Hermosa Beach at 22nd Street

Many of us congregated at a stretch of beach at Hermosa. My cousins and I used to have a contest every summer to see who darkened the most and fastest with our Coppertone Tanning Butter. Below, my friend tells more:

Hi Betty!
I am so happy you are doing this retrospective on the AADS, it was part of our teen culture, and surely brings back fond memories...

I remember:

*the dances were what we looked forward to all week, I worked at Contempo Casuals, so it was fun to have access to the lastest trends and picking out an outfit for the dance!

*My dad was not too fond of his "east-side" girl hanging out with the "west side" crowd, but alot of my friends (from church) were from the west side, and it was exciting to cruise Crenshaw Blvd on the weekends. I couldnt drive yet, so my west side friends would drive us around.

One night, we parked in front of KJLH radio station, where they broadcast live, and "King Oliver" gave us a shout out on the radio while we were parked right in front of his window!

* Beach culture- of course we hung out at Hermosa, at 22th Street...when I was old enough to drive, I would be there every single weekend with my friends, baking in baby oil til we were dark as possible. We were listening to Tower of Power, Isley Brothers, Chicago, and Michael Jackson (on cassette)

*Street races- that was pretty fantastic- it was exciting to watch, and exhilarating to be a part of the crowd, because of the danger involved and running from the cops if they showed up...often times the races would suddenly be announced at a "secret" location, where if you knew where that location was, it was even more exciting to be there, like being privy to some underground party!!!

They had races from Montebello to Oxnard, and even my friends in San Francisco worked on their Camaro engines to race in "LA".

*Music- to this day, when I hear "Suavecito" by Malo or All Day Music by War, it brings me back to my childhood dances. I learned (or tried to learn!) dances like the cha-cha, or electric glide, but most of the time I would watch the experienced dancers until I practiced enough at home. Back then, we spent alot of time to look great and dressed to impress! So we regularly got permed, and ALWAYS wore platform shoes, and of course had to wear the latest Chemin de Fer jeans!

*Food-I played sports and alot of my friends also played softball, basketball and volleyball in the asian-american leagues, so eating was a big part of our social calendar. We frequented hang outs like Mago's on the west side, where cha-su avocado tacos and burritos were on the menu, Far East Cafe, Manuel's (El Tepayac) in East LA, or Ciros if ET was too crowded, also a hot spot for us was Westwood, near UCLA where we would go eat at one of the food joints (falafels or burgers), then we'd shop for jewelry at the street fair or go to the movies.

*Shopping- since there were no cell phones or internet, the mall was a popular destination for me and my girlfriends. Since I worked at Contempo, a lot of my friends would come shop there, or to the Attic in Monterey Park or Montebello, or Judy's, which was another chain in the mall.

Guys were wearing alot of jeans and workshirts, girls were all about the widest bell bottoms with platform shoes, or wallabies, but on the weekends, the guys would put on their silky disco shirts and gals wore hot pants and minis or low rise bell bottoms and platforms and those looks are now an iconic fashion mark of the seventies.

I hope these memories can help you with your story! Thanks for making me go back in time, it was fun recalling.

Dorsey High School and the Clubs

Earlier I mentioned the girls' club The Chanels and a boys' club Ronin. I spoke to Ken by phone, who knew several of the girls of The Chanels. He was adopted into their club as a result of their mutual friendship. A 1964 graduate of Dorsey High, Ken typically attended public dances at the usual places like Rodger Young's, Aeronautical and one place that I believe has not been mentioned by others: King's Tropical Inn.

At Dorsey, he said there was another dominant girl club called Jeunes (translates to Young People). Ken also had some older friends, and he recalls they were a part of a guys club called Chonin.

I asked Ken whether it was true that those early public dances were semi-formal in dress. Ken confirmed what I had heard: people attended the functions in coats and ties, wearing what you would wear to church, he said. For that matter, he told me, many dances were sponsored by Japanese churches, like Centenary in Little Tokyo and Buddhist churches like Senshin at Normandie and 36th. He said the monthly dances were not broadly publicized, so mostly Japanese Americans attended.

