- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- The Golden Age of Rock ’n’ Roll is the fourth album by Sha Na Na and their only release to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard albums chart.
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Sha Na Na – The Golden Age of Rock ’n’ Roll (1973): One of the earliest of the rock and roll revival bands, Sha Na Na (with the name taken from among the innumerable nonsense syllables in the classic “Get a Job” by the Silhouettes) performed at the original 1969 Woodstock festival not long after the group was founded earlier that year. Sha Na Na is perhaps the most unlikely rock band to appear at Woodstock; what’s more, their set immediately preceded that of Jimi Hendrix which includes his legendary performance of “The Star Spangled Banner”. “At the Hop” by Sha Na Na appears in the Woodstock film and also on the triple-LP Woodstock soundtrack album.
Sha Na Na has had a long career, including a syndicated television show called Sha Na Na from 1977 to 1981 (roughly 10 years after their appearance at Woodstock). Sha Na Na were also in the 1978 film Grease, and six of their songs appear on the Grease movie soundtrack album. Allmusic lists 15 albums in the band’s discography. The gonzo antics of the best-known member of Sha Na Na, Jon “Bowzer” Bauman were probably the key to the band’s (and the show’s) success. Bowzer did not appear at Woodstock but was in Sha Na Na from 1970 to 1983. The Golden Age of Rock ’n’ Roll is the fourth album by Sha Na Na and their only release to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard albums chart. Side 1 was evidently recorded in the studio, while the other three sides are taken from a live appearance(s); Sha Na Na has always been more popular in concert than on record. All of the songs are rock and roll classics, mostly but not entirely delivered more or less straight. Some of the versions by Sha Na Na match or even beat the original hits if you ask me.