Season 576 - "Dirty Dancing"

[Yukio]

So this is probably not allowed, but it's the best I could do this week. The infamous BEVOMU and I collaborated on this version of a song that happened to also appear in Dirty Dancing. We had so much fun putting it together I thought it deserves another lap around the Seasons block. The first appearance was 420 Seasons ago!

Oh man!
That "Sylvia....how do you call your lover boy?...." part was solid gold!
You people are making it so hard on me this season! I have had to be a stickler for the rules with so many already. I can't really buck the new video rule except in Rob's case, but I am happy you shared this gem on the thread. We will certainly leave it up on the thread to entertain the troops.

 

[Yukio]

Aha! Some of the “Catskills” settings were at a resort in Lake Lure, NC, where the crew and some of the cast stayed. Some of the buildings were destroyed in a fire and others were swept aside for development (“the progress of man,” one famous songwriter mused). From this account, you can still visit a few bits of the remains in person:

Dirty Dancing

Several areas of Lake Lure were used in the filming of the 1987 classic film Dirty Dancing. While filming, many of the cast and production team stayed at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa. The majority of filming was done at a former Boy's Camp. The camp gymnasium was the filming location of both...

www.visitncsmalltowns.com

Thanks for the geography lesson, Rick. Yeah, they shot a lot of the dirty dancing scenes where the staff is dancing after hours in a totally different location. That was Lake Lure locale. Thanks for the link, too. It will be useful in a chapter or two in the narrative.

 

[AZChris]

No green screen out here in the province in Pampanga. Lots of dogs, motorcycles, great food and wonderful people. I checked thru a Lanakai Lu21T and a Keith Urban tenor and both survived. 11% humidity in Arizona, 65% humidity here probably makes the ukes happier in their new home. They still have kit ukes I sent them a couple years ago. I got a couple volunteers to help me.

 

[jtsteam]

I haven't had much time this week, especially with churning out some things as FAWM drew to a close (of which no doubt more later) but I did want to get this Carole King song in, performed by The Shirelles on the soundtrack. We've already had a beautiful version by _mourningdove, but here's my take on it, with just concert uke and vocal:



Incidentally, I reached a milestone on youtube this week: I got my first comment from a hater! They said "Horrific. Shame." on one of my videos. I always wondered how I'd react to this. It turns out it amuses me, and I also have to feel some pity for anyone who finds that a worthwhile way to spend their time. Anyway I hope this doesn't horrify you too much .

 

[bird's eye view of my ukelele]

I haven't had much time this week, especially with churning out some things as FAWM drew to a close (of which no doubt more later) but I did want to get this Carole King song in, performed by The Shirelles on the soundtrack. We've already had a beautiful version by _mourningdove, but here's my take on it, with just concert uke and vocal:



Incidentally, I reached a milestone on youtube this week: I got my first comment from a hater! They said "Horrific. Shame." on one of my videos. I always wondered how I'd react to this. It turns out it amuses me, and I also have to feel some pity for anyone who finds that a worthwhile way to spend their time. Anyway I hope this doesn't horrify you too much .

I think there are people whose hobby and life's work it is to just baselessly slag people off! And obviously those people adore the interweb! When I see these people posting, on my vids or other people's vids, I like to click on their channels and see what vids THEY have taken the time and effort to post... and 99 times out of a hundred they've never put anything out there at all! The remaining 1 out of a hundred it's video game footage, or them lifting weights

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

What a great story! You really know how to travel. I have lived in both Maine and Washington State. Even though the hemlock and fir of the Olympic Peninsula is not quite the same as the spruce and cedar of the Maine woods, I can imagine that you might have found a Kellerman's down each of these divergent roads. After all, you take Kellerman's with you in your heart, wherever you go.

I should have admitted this tidbit of personal / regional ignorance:
My original intent was to travel to Vancouver. While waiting in the ferry line with the car’s top down, enjoying the 70F weather, I turned the radio to a station that was broadcasting from Vancouver. Shortly thereafter came the day’s weather forecast.

The following day’s projected high temperature was 21. Upon hearing that, I immediately began the process of changing lanes to catch the Port Angeles ferry instead. I never realized my silliness until after returning home one week later.

The lack of situational awareness that should have triggered a simple mental conversion from C to F diverted me from visiting Vancouver. That remains among my few regrets.

 

[Yukio]

I haven't had much time this week, especially with churning out some things as FAWM drew to a close (of which no doubt more later) but I did want to get this Carole King song in, performed by The Shirelles on the soundtrack. We've already had a beautiful version by _mourningdove, but here's my take on it, with just concert uke and vocal:



Incidentally, I reached a milestone on youtube this week: I got my first comment from a hater! They said "Horrific. Shame." on one of my videos. I always wondered how I'd react to this. It turns out it amuses me, and I also have to feel some pity for anyone who finds that a worthwhile way to spend their time. Anyway I hope this doesn't horrify you too much .