I inquired whether bands or recorded music was played - Ken said the functions he remembered in the 1960s were a little of both. One group from the mid-1960s that came to mind was Thee Chosen Few, a band whose members were multi-ethnic, including a Black member named Royce. Dances were also conducted 'low-tech' whereby probably a phonograph player was situated, allowing 45's to be played - with instances in which attendees brought their own latest records to be played and danced to. (Oh, oh, is it necessary to explain to some readers what is a '45'?? No, just google it with key words 'vinyl record' and figure it out if you don't know.)

Turning back to the Dorsey clubs, I asked him whether dances put on by the clubs were business ventures. Ken said, oh yes, they had to rent out a dance hall, along with a bar that was very "liberal" in serving drinks. Ken also recalls that The Chanels held many, many house parties around 1962 to 1964 or so.

I couldn't finish my phone interview without bringing up the subject of 'cruising'. Ah, yes, Ken remembers cruising Hollywood Boulevard, and around eating joints the Hodys and an A&W somewhere in Hawthorne. Cars in those days, he said, were equipped with record players spring-loaded to play 45's. Ken distinctly remembers in the year 1963, a friend proudly cruised in a 1950 Olds that he restored into a head-turning, eye-popping "pearlescent lime green."

Betty

I Miss My Car

Hi Betty,

It's the southbay kid again. I do miss all the good old days of dances, hang outs, and races. I'm glad that there are still some dances going on now. It's great that some of the bands are still together and playing all the oldies. I just don't remember alot of the people anymore. The group I knew, need to show up at these dances or maybe, they just don't know that they're back. Anyway, what I miss most about the past is my car. 1970 Chevelle SS. Boo Hoo, had to sell it years ago and wish I had it back.

Judy - That 70s Girl Remembers

My friend Judy got word of my original questionnaire and emailed her responses January 10, 2010:

Do you remember the song “Summer Sun” recorded by the group Jamestown Massacre? Remember it being played often at dances?

Yes, but vaguely. I want to bring it up on google to refresh my brain- I wonder if that song is out there on the internet music, etc.

What were the names of the bands? Who were the members? Where are they today?

Carry On, Windfield Summit, Crosswinds..(Craig Lee's band) Prism band (James Ibusuki from Washington Irving Jr. High) , Hiroshima in J-town I re-read your blog and all those posted band names out there...I did not think about it until now. Yep, great memories!

Where did you go to a dance? UCLA fraternity house? Baby Lion’s? Gung Hay’s? Rodger Young’s? Tell me about those places. Where were they located? What do you remember about the venues?

All the places that were listed in your blog. Especially La Mirada Country Club, Loco's- MB. Yes, to Baby Lions (around the corner from where I worked) South Los Angeles, Gung Hay- Torrance, Asian Blend- WLA a few times? Rodger Young, vaguely. It is strange/crazy to think about now...Friday and/or Saturday nights, we would leave late to go to the dance parties. I remember all the Asian guys acting cool, standing around and not talking. HAHAHAHAHAHAAH HEEHEHEHEHE

Weekends were for fun hanging out with my girlfriends and see all my friends at the dances. Wondering..WHO IS THAT CUTE GUY? WHAT DO I wear ? (???? and I must go shopping again! I have to shampoo my hair first! (hahahahahaahah) Sorry to say but UCLA/USC Asian people at that time were a little snobby. hahaha (sorry) unless you were introduced by a common friend. Then, it was ok to talk and hang out.

What music do you remember hearing and dancing to?
Tower of Power, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Motown anything, some early Hiroshima.

Who were the organizers of the dances?
Yes, George Tong for sure, Mitchell Matsumura@ Jockey Club.

Did you go cruising, or enjoy being a spectator? Spectator but I had boyfriends with their hot (?) cars, Datsun 240 Z rear spoiler, racing mirrors, sunken steering wheels and recoro bucket seats, etc. from Marshall High School & Cal State Univ.,Los Angeles. Seemed like all guys "worked" on their cars and did car talk with all their friends. Washed and waxed their cars every week.

