Year 2 in the Cricket Club

Through a combination of unforeseen circumstances, the second year of the Cricket Club was very nearly the last year, the incredible success of the first year with the performance of the Temptations and the Four Tops. We realized we would have to follow it up with another strong show. Ultimately, we decided to go with five (5) big acts from the sixties – The Teenagers, The Crystals, The Spinners, Lou Christie, and Lesley Gore.

The show got off to a great start. The Teenagers (late Francie Lyman’s group) ripped through hits like “Little Bitty Pretty One,’ ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love,’ and ‘Goody Goody.’ Next came the Crystals, who sang hit after hit, including ‘Then He Kissed Me,’ ‘Da Doo Ron Ron,’ and ‘He’s A Rebel.’

Next, the Spinners went on stage, singing classics like ‘Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,’ and ‘Working My Way Back to You,’ when disaster struck. Right before they started singing their biggest hit, ‘The Rubberband Man,’ the sound system suddenly dropped to about 20% capacity. Everyone in the audience had to crowd up next to the stage to hear the Spinners sing.

Cricket Club founder, Jim Roy, and I went backstage to try to come up with a solution while the audience was straining to hear the band. To say our conversation was tense would be an understatement. When the sound came back up, Jim and I were approached backstage by Lou Christie and Lesley Gore, to ask us what the problem was. As we explained the situation to them, they had a suggestion. It turned out that they had been working on a duet but had never performed it live. They asked our permission to use it to close the show and we gladly agreed.

With the sound system not working correctly, Lou Christie followed the Spinners and performed at least a dozen mega-hits including ‘The Gypsy Cried,’ ‘Rhapsody In The Rain,” and closed his part of the show with his signature song, ‘Lightnin’ Strikes.’ The audience roared its approval and I finally started to breathe easier. The last act was everybody’s sweetheart ‘Lesley Gore.’ Singing her classics, including ‘Maybe I know,’ ‘You Don’t Own Me,’ she finished her act with ‘It’s My Party' and the crowd went crazy. When she left the stage, the crowd erupted, begging for an encore.

Much to the surprise and delight of the audience, Lou Christie came back on stage with Lesley Gore. For the very first time ever, together they sang a medley of ‘Since I Don’t Have You’ and ‘It's Only Make Believe’ and they brought down the house. What looked for a while like it was going to be a disaster, turned into an overwhelming success.