Shuffled off this Mortal Coil

 

A few years ago, archaeologists unearthed the remains of England’s King Richard III, under a parking lot in Leicester. He was known to history infamously as Shakespeare’s evil hunchback king, usurper of the English throne and suspected murderer of his nephews, ages 12 (Edward V)  and 9 (Richard) in the Tower of London.  I was surprised to note that Richard was only 32 years old when killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. It got us thinking about the ages of famous people when they went kaput as well as who else went kaput at the same age.  You may be surprised. For example, at opposite ends of the humanitarian scale, age 56 are: Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler. 

 

As we work our way up from 15 year-old Anne Frank and 17 year-old singer (La Bamba) Richie Valens through comedians Bob Hope and George Burns, 100, what is occasionally surprising is some folks you thought were old - were not.  Some people you thought were young - were not.  Generally, we look at age though the lens of our own stage of life and then age becomes relative, a matter of perspective, since if you’re 25 then 55 (Julius Caesar) - is old but if you’re 65 then 55 (Bill Haley of Bill Haley and His Comets) -  is young. 

 

You’ll note that through suicides, accidents, murders, and disease quite a few familiar names weren’t really old at all when they checked out. Many were surprisingly young. The Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc was 19 when she was flambeed at the stake.  Stuart Sutcliffe, original bassist for the Beatles; outlaw, Billy the Kid; singers Buddy Holly, and Aaliyah were all 21, Holly died  in the same plane crash as Valens and the Big Bopper, age 25. Twenty-five seemed old to me when I was age 12.  24 saw Actor James Dean, runner Steve Prefontane, and rapper Notorious B.I.G  shuffle off.  Presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth was 26 as was singer Otis Redding.  In music there is the “27 club” of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, Kurt Kobain, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Grateful Deader, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Blues originator Robert Johnson. Hank Williams was 29. Gone at 31 were Roman Emperor Commodus, John Dillinger, Rudolf Valentino, Cesare Borgia, and painter Georges Seurat.   32?  Singers Karen Carpenter, Cass Elliot, actor, Bruce Lee and Who drummer Keith Moon. Comedian John Belushi was 33, as was singer Sam Cooke. Andy Kaufman, guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – all gone at 34.  Diana Spencer (Princess Di) and Marilyn Monroe were 36, as was Bob Marley. 37 saw the demise of Scottish poet, Robert Burns; artist Vincent van Gogh;, teacher/astronaut, Christa McAuliffe; decapitated French Queen, Marie Antoinette; George Armstrong Custer and his nemesis, Crazy Horse. (Note: Sitting Bull was 59). It was the final chapter at 38 for writer, Charlotte Bronte; baseball player, Roberto Clemente; composer, George Gershwin, and Presidential offspring, John F. Kennedy, Jr.    Bet you didn’t know that Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata were 39, as was Marie Antoinette’s husband,  King Louis XVI of France.  Also at 39 were, mathematician Blaise Pascal, Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and Confederate General, Stonewall Jackson. 

How about writers Jack London and Edgar Allen Poe, along with Beatle, John Lennon at 40?  Leaving the building at 42 were Elvis Presley, comedienne, Gilda Radner, and African King, Shaka Zulu. Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, artist Jackson Pollock, singer Marvin Gaye and jazz/blues immortal, Billie Holiday departed at 44.  At 45 – Vlad the Impaler, aka, Dracula, but then he may be undead.   What did writer George Orwell, President John F. Kennedy, existentialist writer Albert Camus, writer and wit, Oscar Wilde, and wrestler Andre the Giant have in common?  All passed away at age 46.  JFK’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald was 24.  One year older at 47 were Attila the Hun and Judy Garland….writer Jack Kerouac too.  No more rubbing people out for gangster Al Capone, who died at 48. 

