It took a long time, but Villager Richard Loscheider finally got greased by Sha Na Na.
“It’s always been a childhood dream of mine to be on stage with Sha Na Na,” said the resident of Pennecamp. That dream came true Wednesday at Savannah Center when Loscheider joined the Grandpa Greasers on stage.
He took part in Sha Na Na’s “Greaser Olympics,” and after ducking under a limbo stick, twirling a hula hoop and doing a frantic twist — earned a gold medal.
Actually, it was a paper plate sprayed with gold, but who cares? Loscheider was thrilled rocking with the famed oldies band that has been around 47 years.
“I’ve always liked Sha Na Na,” he said. “They have a lot of fun with rock and roll.”
So did Loscheider.
Watch video of the group’s performance here:
https://youtu.be/l9nCy8rf1zw
“He’s a natural with a hula hoop,” said his wife, Judy O’Brien. “He loves being on stage.”
Sha Na Na often invites audience participation and another Villager, Sherry Matza, got up to join Sha Na Na to do the hand jive.
“It was fantastic being up there,” said Matza, who lives in St. James. “Of course I know the hand jive. I love Sha Na Na and their music. This music is my era and my life.”
It has been the same for Sha Na Na since a group of music students at Columbia University formed a ‘50s rock band back in the late ‘60s.
Sha Na Na performed at Woodstock in 1969; had a nationally-syndicated TV show for five years and appeared in the movie “Grease.” These guys have earned their place in rock and roll history.
Three original members remain: Jocko Marcellino, Screamin’ Scott Simon and Donny York. Bowser left the group to form his own band years ago. Also in the current Sha Na Na are Tim Butler on bass; Ty Cox on drums, Randy Hill, guitar and the multi-talented Michael Brown on sax and vocals.
The group opened with a rousing “At the Hop,” and just kept rocking the night away. The oldies but goodies included: “Blue Moon,” “Hound Dog,” “What I Say” “Love Potion No. 9,” “California Sun” and “Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay.”
But these fellows do more than rock.
Donny showed his softer side, toting a red umbrella and singing “Listen to The Rhythm of the Falling Rain.” Jocko and Brown combined for a classy cover of the Righteous Brothers, “You’re My Soul and Inspiration.”
The band paid tribute to the movie “Grease,” which included Simon performing a song he wrote, “Sandy.” Michael Brown did justice to another classic from the film, “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
No Sha Na Na concert would be complete without some street-corner doo-wop. The guys stood under a street lamp and delivered glossy harmony on the Five Satins’ masterpiece, “In the Still of the Night.” Other doo-wop songs included “Come And Go With Me” and “A Teenager In Love.”
Hill and Butler displayed their guitar and bass skill on a couple of instrumentals: “Wipe Out” and “Walk Don’t Run.”
Put the songs, comedy and audience participation all together and you have a typical night of Sha Na Na fun and music.
“There are great fans in The Villages for this music,” Jocko said in an interview after the show. “We celebrate the golden age of rock and roll and this crowd knows every lyric,” he said, referring to time from the mid ‘50s to the early ‘60s.
“These are great songs and everyone can sing-along with them. It’s a rich period of music and people in The Villages relate to it.”
What keeps Sha Na Na going?
“I put the leather jacket on; I put the grease in the hair,” Jocko said. “It’s an attitude. We’re not singing oldies. To us these songs are still fresh. We share this experience and we share these songs with the audience.”
Jocko had these familiar departing words for everyone in The Villages.
“Grease for peace.”