Do You Believe In Magic? “The Night People” Invade Saltaire in the Summer of 1966 (reprinted from November 16, 2008 with new comments)

by Jim O'Hare

Rock and Roll hit Saltaire in the 1950’s and 1960’s like it hit the rest of the world. I can recall Labor Day shows in the late 1950’s with an occasional nod to Rock and Roll—Richie Millus took a beagle on the stage and did a talking version of the Big Mama Thornton/Elvis hit “Hound Dog.”


Bruce Wright, Bill Ervin, Eugene Piper, and Robin Torrey over a period of summers all played very good rock and folk guitar.


Lots of kids from Saltaire went to Forest Hills Tennis Stadium to see the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in 1964 and the Beatles at Shea in 1965.


It was in 1966 that I became really convinced that this was not just a fad, not just a Beatles & Stones thing that would eventually go away, as so many parents had been hoping. For me, the epiphany came the night in the summer of 1966 that I brought THE NIGHT PEOPLE to Saltaire.

I didn’t realize exactly what I was getting into in the summer of 1966 when I was asked to be the "Junior Commodore” at the Yacht Club. I was actually too old for the job—I was 19—but someone wanted to get wholesome night time activities for the younger “teens. ”

I was to make arrangements for a “Teen Dance.”


This did not seem like a very good idea to me because the only live entertainer the Club had in those days was this guy named Ken Thompson. Ken Thompson was about a hundred years old. The oldsters never complained about Ken Thompson because he generally showed up pretty late on Saturday night after everybody had finished a few rounds.

In earlier years, Thompson used to try an Arthur Godfrey type “talent show” for kids. They were so bad that sometimes Thompson had to pull unwilling kids out of the Coca-Cola bar and make them do a song and dance.

But those shows had long died for lack of interest, so my thinking was that, by the summer of 1966, Saltaire teenagers had had no interest in old man Thompson pounding on an out- of- tune piano and singing “Let me call you Sweetheart” and “Edelweiss. ”

So I figured, if we want kids to come, let’s get a rock and roll band. A real one.





My talent scout was the older, more mature Drew Weinlandt, who went to Greenwich Village to track down a band willing to come out to Saltaire for a dance.

Drew calls me up on the phone all excited. He had gone to this coffee house in the Village called the “Night Owl” and saw a great band called "The Night People.” They were the backup band that summer at the Night Owl. The main attraction at the Night Owl in 1966 was the future Hall of Fame band Lovin' Spoonful, who had hit the charts big by then with “Daydream” and “Do You Believe in Magic.”

Drew was ecstatic with how well "The Night People" could cover “Do You Believe in Magic,” and he said that they would come out to Saltaire for a few hundred bucks for a night.

So arrangements were made for The Night People to come out on a Thursday night, July 28, 1966.

Suddenly a tide of concern arose among some senior members of the Yacht Club: who were these “Night People?” Is it a cult? What 'element' would they attract? What if the Club building’s foundation collapsed under the constant pounding beat of a Rock and Roll band and 150 kids stomping in unison?

I had to convince them that all would be OK. Fortunately, Norma Ervin was on our side and she pretty much calmed everyone down.

Thanks to Norma, the show would go on. July 28, 1966. But no outsiders. No Kismet, No Fair Harbor, no other “elements” were to be admitted. Only for “members and their guests” born prior to January 1, 1954.

So we sold every last ticket, but these guys never return our calls so we don’t know for sure if they are going to show until 6:00 on July 28, when they arrive at the terminal in Bay Shore, looking as raunchy as all get-out.

They had all kinds of heavy equipment: instruments, amplifiers, etc, all those things we told them they should have dropped off at the freight boat.
Capt. Al Skinner was pissed about having to carry the equipment on the Islander.

Meanwhile, back on the island, word of mouth had spread from Kismet to Lonleyville and all points between that there was gong to be a real Rock and Roll Band Saltaire that night.

Scores of teenagers from all over started showing up. The Village authorities and busybodies were taking note—and shocked to see — all kinds of unknown teenagers—especially girls—showing up outside the Yacht Club. Talk about the Magic of Rock and Roll.

Once they got to the Club and were setting up, the band members were pretty upset that people—especially girls—were being turned away.

But the show went on with a lot of non members peeking in through windows and eventually finding their way in.

