Radio Icon Jerry Blavat Reunites Doo Wop Greats at the Kimmel Center,
March 27, 2008
Featuring Special Guests Little Anthony & The Imperials, Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge, Kenny Vance and The Planotones and Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows
Philly’s own radio icon Jerry Blavat reunites legendary performers of the doo-wop era at the Kimmel Center on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 7:30pm in Verizon Hall. The "Geator with the Heater" hosts a performance of timeless hits from the 60s and 70s, with Little Anthony & The Imperials performing classic ballads "Tears on My Pillow" and "Hurt So Bad" as well as the R&B-inflected dance track "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop." Other special guests include Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge performing The Crests’ "Sixteen Candles" and "Step by Step"; Kenny Vance and The Planotones with their signature doo-wop revival ballad "Looking for an Echo"; and Motown legend Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows.
This concert is the twenty-third concert in the World & Pop Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Dan Zanes and Friends: Nighttime Pajama Party on Friday, May 16, 2008 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for the Jerry Blavat Doo Wop Reunion 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 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
With more than 45 years of radio experience, 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 the Philadelphia region. 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 "DooWop 50" and "DooWop 51."
New York based Little Anthony & The Imperials was founded in 1958 as an R&B/soul/doo-wop vocal group under lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine. The band’s first single, "Tears on My Pillow," was an instant hit on both pop and R&B charts, followed by the hit B-side, "Two Kinds of People." Despite personnel changes in the early 1960s, the band successfully re-invented itself and went on to achieve consistent recording success well into the 60s and 70s, with hits like "I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" and "Goin' Out of My Head." The band has been featured on television programs such as "The Ed Sullivan Show," "American Bandstand," "Shindig!," "Hullabaloo" and other national network programs including NBC's "Today" show and two popular PBS specials. In October 2006, Little Anthony & The Imperials were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
After four decades of performing and recording, Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge continue to entertain sold-out crowds at major clubs and concert halls, including New York’s Bottom Line, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall and Long Island's Westbury Music Fair. With their trademark horn arrangements and the strong vocals of lead singer Johnny Maestro, the band has enjoyed a career as one of the all-time greats of the doo-wop era. The Brooklyn Bridge was founded in 1967 and scored a gold record the next year with a cover of Jimmy Webb’s "Worst That Could Happen." The band’s follow up hits include "Welcome Me Love," "Blessed is the Rain," "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Your Husband, My Wife." Countless concert and television appearances, including "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Della Reese Show" and others, helped to bring the group to the national stage. Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame with the class of 2005 and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
Kenny Vance began his musical career as one of the founding members of Jay and The Americans, the band that had the distinction of opening for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for each of their first U.S. performances. He went on to compose, supervise and produce a long list of scores and soundtracks for television and feature films, including the 1978 film American Hot Wax, for which the band The Planotones was created. Although originally formed solely to recreate the musical lives of groups in the 50s and 60s for the film, The Planotones reunited in 1992. Since then, the band has emerged as an influential post doo-wop era ensemble that breathes new life into classic hits with folk and jazz influences. In 2002, Vance was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame; in 2007, he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
Louisville, Kentucky native Harvey Fuqua founded the Moonglows in 1951. Mentored by legendary DJ Alan Freed, the group’s doo-wop harmony style achieved great success on the national R&B charts in the mid 1950s. Their single "Sincerely" peaked at number one on R&B charts and number 20 on Billboard's pop charts in late 1954. Other hits include "Most of All," "We Go Together," "See Saw," a cover of Percy Mayfield's hit "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Ten Commandments of Love." In 1960, the Moonglows disbanded, during which time Fuqua mentored soul phenomenon Marvin Gaye, eventually co-producing "Sexual Healing" and Gaye's hit duets with Tammi Terrell. Fuqua is also noted for being one the key figures in the development of the Motown label, working with doo-wop acts the Spinners and Johnny Bristol. The Moonglows reunited in 1972, and recorded The Return of the Moonglows, as well as a remake of "Sincerely" which ranked at number 43 on R&B charts. The Moonglows were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza 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 Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Sunday, April 13, 2008 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
World & Pop Series
Jerry Blavat’s Doo Wop Reunion
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge
Kenny Vance and The Planotones
Harvey Fuqua
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Sunday, April 13, 2008 | 6pm & 10:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Geator Dance Party with DJ Mark the Spark
They're back! Party with the Geator and DJ Mark the Spark as they spin tunes from the good old days prior to and following the ticketed Jerry Blavat Doo Wop Reunion performance in Verizon Hall. The 6pm party will be broadcast live on WVLT-FM 92.1!
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