‘Dresses’ on Fire?

NEWS & VIEWS > ASK THE GEATOR

By Jerry Blavat

Add Comment | Comments: 1 | Posted Apr. 18, 2012

Once again, greetings and salutations. Before we get to your questions, let me thank each and every one of you who were with us for our 24th show at the Kimmel, our “Swinging Doo-Wop Reunion.” It was beyond my expectations, and people are still raving about it. Thanks to all of you who came and supported the wonderful groups. Make plans to get your tickets in advance for our 25th show on Jan. 26, 2013 — more details about that to come. 

And let me give you a heads-up about “Sensational ’60s Weekend” coming your way April 27-28 in Wildwood. I’ll kick it off on Friday night at the Convention Center, and some of the great artists who will be performing live that weekend are Neil Sedaka and Lesley Gore, along with a street fair, a doo-wop concert, and more. For tickets and info, call 609-729-4000 or go to the Wildwoods Chamber of Commerce Web site at gwcoc.com. Hope to see you there. Now, let’s ask the Geator.  

What is the name of your theme song? It’s the instrumental with a great beat that usually plays at the beginning of your radio shows. I’m humming it now, but you can’t hear me. And if you have any info on a source for me to get it, that would be great. Thanks! — Blue O (via e-mail) 

I think the song you’re humming might be “Jam Up” by Tommy Ridgeley. That was the theme that opened up my TV show and I occasionally play it on my weekday radio show. The song you hear at the end of my Saturday show on WXPN is “Sunpie’s Romp & Stomp” by Sunpie Barnes. My Web site at geator.net has a section that tells you where to find the music I play. 

Do you know when the Temptations fired Elbridge Bryant? They asked Jimmy Ruffin first but instead hired his brother, David Ruffin. You see it in the Temptations miniseries that was out in 1998. — Alan Rosenfeld, Philadelphia 

Al Bryant was released by the group at the end of 1963, the same time that Jimmy Ruffin left the Army. Jimmy had already been recording for Motown and one of its subsidiaries, Miracle, and was pursuing a solo career. When he was asked to join the Temptations, he suggested his younger brother David as the group’s new lead singer. David joined the group in January 1964. Their debut album, Meet the Temptations, had David on the cover instead of Al, but all the songs on the album except “The Way You Do the Things You Do” were recorded when Al was still with the group.  

Why did Earth, Wind and Fire wear dresses all the time? Just askin’. — Pete, A.C.  

The guys in the group, especially founder Maurice White, wanted their look and their staging to contain certain elements of life that were important to them, such as magic, spirituality, and their African heritage. Many of their costumes were designed to look like a sorcerer’s robe or the type of garments worn by African royalty, or even a space suit to convey the theme that the band represented an evolution in pop music.  