And yes, the band did excellent covers of “Do You Believe in Magic,” British Invasion stuff like "Play with Fire," and R&R standards like “Walk the Dog, ” “G-L-O-R-I-A,” and “Summertime Blues,” but mostly they did their own stuff, which was heavy and raunchy. The volume shocked the oldsters—but the lyrics went right over their heads. The kids understood.

At a break halfway through the show, one of the band members told me to cancel the water taxi that we had promised to take them back after the show. It seems that they had all magically gained invites to stay on the Island overnight.

This caused my immediate consternation, because for the previous two hours I had been begging every sort of Yacht Club and Saltaire authority to not tar and feather these guys after the show. Now they were going to stay? In Saltaire??? “With our children?” somebody shrieked in dismay.

Fortunately, it turned out that the offers to stay were from about a dozen places in Kismet, Fair Harbor, Dunewood every place but Saltaire.
None of our Healthy, Happy Saltaire Youth would be violated
.

In reality, "The Night People" was a great band – and all went quite smoothly inside the club, and the kids – Saltairian or otherwise—loved it. And the building did not collapse. You just couldn’t peel the kids away from the Club that night. I would have invited "The Night People" back, but for the reaction of all the “grown ups.” We could have filled up the ball field if we brought them back.

About midnight, after the concert was over, I saw two of the band members walking along Lighthouse Prom headed for Fair Harbor. They had a dozen people carrying their equipment for them, rolling the amps on dollies, and, carrying the guitars and drums, the whole bit. It looked like a medieval traveling show.


This was 1966--a couple of years after the Beatles had landed—and it was clear that this craze was not going away soon, regardless of what the oldsters hoped. You really could believe this was magic

Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart

How the music can free her, whenever it starts
And it's magic, if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I'll tell you about the magic, and it'll free your soul
But it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll

-- J. Sebastian

JO'H.

------------------------------------------------------------
Mary Campbell said...
Loved this story about the Big Teen Dance!I doubt I was there, as I was born post-January '54. On the other hand, I do have memories of being on the outside looking in. So, that's probably where I was...outside jockeying to look through the windows.Those were the days, weren't they? When life's biggest worry was what you were going to wear to the Big Dance!
November 20, 2008 12:50 PM
.

Mary Campbell, Les Gowan 1977??

click on imae to enlarge

photo courtesy Girlmonkey



------------------
Nov 25, 2012
Mary Campbell said...

Loved this story about the Big Teen Dance!

I doubt I was there, as I was born post-January '54.

On the other hand, I do have memories of being on the outside looking in. So, that's probably where I was...outside jockeying to look through the windows.

Those were the days, weren't they? When life's biggest worry was what you were going to wear to the Big Dance!

November 20, 2008 12:50 PM

JO'H said...

Mary Campbell:

I am sure you were there peeking through the Yacht Club windows-- any person with a pulse was out there-- unless your parents locked you in your room and forbade you to come out.

November 20, 2008 2:40 PM

cosmo said...

That's definately Leslie Gowan. I was out with her and her husband Jack last night.

December 4, 2008 8:06 AM

11-25-12 Susan Chadburn, of Fair  Harbor remembers that night tooCafe Wha Reunion said...

I was one of the uninvited from Fair Harbor. The drummer Bob Mason, and guitarist/lead singer Alan Musgrave stayed at my place that night. Later, Debbie McGlam dated Bob and I, Alan. Jill Gill's mother's helper dated Paul. I moved to the village in September 66 and worked at the Cafe Wha?..I remained good friends with the band. All the boys were from Brown University.

November

 

The drummer, Bob Mason and guitarist, Alan Musgrave stayed at my house that night. Later, Debbie McGlam dated Bob and I, Alan. Jill Gill's mother's helper Ann dated Paul. I moved to the village that summer and worked at the Cafe Wha? The guys and I remained friends for a long time. They were all from Brown University.
Susie Chadburn...Fair Harbor

11-27-12 JOH: Holy cow.  Drew Weinlandt went to Brown. I don't remember that he told me that was where he knew them from.  I remember him telling me that he saw them at the Night Owl that summer.  --JO'H

At any rate, the last time the aforesaid  Bob Mason and Alan Musgrave were seen in Saltaire was that night with all those kids roling their instruments down towards Fair Harbor.
   --JO'H