50?  It was stage left for swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn, actor Steve McQueen and Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame, also Davy Crockett bit the dust at the Alamo at 50. Napoleon was “only”51 as was French playwright, Moliere, French writer Marcel Proust and Beach Boy, Carl Wilson.  William Shakespeare was reformatted at 52.  So were actress/Princess Grace Kelly and singer Roy Orbison. 53 saw an eclectic group bidding adieu; President James K. Polk, Grateful Deader, Jerry Garcia, “I think, therefore I am” philosopher Rene Descartes, singer John Denver, poet Emily Dickenson, Muppet founder Jim Henson, and baseball’s Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. Osama bin Laden went in search of heavenly virgins when he was 54.   The voyage ended for Christopher Columbus and Will Rogers along with Julius Caesar, singer Bill Haley, and poet Emily Dickinson, who perished at 55. With the afore mentioned Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler at 56, was serial bridegroom, King Henry VIII,  (his wives? – Catherine of Aragaon,41, Anne Boleyn -36, Jane Seymour- 26, Anne of Cleves -42, Catherine Howard -22, and Catherine Parr – 36) also  singers Rick James and Warren Zevon. 

Permanently out of print at 57 were actor Humphrey Bogart, dancer, Gregory Hines, and People Get Ready….Curtis Mayfield.  Going off line at 58 were artist, Andy Warhol, Irish author, James Joyce, and Beatle, George Harrison. Writer Virginia Woolf and actor, Clark Gable fell off the perch at 59. 

 No more orders from General George Patton when he was 60, nor politics and exploration from Theodore Roosevelt, also 60.  Cashing in their chips at 61 were writer, Ernest Hemingway and poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  St. Paul was probably 62 as was the philosopher, Aristotle.  Stamped, Return to Sender when 63 were  Ulysses S. Grant and his archrival, Robert E. Lee, in addition to  Franklin Delano Roosevelt, actress, Audrey Hepburn, Mickey Mantle, artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, and basketball star, Wilt Chamberlain.  “When I’m 64”? singer, Wilson Pickett, political philosopher, Karl Marx and President Lyndon B. Johnson. Room temperature at 65 were Genghis Khan, comedian, Richard Pryor, Alice in Wonderland’s author Lewis Carroll, Walt Disney,  and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, who is currently decomposing. It was the last race for Olympian, Jesse Owens, comedian, W. C. Fields, and Nobel Prize winner, Marie Curie, who checked out at 66.  Gone at 67 were George Washington (seemed older than 67, n’est pas?),  actress, Ingrid Bergman, and Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci. It was game over for singer/dancer Josephine Baker, poet Ogden Nash and author/illustrator, Shel Silverstein at 68.

Desi Arnaz, writer, Aldous Huxley, and physicist, Richard Feynman perished at 69. 

Leaving for more than a three hour tour were Gilligan (Bob Denver), Buffalo Bill Cody and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus went at 70.  Socrates was 71ish. Hello Pilgrim, goodbye to John Wayne,  and prolific author,  Isaac Asimov -72. At 73 providing last name first name continuity were Ray Charles and Charles Darwin. Laying down their burden at 74 were, Fred "Mister" Rogers, humorist, Mark Twain and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and rarely will you see Jean Paul Sartre and Fred Rogers in the same sentence. Philosopher Plato was 75ish and composer/orchestra leader, Duke Ellington took the “A Train” at 75.  Albert Einstein checked out at 76 and fellow physicist Neils Bohr was 77 along with Lucille Ball, astronomer Galileo Galilei, and cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz. It was game over at 78 for Andrew Jackson, writer, Simone de Beauvoir, entertainer, Dean Martin, Coretta Scott-King, and Mahatma Gandhi. What did entertainer, Johnny Carson and philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason) Immanuel Kant have in common?  Did you say gone at 79?  

