There is one indisputable
fact:
We are all getting older, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Heck, I cannot believe my mom is 90, my wife is 65, and that I will hit the big 6-5 next year.
I can’t even believe that my kids are 26 and 33.
Time marches on, whether we want to march with it or not.
And over the past few days, Baby Boomers have lost two personalities from our youth, two guys who had their moment in the sun, and when that moment vanished, they kept on running anyway, and ended up having successful careers even when the spotlight was no longer shining on them.
The first was Keith Allison, that all-around musician, producer, songwriter, musical director and actor.
If that name does not ring a bell, no worry, because if you are a Baby Boomer, all I have to do is to mention four words and you will know exactly who I am talking about.
“Where the Action Is.”
Yes, you probably now remember him as one of the stars of that show, which ran on ABC during weekday afternoons for the better part of two seasons.
Allison was the supposed Paul McCartney lookalike who was the boy singer on that show, singing all the current hits and songs of his own.
He, along with the likes of Steve Alaimo, Tina Mason and Paul Revere and the Raiders, were the engine of that show, helmed by Dick Clark.
Although his appearances on the show did not yield any personal hits for him, he was on many hits by other artists, and went on to join Paul Revere and the Raiders in their next incarnation, and appeared on the Raiders’ “Happening” shows, also produced by Clark and on ABC, on Saturday afternoons after “American Bandstand."
He was a formidable songwriter, penning a huge country-rock classic, “Freeborn Man” with Raiders’ vocalist Mark Lindsay.
Allison also was an actor, appearing in several movies and TV shows including “Where Does it Hurt?” with Peter Sellers—where he was also the film’s music director—and on TV’s “Seventh Heaven.”
He musically backed many other performers, including Harry Nilsson, Sonny and Cher, Roy Orbison, and Ringo Starr, and on his own, he put out one LP during the WTAI era and a number of singles over his long career.
But he was at the height of his popularity on WTAI, and here is a video of him in action, singing “Louise.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQ6x8vPXLs
The second notable personality we lost over the past couple of days was Billy Hinsche, the perhaps least known member of the pop act Dino, Desi and Billy, who went on to have the most success of the trio in terms of a musical career.
Dino, Desi and Billy were Dino Martin, son of Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz Jr., son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Hinsche, a neighborhood friend.
Like many second generation children of major stars during that time—including Nancy Sinatra and Gary Lewis—they formed a rock band and with the connections that they had, were able to secure a record contract and become a ubiquitous presence on every TV variety show that existed during the mid to late 1960s, including everything from “Where the Action Is” to “The Ed Sullivan Show.”.
On Reprise Records—Frank Sinatra’s label—DD&B put out four LPs and many singles, including their one big hit, “I’m a Fool.”
DD&B were marketed as teenybopper idols, as Allison was, but the trio were a bit different than the bubblegummy sounds that were popular at that time.
Backed by the best musicians available, their sound generally had more of a folk feel than most of these recordings did, and songs like “The Rebel Kind” established them as sort of the folk-rock end of that bubblegum spectrum.
They put out some excellent records through their career, which lasted until about 1969, as Arnaz’s star was ascending on his mom’s “Here’s Lucy” TV show and Martin leaned toward a military career.
Hinsche, the most prolific musician of the group, went on his own, and played with the Beach Boys, among many other acts, for many years.
There were periodic reunions of the trio, but when Martin died in a military related plane crash, the act was no more, although they did reform from time to time as Ricci, Desi and Billy, with Dino’s brother Ricci filling in.
Here is Hinsche, along with his bandmates Martin and Arnaz, on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” playing their biggest hit, “I’m a Fool.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG75RPuD_Fc
Look how young they are here!
So there you have it.
Two musicians or yore who actually had long and successful careers starting in the spotlight and later in the background.
Yes, we are all getting older, but the images we have of those in Allison and Hinsche’s shoes will always be of youth, because of the memories we have of them and what is available watching them perform at the height of their popularity.
R.I.P. Keith and Billy.
