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Giant Gene with Earl Young of The Trammps, "DISCO INFERNO" whose drums are in the exhibit as the drummer on hundreds of disco hits and innovator of the beat. Gene reminded Earl of one of the early times he played the ORIGINAL BUDDAH record of "Disco Inferno" with them lip-synching it at a dance Gene had in Croydon, PA in 1970. They were all almost "thrown out" by the owner because it was "much too loud." Amazingly, "Saturday Night Fever" made it louder forever for my friend Earl, and the co-writer, Ron Mercy, who just passed away in early 2005.Smiling with good reason as a force behind getting the exhibit from Seattle to the NYPL is Marty Angelo, a great friend and the former host of the famed Buffalo New York TV Show "Disco Step By Step". Marty also ran the finest disco website anywhere but donated it to The Library Of Congress and has become a "jailhouse preacher" helping jailed addicts live drug-free lives after release. That site may still be seen at www.johnnygeorge.com. Also well represented in the exhibit is our old friend Gloria Gaynor. She is STILL Simply Marvelous,and we are SOO glad Gloria is back on the top of the charts with her new CD just released worldwide. Gloria may be known as "The Queen Of Disco" but is SO MUCH MORE!!! She was one of the original members in Gene's "Disco Hall Of Fame" in 1975, and a one hour show featuring her music and insights on our original "Gene Arnold Superstar Concert" program heard worldwide in 1977 has been restored, and will be available for you to hear shortly.We first met when she was a guest on RJ and Company, the dance TV show Gene co-hosted with Ron Joseph in 1972, with her "HoneyBee" and Never Can Say Goodbye" material.Gloria Gaynor, AND Disco Music...HAS SURVIVED thanks to a lot of great people like Marty.
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Terry is shown here having a laugh with Gloria Gaynor at one of Gene's questions as he interviewed Gloria for his "Superstar Concert" and original "History Of Disco" programs in 1977.She played DJ on the show, and talked at length about what it takes to "last" in the entertainment business. She certainly was right, as her newest album has just been released, and "I Will Survive" has become the anthem Gene predicted it would be. The tapes of the program have just been restored by Dave Skalish, and will soon be available for all Disco and Gaynor fans to hear on www.giantgene.com, and on www.soul-patrol.net radio.
Terry produced all of our programs, (as she still does,) and son Jody wrote and created our "History Of Disco" programs, and is in the Disco DJ Hall Of Fame.
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Gene and old friend Tom Moulton, His masterpieces include the early Gloria Gaynor hits, "Hold Yor Horses" (First Choice) "Dr. Love", (which Tom mixed "live" on our radio show to illustrate how a record was "born," and too many others to begin mentioning. Tom created the "looping" effect that made dance songs longer, and went on to "mix" hit records from scratch for the biggest names worldwide.Tom was alo a very erly member of our "Disco Hall Of Fame" which our son Jody presented to him at Sigma Sound Studios in Philly in 1976.
On this page, as a member of the Disco Hall Of Fame, we also want to pay our on-going respects to the late MAURICE GIBBS, WHO WROTE THE SONGS WE CRIED TO, LOVED TO, LISTENED TO, AND, MOST OF ALL, DANCED TO. The Pen and Voice were silenced far to early when he died in January of 2003. He contributed SO MUCH to the musical world, and to his brothers, that it seems impossible for Barry and Robin to continue as the BEE GEES without him..but they will. His music (the 5th largest-selling recording artists of all time) will live forever..We will all miss him and his humor. Besides being a prolific writer, he was a great keyboardsman, bass player, and key vocalist in the unique BEE GEES harmony.
He respected every part of the recording process, including the engineers and interns.
We do too....so here's thanks and a little recognition for our gang..
Some of the people you may know who "interned" with Gene are Bob Charger of Oldies 98, WOGL-FM fame, and Bill Roswell, Gene's GREAT engineer at WCAM, who handled lots of the live concerts at the station for Gene, and also some VERY memorable interviews with Van Morrison, Jim Croce, and John Philips of The Mama's and Poppas. (That's a book in itself.) Bill is now a news editior at KYW Newsradio 1060 in Philadelphia. Bill Hooey also interned doing all the electronic interviews with us, and writing for DISCOSCENE Magazine. Bill now writes a weekly column in the LA EXPRESS as :Wild Man Bill," and runs a PR and Casting Agency in Hollywood. Thanks for all of your help through the years. GREAT engineers can help keep your show moving, and put the "sounds" together as you visualize them. John healy, (later at WWDB-FM) also was a great help in getting Gene's "particular" sound on the air as an audio and broadcast engineer for Gene.
Gene salutes ALL of the great Rock n' Soul Radio engineers of the past. Honorary mention goes to Dave Skalish, Chief Technician for WPHT-AM 1210 in Philadelphia, who has contributed his vast engineering talents to many of our KYW radio productions, and present projects, including the restoration of many of the treasured and irreplacable "Superstar Concert" masters with the top stars of the past 3 decades who guested with us. THANK YOU AGAIN, Dave
Webmasters Note: The Links right below these pictures DO NOT WORK at this time. The links on the very BOTTOM of the page do. Click them for other pages. To listen to programs, go back to www.giantgene.com and click the "listen" button.
