On That Note: State Fair

cyclonespiker33

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I saw Dan + Shay at the State Fair the first time they played it, on the free stage. This was their big hit at the time.
 

cyhiphopp

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Ankeny



What in the BEACH BLANKET BINGO is this?!?! I didn't know this song existed and no clue a video like that was ever created.

I did know who Bobby Vee was, but not this song, which is surprisingly good even with the Annette Funicello style video. That's just great.

I decided to go look up more Bobby Vee info and found this in wikipedia:

The Day the Music Died
Vee's career began in the midst of tragedy. On February 3, 1959, "The Day the Music Died," three of the four headline acts in the lineup of the traveling Winter Dance PartyBuddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper—were killed in the crash of a V-tailed 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza airplane, along with the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. (Dion DiMucci, the fourth headliner, had opted not to travel on the plane.) It crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, en route to the next show on the tour itinerary, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Vee, then 15 years old, and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys (including his older brother Bill)[6] calling themselves the Shadows, volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at the Moorhead engagement. Their performance there was a success, and started Vee's career as a popular singer.[4]

In 1963, Vee released a tribute album on Liberty Records called I Remember Buddy Holly. In the liner notes, he recalled Holly's influence on him and the events surrounding Holly's death, describing how he had looked forward to attending the concert, how the local radio station put out a call for local talent to fill after the disaster, and how Vee's recently organized group, modeled on Holly's style, had to make up a name (the Shadows) on the spot.

Vee became a star, and he performed regularly at Winter Dance Party memorial concerts in Clear Lake. His three sons, all musicians, performed with him there.




That's just crazy
 

madguy30

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Saw Dana Carvey in there...so I'll post Dana Carvey playing music.



 

MeanDean

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A lesser known Crystals song. Kind of a cheat since it's, again, the legendary Darlene Love singing and I'm fairly sure she did not join the tour to the Iowa State Fair. Actually, it's not cheating on my part, it's that eminently talented but incredibly odd Phil Spector who didn't care who the performer was, if he could make it a hit using a famous act's name it was all the same to him.

 
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Clone83

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I'm going to totally break the rules and post something related to the fair but not an act that played there: ... I am fully expecting the banhammer for this.
Yes, the banhammer, particularly since the movie was moved from Iowa to the Texas State Fair for the 1962 version.

Me too. But to put us in better stead with the B1G, I'll post a few honorary videos of Ann-Margret, who was a 19-year-old sophomore at Northwestern when she auditioned for that movie. She immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in 1946 and lived in Wilmette, Illinois. She auditioned for the part of the farmer's daughter, but based on the audition, they made her the entertainer instead.

This first song, Isn't It Kinda Fun, is from the 1962 movie. I believe it was filmed at the 1961 Texas State Fair. It heats up some after 2 minutes.



Three songs from her audition, January 1961:

It Might As Well Be Spring, which in the 1945 movie won the Oscar for Best Song



Mack the Knife



Bill Bailey



Her first television appearance was on the Jack Benny Show (with George Burns), below. She is the first performer and sings two songs. The year on this YouTube says 1959, which can't be right based on what she says to Benny (that she is a sophomore at Northwestern). I think it is from April 2, 1961, the date on another YouTube:



Notes:
1. The 1932 book State Fair, which the three movies are based on, 1933, 1945, and 1962, was written by Phillip Stong from the small town of Pittsburg in southeast Iowa. His niece, Norma "Duffy" Lyon, known as “the butter cow lady,” did the butter cow sculptures for many years at the Iowa State Fair. She learned how to sculpt as a student at ISU, where she received a degree in animal science, from the campus artist in residence, Christian Petersen. Her husband, Joe Lyon, who passed away this year, is part of the butter cow sculpture at this year's fair. The Lyon family raised dairy cattle.
2. Ann-Margret was in some hot song and dance numbers in the 1964 movie, Viva Las Vegas, available on YouTube, with her similarly shy but soon-to-be boyfriend, Elvis.
3. She also played Ann-Margrock on a Flintstones episode. I came across this looking for Jimmy O'Neillstone, an Omaha DJ I recalled who prior to that was the host of the television show Shindig. I thought her movements in the cartoon had to be exaggerated, but finding the auditions and so on, I see not so much.
4. In the 1945 movie, from about 11 to 18:10 minutes, you can see the "I" sweater or jersey worn by Wayne Frake, the farmer's son. It was filmed in Technicolor (expensive), so the color is likely still true. Kagavi thought it fairly likely that the studio would have just called someone at Iowa State to have one sent to them, rather than make it themselves.
 
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Clone83

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Here is Ann-Margrock on the Flintstones, three songs from Viva Las Vegas with Elvis, which I mention in my post above, and her recollections years later









 

MeanDean

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We used to go to my father's parents on Sunday evenings. Seems like it would be Ed Sullivan followed by the Smothers Brothers show. It was always a treat as they had a COLOR TV!!!! Also the show had some pretty great musical acts too. (Check out the Who performing My Generation.)

For those of you not familiar with the show, they would generally start the with what would initially come off as a traditional type folk song. That would, by design, meld into their comedy bit. Always Tom acting the fool - usually with great deadpan with Dicky as the straight man. But sometimes Tommy's facade would slip. Typical of the bits:



And just to show Tom was not some kind of one trick pony, check out this spot on Johnny Carson imitation. It's so good Carson can't handle the mannerisms. Good stuff!

 

Clone83

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I saw quite a few free performances but never Grandstand. I recall The Beach Boys though in 1975, probably somewhat rare for Iowa right then, and girls screaming from outside by the fence like the old Beatles’ performances.

Here is a medley of performances on the Red Skelton Show from 1962 to 1970, with The Beach Boys at 1:08 and 7:30.



And another

 
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