Stella!!!!!actor, Marlon Brando was 80.  Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien, Richard Nixon and actress, Betty Davis, became bereft of life at 81. Succumbing at 82 were, comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, astronaut, Neil Armstrong, writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,  and  Frank Sinatra. 83 and it was finis for Thomas Jefferson, writer, Samuel Beckett (who gave up waiting for Godot) , Sigmund Freud, writer, Voltaire, western lawman, Wyatt Earp and astronomer, William Herschel tended towards a state of chemical equilibrium. It was lights out for Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), Isaac Newton, artist, Henri Matisse and rider, Paul Revere at 84. Freudian disciple, Carl Jung left the couch at 85.  86 was the end of the line for comedian, Groucho Marx and eugenicist/birth control advocate, Margaret Sanger.  Futurist, Buckminster Fuller, inventor, Rube Goldberg, and writer, Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel had negative patient care outcome at 87.  The curtain came down for comedians Charlie Chaplin and Mae West, and philosopher, George Santayana (“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”). The great sculptor and artist Michelangelo was 90, as were, John Adams, Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale. Time to wash the dishes and put away the pots and pans for chef, Julia Child, artist, Pablo Picasso, and philosopher, Thomas Hobbes at 91. The bus stopped for Rosa Parks when she was 92.  The Gipper, Ronald Reagan, rode off into the sunset at 93, as did Harriet Tubman on the underground railroad.  Actresses (and the lists get shorter now) Katharine Hepburn and Fay Wray (King Kong had here in the palm of his hand) were 96. Gertrude Ederle, (first to swim the English Channel, astronomer, Caroline Herschel, and philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell

used their one-way tickets when they were 97. Ninety-eight year old artist Georgia O'Keeffe painted her last flower. Achieving the century mark were George Burns and Bob Hope.  But wait! There’s more. 101 were composer Irving Berlin and artist Grandma Moses. If you remember the Ed Sullivan Show,(and THERE’S an age thing)  Senior Wences (‘s’alright? S’alright….shut de door”) was ventriloquizing until 103.  So there you have it.  A selective list to keep age in perspective and win the occasional dinner debate.  Remember, as Satchel Paige or Jack Benny or…… but actually said by an anonymous government researcher in 1968,  famously said, “Age is a question of mind over matter.  If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”. 

Our title and opening quote…..”shuffled off this mortal coil” is from the “To be or not to be” soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

……….Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,…. Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1, Hamlet,

The word coil is an antiquated word, commonly used centuries before Shakespeare, and spelt ‘coyle.’ It was a noun and referred to a mess – a mixture of messy things like noise, confusion, uncertainty, bustle, sort of like using mass transit. We don’t use the word coil like that anymore but most of Shakespeare’s audience would have understood it in that way. And so, in keeping with our essay theme, how old was Hamlet when he went kaput?  Hamlet was 30 just like the Roman emperor Nero, poet Sylvia Plath, Emily Bronte, singers, Jim Croce, Patsy Cline and Andy Gibb, Wyatt’s brother Morgan Earp, John Harvard, and King James V of Scotland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nino and the Ebb Tides.....A Study of "And The" Singing Groups

 

Nino and the Ebb Tides

 

 

While listening to the “50’s” channel of Sirius Radio the other day, I heard the now obscure musical masterpiece Jukebox Saturday Night by Nino and the Ebbtides. The recording was a 1961 remake of an original Glen Miller song with the lyrics and beat updated and Nino singing:

  It's so easy to reminisce

When you listen to the Monotones singing this

"I wonder, wonder who, be do do who

Who wrote the book of love” ………Nino and the gang also recorded Those Oldies But Goodies which, like Jukebox Saturday Night also featured the group singing snippets from “old” songs

……,however, Nino’s version was eclipsed by a version recorded by Little Caesar and the Romans . Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

The songs of the past bring back memories of you

I always remember the first night we met

The songs they were playing I never will forget

 

It is important to note  that the seemingly ancient, featured lyrics in Oldies but Goodies as well as those featured in Jukebox Saturday Night were maybe three years old at the time.   

Nino and the Ebb Tides got us to thinking about AND THE singing groups and bands, which like Nino have AND THE as their middle names because, well wouldn’t you? 

