On the types of fans who usually come to the live performances: Whats really the most fun is some people at the show will be in their 40s and you run into them and they say they remember watching when it they were 4. Bauman's Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer", was a greaser in a muscle shirt . Without an album to their name, they became the group to perform right before Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, and they played a 40-minute set at 7:30 in the morning on Monday wearing leather jackets and gold lame suits; their music was unexpected, but the audience loved them. Among the songs they are famous for is "Alley Oop.". She is a fashion designer who has her own fashion line called ADALI, which specializes in handmade luxury apparel. In the 1980s, he had a brief career as a game show master of ceremonies. Jon Baumans wife is named Alexandra Bauman. Scott Powell is a specialist in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. Bowser has been performing with the group ever since, but has never been married. The song "Sandy", sung by John Travolta in the film, was co-written specifically for the film by Sha Na Na's Screamin' Scott Simon. He sings 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight,' which is falsetto and not an easy thing to do at any age. Knowing (these acts) really well as friends, it wasnt so much as loss of revenue as much as the theft of the legacy, that other people were getting their standing ovations for a style of music that changed an entire culture.. Longtime member sang band's hit cover of "Blue Moon" for 'Grease' soundtrack, Longtime Sha Na Na member Lennie Baker (left, with saxophone) has died at the age of 69, Lennie Baker, Sha Na Na Saxophonist, Dead at 69, Noel Gallagher Previews New Album Council Skies With Latest Single Easy Now, Inisherin Actors, Jamie Lee Curtis to Miss Critics Choice Awards After Testing Positive for Covid, See James Cameron Finally Debunk the Raft Theory in Clip From Titanic Documentary, founding Sha Na Na member and singer Dennis Greene died, The National Recruit Three Special Guests for New Album The First Two Pages of Frankenstein', Arlo Parks Lets the World in on Her Joy and Pain and Confusion, Wednesday Are Getting Into Gloriously Stupid Sh-t on Chosen to Deserve, Trump Now Claiming He Only Kept Classified Folders as Cool Keepsakes. All Rights reserved. This longing for the 1950s seems to have been born of some of the chaos of the early 70s, as the country faced Nixons impeachment, and the Vietnam war, as well as other unrest. Other films, such as American Graffiti (which was set in 1962 but had the feel of the 50s) and The Godfather, were released in 1973. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Download the TMZ App on the Apple App Store, Download the TMZ App on the Google Play Store. Other band members went on to successful careers after the band, including Robert Leonard, who became a linguistics professor, and George Leonard, who became a professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities. Sha Na Na had changed as well. In spite of internal problems including nervous breakdowns and the death of member Vincent Taylor from a heroin overdose in 1974, the group peaked in popularity in the late '70s, hosting its own syndicated television show from 1977 to 1981 and appearing in the 1978 film Grease. Freddy Cannon, these are people who are theoretically up in years, but you can't believe it. Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com, The singer/personality headlines Bowzers Rockn Party at Cobb Energy PAC this weekend, Atlantas Greg Mike occupies the corner of street art and commerce, Bradleys Buzz: The Braves havent made huge offseason noise, and thats fine, Ivy League dean: We cant admit students by random lottery. He had many friends and truly enjoyed time spent with all of them. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Though they emulated New York street culture in the 1950s, Sha Na Na reigned from the late-60s into the 80s, when a string of hard work and luck brought them hits (Get a Job, Charlie Brown, Rama Lama Ding Dong), a featured role in Grease (they were integral to the Born to Hand Jive scene) and the syndicated variety TV series, Sha Na Na, which ran from 1977 to 1981. (The soundtrack) was two-record set and we had one whole side of what would become the biggest-selling soundtrack of all time - until it sunk by Titanic., I never do shows with groups that dont have the rights to the name. Get TMZ breaking news sent right to your browser! No, Bowzer was not at Woodstock. [6][9], At the time when the group was being transformed from the Columbia Kingsmen into Sha Na Na, George Leonard's brother, Rob Leonard, was one of the group's bass singers and its official leader. Alexandra is an animal lover and has two cats, a rabbit, and an Australian Shepherd as her fur babies. No one had any idea it was going to be what it became. It was not the kind of environment suitable for delivering a baby and there are no records of any babies being born at the festival. The record company, Buddah Records, promoted the album, taking out a full-color ad on the front page of Billboard in November 1969. The fifties music legends appeared just before Jimi [25] Subsequently, the group appeared in the 1978 movie Grease, and, from 1977 to 1982, the group reached perhaps the height of its success with its own hit syndicated television show Sha