Sha Na Na
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Sha Na Na was a rock and roll/comedy group from New York City, who performed covers of doo wop hits from the 1950s, simultaneously reviving and sending up the music, as well as 1950s New York street culture, in their performances. They began under the name The Kingsmen, when the members were attending Columbia University, but changed the name due to the Pacific Northwest group of the same name famous for "Louie, Louie". The name comes from the refrain of the '50s song "Get A Job" ("Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na-na...") Jon "Bowzer" Bauman commented on a 1981 Password Plus episode that the singer could possibly have actually been saying "Sha-da-da-da...", which in reality would make the group's proper name Sha-Da-Da. Regardless, they began in 1969, at the height of the hippie "counter-culture," and achieved national fame after playing at the Woodstock Festival.
Sha Na Na helped to spark a 1950s nostalgia craze, inspiring similar groups both in North America and in the United Kingdom, as well as the Broadway play Grease, the movie Grease, and the television show Happy Days. Sha Na Na had its own syndicated television show in the late 1970s, featuring guests such as James Brown and the Ramones, amongst others.
The band's best known and most recognizable member was Jon Bauman, whose stage persona was of a greaser named "Bowzer". His trademarks were his slicked-back hair, a sleeveless black t-shirt, same-colored jeans, sneakers, and occasionally a leather jacket decorated with chains and patches. Bowzer was best known, however, for his unusual pose where he'd do a bicep flex with his fist pointed towards his mouth, which was usually wide open. Bauman went on to be a game show host (his primary hosting job was The Hollywood Squares half of The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, a hybrid game show which ran on NBC from 1983 to 1984) and a radio talk show host who recently has revived his Bowzer persona as the promoter of a series of rock and roll revival concerts in the United States.
The group's first guitarist, Henry Gross, went on to become a solo artist, and had a hit single titled "Shannon" in 1976. Vinnie Taylor (1949 - 1974) (real name Chris Donald), who replaced Gross as the lead guitarist in 1970, died from a heroin overdose on April 17 1974, after a concert at University Hall at the University of Virginia. He was found in a Holiday Inn hotel room in Charlottesville, Virginia. Another founding member of the band Robert Leonard, is now a professor of forensic linguistics at Hofstra University.[link]
The band remains well-known for their tracks on the "Grease" soundtrack, including "Those Magic Changes", "Hound Dog", "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay", "Blue Moon", "Born to Hand-Jive" and "Tears On My Pillow", and for their appearance in the Woodstock movie.
See also: List of artists who died of drug-related causes
Gallery
Trivia
- Two former members of Sha Na Na would go on to join Bill Haley and His Comets in the late 1970s: David "Chico" Ryan and Mal Gray.
External links
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