Music Down the Shore

From The Soundmasters to Remember When

By Randy Rush

During the summer of 1964, I fell ill to a nasty cold which forced me off the playground and into bed for several days. In an effort to cheer me up, my mother bought me a copy of the Golden Hits of the Four Seasons. It was my first record, which I still own to this day. I played that album repeatedly for weeks. The driving rhythm section, crisp production and multiple part harmonies complimenting Frankie Valli’s vocal range were the perfect musical elements to accompany the lyrics which told the stories of teenage love. For a Jersey boy from Middlesex County, these songs resonated for me as no other had up to that point of my young life.

Later that same year, the world of popular music was turned on its ear with the arrival of The Beatles. When I first heard I Want to Hold Your Hand, I was stunned. I immediately scraped together my earnings from sweeping floors at the local barber shop and ran out to buy my second record — Meet the Beatles.

Though their points of origin were an ocean apart, significant similarities between The Four Seasons and The Beatles existed. Both bands played their own instruments, whether performing live or in the studio. Both groups wrote their own material. Both groups excelled in the use of vocals and harmonies. These elements, which were not the norms at the time for most pop groups and singers, really struck a chord with me.

Like so many others at the time, I yearned to be a pop star like my heroes. I talked my mom into buying me a guitar. This was no small request. We did not have a lot of money. My dad passed away when I was four years old, leaving my mom to raise two boys on the modest wages of a practical nurse. However, she could see how passionate I was about music and agreed to shell out the $20 for a student guitar as long as I promised to take lessons and study hard. So began my lifelong affair with music in general, and the guitar specifically.

Bands and singers started popping up from all over the United States and Great Britain. So too did rock & roll radio stations, as well as record stores. There was a great hunger for pop/rock music, and the industry scrambled to feed that hunger.

But underneath that veneer of polished professional acts lay a subculture of local musical talent eagerly trying to show their world that they, too, had something to offer. Inspired and influenced by such regional groups as Danny & the Juniors and the Silhouettes, Dion & the Belmonts, The Tokens, and Little Anthony & the Imperials as well as the Royal Counts, the Sheps, and Johnny Argyle & the Creations, the music scene down the Jersey shore exploded in the early 1960s. Locally, on LBI, The Soundmasters were a popular draw at diners, bars, fraternal halls, churches, libraries, and street corners.

Today, the music scene on LBI and the local mainland is vibrant and thriving. Local bars and restaurants provide patrons with entertainment throughout the year — everything from open mic nights and cover bands to karaoke, and live music.

I have played at open mic nights in several local venues. It was at one of those venues that I first saw Denise Miller, a local singer, songwriter, guitarist who along with Mary Lutton and Gail Gilrane perform as Ladies Night Out, a country pop trio. Denise also plays and sings with her son, Jon.

The Entertainment Luncheon — South is the brainchild of Johnny Bishop and his wife, Linny. Johnny B, as he is known professionally, grew up on LBI, and is a former member of the acapella group, The Soundmasters. Currently he sings lead vocals with the Joey D & Johnny B Band. A little over two years ago, Johnny and Linny saw a need for a network for local musicians and entertainers to swap ideas and promote local entertainment. Once a month, since March of 2023, they coordinate Entertainment Luncheon — South which has turned out to be a fabulous opportunity for local musicians, mostly oldies and doo wop artists, but not exclusively. Most of those in attendance are members of the Facebook group Entertainment Luncheon — South and have been specifically invited to attend each event. Amongst the attendees are musicians, singers, promoters, writers, actors, photographers, agents, historians, journalists, and radio personalities from the New Jersey shore, New York, and Philadelphia. During each three-hour event, people mingle, talk shop, and catch up. Johnny Bishop MC’s each event and keeps things light. One of the things he has stressed is the brother/sisterhood that exists among all those in attendance. There is no competition among artists here. Johnny’s goal is for everyone to use the opportunity to get exposure amongst industry peers and grow their own brand. You can really feel the love and respect in the room.

