MILTON - For music lovers looking for old time rock 'n' roll and classic rock, "Takin' Back the Music" will be held Aug. 25 at the J.J. Stamm Social Hall, Route 405. The event will be catered by Arrowhead Restaurant and admission is $15.
The show is not the typical "oldies" event. Area singer and entertainer Frank Fedele will present his "Boomer Legends Show" featuring the best hits of the '50s to '80s.
But he won't just be singing the songs, he will be re-creating the sounds of the original artists as closely as he can.
Billed as "The man of 100 voices," Fedele does the vocal stylings of Elvis, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, Rick Nelson, Tony Williams of The Platters, Del Shannon, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Eric Burden of The Animals, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Johnny Maestro of The Crests and The Brooklyn Bridge, Frank Sinatra and more.
Fedele, who has a background in drama and theatre, including comedy and musical theater, has performed his "Boomer Legends" show, as well as his Roy Orbison tribute show, "Orbisonia," since 2002.
"We find that there are many people out there who still want to hear the great old songs of early rock 'n' roll and country as well," Fedele said. "Wherever I go, people tell me they miss hearing this stuff and they can only get it on satellite radio or an occasional oldies station. There are oldies-type bands out there too, but many of them play only one era of music and don't go in for much variety."
Fedele believes that this music must be preserved or it will eventually go away at the hands of a "tunnel vision" type genre of music that has less substance and not much versatility of sound.
"There is still good stuff out there but you have to kind of 'weed it out,' " Fedele said.
"Boomer Legends" and "Orbisonia" have appeared at county fairs, class reunions, conventions and clubs through the state.
Some of the venues are: The Tioga County Fair, The McClure Bean Soup Festival, The Bedord Fall Foliage Festival, The Jersey Shore Town Meeting, The Gratz Fair, the Susquehanna Valley Country Clue and Skeeters on the Hill.
Tickets for the "Boomer Legends" show may be bought at J.J. Stamm Social Hall, The Arrowhead Restaurant, at Le Chocolat, 420 Pine St., or by calling 777-4949. For more information, email fjftheatricks@verizon.net.