What other experiences did you have, minor, inconsequential, or major? Just pure fun experiences, (WHO is smoking that joint? ) and thinking back now those were the best days and I should of made the best of them. No more fun after moving out of the house, getting a full time job, and go to work, etc. I had to going out for some freedom at least one night a weekend . I remember my DAD saying "WHY do you have to go out so LATE?" 10:00 pm "Do not tell me you were at the library." "Nobody leaves the house this late." "Why can't you leave at 7:00 pm and come home by 11:00pm? One particular great memory was eating late at Holiday Bowl in the Crenshaw neighborhood. First time, I had oyako domburi!" Coming home at 1:00 am or 2:00 am and sleeping in Sunday morning was normal for me as long as I kept up the grades in college and worked part-time at CSULA.

In your opinion, how does the social outlet, or the leisure time of the Asian American dances fit in the overarching general culture of Los Angeles and Southern California? I was glad to do all those fun things while I was going to college. Yes, when I read your blog it was fun to think back to those good old days...........Great memories for me. It is now history (SADLY) but interesting Asian social history! LA Chinese New Year and Nisei week carnival season was lots of fun, too! On K-earth, they play lots of oldies song..Today, I heard a song called "Precious and Few" by Climax, the band (?), it was popular song for slow dancing (and not your typical but cool R&B song. ) Starting this blog was a GREAT idea! Betty!

"The girls in their fake eyelashes, getting to the dances at a cool time like 10:00 pm. "

Carolyn wrote on December 29th:

During the 1970s, I enjoyed going to some of the dances at Gung Hay, General Lee and Dillions and may have attended one Roger Young dance with some friends. I also was invited to some of George Tong's parties and dances. For George's last party in the 1990s, he chartered a yacht with approximately 40-50 people who sailed around the local harbors. At the time, the women thought George was a very good-looking "Fox."



Helen wrote on December 20th:

Helen, your Toyota Carina driving partner! Yeah, reading some of the other blogs reminded of those good ol days of the 70's. I remembered lots of things back then. How about the Kiana polyester shirts and tight polyester pants the guys used to wear at the dances? And polyester wrap dresses for the girls so their legs would show off when we did disco twirls? But just before Disco there that rhythmic dance step, side to side. Everyone was doing a version of the same dance step. When we'd to the the ladies room, you could hear everyone dancing to the same platform shoe clacking sounds. The girls in their fake eyelashes, getting to the dances at a cool time like 10:00 pm. Those Sibicca platform shoes that made us just a little taller than the guys. Donna Summer's "Last Dance" . Mago's teriyaki avocado burgers and Kalapana from Hawaii. Remember the beach on Sunday where there were the usual faces from the night before dances, showing up at 22nd street in Redondo Beach (?). It was around the time Jaws the movie came out in theaters. And the guys in their cars...Hondas and Toyotas mostly loaded with Libre tire rims and Rococo seats! 8 track tapes! Then came the regular cassettes. Betty, you've brought me back down memory lane again. A unique time in the 70's. I also asked my kids about 'clubbing' and the mixed races at the bars. Same as what Allen said.
Betty, this has been a real trip. Helen

Dancing for Solidarity

A friend, Phyllis, mentioned to me that she and about 10 friends formed a club in 1957 called the Chanels. The members, she said, were in junior high school, earned straight A's, and they all played basketball.

Why the name, I asked? After the perfume, Phyllis said.

The Chanels blossomed, expanded their membership, became co-ed, and existed until the 1970s. The Chanels were responsible for a considerable number of public dances.

I am gauging that the founding members were likely to have been born within a few years after their parents were released from the internment camps. Could the stigma of the camps have influenced the girls' desire to form a sisterhood?

Young Chinese Americans also had cause to seek solidarity, because American laws ruled against the Chinese. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, it gradually enabled Chinese families to take root. The second generation, such as myself, became teenagers and young adults in the late 1950s - 1980s. And all Asian groups slowly gained geographical mobility after the prejudicial restrictive real estate covenants were outlawed after 1948.

