Hullabaloo, Vols. 1-4

Starring:Michael Bennett (XI), Lada Edmund Jr., Patrick Adiarte, David Winters, Johnny Holliday, Brian Epstein, Donna McKechnie
Director: Steve Binder
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The short-lived (1965-66) Shindig! knockoff Hullabaloo epitomizes the often-faltering steps U.S. network television made to keep up with the explosion of rock & roll culture in the wake of Beatlemania. Sometimes inspired, sometimes silly (definitely the latter with hosts and guests like Jerry Lewis, Michael Landon, Freddie and the Dreamers, and Vikki Carr), seven episodes plus bonus performances fill this DVD compilation of previous VHS releases. Over its four and a half hours, in black-and-white and color, true rockers ranging from Chuck Berry, the Lovin' Spoonful, Martha and the Vandellas, and the Animals slam into the slightly clueless (Chad & Jill) and the utterly hopeless (Joanie Sommers, Frankie Avalon, the aforementioned Freddie). Moments of irrepressible pop genius (Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar") and sheer drama (Dionne Warwick's "Message to Michael") make this a must, though. Throw in a bit of apparent collusion between an NBC director and Byrd Roger McGuinn as he aims the "Your sons and daughters are beyond your command" verse of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" in extreme close-up to millions of American parents, and Hullabaloo's ultimate success is demonstrated. --Rickey Wright

Description

"Hullabaloo" featured the most popular rock 'n' roll artists, the stars of Hollywood, Broadway, and television, and the famed "Hullabaloo" dancers. This DVD contains more than four hours of vintage performances--seven television episodes along with 18 bonus selections, including segments hosted by Beatles manager Brian Epstein from London. Full-length hit performances by The Animals, Sammy Davis Jr., Chuck Berry, The Byrds, The Four Seasons, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, Herman's Hermits, The Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, The Moody Blues, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Dusty Springfield, The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, The Yardbirds, and many more!

Customer Reviews:

What a trip!.......2003-12-06

This is a must-see for nostalgia fans of the 60's. I mainly bought it because it has Gary Lewis in it--he is a friend of mine and his goofy sense of humor shines in this dvd. And his personality hasn't changed much since then.
The only problem I have with this dvd is that the dubbing is so obvious--especially watching musicians play an electric guitar that isn't plugged in--but it's still fun watching the lip-synching. Heck, people pay big bucks to see Britney Spears lip-sync live.

Nostalgia: overrated?.......2002-07-09

The answer, of course, is no. A lot of time has been spent whining about the stuff on Hullabaloo that wasn't really rock and roll. Sure, safe acts, crooners and Vegas swingers ruled on the show - particularly as hosts - but it all works as a beautiful period piece. Rock and roll was only a decade old when these shows were filmed, and TV execs were fighting a losing battle to co-opt it. The purity of performances by the Animals, the Yardbitds and the Byrds show how uncontrollable the energy was. Anyone who grew up in the era will love this. And if you remember the actual show, you'll spend days wiping that grin off your face.

Aaah...the 60's.......2002-05-16

I initially bought Vol 3 on VHS, because I'd never seen the Supremes perform "Nothing But Heartaches," being that during Motown's greatest era, I was living in Germany, and didn't have much opportunity to catch any of their appearances shown stateside. Watching the entire clips brings back great memories.
I miss the days of singers who occasionally danced...

A Great Slice of the old Cheese Pie ..........2002-02-14

I was born right around the time Hullabaloo was being broadcast, never heard of it, and purchased the DVD after seeing the infomercial highlighting videos from the DVD. It was a purchase gamble in some ways, but I figured the musicians highlighted couldn't go wrong, and each week's host seemed to be a sizeable talent still recognizable to me 35 years later. The gamble paid off. The short lived 'Hullabaloo' television show is incredible retro-pop art designy concept program allowing America a glimpse at favored pop music artists in a polished production environment long before MTV or music videos came into existance. It combined personalities, dancers, music and musicians using a very amusing and light hearted manner. The hosts were usually people pushing their own popular TV programs or film or records (Sammy Davis Jr., the star of 'Man from U.n.c.l.e.', Michael Landon, Jerry Lewis, etc.). The dancers are a hilarious assortment of what the producers deemed were 'Amercican' demographic people would want to see with the token asian and black thrown in to help represent, the women were stunning and used as 'props' in many of the sets, and of course the amazing noodle-boy dancer who seems to steal the camera eye with his disgustingly emaciated body writhing about in mid-sixties garb. Finally, and taking center stage, were the musicians who came from the various facets of 60's pop music culture, swathed in expensive 60's Hollywood style, lip synching to the music, doing small skits, being overall 'cool cats'. 'Hullabaloo' is a fantastic time capsule, wether the viewer lived through this era, or for people who want to discover it, and even people that just like some kooky old stuff to have around as mindless eye candy. The old Vaudeville format TV shows highly contrast and shame the modern MTV channels who take themselves so seriously, allowing musicians with empty heads and mouths to drone on unrehearsed for hours instead of packaging them in such fun and inventive ways cooked up in the 60s. Kooky, cheesy and fun- this is a great DVD purchase for those interested in this genre of music and TV.

New fans because of these tapes!.......2002-01-09

Not only are these a must for any 60s collector, they apparently introduce "newbies" to great oldies. I have a Freddie and the Dreamers website and club on Yahoo groups and have a few new members. They mentioned that they had seen these shows and researched some of the bands on the net. Great fun and I'll watch these tapes again and again.

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