Word: savannah
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...late show. Gable, not Dylan, became their hero; Carousel, not Hair, their fantasy musical. Grown up, their look is zoot-suit city: double-breasted and pin-stripe for the gents, shoulder pads and scarlet lipstick for the lady. The New York quintet call themselves Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, and their RCA debut LP is this season's breakaway disco act. The sound: musical gliss that ripples across five decades and combines Hollywood star dust and big-band elegance with Afro-Cuban cross rhythms...
...Ever watch those old movies?" asks Stony Browder Jr., 28. "Bogart, Garfield -they believed in things. There was music when they walked." Stony, resplendent in bow tie, watch chain and beret, writes Savannah's music. He admits it takes him two hours to press the crease in his pants, coordinate his colors and get his chains together. His pal, "SugarCoated" Andy Hernandez, 26, nods. "A lot of people think we dress like this only for performances," says Sugar-Coated, who plays vibes. In the '60s, he explains, society drifted further and further away from his dreams...
Husky Alto. Drawing on pop's musical past, Savannah synthesizes the sounds of yesterday-Count Basic, Hoagy Carmichael, Carmen Miranda-with its own swank brand of soul. Strains of Whispering (1920) are grafted onto Cherchez la Femme, a disco number bumping along to Mickey Sevilla's sassy drumbeat. A lilting intro evoking Glenn Miller evolves into the hustle smash I'll Play the Fool...
Somehow it works, Savannah's zany blend of romance, dress-up and the late late show. The songs are mostly about love. But August Darnell's lyrics, shaped by Singer Cory Daye's sweet husky alto, extend beyond the "boogie down" formula. Cherchez la Femme tells the story of a man who takes two jobs to spring his girl from debt, only to have her seek solace elsewhere while he is gone...
Fallows began to stop "dividing people into demons and heroes" the summer after he graduated from college, when he was working on a project on water pollution for Ralph Nader, "The Water Lords." In Savannah, Ga., he and his co-workers met with the owners of the mill that was fouling the Savannah River, and found them to be "very pleasant, very nice people...