The Peridots - Hully Gully All Nite Long/It's The Bomp

Happy New Year! It's Great Shakes rolls into 2006 a little more than six months old. I want to personally thank everyone who's read our blog and especially those who've taken the time to leave comments. Also, a big thank you is due Brian Marshall, whose contribution has helped make the whole shebang possible. Here's hoping that the new year will be every bit as fun and educational, from a musical standpoint, as 2005 was.

We start 2006 with what is the 250th post to It's Great Shakes. We've discussed and tried our best to describe hundreds of records here. It's not always easy and I often think we're at a disadvantage not having the ability to post soundfiles. But a reader recently pointed out that can be a strength of sorts, if we're successful at getting someone to imagine what a song sounds like from our description. I hope that if something sounds interesting, you'll investigate further, as many of the records featured here are either available on compilations or can be found for minimal cash outlay.

Today's record is a recent discovery and currently in heavy rotation here at the house. A web search doesn't turn up much info on this disc nor The Peridots. Some crafty detective work (in this case, reading the record label) indicates that Deauville was a Miami, FL label. Skethchy evidence (an old radio aircheck and the record's b-side) seems to indicate that The Peridots were from the area. I've seen the record listed as being anything from a 1961 release, right on up to 1965. Given the data at hand, I'd say the latter is more likely accurate.

"Hully Gully All Nite Long" is a frat styled rocker, with heavy use of organ, drums and some nifty guitar running throughout. Though obviously meant to fill the dance floor, the song moves at mid-tempo is as much of a groover as it is a mover. The vocal begins with "It's Hully Gully Time!" and then lyrics that are as much spoken as they are sung. The "singer" name checks everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Jackie Gleason to Frankenstein and throws in the names of a few dances and other extraneous terms for good measure. The backing vocals that appear between "verses" sing "Let's Hully Gully all nite long". Terrific material, eh? There's no arguing it's perfect for It's Great Shakes.

The flipside qualifies as a winner too. "It's The Bomp" is also an organ laden dancer, this time with the cool guitar coming in to play the break. The Bomp is, of course, a dance step and the boys do their best to get everyone up and doing it. First, they let everyone know the dance originated in Miami. Then, they give it the obligitory "it's easy to do" treatment. I'm still trying to find a dance record where they tell everybody not to bother because the step is too complicated.

One source indicates that The Peridots released at least one other record, though I don't know whether or not that's accurate. This disc seems common enough that a copy can be had for under $10, not a bad deal at all. I'm unaware of any compilation appearances, so I'd recommend you go chase down your very own copy.