Do you love the movie “American Graffiti”? Then head to downtown Morgan Hill’s Community and Cultural Center on Friday Aug. 17 and get a blast from the past at the “American Graffiti Night.” The free community event celebrates the magic of the classic rock-n-roll era highlighted in filmmaker George Lucas’s 1973 hit movie.
“You’ll get a chance to party hearty at this night’s celebration of the days of James Dean,” promises Rich Firato, co-chair of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s popular Friday Night Music Series. “You’ll get a chance to dance under the stars to good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll music. You’ll see vintage cars from the 1950s and ‘60s. Who knows? You might even get a chance to meet Marilyn Monroe.”
Classic oldies will be played by a local band called the Hot Rods, he said. Specially priced old-fashioned hot dogs and hamburgers will be available to get the audience into the “Mel’s Drive-In Diner” mode. There will also be a sock-hop dance competition and a contest for adults and children wearing the best costumes from the era of Bobby Soxers and Buddy Holly.
“A lot of kids come to the Friday Night Music series with their families, so we want to encourage them to get dressed up in 1950s style, slick back their hair, maybe wear poodle skirts, and let them go play,” Firato said.
Firato is encouraging classic car owners in the South Valley and Bay Area to come down to the event in their 1950s and 1960s vehicles. They’ll have a special area in the Community Center parking lot where they’ll be able to “hang out with their cars listening to rock songs and display their vintage wheels to the public,” he said.
And keeping to the “American Graffiti” theme, “Wolfman Jack” impersonator Herbie Hancock will serve as the night’s “disc jockey,” bringing his own unique radio personality style into the mix to really get the audience to dive into the rock-around-the-clock ambiance.
“We’ll have ‘Wolfman Jack’ doing his radio show, and he’ll judge the people in the sock-hop dance contest and give a first place ribbon to the winner,” Firato said. “How cool will that be having someone like Wolfman Jack tapping you on the shoulder and saying, ‘You’re the winner!’”
Hancock is a popular attraction on summer Friday nights at the A&W Restaurant in Modesto where he plays the role of “Wolfman Jack” to classic rock fans. His turning back the clock performance brings vintage cars owners of the car club “The Pharoahs” – the name of the greaser gang in the movie “American Graffiti.”
A lot of appeal for people to go back fifty years ago for an evening’s entertainment is because that time was much simpler than the complexities of today’s modern world, Hancock said.
“America just came out of war (World War II) and we hadn’t yet gone into Vietnam,” he said. “Everyone felt safe and comfortable in their houses. Use to be you didn’t even have to lock your doors. People trusted each other. A person’s word meant something.”
The era started in 1955 with the hit song “Rock Around the Clock” first recorded by Bill Haley and the Comets . Rock ‘n’ roll shook up the American culture and changed everything, Hancock said.
“It started the teenage rebellion and the greasers with their hair slicked back and cigarettes rolled up in their shirt sleeves and wearing Levi’s so tight, they looked like they were painted on,” he said. “If you want to turn back the clock and you want to have a good time, see what it was like in a different generation, you’ve got to be here in Morgan Hill at ‘American Graffiti Night.’ See what kind of fun that we use to have. Simple, clean fun.”
“American Graffiti Night” is part of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s summer Friday Night Music Series. It starts at 6 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. Admission is free. Guests can bring in their own picnic dinners but no outside alcohol is allowed. Wine, beer and food are available for purchase at the event.
