Greetings, music sloots, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with a cool breeze from more innocent times. How innocent? Let's just say that tonight at the Manor's "Booty Bang" lounge and dinette, the singer DJ Li'l Scratch will be playing, who first hit it big in the 1950s, is the epitome of sweetness and light. If you're looking for lewd innuendo or dirty-minded growls (You: "Always," Me: Same, bitch"), then you won't find them here - and I mean that in a good way. Especially now, in the brutal heat of summer, we could use some breezy, carefree, and yes, innocent, music, don't you think? Me, too?  And truly, there's no one more breezy and carefree than Joanie Sommers. Wheeee! Peppy Joanie had a varied career from the 1950s through the early 80s, going back and forth from jazz to standards, and with the advent of rock 'n' roll, pop-rock tunes. All the while, she was appearing at top-flight night clubs ...

In 1956, there was a ton of great movies, including the Doris Day smash "The Man Who Knew Too Much ," a Hitchcock remake of his own original  (not to be confused with the cinematic masterpiece "The Man Who Blew Too Much") (which sits alongside other esteemed works like “Bonfire of the Panties,” “Free My Willy,” “The Loin King,” “H.R. Muff ‘n Stuff,” “Bang the Nun Slowly,” “A Rimmer Runs Through It,” “Spray It Forward,” "Schindler's Fist" and “The Legend in Bagger’s Pants.”).  The Platters had a big hit that year with "(You've Got The) Magic Touch " and a few years later they recorded one of the biggest hits of the decade, the immortal..."The Great Pretender:" So let's roll down the windows, drive along the shore and listen to the radio, and see what kind of good trouble we can get into. After all, it's Open Post, darlings! Photo Credit: AK

After the deranged "commie" hunting of the HUAC hearings, 1956 seemed downright peaceful in comparison. Doris Day's most famous song, "Que Sera, Sera," was recorded in conjunction with her appearance in Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much," Elvis hit the charts for the first time with "Heartbreak Hotel, " the top movie was "The Ten Commandments," and "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners" ruled the TV sets. The Platters had their first hit that year as well, and in my opinion, they reached their apogee with this gorgeous song a few years later, sung live: Happy Wednesday, darlings! Photo Credit: AK