THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406010120
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: S05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUDY PARKER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
What local beach music legend began his professional career as keyboardist for the ``The Blarneys,'' and composer of their monster hit ``My Little Miss America?''
{REST} Wow! Who'd ever think anybody would remember.
But, yeah, it's Bill Deal, Portsmouth's one-time Park View phenom.
The song, labeled a ``Wax to Watch'' by Billboard Magazine in 1964, was inspired by the then-19-year-old's baby daughter, Sarah Frances.
Deal, with longtime music sidekick Ammon Tharp, returns to the Seawall Festival to headline Friday's entertainment at 8 p.m.
Sharing the vocals with Deal and Tharp are Ed Fitzgerald and saxophonist Wayne Kessinger.
While ``The Blarney's'' were but a brief blip on the Be-Bop scene, Deal and Tharp are virtual icons along the mid-Atlantic Coast for their special blend of Shag-sound beach music indigenous to the region.
Beginning in late 1969 and continuing into the early `70s, Deal and Tharp, fronting the nine-piece horn ensemble ``Rhondels,'' scored five straight hit singles, including ``May I,'' ``I've Been Hurt,'' and ``What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?''
Deal dropped out of music for a time to sell real estate. But what was intended to be a one-more-time-again only performance at a Virginia Beach nightspot in 1986, turned into more than a reunion for Deal and Tharp. It became a permanent commitment to a musical career.
``The response we got was just so great. I knew performing was what I had to do.
``I call our music the `Big Chill,' beach music with a great beat,'' Deal said.
``I don't like to call it Oldies music because it's more than that. These songs are classics, with a staying power that seems to mean something not just to the people who grew up listening and dancing to it but to new ears as well.
A concert with Deal and Tharp isn't just a trip down memory lane, however.
``Music from artists like Rod Stewart and Phil Collins are very popular with our audience,'' Deal said, ``and it will be around for a long time because it's good.''
Deal and Ammon's band just returned from an engagement at the Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C., not exactly an easy-going, blue-collar crowd.
But who's easier to perform for, the home folks or strangers?
``I'm not just saying this, because it's the truth. The one show the whole group looks forward to all year is playing at the Seawall Festival, in front of our hometown crowd.
``It's like the reunion of a lifetime every year,'' Deal said. ``Everybody just makes us feel great.
``I can't thank the people of Portsmouth and Tidewater for their support. They're a big part of the success of this event.''
The band recently released ``Toast,'' a double-cassette/compact disc recording of several live performances.
``I really enjoy recording live,'' Deal said, ``because they're filled with so much energy. It's hard to get a good master tape, but there's something special about listening to a live performance.
``Maybe we can record live from the Seawall Festival and the Cock Island Race. That would make for a great sound.''
{KEYWORDS} PORTSMOUTH SEAWALL FESTIVAL
by CNB