50 th
ANNIVERSARY
In 1977, the
group featured
(from left)
Lennie Baker,
Donny York,
Jocko, Screamin’
Scott Simon,
Denny Greene,
Dave “Chico”
Ryan, Johnny
Contardo and
Jon “Bowzer”
Bauman.
B
elieve it or not, there
wouldn’t have been
a Sha Na Na without
Jimi Hendrix. “He kept
coming to our shows
— he dug what we were
doing,” says founding member John
“Jocko” Marcellino of the rock-gui-
tar legend. “Jimi not only got us our
Woodstock gig, he saved our set! We
were going to be bumped [for time],
but he and his manager made sure
we got our slot.”
Though the show wasn’t perfect
(“We got paid $350...and the check
bounced!” Jocko laughs), their ren-
dition of “At the Hop” was captured
by Martin Scorsese, then a young
film student working on the 1970
documentary Woodstock. “That film
really put us on the map,” Jocko told
Closer at An Evening With Sha Na Na
to Celebrate Their 50th Anniversary
at the Grammy Museum in LA. “It
started our career.”
GET A JOB!
Before there was Sha Na Na, there
were the Kingsmen, an a cappella
group Jocko formed with some of
his Columbia University pals back in
- They played campus gigs, took
a new name (from a line in the 1957
hit “Get a Job”) and eventually be-
gan performing in NYC clubs. “We
let everybody know this is Ameri-
cana music, and we are going back to
the beginning,” Jocko says. “At first,
it looked sort of campy, but then peo-
ple realized this is the real-deal music
our parents listened to.”
By 1977, they’d land their own TV
variety show, Sha Na Na, and a year
later they’d appear in the blockbust-
er Grease as Johnny Casino and the
Gamblers. “We had six songs on
the Grease soundtrack,” Jocko tells
Closer. “And a Grammy nomination!
That was pretty awesome.”
Today, Sha Na Na is still rockin’ and
rollin’, but with only two of its original
12 members (Jocko and Donny York)
as well as longtime member Screamin’
Scott Simon (who co-wrote the Grease
hit “Sandy”). “It feels unbelievable!”
says Jocko, who collected recordings
for the band’s new 50th Anniversary
Commemorative Edition live album.
“We are still doin’ it, and we will keep
rockin’ on as long as we are wanted!”
— Reporting by Meagan Sargent
THE ’50S-TRIBUTE ROCKERS WOWED AT
WOODSTOCK & HELPED MAKE GREASE THE WORD
Jocko (center)
with Sha Na Na’s
new lineup
IS HERE TO STAY
Sha Na Na
52 August 12, 2019 CLOSER
