Wiki: Don't delete Johnny Contardo....please!

 

A few weeks ago we watched Grease (again).  Several of the musical numbers have aged well, although the overall story hasn't.  

At the dance in the film, there is a band.  One of the songs the band sings is "Those Magic Changes."  

All of these years that song has grabbed at me.  It is so well done, and pretty.

More than that, though, the group playing the band in the film is led by a fantastic singer, Johnny Contardo, who, for reasons unknown, did not have the career he should have had.  He formed the group Sha Na Na.  This group was unique in that they were good, but also they were a kind of comedy routine.

Their "schtick" was that they imitated the do-wop music of the 1950s.  

The typical chord progression of those songs in the 50s was Major, Minor, Fourth, Fifth.  Song after song with this chord progression.  Think Everly Brothers....All I have to do is Dream.

...and for me that chord progression was never tiring.  In fact, it is a very pretty chord progression in my opinion.  I first learned it at church camp where I learned to play I love the Mountains on the piano. 

Here is a Youtube video of Johnny Contardo singing Those Magic Changes.  

Notice that the group, in the introduction to the song, sings C C C C A A A A minor F F F F G G G G 7th.  In other words, they were singing that well known 50s chord progression.  You could actually sing I Love the Mountains to that chord progression, or Dream Dream Dream, or any number of 50s songs.

See if you don't agree that it is a fun group and that Contardo was a fantastic singer, with great range.

Now, the bad news.  This morning I looked up Johnny Contardo on Wikipedia, and found that there was very little about him.  Sadly, also (at least to me), Wiki is considering dropping him altogether because he didn't do enough.

One more example of how I am getting old.

Well, Johnny, I have listened to this song for many years and it has brought me a lot of enjoyment.  Wiki can drop you, but I won't.

Thanks for the memory.

Here is a photo with him in 50s dress and hair.  Love it.

Here we are dancing to this song.  The East Coast Swing, Swing, Jitterbug is so much fun.  It's wild.  It's what teenagers would have been dancing when this song came out.