Although it’s a gloomy October 14, 2023 Saturday evening in New Brunswick, NJ, excitement is in the air inside the State Theatre New Jersey where grown-up greasers and their gals are cranked for a Rock ’N Roll Doo Wop Spectacular starring Chubby Checker, The Doo Wop Project, The Duprees, and Vinnie Medugno.
WMTR radio DJ Alan David Stein welcomes the crowd and introduces the caped “Duke of Doo Wop/Rock ‘n Roll” Harry G., who asks, “Are you guys ready for a rock and roll show?”
Music lovers respond in the affirmative as MusicRadio 77-WABC DJ and entertainer Vinnie Medugno enters through the audience. Crooning The Rays’ “Silhouettes,” Medugno gets concertgoers singing along. He follows up with an emotional performance of the Gene Pitney ballad, “I’m Gonna Be Strong,” which elicits cheers from ’60s music fans in the crowd.
After Elvis Presley’s “Hurt,” Medugno launches into a highlight of his set — his interpretation of Pitney’s “Town Without Pity,” which he recently performed on TJ Lubinsky’s PBS television show, Doo Wop, Pop, and Soul Generations.
He follows up by singing “Cara Mia,” a number which was originally recorded by Jay and the Americans, where his powerful performance impresses the crowd, notably his use of vibrato on the song’s stirring conclusion.
Medugno concludes his set with a rockin’ rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away,” which has music lovers on their feet and Medugno responding, “Thank you, New Jersey!”
Stein and Harry G. retake the stage to introduce The Duprees. Opening their portion of the show with “Have You Heard,” the members of the trio — Tommy Petillo, Phil Granito, and Jimmy Spinelli — demonstrate their ability to perform beautiful three-part harmonies together.
The crowd cheers, and following a Latin-jazz influenced arrangement of “As Time Goes By,” The Duprees entertain with an easy-listening rendition of “The Sky’s the Limit.”
80-year-old Dupree Jimmy Spinelli handles the lead on Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” before Tommy Petillo explains, “We’ve never lost our passion for beautiful love songs like this,” and the trio sails into the ballad, “Why Don’t You Believe Me,” where Petillo impresses with his smooth falsetto voice.
Following a medley of early Duprees’ love songs including “These Foolish Things,” “It’s No Sin,” and “The Sand and the Sea,” Phil Granito is featured on a wild medley of Jackie Wilson classics including “That’s Why (I Love You So)” and “Lonely Teardrops.” Granito gives an electrifying performance which the audience finds utterly enjoyable.
Petillo and The Duprees present a stirring rendition of Pat Boone’s “The Exodus Song” before Jimmy Spinelli exclaims, “Join the party!” as he’s featured singing and dancing on a sparkling arrangement of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.”
The Duprees conclude their portion of tonight’s Rock ‘N Roll Spectacular with a stunning version of their timeless classic which opens with the famous line, “See the pyramids along the Nile.” Performing their hit, “You Belong to Me,” The Duprees’ compelling performance has audience members on their feet demanding “More!”
Stein announces, “The Doo Wop Project!” and the members of the vocal quintet — John Michael Dias, Jesse Nager, Russell Fischer, Dominic Nolfi, and Jamari Johnson Williams — bound onto the stage. They dedicate their opening number to the late Larry Chance with a high-energy rendition of The Earls’ “Remember When.” Joyously singing the number’s unforgettable staccato refrain, “Re-mem-mem, Re-mem-remember,” the five former Broadway stars move as they snap their fingers in time to the music.
The crowd responds with cheers and applause, and the group launches into a mash-up of The Capris’ “Morse Code of Love” and Bobby Day’s “Little Bitty Pretty One” on an arrangement which features tight patented Doo Wop Project vocal harmonies.
After the members introduce one another, they announce their next number stating, “This next song is a rite of passage for any doo wop group.” Here, they perform a street corner a cappella rendition of The Channels’ “That’s My Desire.”
The crowd cheers, and the vocalists continue their set with their interpretation of The Fascinators’ upbeat doo wop number, “Oh, Rose Marie,” and follow up with a sultry — and then upbeat — doo wop-inspired rendition of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
Jesse Nager takes a moment to chat with the audience, telling them that he played the role of Smokey Robinson in Motown: The Musical. Nager’s soulful lead vocal is featured on a medley of Smokey Robinson’s “Ooo Baby Baby” and “Tracks of My Tears.”
Dominic Nolfi is featured on The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You” before Jamari Johnson Williams explains how the group likes to take contemporary songs and “doowopify” them by turning them into doo wop songs. By way of example, the group follows up with a “doowopified” rendition of the 2008 Jason Mraz hit, “I’m Yours.”
