Johnny Angel Invites You to Reconnect With Pittsburgh’s Doo Wop Scene
A monthly “Throwback Thursdays” event series kicks off on June 25.
PHOTO BY OLLIE GRATZINGER | JACK HUNT (LEFT) AND BYRON NASH (RIGHT) RECORDING A JAM SESSION WITH JIMMIE ROSS (CENTER) IN HUNT’S GINCHY STUFF MUSEUM AND STORE IN 2022
A local music legend is tapping into Steel City nostalgia with a monthly Throwback Thursday series.
Johnny Angel, whose real name is Jack Hunt, will host the series at his music museum, Johnny Angel’s Ginchy Stuff, on the North Side starting Thursday, June 25.
It harkens back to the golden age of the city’s Doo Wop tradition; for years, Thursday nights at PNC Park’s Atria’s were a gathering place for music lovers, local performers and fans of the genre, but when the venue closed in 2018, it marked the end of an era.
Hunt’s monthly event series aims to rekindle the flame that fueled Pittsburgh’s local music scene in the early aughts. It will feature old Johnny Angel and the Halos videos from the Emerald Room Theater, followed by a performance by Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners. Guests will also be able to participate in a Q&A session and take a tour of the museum, during which Hunt will share tidbits of Pittsburgh’s music history and stories from his decades in the scene.
“I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the familiar faces who joined us week after week at Atria’s and reliving those memories,” Hunt says. “My goal is to keep the music alive.”
Hunt has been in the local entertainment and music industry for almost five decades, and his space brings together autographed pictures and memorabilia dating back to when Hunt began collecting in the 1950s. The Throwback Thursday series will allow more local music lovers to connect with the Steel City’s sonic history; Hunt writes on his blog that upcoming events will feature the music of local and national acts, including The Original Tymes, Dee Dee Sharp, Eddie Holmam, Len Barry, The Edsels, The Contours, The Delfonics, Danny and the Juniors, as The Marcels, The Memories, The Sinceres and The Jaggers.
“I’m sure there are many more as I dig through my video archives,” Hunt writes.
Doors open at 6 p.m. on Thursday, and video presentations will begin at 7 p.m. The event is free, although donations are appreciated; attendees are encouraged to reserve a spot here.
Johnny Angel’s Ginchy Stuff is located at 1800 Preble Ave. in the R.J. Casey Industrial Park, near Bicycle Heaven.
