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By Bill OBoyle [email protected]
Bill O’Boyle
Jeremy Clyde
Edd Beatledd Raineri
WILKES-BARRE — Having dinner at Mylana’s on South Main Street is always a great experience.
Owner/chef Joe Ginthner is the best and so are his menu items.
This past Friday was no exception. Our Friday night dinner group of Forever Friends enjoyed our meals and, as always, our conversation.
And on this night, we had no idea we were dining next to a 1960s British Invasion rock star.
But if you know my friend Edd “Beatledd” Raineri, you wouldn’t be surprised.
Host of the Beatledd Fab Four Hour on Rock 107 WEZX-FM Sunday mornings, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. — which by the way is heard online worldwide — Raineri has interviewed and befriended so many iconic rock stars it’s astonishing.
But as Friday night’s dinner encounter attests, Beatledd really knows his rock stars.
Dining with Edd and his wife was Jeremy Clyde — who had numerous mega-hits with his duo partner, the late Chad Stuart. Chad & Jeremy had hits we all sang along to, like “Yesterday’s Gone,” “A Summer Song,” “Willow Weep for Me,” and many more. All told, they had seven Top 40 singles on the U.S. charts between 1964 and 1966.
So it was really cool to shake Jeremy’s hand and chat with him for a bit as I was leaving Mylana’s. Then Beatledd told me about what was going on Saturday night. Edd was hosting an appreciation party of people close to him, especially the folks from Rock 107 and others who have been with him on his incredible post-psychologist journey through all sorts of rock stars and events.
And the real kicker about Saturday’s event is that the party was being held in Plymouth in the Shawnee Room of Happy Pizza.
I informed Jeremy that he was going to be in the “center of the universe” on Saturday evening and he would be treated to the best pizza he could never get in London. Jeremy — the rock icon of the 1960s — said he was looking forward to it.
Well Saturday evening came and Jeremy was there. We chatted again outside of the Shawnee Room and we talked about those days of hysterical young fans following the British rock stars everywhere they would appear. More on all that later this week.
Joining Jeremy was Fred Seaman, who was a personal friend of Beatle John Lennon. Fred served as Lennon’s personal assistant for a couple of years — he was with Lennon for most of his last days. More on that story as well later this week.
So you can see this was an absolutely incredible night in Old Shawnee.
And after Don Shappelle and Don Sennett completed their opening set, Beatledd told a few stories and then — to the genuine surprise of everyone in the room — he brought Jeremy out to perform.
As my pal Wayne — a lifelong lead singer for several area bands — and I sat in the back of the room, everyone absorbed a truly awesome performance by a British man of 84, playing the songs we all knew and loved, with some even singing along.
It was an evening we all will cherish forever. And even though Beatledd put it all together, it was an evening of tribute to a guy who has given much of his life and bank account to bring joy to people who just love and appreciate the music of the 1960s.
Because, you see, most of those in attendance were “there” back “then.” We were “where it was at.” Can you dig it? It was a time when the world was changing. Yes, The Beatles seemed to have started it all, but the British Invasion with all those groups and all those great songs really should get the credit.
Suddenly, in a matter of a few appearances on shows like Ed Sullivan, everything began to change — music, of course, and fashion, and attitudes, hair styles and morals perhaps loosened.
Jeremy said it all sort of invented the “modern world.”
It was an incredible weekend, especially when you realize that Jeremy, in addition to being a British rock star and accomplished actor, also once shook the hand of Winston Churchill.
“Well, he was very old at the time,” Jeremy said with a smile.
As Saturday night again proved, the music of the 1960s is timeless — it will be played and appreciated for generations to come.
Thanks to icons like Jeremy Clyde.
And Beatledd Raineri.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.