Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Radio Icon Jerry Blavat Kicks Off Year-Long 50th Anniversary Celebration with Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B at the Kimmel Center, January 30

JANUARY 8, 2010

Featuring Jay Black, Darlene Love, Shirley Alston Reeves, The Skyliners and Earl Lewis & The Channels

Jerry Blavat kicks off a year-long 50th anniversary celebration as a nationally-renowned radio icon with Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 8pm in Verizon Hall. A star-studded line-up of special guests reprise feel-good hits from the 50s and 60s, including Jay Black, the voice of the Americans; Shirley Alston Reeves, lead singer of rock and roll's first female supergroup, The Shirelles; The Skyliners, performing their smash hit “Since I Don’t Have You;” and Earl Lewis & The Channels of “The Closer You Are” fame. Also on the bill is Darlene Love, who was recently nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and performed onstage with Bruce Springsteen during the Rock Hall's 25th Anniversary Concert in New York this past October.

“Darlene Love’s thunderbolt voice is as embedded in the history of Rock-and-Roll as Eric Clapton’s guitar or Bob Dylan’s lyrics.” – New York Times

Party with DJ Mark the Spark as he spins tunes in Commonwealth Plaza prior to and following the ticketed Jerry Blavat's Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B event in Verizon Hall. The 6pm party will be broadcast live on WLVT-FM 92.1.

Tickets for Jerry Blavat’s Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B are $41, $46, $56, $71 and $81 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.

A limited number of $10 community rush tickets will be available for this performance. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time. Limit one ticket per person.

Now celebrating 50 years in show business, South Philadelphia bred “Boss with the Hot Sauce” and “Geator with the Heater” Jerry Blavat was the first DJ to play hits such as “Sherry” by the Four Seasons and “Twist and Shout” by the Isley Brothers on air in Philadelphia. Beginning in March 1965, Blavat produced and hosted the “Discophonic Scene” on WCAU-TV 10, featuring only live performances, including the Supremes' only Philadelphia television appearance. In 1967, WIFL-TV 6 offered Blavat a daily show called “Jerry's Place,” which was eventually syndicated coast-to-coast in 42 markets. Blavat began hosting “On the Air with the Geator” in 1992 and “Backstage with Jerry Blavat” in 1997. In 1998, he was one of the radio greats inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Since then, Blavat has appeared on the PBS fundraising events “Doo Wop 50” and “Doo Wop 51.”

Jay Black skyrocketed to fame upon joining Jay and the Americans in 1962. Jay and the Americans charted a string of hits on the United Artists label featuring the voice of Jay Black, including “Only In America,” “Come A Little Bit Closer,” “Cara Mia,” “This Magic Moment,” and “Walkin' In The Rain.” During the group's heyday, they made countless television appearances, on shows such as Shindig, Hullabaloo, Where The Action Is, Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Red Skelton and Sammy Davis, Jr., and in 1966 were featured in the movie Wild, Wild Winter singing “Two of a Kind.” Jay and the group were the opening act for The Beatles' first appearance in the United States, and they went on to open for The Rolling Stones and other top British acts. 

Darlene Love began her musical career with “girl group” The Blossoms in 1958, and went on to work with many legends of 1950's and 60's rock and soul, including Dionne Warwick, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and Sonny and Cher. Under her own name, Love recorded several chart-topping singles including “Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home” and “(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Going To Marry,” as well as two solo albums. Love sang back-up for Dionne Warwick for 10 years beginning in 1971 and later backed Aretha Franklin. During the 1990's, Love performed weekly in Portrait of a Singer, a show based on her career, at New York City's Bottom Line Club. Love was awarded the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1995. She has performed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on the Late Show with David Letterman almost every year since 1986.

Born Shirley Owens in Henderson, North Carolina, Shirley Alston Reeves moved to Passaic, New Jersey at an early age and co-founded the Shirelles while attending Passaic High School. With Reeves’ lead vocals, their very first single release, “I Met Him on a Sunday,” was an instant success. Bridging doo wop and uptown New York pop-soul, the Shirelles soon became known throughout the world for hits like “Baby Its You,” “Mama Said,” “Foolish Little Girl,” Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “Soldier Boy.” Their songs have become classics and have since been covered by hundreds of artists, including Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, The Mamas & the Papas and Smokey Robinson, as well as The Beatles themselves, who covered “ Baby, It's You” as well as the lesser known “Boys.” Reeves was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

The Skyliners created a new style of music by combining the street-wise harmonies of rhythm and blues groups like The Moonglows and The Flamingos with the modern harmonies of groups such as The Four Freshman and The Hi Los. The Pittsburgh-based ensemble formed in 1958 when Jimmy Beaumont, Wally Lester and Jack Taylor combined with Joe Versharen and Janet Vogel from The El Rios. They are most noted for the quintessential fifties ballad, “Since I Don’t Have You,” which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. In recent years, The Skyliners created two American holiday favorites, “You’re My Christmas Present” and “Another Lonely New Year’s Eve.” The group has been a substantial part of the PBS specials “DooWop50,” “Moments to Remember,” “Cavalcade of Music” and “My Music.”

Earl Lewis & The Channels shot into the spotlight in 1956 after performing at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. Their first record, The Closer You Are, ignited a series of hits that made them one of the truly unique groups to come out of the 1950’s. Hits included “The Gleam in Your Eyes,” “Bye, Bye, Baby,” “My Love for You Will Never Die” and “That’s My Desire,” among others. The Channels also brought a fresh style to doo wop singing with their practice of opening a verse in five-part harmony, then having Lewis sing lead in the bridge with his incredible falsetto. The group was inducted into The United Group Harmony Hall of Fame in 1992 and The Boston Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Kimmel Center Presents 2009/10 Season is sponsored by Citi. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents.

Free at the Kimmel programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.

The Kimmel Center is a recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC “Grow Up Great” initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center’s early childhood program “Bop and Swing,” an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.

KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI

Saturday, January 30, 2010 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
World & Pop

Jerry Blavat’s Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B

Jay Black, the voice of the Americans
Darlene Love
Shirley Alston Reeves, lead singer of The Shirelles
The Skyliners
Earl Lewis & The Channels

FREE AT THE KIMMEL:

Saturday, January 30, 2010 | 6pm and Post-Show (Approx. 11pm)
Commonwealth Plaza | Free at the Kimmel
Geator Dance Party with DJ Mark the Spark
Party with the Geator and DJ Mark the Spark as they spin tunes in the Commonwealth Plaza prior to and following the ticketed Jerry Blavat's Legends of Rock 'n’ Roll and R&B event in Verizon Hall. The 6pm party will be broadcast live on WLVT-FM 92.1.

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