Everyone is sharing favorite music in the Pukes room tonight and someone mentioned Unchained Melody.
That brought on a rush of special memories for me because in my teens I lived in Newport Beach for two years and the Rendezvous Ballroom on Balboa Blvd. was walking distance from our apartment. The Rendezvous was a famous dance hall in earlier decades, and in the 60’s it was a hugely popular teen club. Dick Dale and the Del Tones were the birth of surf music and headlined at the Ballroom, and the Righteous Brothers, Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and Duane Eddy were regulars there. We hung out at the Rendezvous every Friday and Saturday night, dancing and having a blast with our friends. There was an upper level balcony on three sides of the dance hall with cozy tables and candlelight.
Dick Dale and the Del Tones and the Beach Boys did surf tunes and the Righteous Brothers did their awesome love songs. I remember the hilarious routine the Righteous Brothers fumbled through, changing outfits for every song and sometimes doing it right there on stage in Keystone Cops confusion, shoes, socks and jackets flying everywhere.
And, of course, one of the songs the Righteous Brothers crooned was Unchained Melody, and it always cast a dreamy spell on the entire ballroom. I can still remember swaying to Unchained Melodies with Richard Voight, my tanned and blonde surfer god.
So, here’s Unchained Melody from my generation, and also an earlier version from the 50’s, done by The Platters, one of my all-time faves. Enjoy!
Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers
Unchained Melody – The Platters
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