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God Bless.

The Sanford & Smith Families  

Granddads recreate their 1950s doo-wop sound

http://www.valleybreeze.com/Free/MAIN-PAW-Ronnie-and-the-Satellites-w-pics

Granddads recreate their 1950s doo-wop sound

 We will be closed on Easter Sunday! Have a Great Day..

The Star Diner a year in review 2009: HERE

Star Diner

The Star Diner hosted the Cadillac & LaSalle Club for their monthy meeting on Sunday February 21st. this meeting was open to anyone interested in these fine automobiles. Additional information can be found at http://www.nerclc.com

Rhode Island Winter Chili Festival

Charlie Horner covered the beginning of the Doo-Wop era with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Thank you to everyone who came to the diner for Classic Urban Harmony.  Charlie and Pam Horner did a wonderful job with their presentation. And we are Happy to report several special musical guest attended and some even sang.
Guests included, Gary Sabourin, Joe Fiske and Ronnie Dee of Ronnie and the Sattilites. Jerry Raymond of Cal-Raye, Russ Flanagan, Jack Mento, Jim Fisher and Henry D’Aloisio  of Flashback and Todd Baptista author of Group Harmony-Echoes of the Rhythm and Blues Era. There was plenty of A Capella and Doo-Wop at the diner. We will be uploading photos to the Star Diner website as they come in. Check out the story of Pam and Charlies vist to the Star Diner here  http://classicurbanharmony.net/star_diner_2009.htm

Pam & Charlie Horner with Gary Sabourin, Joe Fiske and Ronnie Dee of Ronnie and the Sattilites

Even members of the Star Diner family Jessica and Cathy were singing along.

Todd Baptista author of Group Harmony-Echoes of the Rhythm & Blues Era with Pam & Charlie Horner.

Comedian & Commercial actor Matt McCarthy with Star Diner waitress Jessica

The Star Diner not only has vsits from famous musical artists, but we do from time to time have TV and Movie notables. Comedian & commercial actor Matt McCarthy visited the Star Diner for breakfast yesterday. You may recently know Matt as the cable guy from the Verizon Fios commercials. Check out Matt’s website.

Saturday December 26th at 12 noon Pam and Charlie of Classic Urban Harmony    will be joining us at the diner for lunch and a meet and greet with those interested in the subjects of Rhythm & Blues Vocal Group Harmony (1940′s through 1960′s), Doo Wop Music, Soul Harmony, Spiritual Quartet Singing and Early Rock & Roll Music. This is a social event not a  presentation. 

Pam and Charlie will be displaying some of their music memorabilia. 

The Horners have written feature articles for Echoes of the Past magazine and they present multimedia lectures highlighting their extensive collection of vinyl. Read more about the Horners below and we will see you at the diner!

Centraljersey.com

November 15, 2009
Somerset couple strives to keep doo-wop music alive

By CHRIS JORDAN
STAFF WRITER

There’s Harmony in the lives of Charles and Pamela Horner of Somerset.

That’s because the two are the driving force behind Classic Urban Harmony, which strives to make sure the stars of the doo-wop era of rock ‘n’ roll are not forgotten.

The two give talks and presentations in local libraries, hospitals and community centers.

“We’re trying to preserve and promote the vocal groups and the harmony groups, specifically from the ’50s,” Charles Horner said. “There’s a rich history in the area as so many of the groups are from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia and the whole East Coast. I spent a number of years on the radio in Philadelphia and I interviewed a lot of singers and I’ve written articles on them, and what we’re trying to do is present their stories in their own words.”

Charles, 59, formerly worked at Philly’s WXPN-FM.

“We have multimedia presentations and we’ll show pictures of old groups or show the sheet music and we’ll play song clips and usually everyone starts singing along,” Charles said.

Often the Horners’ work is a bit more high profile than the local library. Charles interviewed Deborah Chessler, the creative force behind the vocal quintet the Orioles, before an audience at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland earlier this year.

He’d like to see a few more doo-wop groups in the rock hall.

“They recognized Little Anthony and the Imperials last year and this year the Chantels are nominated,” Charles said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Doo-wop is a harmonic vocal-based style of music that has its roots in rhythm and blues. Doo-wop groups — mostly from the industrial Northeast — like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Penguins and the Platters ruled the charts from the mid ’50s to the early ’60s.

The Horners work to expose still-active groups that did not have multiple hits.

“Some people use the term one-hit wonder, and these groups may have had one hit, but they’ve been singing for many, many years,” Charles said. “If only one or two songs makes it, it would be a shame not to know about the group where the music came from.”

One such group would be Barbara English & the Clickettes, an all-female group from the ’50s that released regionally known tracks such as “A Lover’s Prayer.” English and the Clickettes are performing Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Lodi Boys and Girls Club, with Willie Winfield & the Harptones, the Solitaires and the Devotions.

The Horners, who travel the world to listen to vocal harmony, will be there. Charles devoted himself to music full-time after a career in chemistry.

“I have a Ph.D in organic chemistry and for most of my career I’ve been researching chemistry and I retired about a year ago and a half ago,” Charles said. “I decided when I was very young that I had two loves. One is music and one is chemistry, and I pursued chemistry for my career and made music my hobby.”

Pam is a former school teacher who taught in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island.

“I’ve always been a fan of music,” she said.

The two met through the North Jersey-based United in Group Harmony Association oldies group.

“We got married in 2005,” Charles said. “We had the Solitaires come to our wedding. In 1955 they had a hit called “The Wedding’ and then at our wedding, they stood up in the front row and sang it.”

Classic Urban Harmony

Ronnie & The Satellites

Ronnie and the Satellites sounded just like back in the day as they belted out the tunes they are famous for like Last Night I Dreamed and Bunny Lee. A jam packed crowd in the dining room at the Star Diner on 10/22/09.. Radio Oldies DJ’s and several memorable Doo-Wop era singers were in attendance for Ronnie and the Satellites ‘Deja Vu Debut Preview’. The consensus of everyone who attended is that they are ready hit the road again singing to audiences and young and older and it all happened at Rhode Islands Number One Oldies Diner Doo-Wop Pit Stop’ the Star Diner.
Event Photos:

Ronnie and The Satellites

Ronnie and The Satellites

Virginia Anderson and her husband Lesley Anderson of The Dubs

George T. Smith (right) Dell Padgett(Center) of the Castaleers with Joe Fiske of Ronnie & the Satellites.

Castaleers - That's why I cry.

3W Seeburg Jukebox

DJ Bob Spicer WLLI-FM (Right) with Jerry Raymond of Cal-Raye