Cameo-Parkway, an independent record company based in Philadelphia, made music that’s impossible to sit down to. The dance music it created from 1957 to 1967 includes the twist, the pony, the fly, the limbo rock, the mashed potatoes, the bird, the watusi, the bristol stomp, and the 81, among many others. The main stars of the show were Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, the Orlons, the Tymes, and the Dovells, among many others.
You Can’t Sit Down, Dovells (#3, 1963)
Cameo-Parkway produced hits covering many different genres, including pop, rockabilly, folk, doo-wop, novelty and garage band punk. This varied output was aimed strictly to teenagers who had the money to buy 45 RPM records. Its most historical record was the twist.
Let’s Twist Again, Chubby Checker (#8, 1961)
The twist reached number one twice, in 1960 and again in 1961. It appealed not only to teens, but to adults as well. Bernie Lowe, Kal Mann, and Dave Apell, who ran the organization, saw the financial potential of dance crazes, especially knowing that their artists would get worldwide recognition by appearing on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand TV show, also based in Philadelphia. The company’s first number one, though, wasn’t a dance record. After a few flops, Cameo-Parkway scored with Charlie Gracie’s Butterfly in 1957.
Butterfly, Charlie Gracie (#1, 1957)
Also from ’57 came one of the most popular doo-wop songs of the day by a group called the Rays, who hit the Top Ten with Silhouettes on the Window Shade, backed with the rollicking tune Daddy Cool, both written by Frank Slay and Bob Crewe, who would go on to produce the Four Seasons in the ’60s. Daddy Cool described pretty much what rock ‘n’ roll was like in the ’50s.
Daddy Cool, Rays (#3, 1957)
It was not uncommon for small-label owners to try out any kind of format, and Cameo-Parkway was no exception. A guy named John Zacherle hosted a horror movie TV program on WCAU in Philadelphia at the time, calling himself the Cool Ghoul. Horror movies were a major attraction for teens at the time, so the execs at Cameo-Parkway wrote some spooky lyrics to a tune they created. It was a nationwide hit, as were other similar efforts like The Witch Doctor, The Purple People Eater, and later on The Monster Mash.
Dinner with Drac, John Zacherle (#6, 1958)
Although they had some hits, Cameo-Parkway needed some talented artists. In 1959, to their good fortune, Bobby Rydell arrived. Robert Ridarelli was a local, and an accomplished singer, dancer, and musician. Rydell was an easy sell. The minute he stepped on American Bandstand he became a teen idol hit, and a slew of Top Ten records followed. Hist first smash just missed the Top Ten.
Kissin’ Time, Bobby Rydell (#11, 1959)
Other Rydell hits included We Got Love, Wild One, Swingin’ School, Sway with Me, Good Time Baby, Forget Him, and a song that was a hit for Italian Domenico Medugno in 1958, only in a different form a la Bobby Darin at the Copa: Nel Blu del Pinto Del Blu, otherwise known as Volare. Great band stuff here, along with girls chorus.
Volare, Bobby Rydell (#4, 1960)
Cameo-Parkway was becoming a powerhouse in the industry. In 1961 they added a male quintet to their roster. The Dovells were a local group headed by lead singer Len Barry. A great example of their work is the vocal interpretation of Phil Upchurch’s You Can’t Sit Down. The Dovells began their career at Cameo-Parkway with a frenetic dance tune called The Bristol Stomp, followed by a similar jump tune, Bristol Twistin Annie, a common practice among independent labels at the time. To me out west, Bristol was an English town. To kids in Philly, it was a neighborhood next door.
The Bristol Stomp, Dovells (#2, 1961)
Chubby Checker was by far Cameo-Parkway’s most prolific artist, with 35 singles in the Top 100. He was the label’s dancing and folk rock king. Not only did he encourage the twist in many forms but he also performed the hucklebuck, the pony, the mess-around, the fly, and the popcorn, as well as a vocal version of the limbo rock, inviting dancers to slip under the bar (as in “How low can you go”).
Limbo Rock, Chubby Checker (#2, 1962)
Dione LaRue, better known as Dee Dee Sharp, joined the fold about this time in 1962, first as a backup singer and later emerging as a solo artist with one of the most popular dances of the decade: Mashed Potato Time. She followed that up with Give Me Gravy for My Mashed Potatoes. Who ever said that label owners weren’t clever? Mashed Potatoes is actually a knockoff from Motown’s Please Mr. Postman recorded by the Marvellettes a year earlier. Cameo-Parkway avoided a copyright lawsuit by giving credit to Motown writers.
Mashed Potato Time, Dee Dee Sharp (#2, 1962)
Dee Dee Sharp was on a roll. On the charts at the same time was her performance with label-mate Chubby Checker doing a song called Slow Twistin’. It seems that Cameo-Parkway just couldn’t get enough of the twist. It’s worth noting here that the studio where Cameo-Parkway was located in Philly featured some of the finest session musicians in the land. It is the sound of the various bands and back-up vocal groups that made Cameo-Parkway the force that it was. You can hear it on Ride.
Ride, Dee Dee Sharp (#5, 1963)
With Ride, Sharp started to show maturity with her vocal presence. In the spring of 1963, Sharp followed the pony dance hit with what would be her last Top Ten entry, Do The Bird, written by the usual Cameo-Parkway musical execs. She called it “the goofiest song I ever heard.” Nonetheless it was a hit with the kids, and that’s all that mattered. Once again, pay attention to the backing group.
Do the Bird, Dee Dee Sharp (#8, 1963)
Another sterling group the label managed to find in 1962 were the Orlons, featuring three girls and a guy. It took a few tries before the Orlons hit it big, but when they did, there was no stopping them. They endured being backup singers for many Cameo artists, then once again, the usual songwriters at the label invented another dance and another hit for the local group. The song, Wah Watusi, was similar to a record with nearly the same name released a year earlier by the Vibrations.
Wah Watusi, The Orlons (#2, 1962)
Why was the song so successful? The Orlons took it to Dick Clark at American Bandstand, and that was all the exposure the group needed. Their next hit was Don’t Hang Up, and this is where the group found its sound and its niche: the girls would sing, and the guy would follow with a couple of notes. This wasn’t the usual blend. You can also hear it on their next Top Ten entry, which asked “Where do all the hippies meet?” I asked myself at the time, at 17 years old, what’s a hippie?
South Street, The Orlons (#3, 1963)
The most romantic and memorable hit coming out of the Cameo-Parkway studios at this time was a different kind of tune, sung by a different kind of group. It was so popular that out of all the dance hits the label scored, it was the only one to reach number one. At first listening, you’d swear it was a new Johnny Mathis recording. The group was formed in 1956 as the Latineers. They changed their name to The Tymes, joined Cameo-Parkway, and vocalized a summertime favorite in 1963.
So Much in Love, The Tymes (#1, 1963)
The Cameo-Parkway sound couldn’t last forever. Four things killed it: Dick Clark’s move from Philly to Los Angeles, Motown’s muscling in, the British Invasion in 1964, and the owners’ lack of interest. And they turned down some stars, like Barbra Streisand and the Impressions. But the period 1959 to 1964 would have been lacking without C-P. Besides, one of their last records was from the punk rocker 96 Tears. You have to respect a label that releases songs like that.