Revealing that The Del Vikings are one of their favorite groups, The Doo Wop Project performs a swinging version of “Come Go With Me.” They follow up with a highlight of tonight’s show — their rendition of the Four Seasons’ “Sherry.” On this number, John Michael Dias and Russell Fischer — who each played the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys on Broadway — simultaneously sing the falsetto lead before segueing into a high-voltage rendition of “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
Talking about his Jersey roots, Fischer reveals that while growing up in the Garden State he got a large part of his musical education by listening to “oldies music” on the radio. Fischer proves it by expertly handling the high part on “Walk Like a Man,” impressing the audience with his countertenor voice while being deftly accompanied by his colleagues.
The Project follows up with a medley of two doo wop classics — The Crests’ “The Angels Listened In” and Curtis Lee’s “Pretty Little Angel Eyes.” Then, starting off with a poignant rendition of The Cadillacs’ “Gloria,” the group shifts into a bubbly version of another Cadillacs’ hit — “Speedo.” Crooning, “Now they often call me Speedo/But my real name is Mister Earl,” Jamari Johnson Williams dances wildly to enthusiastic applause.
After jumping off the stage and going out into the audience to dance, the boys follow up with a creative R&B arrangement of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.”
Doing their best Jersey Boys dance moves, the guys provide a glittering encore version of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night),” which has music lovers standing and cheering for tonight’s high-energy performance.
Following a short intermission, Stein and Harry G. announce, “Ladies and gentlemen, the legend, who just turned 82 — Chubby Checker!” Opening with “Good, Good Lovin’” Checker cries, “I got a lotta good lovin’/Good lovin’/Make me feel so bad,” on this soulful early ’60s number.
Following a rockin’ rendition of “Twist It Up” where the audience joins in on the “Hey, ho” call and response, Checker segues into Bobby Day’s “Little Bitty Pretty One” before performing “Dancin’ Party” where he shakes his hips as he entertains the avid crowd.
Moving onto a medley of Fats Domino tunes including “I’m Walkin’,” Checker gets music lovers singing along before he has them happily clapping along to Domino’s “Blueberry Hill.”
Following “Slow Twistin’,” a funky blues number featuring his high falsetto voice, Checker changes the pace and slows things down with a ballad entitled “Changes.” Crying, “There’ll be some changes/They’re long overdue/There’ll be some changes/Of what I’d need to do,” Checker’s soulful vocal is spotlighted on this newer original number.
Checker talks about his next tune, “Hooka Tooka,” revealing, “It’s a stupid song, but I recorded it!” Crooning, “Does your momma chaw tobacca/If ya momma chaw tobacca/Say Hooka Tooka, my soda cracker,” Checker gets the audience’s attention before asking concertgoers to join him in singing “Hey lardy lardy lardy/Hey lardy lardy lo” on another Checker hit — the 1963 echo song, “Loddy Lo.”
After announcing, “For all of you who are able, it’s party time — get up!” Checker performs his hit, “Pony Time.” Belting out, “So get with it/Don’t quit it/Get up!” Checker dances, turning to the left before turning to the right.
Exclaiming, “Do the fly with me!” Checker goes out into the audience and dances with concertgoers on his 1961 recording, “The Fly.”
Segueing into a rip-roarin’ rendition of The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” Chubby follows up by getting the audience to echo “Shake it baby, shake it” on his rendition of Jerry Lee Louis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On.”
Music lovers sing along on the well known “All day, all night, Marianne” lyric of Harry Belafonte’s “Marianne” before Checker segues into his 1962 hit, “Limbo Rock,” on an arrangement in which he joyfully incorporates segments of The Mickey Mouse Club theme song.
In the midst of a treasure trove of golden hits including Elvis Presley’s “Blue Suede Shoes,” Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue,” Marvin Gaye’s “Heard it Through the Grapevine,” Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly,” and Bill Haley and his Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” and “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” Checker performs his own 1960 dance hit, “The Hucklebuck.”
The crowd roars for Checker’s live rendition of “The Twist “— his 1960 #1 smash which resurfaced to become #1 again — which has concertgoers happily twisting on stage.
The party continues as, without missing a beat, Checker moves on to his 1961 Top Ten hit, “Let’s Twist Again,” where he and the band rock on to a dynamic conclusion and the crowd responds with a heartfelt standing ovation!
To learn more about Chubby Checker, please go to chubbychecker.com. For more information on The Doo Wop Project, please click on thedoowopproject.com. To find out more about The Duprees, please navigate to dupreesmusic.com. For more on Vinnie Medugno, please go to vincentmedugno.com. For information on upcoming shows at STNJ — including the ’60s Rock ’N Roll Revival starring Jay and the Americans, The Grass Roots, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and The Brooklyn Bridge on April 20, 2024 — please click on stnj.org.
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