You both did good.
We are all getting older, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Heck, I cannot believe my mom is 90, my wife is 65, and that I will hit the big 6-5 next year.
I can’t even believe that my kids are 26 and 33.
Time marches on, whether we want to march with it or not.
And over the past few days, Baby Boomers have lost two personalities from our youth, two guys who had their moment in the sun, and when that moment vanished, they kept on running anyway, and ended up having successful careers even when the spotlight was no longer shining on them.
The first was Keith Allison, that all-around musician, producer, songwriter, musical director and actor.
If that name does not ring a bell, no worry, because if you are a Baby Boomer, all I have to do is to mention four words and you will know exactly who I am talking about.
“Where the Action Is.”
Yes, you probably now remember him as one of the stars of that show, which ran on ABC during weekday afternoons for the better part of two seasons.
Allison was the supposed Paul McCartney lookalike who was the boy singer on that show, singing all the current hits and songs of his own.
He, along with the likes of Steve Alaimo, Tina Mason and Paul Revere and the Raiders, were the engine of that show, helmed by Dick Clark.
Although his appearances on the show did not yield any personal hits for him, he was on many hits by other artists, and went on to join Paul Revere and the Raiders in their next incarnation, and appeared on the Raiders’ “Happening” shows, also produced by Clark and on ABC, on Saturday afternoons after “American Bandstand."
He was a formidable songwriter, penning a huge country-rock classic, “Freeborn Man” with Raiders’ vocalist Mark Lindsay.
Allison also was an actor, appearing in several movies and TV shows including “Where Does it Hurt?” with Peter Sellers—where he was also the film’s music director—and on TV’s “Seventh Heaven.”
He musically backed many other performers, including Harry Nilsson, Sonny and Cher, Roy Orbison, and Ringo Starr, and on his own, he put out one LP during the WTAI era and a number of singles over his long career.
But he was at the height of his popularity on WTAI, and here is a video of him in action, singing “Louise.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQ6x8vPXLs
The second notable personality we lost over the past couple of days was Billy Hinsche, the perhaps least known member of the pop act Dino, Desi and Billy, who went on to have the most success of the trio in terms of a musical career.
Dino, Desi and Billy were Dino Martin, son of Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz Jr., son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Hinsche, a neighborhood friend.
Like many second generation children of major stars during that time—including Nancy Sinatra and Gary Lewis—they formed a rock band and with the connections that they had, were able to secure a record contract and become a ubiquitous presence on every TV variety show that existed during the mid to late 1960s, including everything from “Where the Action Is” to “The Ed Sullivan Show.”.
On Reprise Records—Frank Sinatra’s label—DD&B put out four LPs and many singles, including their one big hit, “I’m a Fool.”
DD&B were marketed as teenybopper idols, as Allison was, but the trio were a bit different than the bubblegummy sounds that were popular at that time.
Backed by the best musicians available, their sound generally had more of a folk feel than most of these recordings did, and songs like “The Rebel Kind” established them as sort of the folk-rock end of that bubblegum spectrum.
They put out some excellent records through their career, which lasted until about 1969, as Arnaz’s star was ascending on his mom’s “Here’s Lucy” TV show and Martin leaned toward a military career.
Hinsche, the most prolific musician of the group, went on his own, and played with the Beach Boys, among many other acts, for many years.
There were periodic reunions of the trio, but when Martin died in a military related plane crash, the act was no more, although they did reform from time to time as Ricci, Desi and Billy, with Dino’s brother Ricci filling in.
Here is Hinsche, along with his bandmates Martin and Arnaz, on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” playing their biggest hit, “I’m a Fool.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG75RPuD_Fc
Look how young they are here!
So there you have it.
Two musicians or yore who actually had long and successful careers starting in the spotlight and later in the background.
Yes, we are all getting older, but the images we have of those in Allison and Hinsche’s shoes will always be of youth, because of the memories we have of them and what is available watching them perform at the height of their popularity.
R.I.P. Keith and Billy.
You both did good.
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