice proclaims Little Anthony as “one of the nicest guys in the business” as Anthony Gourdine — aka Little Anthony — enters and receives a standing ovation from the entire crowd.
Opening with his 1958 hit, “Tears on My Pillow,” Anthony’s voice sounds as strong as ever as he croons, “You don’t remember me/But I remember you,” backed by the Happy Together Band, along with vocalist/trumpeter Johnny Britt and keyboardist/musical director Dale Herr.
The crowd cheers and Anthony says, “Welcome to MPAC here in beautiful downtown Morristown,” before joking with Britt about the next song, “This song sold over a million records in 1960, and I think it’s stupid!” Launching into his 1960 million-seller, “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop,” concertgoers sing along as they bop to the music in their seats.
Britt is featured playing a muted trumpet solo on the introduction to Little Anthony’s 1965 classic, “Hurt So Bad.” Singing with power and emotion, Anthony holds his mic as far away from his body as possible as he cries, “Please don’t go/Please don’t go!” inspiring music lovers to leap to their feet.
To conclude his set, Anthony launches into a song written specifically for him — his 1964 smash, “Goin’ Out of My Head.” Singing with skill and feeling, he majestically holds out the notes at the end bringing people to their feet again before he bows and smiles and exits the stage.
Jay and the Americans — Sandy Deane, Darren Dowler, Jay Reincke, and Lenie Colachino — make their entrance and open their set with their 1963 smash, “Only in America.” Filling the MPAC auditorium with their rich four-part vocal harmonies on this upbeat number, they follow up by performing “Let’s Lock the Door (and Throw Away the Key),” which ends with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
Reincke introduces his stage mates including founding member, Sandy Deane, who exclaims, “This really is a Happy Together Tour!” before he and the group launch into a stunning rendition of 1965’s “Cara Mia.” On this show-stopping number, Reincke’s powerful sound brings music lovers to their feet.
Explaining that their next song was a hit both in 1964 and then again in 2017 when it appeared on the soundtrack to the film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the group performs “Come a Little Bit Closer.”
As the house lights shine, concertgoers happily join in on the song’s “Come a little bit closer/You’re my kind of man/So big and so strong” refrain.
Reincke exclaims, “You people from New Jersey know how to sing!” as Dowler plays the guitar intro to Jay and the Americans’ 1968 smash, “This Magic Moment.” Music lovers join in singing along on the tune’s famous “Sweeter than wine (sweeter than wine)/Softer than a summer night (softer than a summer night)” lyric before rising to their feet for a standing ovation.
Lastly, Stevens’ voice introduces The Turtles saying, “We are honored to present the humor, the optimism, the shimmering harmonies, and the legendary melodies of The Turtles,” as Ron Dante and guitarist Godfrey Townsend — who is taking the place of original member Mark Volman who is absent tonight — take the stage and begin their set with a rockin’ version of the group’s 1967 hit, “She’d Rather Be With Me.”
The crowd reacts with hoots and hollers and Dante asks, “Are you having a good time? The audience responds in the affirmative as Dante and Townsend follow up with the 1966 Turtles hit, “You Baby,” where the crowd joins in on the playful “You baby/Nobody but you” refrain.
After Dante gives a shout out to Mark Volman exclaiming, “Get better quick; we miss you!” he invites the crowd to sing along on the “No no no” refrain of The Turtles’ 1965 hit written by Bob Dylan, “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” Dante follows up by delivering a sparkling performance of his own 1969 #1 hit with The Archies, “Sugar, Sugar.”
After introducing the Happy Together Band members, Dante and Townsend segue into a spirited rendition of The Turtles’ 1968 smash, “Elenore,” where lights flash over music lovers as they sing “Elenore, gee, I think you’re swell.”
For tonight’s final number, the entire crowd stands, dances, and sings, “I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you for all my life,” with Dante and Co. on The Turtles’ 1967 chart-topper, “Happy Together,” after which Dante exclaims, “We love you all. Thank you and goodnight!”
The audience cheers so enthusiastically that Dante jokes he’ll have to start the show all over again. One at a time, the performers return to the stage to do a snippet of one of their hits, after which everyone joins in on a full cast reprise of “Happy Together” where music lovers stand and cheer as the musicians join hands and take a group bow before exiting the stage.
As concertgoers make their way out of the MPAC auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s Happy Together Tour performance. Exclaims June from Milford, “I loved every act tonight!” and her husband, Rich, agrees, declaring, “It was a great show!”
Chris from South Bound Brook declares, “I thought it was a great night — I loved The Vogues, and Little Anthony was outstanding,” before adding, “The evening brought back a lot of memories and it was nice to go to a show where you know all the words!”
John from Chester contends, “The show was great! This is the fifth or sixth time I’ve seen the Happy Together Tour, and I think this might be the best one yet! Little Anthony was fantastic, Jay and the Americans were wonderful, and even though The Turtles’ Mark Volman wasn’t here tonight, I still loved hearing The Turtles’ hits.”
Whereas John’s grandson, William, 16, reveals, “My grandpa brought me tonight and I really liked the show — the music was upbeat and really nice,” John’s daughter, Brianne, contends, “Growing up, this was my music — the ‘60s was the best decade — and, for me, the highlight of the show was Little Anthony! I was blown away by him, but the whole show was filled with high-energy and was a lot of fun!”
Lastly Bruce from Parsippany insists, “I loved this show! This music is the foundation of our lives. It’s brilliant, and it was all done back in the day without computer enhancements or artificial intelligence,” prior to concluding, “It’s pure genius!”
To learn more about the 2025 Happy Together Tour, please go to happytogethertour.com. For info on upcoming concerts at MPAC — including The Hit Men on July 17, The Little River Band’s 50 Years: Happy Anniversary Tour on August 7, and Tommy James and The Shondells on August 14 — please click on mayoarts.org.
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