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This is the latest installment on Shake N’ Vibrate, a monthly vinyl series at Cafe Nine led by musician, DJ, and filmmaker Brendan Toller. To get the full taste of Shake N’ Vibrate, New Haveners still have to go to the events themselves. But here, readers can get a glimpse—or a listen—into some of what they’re in for. The next Shake N' Vibrate is scheduled for Sunday, April 28 at 8 p.m. For more information on the event, click here.
There gets to be a point in a successful DJ set where the crowd is in an electric–and sometimes drunken—whip-it-up frenzy. Hips are shaking, drinks downed, laughter and sometimes romance fills the air (I see just about everything from the stage). The beach ball betwixt crowd and DJ has been passed back and forth.
You feel the crowd is in the palm of your hand. They’ll follow you anywhere. It is at moments like these I go for one of the most frantic 45s in my collection: “Egyptian Shumba,” by the Tammys. After all, what is life without risk?
"I’m gonna make that dream come real," they sing. "I’m gonna dance the way I feel."
The song pushes us to ask questions. Should I lean in for a kiss?’ Will my new friend answer my text? Should I ask my scum boss for a raise (always: yes)?
Recorded in 1963 and 1964, the song showcases sisters Cathy and Gretchen Owens and their friend Linda Jones. The three come in more high pitched and hot than anything this side of the Chipmunks.
There’s a pervasive, lilting, rollercoaster energy permeating “Egyptian Shumba” in the opening seconds, as a carousel-like Middle Eastern riff meets the Tammy’s triple-yelp attack. Is this what a Pennsylvania accent sounds like? Are they chewing gum while singing? They croon “Ee-ee-aa-aa-Egyptian-Shumba,” and a bunch of manic crow screeches come out of the sky.
And its just getting started. “Egyptian Shumba” just hits you with one guttural punch after the next, with no limit to unhinged frenzy. There are no rules. By one minute and 45 seconds in, the drummer practically trips over themselves with the surmountable steamrolling.
The Tammys' story began in 1962 when the three friends performed at a talent show in Pleasantville, Penn. This teen girl group had attitude in spades. They were thrown out of Famoore's Family Restaurant in Oil City, Penn. for singing over a jukebox—then vowed that they would be on that very jukebox someday.
A year before, the group had met singer-songwriter Lou Christie. Christie was performing that night with an outfit called—no joke—Lugee and the Lions. As was customary in the music biz in those days, Christie took the ladies for a ride in his Cadillac. They ostensibly sang, laughed, and cried—and he promised to phone them up if he ever became discovered.
When he was, he made good on his word. Christie brought the Tammys to back him on his first hit “The Gypsy Cried.” He signed the group to a three-single contract with United Artists. But “Gypsy” and “Take Back Your Ring” are snoozes compared to the magic and energy of “Egyptian Shumba.”
Alas, the Tammys failed to chart, rendered to obscurity for many years. “Egyptian Shumba” was featured on the monumental Grammy-nominated box set One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found, consequently rediscovered by a whole new generation of DJs that dare venture to the depths of shrill pop joy.
Lou Christie went on to have a storied career with the 1966 smash “Lightnin’ Strikes” featuring falsettos reminiscent of “Egyptian Shumba.” It's credited to the same Lou Christie/Twyla Herbert songwriting team that brought that marveled wonder into the world just a few years prior.
In researching this power trio, I've found it’s a shame they never got the chance to kindle their unbridled joy on record again. They were masters of publicity putting the media in their place. When KDKA DJ Clark Race asked Linda what her boyfriend thought of her braces she coyly replied, “Nothing much—he has shredded lips!”
A 1965 Tri-City Times-News magazine cover story asked: “What are the Tammys really like? Starting with the leader, Gretchen is an extremely sincere person and has such likes as gypsies, individualists and makeup. Her hobbies include writing stories and horoscopes for fun. Her dislikes are narrow-minded people and poverty.
Her sister, Cathy, 18, is totally different. She likes New York City, clothes and "classy people". Her hobbies include hairdressing and dancing. Her dislikes are phonies, Chinese food and prejudice. The youngest member of the trio is Linda Jones. She favors cats, Italian food and dancing. She is quick to admit she does not like school or "two-faced people." Linda claims horseback riding and sewing as her hobbies.”
To life, love, shredding and dancing!