The Beaches
Long Island is the beaches, one long party stretching along the Atlantic from the "remember when" of overcrowded Coney Island or the nude beach at Riis Park; along Rockaway Beach (immortalized by The Ramones; where The Playland hosted hundreds of shows); past the Atlantic Beach clubs so well depicted in the film, The Flamingo Kid; and into Long Beach. Here, there are homes painted by Roland "Don" Trone and Claude "Juan" Johnson of "What's Your Name" fame.
Throughout the '60s, the party would hang a left up Long Beach Boulevard to The Action House, so aptly dubbed. Mike Ricciardella, drummer for The Illusion, described it, "The Action House was a wild place back then. The bouncers were nuts and very wild! The drug scene was wild! The chick scene was wild! The parking lot scene was the wildest, though. Really nuts. The parking lot was the place where the crowd hung out and got high. Inside was rock'n'roll, outside was Fantasyland."
Every
major national headliner played this club and it was home to all the new players.
Club owner and manager, Phil Basile didn't quite know what to do with his
house band, The Pidgeons, but "Shadow"
Morton knew what to do, "...Mark played that organ--the Hammond B-3--on
"You Keep Me Hangin' On." It impressed the hell out of me. I don't remember
whether he told me or if I came to the conclusion myself, but the reason he
played it that way...you know, slow and soulful...was that was the way he
had been listening to The Supremes doing "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on a 45
record going at 33rpm to learn the song! I was so taken by the feeling of
that, he was just so into it...I turned right around at the door and I walked
back into the room...I knew that name, The Pidgeons,
had to go and I came up with Vanilla Fudge."
Along the Lido Strip, the sands parted for the beach clubs: The Sands, The Shelbourne, The Monaco, The Colony and The Malibu. During the '60s, these private enclaves of the nouveau riche were host to all the classic groups. Starting at one end, playing each club in turn until they reached the causeway where booking agent King Broder held the payday, aging doo-wop groups extended their vocation while journeymen sought experience. Jay and The Americans traveled the circuit with novice backup musicians, Donald Fagan and Walter Becker. (Future Steely Dan guitarist, Denny Dias, hails from Hicksville.) Conceivably, Billy Crystal stood in the crowd and boogied. During the day, he was employed as a Malibu camp counselor.
