TEEN SECRET AGENT TITANS

I've been enjoying the Batman universe lately (see my last post about visiting the 1966 Batcave location). One Caped Crusader-related show I've never explored, that my students speak fondly of, is Teen Titans featuring Robin. This animated series ran on Cartoon Network from 2003-2006 and featured a theme song by J-Pop band Puffy (called Puffy AmiYumi in the States). English vocals were apparently used for serious episodes and Japanese vocals were reserved for silly ones. It's quite a catchy tune! I wonder if Spy Vibers can detect a familiar melody? The song actually borrows the verse from the Secret Agent theme by Johnny Rivers, as well as an inverted version of the guitar progression. Here are the two back-to-back, plus an added full version! I believe it's time for a Teen Titans Twist party. Enjoy!

Spy Vibe is having a giant Summer Sale! Items include First Editions of Fleming, Gardner, Deighton, Rare Large-Print 007 editions, Raymond Benson, Gulyashki, Man From UNCLE, Beatles, Corgi, music items and CDs, and More! Save with combined shipping. Head over to eBay for details here. Happy collecting, fellow Spy Vibers!

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, a Japanese fashion model and spy from 1965! That's right, I've written a novel inspired by Spy Vibe. More info at my website here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Batman '66 and Warhol, our fiendish villains archive, Cold War Comics, Sam Mendes back for Bond, Spy Vibe heroes and Wild Things, book design dopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here. For Your Shelf Only collecting series links: Jon Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Jeremy Duns, Peter Lorenz, David Foster, Rob Mallows, Roger Langley, Craig Arthur, Fleming Short, Matt Sherman. 

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SECRET AGENT MAN UKE

The Spy Vibe post about the ukulele James Bond Theme generated some great comments. Fellow COBRAS writer and musician, Armstrong Sabian, said that he would like to learn how to play the famous Johnny Rivers' theme, Secret Agent Man on his new ukulele. Well buddy, the Spy Vibe network has you covered. Uke Jackson alerted us to a wonderful tutorial of the song by Ukulele Mike. Mike has some cool ukulele tunes on his Youtube channel here. I've included the Pink Panther theme with his tutorial below. Many uke players have posted Secret Agent Man covers. Here are some of my faves. Thank You to Uke Jackson putting this on our radar. See Jackson's website for information about his new book, Broadway Vampire, and about how you can win a free ukulele at one of his gigs!

GO GO JOHNNY RIVERS

Go Go dancers were a hot addition to clubs and TV in the early-mid 1960s. Their generous gyrations symbolized new freedom, expressed through movement. Like pop music cheer leaders for the sexual revolution, they helped to get any dance party hopping! Over the past weeks Spy Vibers have seen Go Go gals and guys shaking it up at the Whiskey A Go Go, the Peppermint Lounge, and on shows like Shindig!, Hullabaloo, and Hollywood A Go Go.

Today we spotlight Johnny Rivers, famous for the Secret Agent Man theme for the US release of Patrick McGoohan's UK spy series, Danger Man. Rivers was given a contract in 1964 to be the resident attraction at the new Whiskey A Go Go club in Hollywood. Check out this collection of vintage images of the Whiskey A Go Go on YouTube (not available to embed here on Spy Vibe). Rivers made many TV appearances, often with Go Go dancers. Hullabaloo offered the energetic dance styles of the early-mid 1960s. This 1966 promotion for Secret Agent Man, suggests a change to more of a "dance party" atmosphere.

The last clip today jumps us ahead to a 1967 TV appearance to promote Baby I Need Your Loving. I absolutely love the minimal stage set design. The dancers' space age-inspired, silver mini skirts look amazing against the background colors. In the case of this performance, it would appear that the use of female dancers in mainstream entertainment had become more stylized and acculturated. As dancing itself became more improvisational for party-goers, it would suggest that Go Go dancing for a general, family audience became more uniform and symbolic. Looking now at these silver shakers, as fabulous as they are, it's not a huge leap to translate them into a contemporary period piece that attempts to recapture early-mid 1960s style (for example, the Austin Powers films). They are both a product of their time and, if it's not overstating, a parody of it. Still, they are undeniably groovy!