Every culture and generation has its social gatherings. Even the younger people locked together in World War II internment camps held dances in order to lift their spirits towards normalcy, as portrayed in the contemporary Japanese American musical production "Camp Dance." What set Asian Americans apart, particularly in the post-war years, was the stifled Asian representation in media, motion pictures and television, until Asian American music bands began to form.

Following the impact of the Beatles and the British Invasion that rocked rock and roll in 1964, alas young, impressionable Asian Americans were finally up close and personal with performers whom they could identify.

There was the brief and exciting splash on the small screen from 1966 to 1967 when the charismatic Bruce Lee played Kato, the martial arts crime-fighting sidekick to the Green Hornet.

My adulation was short-lived, and the disappointment of the show's departure was not remedied by the 1972 show, "Kung Fu" starring David Carradine.

This sequence of tv offerings probably fueled the popularity of Asian American dances in the 1970s. I proudly felt the rising star of the band Hiroshima and recognized the authentic melodies of the koto string instrument. Their original music blended the west with the east, an auditory metaphor for young Asian Americans who sought to reconcile their own personal west with their east.

Disco music eventually supplanted the live band experience. Cory S., known then by the moniker "Disco LA", was a successful deejay. Cory wrote to me:

I first started deejaying back in 1977 during the "Disco" days and was the house DJ for the then popular Asian American night club known as the "Asian Blend" located in W. L.A. on Pico Bl. off of Bundy. I was also the DJ for the 1st Nisei Week Disco Dance contest during Nisei Week back in the late 70's.

I have many years experience working as a DJ dating back to college radio stations KLA at UCLA and KSUL at Cal State Long Beach. I served 4 years as radio announcer for Armed Forces Radio during my stint in the U.S. Army from 1970-74.

Though the live bands grew out of favor, Asian American crowds were still congregating and Asian American deejays were the dance compatriots. My friend Judy recalls attending those dances in the 1980s, but it was all DJ music.

After disco was proclaimed "dead", Southern California eventually saw the rise of two new clubs: Orange County Sansei Singles, and Tennis Connection. Many members of these clubs hail from the generation that drove the dance scene of the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

Tennis Connection was formed in 1988 by a handful of friends who enjoyed tennis. Twenty years later, the club has kept an average membership roster of over 140 people, primarily Asian Americans. I have been the club treasurer for many years. Last Saturday night, we held our annual holiday party in Torrance. Steve Kikuchi, of High Resolution, has been our longstanding deejay. High Resolution has maintained a successful deejay presence on the Asian American social circuit for at least 15 to 20 years.

The Early Clubs: the Chanels and the Ronins

Jack L. provided me with a lot of interesting information, the early clubs, and he mentions Imperial Gardens. Yeah, I remember IG! I saw Dan Kuramoto, of Hiroshima, playing his saxophone there, playing for the enjoyment of playing.



December 13th Jack L. wrote:



Hi Betty...............i'm chinese too and an ABC........my dad had a couple of hand laundries ....one near Arlington and Washington and one on Crenshaw in Inglewood..........My mom was the driving force to expand and do agency work, we had a large family.......after school we took the bus to help dad press and iron shirts......we got $2 a week .......There was a lot of Lew families in the laundry business ..........I knew a lot of them, they were close and distant relatives.......we're all somehow related.



I knew one of your posters Gordon Hom........he did work at Olson's Electronics on Pico........we used to tape 4 track cassettes there ...he knew my brother Gary. Dancing for me all began in Mt. Vernon J/H at the noontime dances........this is how we interacted with the girls on Wednesdays noontime dance...They did have ballroom dance class at the time.......and this lead to current dance steps and freestyle...........it was a lot of fun!.......kids from this jr. high went on to either LA or Dorsey.......and that's probably why we know a lot of people.



At LA High we met a lot of new people from the the local jr. highs...............that's when we found out about house parties and dances..Being Chinese it was so hard to get out of the house to go to a party ..............you asked .........if not,you sneaked out and suffered the pain!......I did my share and took buses at nite to get to those dances..............didn't have a car so you walked and took the bus........finally we had our own house parties on the westside...........and that was cool.



