HOLLYWOOD A-GO GO!

Above dig ‘The Olympics’ doing their hit song ‘The Hully Gully’ on a Los Angeles based TV show called ‘Hollywood A-Go Go’ which aired in syndication in 1965–1966. The song entered Billboard’s Hot Top 100 chart at position #98–three weeks later it would peak at #72 {for 1 week} and ultimately spend seven non-consecutive weeks on the Top 100. That’s all well and good. But of more importance is that fab chick go-go dancer behind the opening credits. Who is she? Where is she now? Did she have a career after ‘Hollywood A Go Go?’ Is she currently alive and did she just have Thanksgiving with her grandchildren? Below is a review of ‘Hollywood A Go Go’ from Billboard Magazine. Its questionable taste and snide tone make it an important document in the history of Go-Go, a subject that deserves its own thick book assuming one hasn’t already been written.

One gets the feeling of being amidst a Zulu uprising or witnessing a contemporary interpretation of  ‘Dante’s Inferno’. Host Sam Riddle introduces his guests shouting at the top of his voice to the accompaniment of jungle drums (there must be a message in there somewhere). The set is reminiscent of a prison yard with its stone wall backdrop. During the lip-synced performances of the guest artists, members of the Gazzari [sic] dancers swing, sway, weave and gyrate with flailing arms from a postage stamp sized stage, step ladders and other lofty perches. The tempo is mostly upbeat with the emphasis on the driving, breast-beating sounds. With more than half of this nation’s population seen to be under 25 years of age, there is much practical economics in this programming.

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