Features

August 9, 2009

‘Bowzer’ is still dedicated to doo-wop

BRAD PATTON For The Times Leader

For almost 40 years, Brooklyn-born and Juilliard-trained Jon Bauman has been slicking back his hair, rolling up his T-shirt sleeves and becoming his alter ego “Bowzer.”

From 1970 to 1983, he was the most-recognizable member of Sha Na Na, the highly successful nostalgia act that mixed the rock ’n’ roll sounds of the late 1950s and early 1960s with a huge dose of comedy, leading the group through a memorable appearance in “Grease” and four years of top ratings on its own TV series. Since 1987, he has continued with his own group, Bowzer & The Stingrays.

Bauman will bring his famous creation to the area today as he hosts “Bowzer’s Ultimate Doo-Wop Party” at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Appearing in addition to Bowzer and his group will be oldies acts Gene Chandler (“Duke of Earl”), Charlie Thomas’ Drifters (“Under The Boardwalk,” “Up On The Roof,” “Save The Last Dance For Me”), The Dovells (“Bristol Stomp” and “You Can’t Sit Down”), The Crystals (“Da Doo Ron Ron,” “He’s A Rebel,” “Then He Kissed Me”), Paul & Paula (“Hey Paula”) and 14-year-old doo-wop sensation Kid Kyle.

“It’s a fast-paced, highly entertaining show with hit after hit after hit,” Bauman said in a recent telephone interview.

Sha Na Na (the name came from the 1958 No. 1 hit “Get A Job” by The Silhouettes) was formed in the late 1960s by some students at Columbia University who were among the first to revive the music and culture of the 1950s.

“First there was us, then within a few years you had ‘American Graffiti’ and ‘Grease’ the play. Then a little later there was ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Laverne and Shirley.’ We kind of started all that,” he said.

Bauman joined up a few months after the group’s surprise success at Woodstock, making his character the focal point of the highly visual act.

“He’s kind of a composite of people I knew in my childhood,” Bauman said of his famous creation. “He is all the greasers I have known — all the people that tried to throw my music books in the sewer when I was going to Juilliard.”

The group, who had always been more successful on stage than on record, made the jump to television beginning in 1977. The following year, they were asked to appear in the movie version of “Grease,” which has gone on to become the most successful movie musical of all time.

“They had been trying to get the movie made for a while,” Bauman said. “Our show was a big hit, so the producers thought putting us in it would help.

“Remember, that was filmed before John Travolta became such a huge star with ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ ” he said. “It was a known quantity (because of the success of the play), but nobody had any idea it would become this timeless film that would continue to be enjoyed by all generations.”

After a few more years of TV success with Sha Na Na, Bauman left the group in 1983 to pursue other interests. These included a two-year stint as one of the original VJs on VH1, hosting the “Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour” on NBC and doing voice work in cartoons. In 1987, he put his current group together.

“I took a few years off (from being Bowzer),” Bauman said. “And soon I realized how much I missed doing that, how much fun it was. That’s why I am still doing it, because I have so much fun.”

In recent years, Bauman also has become the chairman of the Truth In Music committee of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, helping some of the same singers whose music he has re-created throughout his career by putting a stop to impostors posing as vocal groups from the early days of rock ’n’ roll.

“Because of the way the music business was in the early days, a lot of these performers never made a lot of money from their records,” Bauman said. “All they had left was live performances, and now they were being cheated out of that, too.”

The “Truth In Music” laws that subsequently have been passed in 33 states (including Pennsylvania) make it mandatory that any group performing live must have at least one original member and a legal right to use the name, or they must be marketed as a “tribute” or “salute” so the public knows what it is getting.

“We are estimating that we have put 90 percent of these shows out of business,” Bauman said. “Our goal, of course, is to rid the landscape of them completely. There will be a federal bill introduced in the fall, and hopefully that will be in effect next year.

“Obviously, when you come to a Bowzer show, you are going to get the real thing,” he said.

IF YOU GO

What: “Bowzer’s Ultimate Doo-Wop Party” with Gene Chandler, Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, The Dovells, The Crystals, Paul & Paula, Kid Kyle and Bowzer & The Stingrays

When: 6:30 tonight

Where: Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs

Tickets: $25 to $45

Call: 1-888-WIN-IN-PA or visit www.ticketmaster.com

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