AND THE groups have been with us for over 70 years but now it was time to really explore this egocentric genre which features a lead singer and backup group. Our research began with our own iTunes playlists.  We noted that - with a few exceptions, - “AND THE” largely faded from group names after the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s heyday. Yes, sadly, no more Dion and the Belmonts. After our iTunes survey, we searched our memory, what’s left of it, and came up with a few more.  Internet investigation yielded more of the forgotten once, I figured out the correct question.  Asking for lists of “AND THE” groups didn’t work. Then it was time to bring in the heavy hitters.  I asked Margaret. She immediately came up with eight that I hadn’t thought of and the list was well under way.  Alas, most of these groups are now forgotten, so we have listed their biggest hits which also are mostly forgotten other than the several boutique radio stations and networks that focus on eras or decades.  

The 1950s were the high point of the “AND THE” Groups although the 60s were close behind.  They began to fade in the 70’s, were just about gone in the 80s and 90s but were coming back in the 2000s where we found, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Bow Thayer and the Euphorians, Florence and the Machine, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and one of questionable pedegree, Vinnie Pauleone and the Bada Bing Orchestra

 

The search for “AND THE” groups spread to my friends.  First, I had to explain Nino and the Ebbtides – no one, absolutely no one, knew Nino and the Ebbtides and I bet neither do you. 

One day on the golf course I announced to my compadres, Todd and Bill, both 80s music boys, that I was compiling a list of “AND THE” groups. They know me well so they didn’t ask “Why?” Todd jumped right in.  He gave me George Thorogood and the Destroyers.  Bill, not quite grasping the spirit of the moment, whined, “oh great, now besides thinking about aligning the golf ball, worrying about my back swing and aiming the shots, I have to think about “AND THE” groups?”  Needless to say, Bill wasn’t much help that day although he did play well. Meanwhile, Todd kept contributing.  “Florence and the Machine” he blurted out as I was in the middle of my backswing.   There was another he couldn’t think of but described them as “sounding like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including the saxophone…from Boston”. Todd mulled this one over for the next hour or so. Bill was pretty sure he knew the group but couldn’t think of the name as they had appeared at the University of Connecticut while he was in college, and, besides, he was worried about finding his golf ball in the woods. Post golf, driving home, Bill announced that he was certain that his friend Rob, a music aficionado, would know the group who “sounded like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including the saxophone from Boston”.  At the time Rob was somewhere in Virginia hiking the Appalachian Trail. Bill texted Rob asking if he knew an 80’s group who “sounded like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including the saxophone from Boston”. Minutes later Rob texted back from somewhere deep in the forest while dodging assorted mammals and reptiles and plants that can do bodily harm, “John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band”. Whew!  Inspired, Todd chimed in with another, “Steve Earle and the Dukes”. Meanwhile I came up with Ruby and the Romantics but neither Todd nor Bill had heard of them. 

My final list was longer than I thought it would be.  Then I sent a draft of this essay to my oldest friend (he’s a month older than me), Lee.  Lee and I grew up listening to music. Lee  came through as along came Jay and the Americans, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, Joey Dee and the Starlighters, Sunny and the Sunglows, Ronnie and the Hi-Lites, Kathy Young and the Innocents, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, and Curtis Lee and the Dunes (I knew Curtis Lee but I didn’t know he had Dunes). So how to categorize?  Then along came our music buff friend John.  Inspired by this essay, John took to his exercycle and contemplated as he puffed away and came up with Tommy James and the Shondells, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band.  John also suggested Dylan and the Dead and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars but they are one shot albums.

Organization by themes seemed to be a good idea. 

 

Decades listed for groups are when the group was founded. For example, a group may have been founded in the 1960s like Bob Marley and the Wailers but achieved fame in the 70s and into 1981 until Marley’s untimely death.  Many groups spanned multiple decades such as Gladys Knight and the Pips from the 50s – late 80s. 