Working at a gas station on Slauson partime ..............driviing a 55 chevy and a 62 Impala..........going to house parties from LA to Gardena......westside to the eastside........the valley to Pasadena........we would caravan from house party to house party......and if we didn't find it we would be dancing on some quiet street near Crenshaw................those were the days of innocence and good times ........we had friends from all over LA, predominately Chinese and Japanese..........we all got along, we ran in a large group of people and partied together...........it was fun in those days,very few hassles. We danced and ate together at all of these places.............of course Roger Young(Ronins gave dances there).....Parkview......Gardena Elks....Aeronautical on Beverly......Old Dixie on Western......Mayflower Hotel downtown(Blue Satins played)..........on Boyle across from the old Sears bldg...the Polish hall......and many more I can't think of right now..............a bowl of saimen or chili over rice or chashu eggs over rice after the dance was so good!!!!!!!!!!...............Holiday Bowl.......Hodys............Rodeo Bowl......Carrows Gardena......Triangle on Atlantic.........Tiny Naylors on Sunset........Ben Franks on Hollywood ......Midtown Bowl........and many others



Other Saturday nites we were behind the Crenshsaw Mall with Big Willie and the LA street racers.............the Huntington Beach all day beach partys were a lot of fun for the gang .......lots of sun ,food and girls ...it was great......I think we did this once a year.......anyways, time to go....JL.



December 14th Jack wrote:



these were my experiences growing up . ......we were living in the area between Uptown and Crenshaw off of Olympic blvd......now they call it K-town......there was Chinese and Japanese that we went to school with and played ball up and down the street. If you post the email its ,ok to use my name......... The group called the Ronins started in Gardena as a Club and we held dances at Roger Young Auditorium in the mid 60's...it was made up of guys from LA and Gardena......I think it lasted until some of us got drafted into the army and went to Nam............. Aeronautical was a nice place to dance......it was clean and it had this modern style about it..............I remembered the dances there were given by the guy group and girl group together........I think the guys group started with a K and the girls were the Chanels(wonderful one)....if you mention the name I probably would remember it......its been a long time........... You ask about Old Dixie...........well that was on 42nd st and Western Ave.........that was a place where we slowwww... dance to the juke box .........it was a cavernous place and a fun place to dance.........that was during high school and after.......... When we went to dances we always had these colorful bids to tell us when...where...what time and who gave the dance.......we used to collect them but they're long gone now..............anyways,talk to you soon and Merry Christmas!........t/c Jack L





Q. Everything you have told me is so interesting. There is a pattern, of groups starting social clubs; do you know the origin or reason behind the group name, Ronins??



December 15th Jack wrote:



hey Betty,.............. are you writing a book?.............there's a lot people out there that went to house parties and dances in the 60's.........the Ronins ( I think Ronin has something to do with a lone samurai)..would fill the whole ballroom at Roger Youngs wall to wall .......it was always packed and we had live bands performing.......there was a lot of asians going to dances in groups and they were from all over.................from Long Beach to Sun Valley and from the westside to the east.............you wouldn't believe the number of house parties we went to..........sometimes 2 or 3 in one nite.........we would pick up our friends and hit the 1st party then to the 2nd party and etc......and bring new people along with us.........it was fun!..........then we'll end up at Holiday Bowl.



In the 70's.......the dance scene kinda died out ....didn't hear too much .....baby boomers were settled down with house and kids.............not too much dancing going on except for asian clubs..........George Tong's Golden Tale in El Segundo..............Benji's yearly dances in San Francisco ........Joe Jungs in San Francisco..........Osko's or the Cave near the Beverly center.....Friday nites at Imperial Gardens on Sunset in Hollywood with Dave and the band in the 80's .........John Kims happenings at LA venues..............Chez noi in Beverly Hills.......after IG closed there wasn't any places where asians could see each other and hang out..............so the venues to meet and reconnect were very few...............anyways,if I think of anything else I'll email.....t/c jack.