Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What? (1966)
Jerry Blavat, the legendary disc jockey known by such nicknames as "The Geator with the Heater" and "The Boss with the Hot Sauce", died at age 82 on January 20, 2023. Blavat was regarded as one of the early rock and roll DJ's, and is often credited with (blamed for?) the creation of the "oldies" radio format. Blavat first gained fame in the 1950's as a teenage dancer on (American) Bandstand, during the TV show's early, pre-Dick Clark days when it was based in Blavat's hometown of Philadelphia. Blavat later hosted his own dance show called The Discophonic Scene, as well as a syndicated radio show in the '60's which specialized in "oldies" -- which, at that time, often meant that the songs were approximately five years old, and were no longer heard on format-based radio stations. Blavat helped many performers achieve fame, including the Four Seasons, the Isley Brothers, and Dionne Warwick (who spoke at Blavat's funeral service in Philadelphia about their friendship dating back to 1962, when she performed her first recording at his "sock hop"). From the 1970's until his death in 2023, Blavat kept up a long career of hosting dance parties in the Philly and South Jersey areas, sometimes at his own nightclub at the Jersey Shore.
Also in the '60's, Blavat co-owned a Philadelphia-based independent record label called Lost Nite, which specialized in reissues of rare doo wop and R&B recordings. (Another of that label's co-owners was Jerry Greene, who was later the founder of the similar reissue label Collectables Records, as well as Oldies.com). Blavat also recorded a few oddball novelty singles of his own, which might lead one to think that the Geator was a Kim Fowley type...but that's another story.
Crimson Records was the sister label of Lost Nite. Only two full-length albums were released on the Crimson imprint. One of them was the Soul Survivors' When The Whistle Blows Anything Goes, which featured the Top 5 hit "Expressway To Your Heart", one of the songs that put the Philly Soul genre on the map. The other LP issued on Crimson was a various artists compilation titled Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What?. This oddly packaged record contained 15 doo wop songs from the late-'50's and early-'60's, with the Geator talking between (and sometimes during) the tracks. There were similar compilations released by Lost Nite with "Jerry Blavat Presents" in the title; those records revolved around such themes as For Dancers Only and For Lovers Only. The theme of the Guess What? compilation was -- guess what? -- guessing which songs you were listening to on the album! The packaging did not reveal the album's track listing; instead, there was a sticker attached to the back cover listing the names of 25 songs (without the artists' names) and saying: "Guess which 15 out of these 25 songs are in this album". During the course of the record, Blavat revealed which songs were heard on it. It was an odd gimmick, to be sure, and one that apparently did not pay off well, since the record reportedly suffered from weak sales.
The record itself -- which also did not have the song titles printed -- had one continuous groove on each side, with nothing to mark the beginnings and endings of the featured songs (which are listed below). Listening to the album was exactly like listening to a broadcast of Blavat's oldies radio show, though not one recorded on his best day.
The song selection basically consisted of tracks drawn from various artists' doo wop singles released between 1957 and 1963, many of them obscure (at least from a contemporary perspective). But most of the selections aren't all that great -- which may be the reason for the guessing-game gimmick. Certainly there are some good ones here, including standouts from the Duprees ("Take Me As I Am"), Jordan and the Fascinations ("I'll Be Forever Loving You"), the Cadillacs ("My Girl Friend"), and the Crests (the ballad "Flower Of Love"). But most of the selections are merely adequate -- and the Ducanes' "I'm So Happy (Tra-La-La)" was a rather annoying choice for the opener.
And speaking of "annoying", that description could often apply to Mr. Blavat as well. A little of the DJ's high-pitched, fast-talkin' jive could go a long way, especially when he did it during the songs he was playing. For example, on this record, it is a bit irksome when the Geator makes shrill noises during the Five Discs' "Never Let You Go" and the Charades' "Please Be My Love Tonight". It's nice to hear that the DJ was enthusiastic about his livelihood, but his style was not for all tastes. One thing that Blavat's Philadelphia-area fans appreciated was his willingness to promote Philly-bred performers, something he did on this record by including songs by Jackie And The Starlites and Johnny Greco.
One historically interesting selection: Lewis Lymon's "Honey, Honey (You Don't Know)" from 1957 is a near-ripoff of his brother Frankie's 1955 classic "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".
Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What? will mainly be of interest to admirers of the Geator and to connoisseurs of doo wop music. There were better "Jerry Blavat Presents" compilations issued on the Lost Nite imprint. To borrow a title from one of those, this one is "For Collectors Only".
