Melinda Marx-The Eastside of Town
Hold up, I am here to right a wrong, inform you of a great historical overlook – this is a song about the Eastside and yet, has never been heard on any Chicano Oldies compilation. How did this happen? Please don’t tell me it’s cause the song is no good, that the chick can’t sing (or dance) or that the lyrics are insipid. This is a song about the Eastside! Thankfully, a random Youtube click lead me to uncover this early example of Eastside oldies. True, it has no soul but it’s catchy in it’s own way. Someone please inform Art Laboe…
The lyrics, so you may sing along at your pleasure:
If you are lonely I know a place,
a place where troubles can be erased
So come along down to the Eastside of town
Come on down to the Eastside of town
That’s where the people are always gay
And laughter rings till the break of day
So get yourself down to the Eastside of town
On the westside of town
there’s always trouble there
People may put you down
Almost anywhere
So come along with me
Oh how happy we will be
You can be free
You will see
Maybe we can lose our troubles there
and find true love and some to spare
So follow me down to the Eastside of town
So follow me down to the Eastside of town
The Eastside of town…
Follow me…
Some other thoughts on this performance, Groucho’s daughter Melinda and her very brief singing career.
Yeh, poor un-coordinated Melinda proving on national tv that talent skips a generation. [blush] I agree with the general public that this is just a dragging-on-the-coat-tails of Downtown by Petula Clark (also made in 1965).
…but she’s really pretty 🙂
Wow! How did I miss this song in my junior year of high school? Oh, I don’t think I was watching Groucho Marx’s American Bandstand. Nice tribute, but I think she had Manhattan in mind.
They made the song geographically generic so I’m going with LA’s Eastside…represent, whoop whoop!
Excellent Post, I love that classic historical stuff!!
Wonder if she knew that the Eastside started east of the LA River?
She was way ahead of her time:
“On the westside of town
there’s always trouble there
People may put you down
Almost anywhere”