 

The Ego Theme.  We have Groups where the lead singer eventually stood alone while the others became AND THE – separated by a few feet on stage and lots of money off stage. If they weren’t musicians, they would be doing dance steps:

From Motown we have The Supremes who became Diana Ross AND THE in 1967 thanks to Berry Gordy Jr. …..but then Diana  dumped the Supremes altogether for her  Diva career. The Supremes soldiered on but…….– Where Did Our Love Go?

The Miracles became Smokey Robinson AND THE in 1965 (by this time Smokey was also a Vice President of Motown Records) -Shop Around

The Four Seasons became Frankie Valli AND THE – Sherry. The Frankie Valli And The…….was never official as Valli had various solo incarnations and the group itself also recorded a few songs as the Wonder Who. They are frequently referred to as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. 

The Crests became Johnny Maestro AND THE – Sixteen Candles…….Maestro left the Crests in 1961 but they had variously been billed as Johnny Maestro and the Crests.  Recording names and the record labels and contracts involved in those days were, shall we say, fluid. 

The Teenagers became Frankie Lymon AND THE in 1957 – Why Do Fools Fall in Love. Frankie, age 14, was the older brother of Lewis, see Lewis Lymon and the Teenchords below. 

The Famous Flames became James Brown AND THE – Please, Please, Please

The Maytals  became Toots AND THE 1960s – Pressure Drop

The Animals became Eric Burdon AND THE 1960s – House of the Rising Sun

The First Edition became Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.  Then the First Edition went out of print and it was just Kenny Rogers – Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition was In – 1960s

Scholars:

Danny and the Juniors - At the Hop – 1950s

Anthony and the Sophmores - Play Those Oldies, Mr. Dee Jay – 1960s (This record also featured samplings from “old” songs)

There was a group called the Four Freshmen (1950s) but regrettably, they had no AND THE (although I think Orientation and the Four Freshmen might have worked). It appears that no one got as far as “And The” Seniors. 

After Dark we have:

Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, 2000s - S.O.B

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, 2000s - Paris (ooh la la)

Harvey and the Moonglows, 1950s - 10 Commandments of Love

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters 1960s – Finger Poppin’ Time

Otis Day and the Nights (This is the band from the movie Animal House), 1970s - Shout

Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, 1960s- Stay.  Personal note, the author believes this to be one of the greatest singles of all time. 

Joey Dee and the Starliters, 1960s -Peppermint Twist

Ronnie and the Hi Lites, 1960s -I Wish that We Were Married

Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs,  1950s (although Fireballs could be a drink), Sugar Shack

Geography:

Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, (The Crests were gone by now, possibly under the bridge) 1950s -The Worst That Could Happen

Dion and the Belmonts (Belmont Ave. in The Bronx), 1950s – Teenager in Love

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, 1960s – Devil With the Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, 1970s - I Don’t Want to Go Home

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 1970s - Rosalita

Bruce Hornsby and the Range, 1980s (or it could be an appliance) – The Way it Is

K.C and the Sunshine Band, 1970s - That’s The Way I Like It

Little Caesar and the Romans, 1960s – Those Oldies But Goodies

Ronny and the Daytonas, 1960s – Little G.T.O

Barefoot Becky and the Ivanhoe Dutchman, 1980s -7 Beers with The Wrong Woman

Curtis Lee and the Dunes, 1960s-Pretty Little Angel Eyes *We knew Curtis Lee but we didn’t know about the Dunes. 

Jay and the Americans, 1950s – She Cried -This was with original lead “Jay”, Jay Traynor. Traynor would be replaced by Jay Black - not really a Jay - his real name was David Blatt - so they remained Jay and the Americans, Cara Mia

Audubon Society:

Don Julian and The Meadowlarks, 1950s – Heaven and Paradise

Sonny Til and the Orioles, 1950s – Crying in the Chapel

Marv Johnson and the Falcons,1950s – Happy Days

Dorothy and the Swans – 1960s , You Know  You Lied

British Invasion 

Gerry and the Pacemakers, 1950s – Ferry Cross the Mersey

Billy Jay Kramer and the Dakotas, 1960s – Bad to Me

Freddy and the Dreamers, 1960s (this dreadful group and their recorded treacle did severe damage to the British Invasion and music in general) – I’m Telling You Now 

Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, 1960s – The Game of Love

Eric Burdon and the Animals, 1960s – Spill the Wine

Eric Burdon and the New Animals – after a dispute over the group name The Animals

Geology 

Sly and the Family Stone, 1960s – Dance to the Music

Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1970s - Garden Party

Made Up Names i.e.  The Rosie and the Originals (1960s – Angel Baby) Category

Kenny Vance and the Planotones – Kenny’s career was Doo Wop revival covers but he was an original member of Jay and the Americans. 

Martha and the Vandellas, 1960s (Among the Amharic speakers of North Central Ethiopia, a vandella is one of several types of ghost-walking or dream-invading demons/vampires but the name of the group was coined by Berry Gordy of Motown Records) -.  Dancing in the Street

Lewis Lymon and the Teenchords, 1950s – I’m So Happy

Vinnie Pauleone and the Bada Bing Orchestra, 2000s - Sopranos Theme: Woke Up This Morning

Archie Bell and the Drells, 1960s – The Tighten Up

Toots and the Maytals, 1960s - Pressure Drop

Gladys Knight and the Pips, 1960s – Midnight Train to Georgia 

Tommy James and the Shondells, 1960s – Hanky Panky

Barry and the Tamerlanes, 1960s – I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight …We note that Barry and the guys could have been trying for Tamburlaine the Great, a Christopher Marlowe play based on the life of Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the 14^th centuryTimurid Empire in Afghanistan….but maybe not. 

The Great Outdoors:

Dante and the Evergreens, 1950s – Alley Oop

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, 1970s – On the Dark Side

Expressive  Groups:

Bob Marley and the Wailers, 1960s - No Woman No Cry

Jerry Butler and the Impressions, 1950s – For Your Precious Love

Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, 1960s – People Get Ready

Vito and the Salutations, 1960s – Unchained Melody – Unforgettable speeded up version of the romantic classic……Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered for your
Touch, touch, touch, touch, touch
Woo-oo-oo-oo (yeap)
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Much, much, much, much, much
To you, oo-oo-oo

Ruby and the Romantics, 1960s – Our Day Will Come

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1970s – American Girl

Lee Andrews and the Hearts (Would also fit in a separate Anatomy Listing), 1950s - Teardrops

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 1980s, I Love Rock and Roll

Fitz and the Tantrums, 1990s, Handclap

Bow Thayer and the Euphorians, 2000s – I Can’t Wait

Diminutive Groups:

Little Joe and the Thrillers, 1950s - Peanuts

Little Caesar and the Romans – also a Geography Group, 1960s – Those Oldies But Goodies

Offering Personal and Career Advice Are:

Dickie Doo and the Don’ts, 1950s – Click Clack – There was actually no Dicky Doo. He was Gerry Granahan, a producer and singer whose 1958 (Sunbeam Records) big hit was the metaphysical political statement, No Chemise Please

I had a date for the hop last night

Up to her door everything seemed right

But to my surprise as I opened the door

I couldn't tell the front from the back

"Cause she was wearin' a sack dress

Whew what a mess!

The last time I saw her, man what a shape!!

And now she's got a shape like an egg!

No chemise, please, not for me, please ……The Don’ts were studio musicians and singers added for personal appearance tours. 

Entomology:

Adam and the Ants, 1970s – Stand and Deliver

Buddy Holly and the Crickets, (also sometimes just known as The Crickets due to contractual record label complications), 1950s – Peggy Sue

Meteorology:

Randy and the Rainbows, 1960s - Denise

Johnny and the Hurricanes, 1950s – Red River Valley

Nino and the Ebb Tides, 1960s – Jukebox Saturday Night

Sunny and the Sunglows, (later Sunny and the Sunliners but the Sunglows were on the biggest hit) 1950s -Talk to Me

People: 

Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns, 1950s – Don’t You Just Know It

Iggy and the Stooges, 1960s – I Wanna Be Your Dog

Norman Fox and the Rob Roys, 1950s – Tell Me Why

Steve Earle and the Dukes, 1960s – Guitar Town

Nolan Strong and the Diablos, 1950s - The Wind.  The Jesters had a more successful version than this Detroit based pre-Motown group. 

