On Saturday evening, February 1, 1975, Barmann’s Concerts and Productions Inc. of Rockland County, New York staged a 20th anniversary of Rock’n’roll concert at the Rockland Community College Field House in Suffern, New York. The event offered general admission seating and all tickets were priced at $6.75. By comparison, that’s just over $38 in 2024 money. The bill contained six of the most popular and beloved vocal groups from the era: Original lead singer Tony Williams and his Platters, the Drifters (Charlie Thomas, Dock Green, Elsbeary Hobbs, Bobby Ruffin and Abdul Samad), the original Skyliners, The Coasters (Carl Gardner, Earl “Speedo” Carroll, Ronnie Bright, Jimmy Norman and Curly Palmer), Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Five Satins. Television and concert host Clay Cole (1938-2010), a staple on New York’s WPIX and WNTA from 1959 to 1968, was hired to serve as emcee. In addition, the producers arranged to have the concert filmed for syndicated national television broadcast. Two one-hour cuts of the program, “20 Years of Rock & Roll”, were edited, produced, and broadcast on American television in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Apart from Tony Williams, most of whose inebriated performance ended up on the cutting room floor, all the acts – primarily in their late 30s and early 40s, gave a fine accounting of themselves for a highly enthusiastic sold-out audience who were aware the event was being filmed.
The 16 minutes of footage of the Five Satins has appeared in edited and or truncated form before, without appropriate documentation of the event date or group members. Fredericke “Fred” Parris (1936-2022), the group’s original lead singer and composer of the classic “In the Still of The Nite”, then 38 years old, is leader and spokesman. Singing first tenor is Richard G. Freeman, who joined the Five Satins in 1958, six months after graduating from high school. Freeman sang on the group’s later Ember sides including “Shadows”, “The Time” and “I’ll Be Seeing You”. James H. “Jimmy” Curtis (1939-2001), the original baritone in the Chestnuts, the New Haven group which began recording for Davis Records in 1957, is singing second tenor with Nathaniel “Nate” Marshall, who also recorded with Parris under the Black Satin name and remained part of the act into the early 1980s, at baritone. The bass singer is North Carolina native, Vernon “Bobby” Bowden (1939-2010), a full-time construction worker and cook.
The Satins’ five song set opens with two songs credited to original bass Jim Freeman, “Wonderful Girl” and “The Jones Girl”, both recorded in 1956. Parris then leads the group’s second biggest seller, “To The Aisle”, which was originally sung by Bill Baker (1935-1994) while Parris was away from the Satins and serving in the United States Army. The group’s signature song, “In the Still of the Nite”, is followed by an acapella encore of “I’ll Be Seeing You”, which Parris recounted they used similarly in their 1969 Madison Square Garden reunion performance.
“This was a big show that was totally sold out,” recounted 83-year-old first tenor Richie Freeman to EarlyR&B.com’s Kirk Lang in 2024. “It was a good show all around. The college gymnasium was packed, and the crowd was into the performers. After we sang ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’, we got a standing ovation.” The complete original footage has been presented in chronological order and the audio remixed and synchronized with the video.
11:28
1:22:47
5:47
