Melinda Marx (Groucho's daughter) - East Side of Town

[johnnyaa]

Whoever choreographed this should shot. Song is mediocre. Vocal is OK but you can only do so much without good material.

[ElmozGhost]

Ok for what it is. What bugs me about it is now knowing how much she hated doing it.

[sugarjoe50]

Not a bad song by any means. The choreographed dancing is still popular today (Britney, Gaga, Beyonce, etc.). From all reports Belinda wanted nothing to do with showbiz.

[GoldenSilents]

Thank God his daughter Miriam was spared all this.

Melinda probably just did it to feel closer to her father and impress him. Rather sad, actually.

[TroyOi]

I'm not gonna rag on Melinda, she may well have had talent. The problem is, if she did have talent, this number sure didn't give her a chance to display it. The whole thing seems very derivative of Petula Clark's Downtown, but without any "oomph". The choreography, lyrics, everything, just seem like they were phoned in.

Yes, I know, this was the style of the times - I was there. It was the style, but it completely lacked the electricity.

[bashbrannigan]

Why is this video attracting so many idiot comments? Lester2955 is about the only person who seems to know anything real. For the era, this was quite normal. It was middle-class interpretation of rock. And Groucho's kids had the same problems of many. You can always tell the idiots as the ones why type with the caps lock on!

[LouisLambert]

Hare Hare Yukai @ Marx

[Lester2955]

Thank you for posting this. The song was very normal for the time. This was about the same time as the Beatles produced Rubber Soul. If you watch Shindig of the same era, the dancing by girl groups was about the same. Leslie Gore was a better singer, but was also very stiff in her dancing (hey they all can't be Ann Margaret).

Lots of fun to watch. Thanks again for posting.

[pls9927]

mama cass vocal - song is similar to "downtown" which was a monster at the time.

back then all the big hollywood stars had their kids singing (connections count!)

[broduke2000]

It always amazes me when I hear distortion at professional locations. In this case the record was pressed on really cheap plastic, and the Hollywood Palace turntable dug into the record almost at the same spot of my slightly worn-out copy.

Thanks, VJ!

[Juankablue1966]

Where I can buy her redords?

[SingSongChineseGirl]

Leave her alone! her father pushed her mercilessly. She was only trying to please her father. have some sympathy.

[sierria64]

@SingSongChineseGirl no..she should have known that she was going to jugged harder because she was his kid... shame on her looking like a piece of shit... a trailer trash hoe...

[sierria64]

@SingSongChineseGirl still ill say...she should have known

[sierria64]

WTF... BLACK STOCKINGS AND WHITE DRESS .... HER DAD HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE HER LOOK GOOD ON TV

[RRaquello]

Of course every one knows who Melinda Marx's father was, but as interesting, her mother was Kay Gorcey, who married Groucho after being divorced from Leo Gorcey of the Bowery Boys! Groucho & Leo Gorcey actually had a radio show together in the early 40s for Pabst Blue Ribbon, one of the least likely comedy teams of all time. It's amazing to listen to.

[dumont1957]

Corny choreography, but I enjoyed the vocals. I wonder why some people feel compelled to castigate all of Groucho's kids? All that bitching and moaning....

[u2baah]

i think they are sexy

[cynthiacher]

The dancing is laughable and the singing is mediocre at best.

[sierria64]

@cynthiacher PUT ME TO SLEEP

[studebaker62]

Where to begin?

Who dressed her? White dress, dark hose, white shoes? Is this what we wear to the East Side of Town? East St. Louis is more like it. The girl looks like she is dreessed for a movie at the Hooterville Palace, not the Hollywood Palace!

Dowdy, dowdy, dowdy.

[scotpens]

@studebaker62 Yeah, Melinda and the dancers look more like they're dressed for a number at the Grand Ole Opry.

[sierria64]

@studebaker62 WTF...HER DAD HAD ENOUGHT MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT CHICK LOOKED ON POINT ..SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN POLISHED AND SLAMMING INSTEAD SHE CAME ON LOOKING LIKE A PEICE OF SHIT......SOOO SAD

[TessIguess]

Too bad it was cut off early - there's a cute bit where she tells him all the dances they were doing, like The Monkey, the Jerk and the Slop, and Groucho asks, "Uh...anything personal in that?"