Though networking and conversations are an important part of the gathering, the entertainment is the highlight of the day. On that afternoon, the Jimmy Givens Quartet was the featured entertainment, with Dorian Parreott on sax, Mark Cohn on keyboard, Jimmy on drums and Altha Morton on vocals.

Altha Morton, who fronts the quartet with her soulful voice sang versions of Cabaret, Satin Doll, All of Me, and Georgia, which she absolutely nailed. Dorian Parreott contributed with a masterly rendition of Hello Dolly, sounding remarkably like

Satchmo himself. The show was a fun trip back in time, presenting a chance to reminisce and enjoy the memories that the classic standards evoke. There is a reason they call these songs standards. They are timeless, and that is exactly what this audience is seeking — a journey back to memories that bring smiles to their faces. For at least the three hours we spent together honoring this music and the people that keep it alive, everybody in attendance was able to forget about their daily struggles, remember the good old days, and mingle with those who all had something in common — a love for the music we grew up on.

Present that afternoon was a friend of mine, Carmen Landolfi, aka Carmonica — a multi-instrumentalist who is known best for his harmonica work with other artists and bands, among them The Pickles. He was gracious enough one time to sit in with me at an open mic night, where he played his harp on a version of Kokomo Arnold’s classic twelve bar blues number called Milk Cow Blues. I figured he could nail that song no matter what key I played it in, because he had a case full of harmonicas, each one tuned to a different key, and because he is very good at playing them.

Sitting with Carmen was Rick Que, who plays bass and guitar for several groups, among them The Broken Bones Band. Rick knows a ton of people in the music business in and around LBI, and he introduced me to Sal LoCicero, front man for the vocal group, Remember When.

Sal LoCicero sang with Johnny Angel & the Creations in the late fifties and early sixties. The band had appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and had recorded several records. An amiable veteran of the entertainment business, Sal, shared with me how he first met the other members of Remember When in February of 2024. These guys are true veterans of the doo wop world; they love playing and singing and giving their audience a night or afternoon of memories and dancing.

Everyone I talked to at the Entertainment Luncheon — South gathering still performs because they love music, and they get the biggest thrill out of making people smile. It really is that simple. Entertaining the fans and keeping this music alive is what matters.

Oldies and doo wop shows are performed regularly on LBI and the nearby mainland. Many hotels and restaurants book popular local acts like Chris Fritz, Ty Mares, The Nerds, Shorty Long and the Jersey Horns, and others. Many venues offer evening and sometimes afternoon entertainment from a variety of musical acts featuring classic rock, pop tunes, R&B, soul, folk and country music and rap. But the oldies and Doo-wop crowds can also be found at some of the lesser-known venues in the area such as the Beach Haven Moose Lodge, Manahawkin Elks Lodge, local churches, Ship Bottom Waterfront Park, Sunset Park in Harvey Cedars, the Municipal Dock in Barnegat, and the Stafford Township Arts Center among others. These shows highlight those groups who keep the oldies alive.

Sal LoCicero shared a video with me of a performance from a prior event. I could sense the enthusiasm and love he and his bandmates have for performing these memorable tunes. In the video I could see how folks who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s got up and took to the dance floor, dancing to the music that tells the stories of their lives. They danced and reminisced, reliving their memories, the joys, and yes, the sorrows that are part of who we are. That is why this music is still so popular. It takes us back to a world we knew and loved. Teen romances, school dances, late nights at the diner, the freedom of youth that we did not really appreciate until we grew up. Oldies shows give us that — a chance to revisit our memories.

So, check out your favorite social media or a local newspaper to find out where some of these groups are playing. You cannot see The Soundmasters perform, but you can catch Remember When, the Joey D & Johnny B Band, Denise Miller, the Jimmy Givens Band, or any of the dozens of local performers which are available for our entertainment pleasure down the shore.