Gary Lewis and the Playboys, 1960s – This Diamond Ring

Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1950s - Thousand Stars….Kathy Young was the daughter of actor, Robert Young of Father knows Best fame. 

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, 1960s – Wooly Bully

J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, 1960s – Last Kiss

Automotive:

Little Anthony and the Imperials (Chrysler had a luxury model called Imperial), 1950s – Tears on My Pillow

Booker T. and the MGs, 1960s – Green Onions

Violent Action:

Paul Revere and the Raiders 1950s - Kicks

George Thorogood and the Destroyers, 1970s – Bad to the Bone

Prince and the Revolution, 1970s – Purple Rain

Bow Thayer and (the) Perfect Train Wreck – Wreckoning

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (If we had a Vampire category, it would work also), 1970s – Night Moves

Industrial Revolution:

Shep and the Limelights, 1960s – Daddy’s Home

Mike and the Mechanics, 1980s – The Living Years

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – Officially they were The Mothers of Invention but googling Frank Zappa AND THE yields all necessary information, 70s - We’re Only in it For the Money.

Florence and the Machine, 2,000s – Dog Days are Over.

Extra Terrestrials: 

? and the Mysterians (named for a 1957 Sci Fi movie and orally pronounced as Question Mark and the Mysterians), 1960s, 96 Tears. 

Link Wray and the Wraymen, 1950s - Rumble

Possessive Pronouns – These are His instead of AND THE Groups -Popular usage has usually substituted THE for His. 

Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, 1920s - Collegiate

Bill Haley and His Comets, 1950s - Rock Around The Clock

Billy Ward and His Dominoes, 1950s - The Bells

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, 1960s – Hot Rod Lincoln

John Fred and His Playboy Band,  1950s – Judy in Disguise With Glasses

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, 1960s - Ashtray Heart

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band,  1980s -Album – It Don’t Come Easy

Games:

Speaking of Dominoes, see Billy Ward above……Derek and the Dominoes, 1970s - Layla

Superstition:

Otis Williams and the Charms, 1950s – Hearts of Stone

Stop the Presses! Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, 1960s - Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In.

Melodies: Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes – 1970s – If You Don’t Know Me By Now

Louis Lymon and the Teenchords, 1950s (also in the Made-Up Names category) – I’m So Happy

Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, 1960s – Let’s Go Trippin’

Current Events: Huey Lewis and the News, 1980s – Power of Love

Fashion:Bob B. Soxx and the Bluejeans, 1960s – Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts. While Bob B. Soxx sang lead on their first hit, Zippity Doo Dah, producer Phil Spector brought in the great Darlene Love to sing lead on Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts”, their biggest hit. 

Legendary Irish Beings - Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden, 1970s

 

The 2000s revival indicates that we have not seen the end of AND THEs in group names although the days of the lead singer to one side, or in front (front man?) with the backups,  we’ll call it the Pips Syndrome, doing their carefully choreographed dance steps may be over. There have been many creative variations in the evolution of music from Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers to Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders to Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers to Nathaniel Rateliff And The Nightsweats. Spanning 70 years (100 if you count Fred Waring), and the AND THEs are still with us. It's just that you may have not known it since AND THEs in the center of a group name is taken for granted but now, perhaps, you will take notice and now you too can have your friends think that you are strange.

 

And remember Nino? You recall Nino. He inspired our And The academic study. He and the Ebb Tides also crooned:  

Yes, dear, they are playin' our songs. 

And they will always remain our songs 

And each time you hear them, I hope you, too, will cherish the wonderful Memories………….. 

 

 

 

 

Just part of