I am glad you found some sympathy for the haters of this world. They visit remarks on me from time to time, so by now I am pretty used to it. My most recent encounter was at a crowded karaoke bar last month. I was singing an Adele song, a bit out of my range, to be honest, but hey, it's karaoke after all. As the place was packed, I was moving around the other patrons and catching people's eyes while I sang. I was enjoying myself and most people seemed to like it.

I was quite close to one woman, and when we locked eyes she said very directly, "This is a s#*% song and you can't sing." My reaction was very interesting, so much so that it rather surprised me. I said, "You could be right. Here, you take the mic and sing it." I wasn't trying to be cheeky, I took it as quite possible that she was correct and wanted her to show me how it should be done. But, she wouldn't take the microphone from me, nor say anything further. Her boyfriend (?) reached for it instead and uttered some unintelligible nonsense into the microphone. I politely took it back and finished the song myself, engaging with different people and different eyes.

 

[wee_ginga_yin]

I haven't had much time this week, especially with churning out some things as FAWM drew to a close (of which no doubt more later) but I did want to get this Carole King song in, performed by The Shirelles on the soundtrack. We've already had a beautiful version by _mourningdove, but here's my take on it, with just concert uke and vocal:



Incidentally, I reached a milestone on youtube this week: I got my first comment from a hater! They said "Horrific. Shame." on one of my videos. I always wondered how I'd react to this. It turns out it amuses me, and I also have to feel some pity for anyone who finds that a worthwhile way to spend their time. Anyway I hope this doesn't horrify you too much .

I usually tell them that I am going to report them to matron and I hope the headmaster gives them six of the best.

 

[DelGriff]

Thanks for hosting, Christopher!

I’ve always loved this song, so was very grateful to see it on the list! I love how the simple lyrics paint such a perfect picture of the scenario - brilliant songwriting! Incidentally, I’m another who hasn’t watched the film, at least not all the way through - make of that what you will!

And I note that our host was keen to hear some vocal harmonies - happy to oblige, sir!

 

[UkeFoote]

Thanks for hosting, Christopher!

I’ve always loved this song, so was very grateful to see it on the list! I love how the simple lyrics paint such a perfect picture of the scenario - brilliant songwriting! Incidentally, I’m another who hasn’t watched the film, at least not all the way through - make of that what you will!

And I note that our host was keen to hear some vocal harmonies - happy to oblige, sir!

PEDANT ALERT!!!!
I see there are numerous versions of this tune up for the season. Just wanted to mention that the song title is actually “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”. For some reason the word “still” is omitted from the official title. I’ve always thought that was strange and it seems a good time to mention it, for what it is worth.

 

[DelGriff]

PEDANT ALERT!!!!
I see there are numerous versions of this tune up for the season. Just wanted to mention that the song title is actually “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”. For some reason the word “still” is omitted from the official title. I’ve always thought that was strange and it seems a good time to mention it, for what it is worth.

You‘re absolutely right, Brian - you really are a pedant!

 

[wee_ginga_yin]

Thanks for hosting, Christopher!

I’ve always loved this song, so was very grateful to see it on the list! I love how the simple lyrics paint such a perfect picture of the scenario - brilliant songwriting! Incidentally, I’m another who hasn’t watched the film, at least not all the way through - make of that what you will!

And I note that our host was keen to hear some vocal harmonies - happy to oblige, sir!

Puffer jacket and hat inside... so the energy crisis in the UK is real? I had a video call with my daughter in the UK and was surprised she was wearing a coat and scarf inside.

 

[Yukio]

Puffer jacket and hat inside... so the energy crisis in the UK is real? I had a video call with my daughter in the UK and was surprised she was wearing a coat and scarf inside.

That is my standard attire in this old house in Switzerland. Sometimes fingerless knitted gloves, too!

 

[pabrizzer]

something that i consider pretty weird happened today - my brother called around with his wife - during a round the table conversation he said "no one puts baby in the corner" as part of a story he was recounting- i've never heard him say it before - i asked if he knew where it came from - and he did - i then explained this weeks theme to him - as i said - pretty weird

 

[Yukio]

Dirty Dancing part seven

It was time for the producers to assemble a cast.

