"Winter-A-Go-Go" is the Place to "Go-Go!"
Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at 10:41AM "The Ski Bums put the 'dig' in "Shindig!"...
...the Ski Babes put the 'ball' in "Hullabaloo!"
Those headlines were electrifying audiences, magnetingly drawing more movie goers to the theatres as the ticket lines wrapped around the block to sold out box offices. Its SRO in theatre aisles as the lead-in movie promos fill up the screen with the far out, groovy, outta sight, big 1965 Hollywood movie hit, "Winter-A-Go-Go" starring James Stacy, filmed on location in the spectacular resort ski area of Lake Tahoe, California.
- Movie Bio: In this lively, song-filled romp, featuring a theme song by "The Hondells." [Group rode on Honda bikes] Filmed on location around the pine tree dotted, snow covered Lake Tahoe resort, this rollicking comedy finds Jeff Forrester (William Wellman, Jr., Born Losers) inheriting a ski lodge where, with friend Danny Frazer (James Stacy, TV's Lancer), he hopes to create a happening destination causing Jeff to neglect his lovely secretary (Beverly Adams, The Silencers). And then the partners are faced with a problem guest whom they soon learn is actually working for the mortgage-holder who wants to take possession of the now-hot property. Tom Nardini and Julie Parrish co-star. [Ever heard of the actor credits for the movie, "Born Losers" and the T.V. shows, "Lancer" or "The Silencers?"--not many others have either.]
Time: 02:42
Who "with it" actually "gets stoked" watching "groovy" T.V. shows like Shindig!" and "Hullabaloo!" on T.V.? Only you who are over the age of sixty-five, fifteen in 1965, will even remember these really cool, hip, bitchin', pop music programs. With today's Cable T.V. fares like "American Idol" and "The Voice", they lack the technologically advanced imagery and staging, yet prove they carry toe-tapping tunes off flawlessly.
Shindig! was conceived as a short-notice series replacement show for Hootenanny, a
series that had specialized in folk revival music. Donna Loren, Jackie DeShannon and Bobby Sherman were regular vocalists on the series The folk revival had fizzled in 1964 as the result of the British Invasion, which damaged the ratings for Hootenanny and prompted that show's cancellation.
Hullabaloo! served as a big-budget, quality showcase for the leading pop acts of the day. It was also competition for another like-minded television showcase, ABC's Shindig!. A different host presided each week—among these were Sammy Davis, Jr., Petula Clark, Paul Anka, Liza Minnelli,Jack Jones, and Frankie Avalon—singing a couple of his or her own hits and introducing the different acts. Chart-topping acts who performed on the show included Dionne Warwick, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Sonny & Cher, the Supremes, Herman's Hermits, The Animals, Roy Orbison and Marianne Faithfull.
