Rock and Roll Weekend

Does anyone remember the movie “Used Cars?” It starred Kurt Russell and Jack Warden as rival used auto dealers and featured a scene where they advertise having “a mile of cars.” Well fantasy meets reality here at the Parsippany Hilton over the Labor Day weekend as the World’s Biggest 50’s Party comes to town with over 1800 vintage cars. Let’s see…that’s 1800 multiplied by the average car length of 13.5 feet…gives us a total of 24,300 feet, and since 1 mile equals 5280 feet, that would actually give us a total of over 4½ miles. In short (or long) that’s a lot of classic Chevy’s and Thunderbirds. Might even include a Greased Lightening or two. And that’s just the start. Lead East presents a wild rock and roll weekend that promises to have something for everybody. Of course the centerpiece are the cars. It is by far New Jersey’s biggest classic car show. Anyone who’s ever dreamed of owning or riding around in a hot rod or one of those vintage Detroit masterpieces featured in films like “American Graffiti” will not be disappointed.

The fun hardly ends there. You cannot have the World’s Biggest 50’s Party without music, and there will be no shortage of oldies rock and roll classics. Over 33 Doo Wop groups will be in concert entertaining the revelers, led by Kenny Vance and the Planotones. To be honest, I didn’t even know there were 33 Doo Wop groups still out there performing. That makes me feel good because as music goes, this genre has provided so many monster hits and groundbreaking artists that changed the face of modern rock and roll forever. Without Chuck Berry there might have been no Beatles. Without Johnny Maestro and the Crests the Beach Boys might never have harmonized. Without the Duprees there may have been no Backstreet Boys or N’Sync. Damn those Duprees! Whatever your tastes in classic oldies music, it will be there for you. And not just on stage. Roving bands of acapella singers will be all around the premises, dropping a “Blue Moon” here or a “Teenagers in Love” there. Mostly I just love the image of “roving acapella singers.” Very theatrical. (“Hey Vito, gimme a hot dog and a bouncy C.”).

My favorite part might not even be the cars or the music. They are going to have Drive_In Movies! For those of you unfortunate souls who have no idea what that is, let me educate you. First off, The Drive-In Movie was invented in Camden in 1933 and became the coolest way to see a film. My memories include going with my parents when I was just a little guy. We wore our PJ’s and camped out in the back of a station wagon dad backed into the parking spot, where he attached the clunky speaker to the window. The next memory involved my friends and I cruising in my 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix that was so big we smuggled in several friends in the trunk to avoid paying the full admission price. I’m not proud of that now, but at least I wasn’t the one in the trunk. Oh, yeah. There were also girls and dates and backseats and…well, you remember. It was magic and will be recreated for you all over again.

In addition, there will be dancing, costume contests and enough activities to keep the kids occupied, that they will probably sleep like babies by the time they get home. Want 50’s collectables and souvenirs? Yeah, Vito, we got that. Are you gonna have fun? As Kurt Russell’s “Used Cars” character would say, ”Trust me.”

Friday August 31 – Sunday September 2
Parsippany Hilton
(908) 876-9100

www.leadeast.net

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