Jennifer Grey is the daughter of Joel Grey. You probably know Joel Grey from his portrayal as the master of ceremonies character in both the Broadway and film productions of Cabaret. (I think I first knew Joel Grey as a first season guest on The Muppet Show.) Jennifer was getting into pictures and had acting experience, but little dance experience. But of course, it was in her blood. Vestron Pictures was hoping to cast a blonde bombshell in the role of Baby, but Eleanor Bernstein knew better. Baby had to be much more shy and unsure about herself. It was better to cast someone with a "girl next door" manner and appearance. When Joel and Jennifer Grey showed up for Jennifer's audition for the part in Dirty Dancing, Jennifer turned to her father and said, "Wish me luck, Daddy!" Seeing and hearing this, Linda and Eleanor knew that she was right for the part.

They were very lucky to find Patrick Swayze to play Johnny Castle, because Swayze had tons of dancing experience, having studied ballet and dancing on Broadway. He had all the looks and the moves, but he also had a bad knee from an old football injury. He was trying to get into film acting and away from dance because he didn't think his knee could take it. In the end, he agreed to take the part. It was touch-and-go at times. In the scene where Johnny and Baby are dancing on the fallen log, he took a few bad falls that further aggravated his old knee injury.

The producers scored a perfect person to direct the film, Emile Ardolino. Although he did not have any major motion picture directing experience, he did have experience in filming dance. Ardolino had directed an hour-long documentary from 1983 called, "He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'," (1983) a television documentary about Jaques d'Amboise, a principal dancer in the NYC Ballet who was teaching dance to schoolchildren in the city of New York. (You can find this inspiring short film about sharing a love of the performing arts with children on the internet.)

From the above examples, it would seem that the producers were able to find just the right people for the crucial roles, mostly drawing from talented people relatively new to the movie business. They got the right people, at the right price.

They went to the Virginia location in July to start casting extras for the film in nearby Blacksburg. They couldn't find a lot of people who could pass for Jewish there. They advertised for Italian, Greek, or 'other ethnic types' to come try out, but lots of blonde haired and blue eyed folks showed up for the parts.

By August, the crew had arrived and started to work getting everything ready to film. But with the arrival of the crew came the arrival of the rain. It rained for days and days with no signs of letting up. They put on rubber boots and started to bring in straw to protect the waterlogged grounds from foot traffic. It was cool in the days and cold at night producing a mist so thick that you couldn't see the main house when standing on the front lawn. Linda Gottlieb said that their 'summer Catskills of the South' was looking more like a scene from Brigadoon.

Towards the end of the month, the clouds parted and the sun came out for four days. That was enough time for them to get their exterior shots with Patric and Jennifer. They shot the scene where they were practicing 'the lift' in the local lake, but the water was so cold they could only do long shots of the scene because the actors were blue with cold. The crew would rub them down with towels and try to heat them up between takes.

On September 3rd, the rest of the cast arrived at the locale and filming began in earnest.

 

[wee_ginga_yin]

That is my standard attire in this old house in Switzerland. Sometimes fingerless knitted gloves, too!

I was on a skiing holiday in Switzerland and we lived in an old farmhouse in the mountains. I remember the dovet on the bed was about 10 cm thick. we slept in the upstairs and underneath us was a cow shed and apparently the heat from the animals were supposed to keep us warm.

 

[Yukio]

Baby discovers Penny alone in agonising pain after the horror of her botched back-alley abortion. Baby runs to get her father, Dr. Houseman, who is able to treat Penny, perhaps even saving Penny's life. But Dr. Houseman mistakenly assumes it was Johnny who got Penny pregnant and forbids Baby from having anything to do with 'those people.'

Later that evening, Baby comes to Johnny's cabin to apologise for the way her father treated Johnny earlier in the day. Shirtless, Johnny is alone listening to records as he opens the cabin door for Baby to enter.

 

[Yukio]

I was on a skiing holiday in Switzerland and we lived in an old farmhouse in the mountains. I remember the dovet on the bed was about 10 cm thick. we slept in the upstairs and underneath us was a cow shed and apparently the heat from the animals were supposed to keep us warm.

I could have stayed in that same farmhouse. My stay was at a 300 year old beauty with central cow-shed heating in the village of Matt, Kanton Glarus. The skiing is one town further up the Sernftal, in Elm.

 

[jtsteam]

PEDANT ALERT!!!!
I see there are numerous versions of this tune up for the season. Just wanted to mention that the song title is actually “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”. For some reason the word “still” is omitted from the official title. I’ve always thought that was strange and it seems a good time to mention it, for what it is worth.

I edited my title. I couldn't bear to have it wrong . (I must have got it from an unreliable source... I'm usually a stickler for these details!)

 

[bird's eye view of my ukelele]

here's a homemade song, for the iconic "nobody puts baby in the corner" scene!