There ain’t room enough in this dress for both of us!

Forty-five years later that line still brings a smile to my face. Do you recognize it? How about this exchange: 

Where am I?
You can’t get there from here.

 Or this: "It had been snowing in Santa Barbara since the top of the page."

All three of these minor gems come from the Firesign Theatre’s brilliant skit The Further Adventure of Nick Danger as performed on their album "How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All". Back in 1969-1970 I listened to that album so much that today I can still mouth almost every word as the players recite them. It’s weird and silly and self-aware (“No, no, no, you don't understand how radio works. This is my flashback; all I have to do to return us to the present is fade my voice out like this and cue the organist.”)

I've been meaning to listen to that album since I read the sad news that Phil Austin died on June 18. He played Private I Nick Danger and I felt like I lost a relative when he passed. And what a treat it was to hear Austin and his troupe's work again; still wonderful.

I've been walking down Memory Mile a lot lately -- in truth I always do that a lot. First there was Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, then the multi-group boomer show a week later and last night it was the Tokens and the Drifters at a free outdoor concert in Hamden, CT.

The Tokens were great, even though, to me and most of the audience, they were a one-hit wonder. They hit the Top 40 with Tonight I Fell in Love (1960), I Hear Trumpets Blow (1966) and their version of Steve Lawrence’s hit, Portrait of My Love (1967).  But of course the reason anyone was there last night was to hear them sing the iconic doo-wop anthem, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. They closed their set with that #1 monster hit and sang it beautifully; all these years later lead singer Jay Siegel can still hit those incredible high notes.

Yes, that was the original LP cover

Before that they sang their other “hits” and perfectly acceptable versions of Runaround Sue and The Wanderer, See You in September, Silhouettes, What’s Your Name and several other 50-year old treasures.  Siegel’s chatter was interesting and smooth, with just enough rock and roll trivia to keep us happy. Ex: did you know that an early member of the Tokens was Neil Sedaka? (Me neither).

The Tokens were excellent showmen, fully competent musicians and backed by a strong band—everything you want in an oldies act.

Then came the "Drifters". I was primed to be awed. I couldn't wait to hear Up on the Roof, On Broadway, Spanish Harlem, Save the Last Dance for Me and their other hits. They had been much bigger than the Tokens and what a show they could put on.

Could put on.

Didn’t.

There was only one original member of the Drifters on stage, Charley Thomas; missing were Clyde McPhatter, the original lead singer, and Ben E King, the best lead singer to ever front the group. Missing too was energy. The guys on stage last night were dressed well, choreographed well enough and sang acceptably but they totally sucked the energy out of the crowd. Whereas the Tokens had pumped us up, made us reminisce and laugh and gotten a big response when they asked us to sing along, the “Drifters” came across as a pale imitation of who they had been.

Sometimes Thomas Wolfe is right.