Various Artists "Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What?" (Crimson LP 501) 1966
Track Listing:
Side 1:
1. The Ducanes - I'm So Happy (Tra-La-La)
2. Jordan and The Fascinations - I'll Be Forever Loving You
3. The Five Discs - Never Let You Go
4. The Five Satins - Shadows
5. The Crests - Flower Of Love
6. The Magnificent Four - The Closer You Are
7. Lewis Lymon and The Teenchords - Honey, Honey (You Don't Know)
Side 2:
8. The Cadillacs - My Girl Friend
9. Johnny Greco - Rocket Ride
10. Roger and The Travelers - You're Daddy's Little Girl
11. Pookie Hudson - I Know, I Know
12. The Duprees - Take Me As I Am
13. Jackie and The Starlites - For All We Know
14. The Charades - Please Be My Love Tonight
15. The Cleftones - Why You Do Me Like You Do
Also in the '60's, Blavat co-owned a Philadelphia-based independent record label called Lost Nite, which specialized in reissues of rare doo wop and R&B recordings. (Another of that label's co-owners was Jerry Greene, who was later the founder of the similar reissue label Collectables Records, as well as Oldies.com). Blavat also recorded a few oddball novelty singles of his own, which might lead one to think that the Geator was a Kim Fowley type...but that's another story.
Crimson Records was the sister label of Lost Nite. Only two full-length albums were released on the Crimson imprint. One of them was the Soul Survivors' When The Whistle Blows Anything Goes, which featured the Top 5 hit "Expressway To Your Heart", one of the songs that put the Philly Soul genre on the map. The other LP issued on Crimson was a various artists compilation titled Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What?. This oddly packaged record contained 15 doo wop songs from the late-'50's and early-'60's, with the Geator talking between (and sometimes during) the tracks. There were similar compilations released by Lost Nite with "Jerry Blavat Presents" in the title; those records revolved around such themes as For Dancers Only and For Lovers Only. The theme of the Guess What? compilation was -- guess what? -- guessing which songs you were listening to on the album! The packaging did not reveal the album's track listing; instead, there was a sticker attached to the back cover listing the names of 25 songs (without the artists' names) and saying: "Guess which 15 out of these 25 songs are in this album". During the course of the record, Blavat revealed which songs were heard on it. It was an odd gimmick, to be sure, and one that apparently did not pay off well, since the record reportedly suffered from weak sales.
The record itself -- which also did not have the song titles printed -- had one continuous groove on each side, with nothing to mark the beginnings and endings of the featured songs (which are listed below). Listening to the album was exactly like listening to a broadcast of Blavat's oldies radio show, though not one recorded on his best day.
The song selection basically consisted of tracks drawn from various artists' doo wop singles released between 1957 and 1963, many of them obscure (at least from a contemporary perspective). But most of the selections aren't all that great -- which may be the reason for the guessing-game gimmick. Certainly there are some good ones here, including standouts from the Duprees ("Take Me As I Am"), Jordan and the Fascinations ("I'll Be Forever Loving You"), the Cadillacs ("My Girl Friend"), and the Crests (the ballad "Flower Of Love"). But most of the selections are merely adequate -- and the Ducanes' "I'm So Happy (Tra-La-La)" was a rather annoying choice for the opener.
And speaking of "annoying", that description could often apply to Mr. Blavat as well. A little of the DJ's high-pitched, fast-talkin' jive could go a long way, especially when he did it during the songs he was playing. For example, on this record, it is a bit irksome when the Geator makes shrill noises during the Five Discs' "Never Let You Go" and the Charades' "Please Be My Love Tonight". It's nice to hear that the DJ was enthusiastic about his livelihood, but his style was not for all tastes. One thing that Blavat's Philadelphia-area fans appreciated was his willingness to promote Philly-bred performers, something he did on this record by including songs by Jackie And The Starlites and Johnny Greco.
One historically interesting selection: Lewis Lymon's "Honey, Honey (You Don't Know)" from 1957 is a near-ripoff of his brother Frankie's 1955 classic "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".
Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What? will mainly be of interest to admirers of the Geator and to connoisseurs of doo wop music. There were better "Jerry Blavat Presents" compilations issued on the Lost Nite imprint. To borrow a title from one of those, this one is "For Collectors Only".
Various Artists "Jerry Blavat Presents Guess What?" (Crimson LP 501) 1966
Track Listing:
Side 1:
1. The Ducanes - I'm So Happy (Tra-La-La)
2. Jordan and The Fascinations - I'll Be Forever Loving You
3. The Five Discs - Never Let You Go
4. The Five Satins - Shadows
5. The Crests - Flower Of Love
6. The Magnificent Four - The Closer You Are
7. Lewis Lymon and The Teenchords - Honey, Honey (You Don't Know)
Side 2:
8. The Cadillacs - My Girl Friend
9. Johnny Greco - Rocket Ride
10. Roger and The Travelers - You're Daddy's Little Girl
11. Pookie Hudson - I Know, I Know
12. The Duprees - Take Me As I Am
13. Jackie and The Starlites - For All We Know
14. The Charades - Please Be My Love Tonight
15. The Cleftones - Why You Do Me Like You Do
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