Yes, child and doll danced. The best way I can describe Swingy is that she's a little go-go dancer. She dates back to 1968 and was your classic Mattel combo: platinum blonde and blue-eyed. Nope, never saw a picture of a black variant, which surprised me since Mattel was not opposed to producing black dolls by 1968. I've seen her size listed as anywhere from eighteen to twenty-one inches, so...maybe she varied in size like Kissy did. According to Mattel's archives she could apparently walk and dance. I've seen pictures of this doll in two hairstyles (short and long with curled ends) and two dress variants (pink with polka dots and a pink and orange bodice with a white skirt). Swingy ran on batteries and...I think it was a switch that you flipped in her back to get her to dance. She'd swing her arms and move her feet, not unlike Ray Thomas did when he wasn't playing his flute. Like other older dolls, Swingy sometimes lost her ability to dance as the years went by, but she wasn't as prone to breaking as poor Baby Heather was. I've also heard that there are good dolly doctors who can get Swingy to dance again if she's on the blink.
Now...since Swingy was a dancer she came with her own record. Back in those days it was not unheard-of to get a noteworthy musician to do advertisements for things like toys, cars, soda pop, the like. I sadly could only find audio for the Who's Coca-Cola jingle; for all I know it was a radio ad and there was no accompanying video. Anyway, musicians do the same thing today; wave enuff money at Jennifer Hopez and she'll shake her rear for your product. Back in 1968 musicians relied on honest-to-God musical skill rather than looks, though being a hunkasaurus rex didn't hurt. Thus was the case with Paul Revere and the Raiders (the band that did that GTO commercial linked above); they were cute and could also string together a decent tune. This is them, minus the tricorn hats.
Paul Revere and the Raiders were a fairly diverse band when it came to music. "Indian Reservation" is dark, dramatic, and political, "Kicks" is a bouncy anti-drug anthem, and "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" made Mama cry out "Ewwww!!! That's too bubblegum for me!" Keep in mind that she was the one who taught me about Paul Revere and the Raiders! Bubblegum or not, "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" was the song that got retooling for Swingy. The key got bumped up a bit, the lyrics got a complete overhaul, and "Song For Swingy" was born. Pretty cool, eh? I wonder how much Mattel had to pay those guys? A snippet of the song can be heard in Swingy's commercial, and the full song can be found here. As I noted twice above, this band was not allergic to doing commercials for other products. I freaking love that GTO commercial.
Of course if Paul Revere and the Raiders wasn't your preference any record would do. My choice would've been...hmmm, 1968...likely one of the Big Four: the Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones, and/or the Kinks. Mama likely would've selected Aretha Franklin or Stevie Wonder; she's a live-strong, die-hard Motown fan. I admit that even a gimpy fatso like me can get her hips rocking to "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". Fifteen years old...when I was fifteen I was throwing up before school every morning because the bullying was so bad. When he was fifteen Stevie Wonder was recording that gem of a song. An amazing performer, that guy! I'm so glad he's still alive and kickin' (Miss Aretha is sadly not).
As with last week, share your memories if you've got any! I always love reading your stories.
Love,
RagingMoon1987
So much to say here. My sister and I loved Paul Revere and the Raiders. I remember our parents made us watch the moon landing, but we wanted to go upstairs and listen to records, probably Paul Revere. I still have the cardboard interview record out of Tiger Beat or 16 magazine that we got as kids, and the infamous "two sided Mark Lyndsey" that my sister made out of pictures of him walking toward, and away from, the camera, out of one of those magazines. I loved that you named the 60's 'Big Four' as The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks! My own 'big 4' list since childhood! I found the visuals to go with the Who Coke commercial: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=680751702719134
ReplyDeleteIt would have gone great on The Who Sell Out! And by the way, your mom's not wrong about Stevie and Aretha, although I prefer Stevie's earlier stuff. I was lucky enough to get to see Aretha (for free!) a few years ago, (Whoa! TEN years ago!), and be one of only two photographers allowed to stand at the stage for the first couple of songs and take pictures. Emma was was writing for an online music magazine then, and I went as her photographer. Aretha sounded great. She still managed to hit the notes. I did a post on it if you want to see my photos: https://planetofthedolls.blogspot.com/2014/08/my-lucky-day-aretha-franklin-and-free.html
Oh, Ms. Aretha truly was amazing. I didn't learn just HOW amazing until I tried to sing "Think" myself a few days ago. It didn't go well, LOL. My voice used to be okay, but even at my best I couldn't touch her. I'll take a gander at that post.
DeleteRegarding the Big Four...oh Lordy, Roger Daltrey and Sir Paul McCartney used to be my idols (along with Sir Elton John, LOL). I don't live and die with them like I used to, but if they're singing, I listen. Ol' Roger says that he's finally starting to slow down, and that performing is starting to be a struggle; we all knew it was coming, but I still don't like it.
LOL, I love the idea of a two-sided Mark! My mom says he's STILL a hunk after all these years. Y'know how some of those rockers don't age well. Mark Lindsey apparently has aged well.
Apparently Roger is about to do a solo acoustic tour. He may think it's getting hard, but the last time we saw The Who he managed to blast out that last note of Reign O're Me. Emma and I turned to look at each other in pleased shock. Pretty amazing, even for a young guy, and he did it. As for Paul, his voice has seen much better days. Luckily we saw him in the 90's when he still sounded great. He has always been my favourite, and I feel so bad for him now when I listen. He obviously loves it though, and people love going to his shows, so more power to him. (Even if he did give me the evil eye. I'm sure you know that story.) I regret that I didn't go see Paul Revere when he played at the little theatre here in town. (The regrets on that one keep compiling. Also didn't go see Tim Conway and Harvey Korman.)
DeleteLOL, yeah, Paul Revere was gone too soon, I thought. I always heard he was a nice guy.
DeleteDon't know what happened to my post then!!!
ReplyDeleteI did like your little doll in pink, she's a newbie for me, but you often introduce me to new dolls that I've never seen before. :)
I do remember the band though, and agree that musicians had talent back then when they actually wrote the music instead of relying on the synthesized stuff from AI like today's so called musicians.
Big hugs,
X
Ugh, AI...I've had it up to the back teeth with AI. They don't make awesome musicians like the Who and Paul Revere anymore. I talked about that with a couple'a friends last night when we listened to the Doobie Brothers. Michael McDonald has such a unique voice.
DeleteP.S. you can delete one of those comments now that I've realised what happened. 🤣
ReplyDeleteLOL, done and done!
Delete