"The Mashed Potato"

The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. The dance move and mashed potato song were first made famous by James Brown in 1959 and used in his concerts regularly. It was also a dance done to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". The move vaguely resembles that of the twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian Chubby Checker. The dance was first popularized internationally after being named in the lyrics of Motown's first mega-hit in the song "Do You Love Me" written by Berry Gordy Jr. and performed by The Contours in 1962.

The blonde dancer is DEANNA DE DE MOLLNER. She was a member of the Gazari Dancers.....

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At 5'10" tall, with long blonde hair and a beautiful svelte figure, DeANN is probably the most recognizable GAZZARRI DANCER. She is one of only two dancers who were on the show from the first to the last episode. She was also very popular and even had fan clubs here at home, as well as overseas.

While DeDe was a student at UCLA in 1964 she was slated to go to Africa on an anthropological dig with the world-reknowned Dr. Leakey. However a new TV show called HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO intervened and DeDe was chosen as one of the first GAZZARRI DANCERS. She is one of only two dancers who were there from the beginning of the show to the end in February 1966. British designer Mary Quant supplied her with one of the first mini-skirts to be worn on American television, which caused quite a stir back in 1965, and only added to HOLLYWOOD A GO-GO's risque reputation.

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"The Wah-Watusi" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and performed by the Orlons. It reached No.2 on the U.S. pop chart behind Bobby Vinton's "Roses Are Red (My Love)", No.5 on the U.S. R&B chart, and No. 12 in Canada in 1962. It was featured on their 1962 album The Wah-Watusi.

"The Wah-Watusi" sold over one million copies and was awarded gold disc status.

The song ranked No.24 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1962.

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When we moved to South Carolina in 1974, I had never heard of "Beach Music" or the "Shag", etc.

All I can say is that is was a freakin' hoot...Pawley's Island, girls wearing Add A Beads and me:cool:

This is me my first time:


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"Beach Music" ... North Myrtle Beach (OD and Cherry Grove) style .... I hated that preppy scene.... but the wimmins were hawt....

Now IF Vanna White had wanted to shag at Fat Harolds... :)

My birth year........

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It is a bit of a gut punch when I saw a little girl about 10 or 12 years old hold the door open for me at a restaurant. That sealed it, I am a geezer. Not a surprise, just my brain thinks I am still 14. Not so much my body. I still do not want to be called a senior citizen! I have a neat 911 in the garage to keep me young.

I have a little different take on the past...it's inevitable to go down memory lane once in a while but nostalgia can be a trap, especially as you get older. Constantly pining for "the good old days," (which were not as bright as our Poloroid pictures), can be illusory and keep me from fully living life in the present. I personally just need to always press forward or like a shark that stops moving, I'm dead. :)

Was it great being a teenager? Of course but as they say, "youth is wasted on the young." ;) I could also add that middle age is wasted on the middle aged, etc...

I've enjoyed the old dad photos here, so I'll add a couple of my dad from the very early '70s when he was trying to get through the sadness of divorce with his pal going through the same. I'm sure that it was lonely but they tried to make the best of it. There are lots more but you get the gist of it. :)
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Those actually relate to the subject. When my dad died 10 years ago, for some reason he left all of the contents and furnishings in his house to my mom, from whom he was divorced since 1970. I guess because none of the rest of us still live in the same city with the exception of my youngest sister. He was always on good terms with my mom post-divorce.

We were going through reams of old photos and albums trying to quickly cull any photos that would cause infliction of pain or sadness on my mom, like these "party boy" ones from soon after the divorce. It was a chore, there were tons of them. For a brief couple of days in the whirlwind of his death, (everyone flying into town, including me), she was game to receive some valuable family heirlooms and furniture that he got in the split plus the guy just lived well, so it was a bit of a haul. On about day 3, she changed her mind and just told us to give it all away to cousins or donate it. Even though they split 45 years prior, she said, "I don't want the memories." :(

She possessed a lot of wisdom, the greatest thing she passed on to us.

Good looking father! Why don't you post a pic (or three) of your Mom, Denis.....to go full circle on this......

My mother you say? Here she was:
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The good looking kid in the first photo is my little brother, the funny looking kid squinting in the sun holding a cat is me, the second one is a newspaper photo of her teaching swimming before I was born and the sailing photo is with a family friend in our C-scow in the early ‘70s. She was a champion swimmer, diver and competitive sailer growing up, easily the best athlete in her family or ours. :)

Great photos - and good memories for sure!

Winging. Miss her every day.

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Wow - thank you, Paul......what a special photo. The best from all yours that I can remember. Even those of Dottie don't compare. A close second - maybe.....:)

Lovely photo and what a special day that must have been.

Is that Master Chief? Outstanding!

Retired as a lieutenant, Bob. He definitely looks like a Master Chief in that photo though! :)


Here's my next oldest brother and our family wagon in 1968 at our Norfolk, Virginia home. He was 14 at the time. Dad bought that house in 1955, 4 years before retiring from the Navy.

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Bill and June are no longer with us but left quite a legacy. One of many fantastic cartoons we watched "growing up" in the 60's......

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