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Jaqueline Z. Daxis, Barabara G. and Lawrence A. Flieshman Executive Director of the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, New York Public Library For Performing Arts, is the person most responsible for bringing the Music Experience Disco Exhibit from Seattle to New York City, the heart of the club scene and the city where "A Decade Of Saturday Nights" was most prominent. Although most of the music that was played in the clubs was created in Philly (and Europe),
a lot was made in New York as well, with great "mixers" like John Gonzales and Tom Moulton putting their hearts into the beat. The exhibit contains much from the era, and is certainly worthwhile for all who were too young to be part of it, or actually enjoyed dancing to disco anywhere in the world. Thanks for your efforts, and those of the curators for a chance to relive a fun-filled part of our lives.
GIL SAUNDERS, former lead singer replacing Teddy Pendergrass with HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES, is now a solo star to watch. Gil climbed "High Atop The Tower Of Power" to visit with Gene and the world for an interview for the "Sounds Of Philly" series that will also be heard on www.soul-patrol.net radio worldwide. If you haven't subscribed to their new electronic Soul Magazine yet, visit www.soul-patrol.com and get a free copy. At live appearances, Gil performs all of the oldies you love, but adds his own touches to new material now being developed for him by Heartfelt Productions and his new manager, Paula Lombardi.
Gil recently knocked 'em dead with us at a big Disco Show at Micheal's Cafe in Bensalem, PA, and with old friend Bob Pantano at his 25th Anniversary show. Stay tuned for more on Gil. He's a "Philly-Up n' Comer" to watch.
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HERE'S A PIC of RJ ON OUR OLD TV SHOW..We discuss our very early involvement in Disco and Dance in Gene's new "HISTORY OF DISCO PART 3" program. RJ and Gene haven't been on the air together for years, so this was both historic, and lot's of fun for both. "These are two very special people who have always found an audience for their special blends of radio that mainstream Program Directors have not understood, as they research how to duplicate success from other media, and call all of their DJ's "Tom Kelly" or some name they have an old jingle of. Today, it's "voicecasting, where on DJ talks over hundreds of stations as their "local" dj" via computer links. On the other hand, Giant Gene and RJ are both "original one of a kind talents" who entertain people with their special cheer. A wonderful Banner by Lee Roy Brown for Gene's "History Of Disco Pt 3" show appeared here recently. Last year Gene presented a beautiful rendering of City Hall (since we air from "high atop the Tower Of Power in Philly) to Mayor John Street along with a CD of the "Sounds Of Philly" soul show airing shortly. Gene would like to be the "un-official Ambassador Of Happiness" for the city worldwide, as a life-long resident proud of all the GOOD Philly offers the world, and invites EVERYONE who loves freedom, Democracy, and Liberty (as does London's Lee Roy Brown, ultra-talented creator of this banner and the Elvis Sketchbook)to visit our city, enjoy all of it's History, and walk the "Walk Of Fame" on Broad Street featuring all of your Philly Favorites on a street rebuilt with hundreds of millions of dollars of new world-class entertainment and hospitality centers. Gene and Terry have received Proclamations and "Thank You's" from many Mayor's across America for their activities over the years, (unfortunately, some lost in a flood) including special thanks from then City Council President Street for bringing hundreds of Michael Jackson "Thriller" leather jackets to City Hall for Council President Street to distribute to the city's poverty-stricken youth. Micheal also gave Gene and Terry front row Victory Tour seats for the kids, and for very ill children from Philly's Ronald McDonald House and the Sunshine Foundation. Sons Frank, Brian and Jody carried the ill choildren backstage to personally meet Michael. Mayor Wilson W. Goode has also issued Gene and Terry official "thanks" for "just being them" on behalf of "the citizens of Philadelphia." They were awarded "keys" to the cities of Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington, DC among their momentoes for their work with Micheal and Germaine Jackson, and The Victory Tour cast . Our prayer would be that all of the children that we visited across America benefited greatly, improved, and are now healthy.
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Terry and Gene enjoy dancing at the Press Party for the exhibit at Spirit, a truly fun NYC disco. Of all the World Champion Hustle dancers in the crowd, they moved Ter to the center to watch her emotions as "Don't Leave Me This Way" was played for her by NIcky Sciano, the great DJ who kept the floor crowded all night. Great dancers like Ricky and Earl Young also danced with her, as did Patricia from Buffalo NY, an original "Disco-Step-By-Step" TV show dancer whose dress is in the exhibit, and Tonya, a young lady who came all the way from London to meet some of her idols. Gene introduced her to Earl, and some of the great mixers, and she was one happy guest. Ron Bess also put a great dance exhibition on, and yes, we did get Marty Angelo out on the floor with Jackie Davis. Both deserved (and had) a great time.
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