Na Na, featuring guest musicians such as James Brown, the punk rock band the Ramones, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, the Ronettes, and Chubby Checker. WHILE MOST OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS THAT I REMEMBER SEEING ARE NOT IN THE BAND ANYMORE BUT I SAW THEM MANY TIMES IN 35 YEARS THROUGH MANY PERSONEL CHANGES AND THEIR VOICES ARE STILL GREAT AND THEIR ACT IS STILL A FANTASTIC TIME CAPSILE AND SHOW STOPPER! The current editions of vocal groups and rock acts that have existed since the 1950s or '60s gather for the latest "Rock 'N' Doo-Wop Party XXI" hosted by Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of Sha Na Na. . His athletic interests as a boxer, kick boxer, and participant in extreme boxing and mixed martial arts have aided him in his work alongside his father, Duane "Dog" Chapman, family and family friends. 61011, Thomas Edward Harkins, Woodstock FAQ: All that's Left to Know About the Fabled Garden, Backbeat 2019 p. 277, stating inclusion of "At the Hop" in the Woodstock film was "enough to cement the group in the public's consciousness and keep things going", Woodstock Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive, Released: August 2, 2019; Recorded: August 1518, 1969, Rhino Entertainment, Performer Notes p. 52 describing Sha Na Na as The bleeding edge of the 1950s rock revival, Amalie R. Rothschild, Live at the Fillmore East, 1999 Thunder's Mouth Press, Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, 2016, Simon & Schuster p. 186. Taken from their TV show. This show was a themed and was very similar to other variety shows. It is estimated that anywhere from one to four babies were born during the three-day festival in 1969. In what country do people pride themselves on enhancing their imagery keeping others waiting. five decades of Rock "N" Roll! Marshall also made special guest appearances on the game show. George Leonard devised a strategy to unify them by using nostalgia. With fists turned askew, a mouth elongated into a yawn-yell and a classic greaser look, Jon Bauman was"Bowzer," the centerpiece of the doo-wop-rock group Sha Na Na. In Grease. The transformed group, Sha Na Na, named after a line in the 1957 song "Get a Job" by The Silhouettes, became a popular live act. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Sha Na Na also appeared in the 1978 film Grease (an adaptation of the 1971 Broadway musical of the same name) as a 1950s band called Johnny Casino and the Gamblers. Send me email updates and offers from TMZ and its Affiliates. an=navigator.appName;d=document;function Each episode ended with Jon Bowzer Bauman saying Good night, and grease for peace., By 1979, the nostalgia seemed to have faltered. Im on PBS right now (with) Doo Wop Discoveries. It seems like Im always out there somewhere. Na Na, as fellow college students at Columbia University in New York in Finally, Bob Dylan initially chose to pass on Woodstock but reportedly decided to attend at the last minute after watching the event on television, performing his songs on acoustic guitar at 3am in the morning. [37] After graduating from Yale Law School, he became the vice president of production and features at Columbia Pictures. [29], Founding member Rob Leonard is a professor of linguistics at Hofstra University. By the end of the 70s, both Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley had fallen in the ratings. But when, based on Leonard's advice, they transformed their show and became a commercial act, they changed their name to Sha Na Na, due to the Pacific Northwest group also called The Kingsmen that had become famous for recording the 1963 hit "Louie Louie". George decided the transform the group into a 50s band. With over 500,000 people in attendance, it is possible that a baby may have been born off-site to a couple that attended the concert, but no records exist to confirm this. Many seemed to long for the past they looked back to with rose-colored glasses, failing to remember that the 50s had its share of negatives as well. Leland Chapman - Biography. In the summer of 1969, Jimi Hendrix saw Sha Na Na perform at Steve Pauls The Scene Club, and recommended them to the Woodstock producers. Baker retired from Sha Na Na in 2000 but remained musically active, performing with local band the Spellbinders. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. Were all kind of like that. Then the show moves to the guests. "/0.gif?tag=theshas&j=y&srw="+srw+"&srb="+srb+"&", The band "Sha Na Na" formed in 1969. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. TWEET This. OPINION: Is Kelly Loeffler the new Georgia Republican Party? [2][3] After gaining initial fame for their performance at Woodstock, made possible with the help of their friend Jimi Hendrix, the group hosted Sha Na Na, a syndicated variety series that ran from 1977 to 1981. What is the difference between a skin doctor and a dermatologist? Bakers nephew David confirmed the saxophonists death to the New York Times, adding that Baker recently developed a serious infection before he passed way peacefully at an area hospital. Sha Na Na, as fellow college students at Columbia University in New York in 1969 combined their love for the classics of Rock & Roll with a dynamic theatrical approach. LET IT BE KNOWN: We were really only there for a week shooting, but it was a lot of fun. He has even gone up against Mario and Luigi himself, in attempts to foil their plans.