[TessIguess]

She's sweet. Not great, but not terrible. Sounds a bit like Cass Elliott.

[fragileindustries]

OMG -- is this for real? This is the most fabulously cheesy video I've ever seen!!

1:20 - 1:30: The cameraman was laughing too hard at the lyrics to hold focus.

Thanks for posting!

[MROSEN62]

How do you get a recording contract? Get a famous father. Talent is optional. Evidence: Kelly Osbourne.

[victor1925]

Great way to get "elected" President, too.

[Fooblestheclown]

I agree competely....nepotism sucks. If Groucho Marx were not this girls father, she would be washing dishes somewhere....same goes for Sean Lennon and Jakob Dylan.

[yoyodal]

that's where the people are always gay. on the east side of town hoho

[scotpens]

Must be the east side of West Hollywood! LOL!

[younghoss]

Arthur Marx wrote a great book about martin and Lewis.

It's called "Everybody Loves Somebody"

It's a great fun read, and very insightful.

[HeavensHelp1]

I thought she was fairly good. I wonder what her and Arthur, Groucho's son, are up to these days? I also wonder if Arthur and Melinda are brother and sister?

[natmermaid]

He had a daughter named Miriam too. Miriam and Arthur are brother and sister, Melinda is their half-sister.

[cynthiacher]

All of Groucho's children was messed up. Melinda became an aimless hippie after her show business career evaporated. His son Arthur was a successful writer, but idiotically fell in love with his sister-in-law; he cheated on his wife with her and later married her after his divorce. His daughter Miriam almost became the only Marx to graduate from college, but at the last minute folded like an umbrella. She became an alcoholic (her mother was also an alcoholic).

[Khultan]

@cynthiacher  Gee, thanks.

[lustre5]

Poor Groucho. :)

[studebaker62]

Not only does the dancing have all of the charm of a off tempo hoedown, BUT she's wearing dark hose with white shoes! No wonder her career tanked...

[sierria64]

@studebaker62 wtf .. i seen this as soon as i tipped in. i dont even know who she is.. later after reading i find its groucho's kid.. tooo sadd she should been on point her dad had the money to make the look slamming ...she looks like trailer trash at a backyard hoe and i do mean hoe down...dark hose with a white dress ..no wonder no one remembers her ... i am so glad not to have sceen this live born 1965

[Khultan]

Wow-Groucho Marx's daughter? Wow.

[CrummyCurtis]

Yes....catalog # VJ-657. Co-incidentally, Harpo's son Bill also recorded for VJ.

[thePharoah90086]

could You post One of His (Bill Marx ??? ) Recordings , please ???

[CrummyCurtis]

I'm sorry, I don't have any. I simply saw his album being displayed in an old VJ inner-sleeve.

[CrummyCurtis]

Not only a re-hash of "Downtown", but with a mention of Petula's follow-up to that song, "I Know A Place".

I have the original VJ single, and the flip side "How I Wish You Came" sounds like a rejected Leslie Gore demo!

I wish Groucho hadn't insisted on a sure thing and thus had her try something original.

[catfan]

This was an actual single?

[catfan]

This number has a very cool charm all its own. Yeah, you see a "Downtown" derivative song that has a Lawrence Welk feel to it. We're talking early 1965 here, not the Psychadelic Era.

The choreography may look cheesy, but this is par for the era. Beyond that, it is an enjoyable song and a welcome reminder of what a wonderful time that was, almost 44 years ago. Thumbs up and 5/5 from me!!

[samborez]

Very well said. Really a pretty good period tune. And she was not too shabby a singer,either!

[scotpens]

Check out the clip of Melinda performing "Is That What I Get for Loving You" in which she sings live with a prerecorded backing track. She doesn't sound nearly as good as she does here, where she's obviously lip-syncing to the record.

[scotpens]

I don't think the choreography is that cheesy. It's very girly-girly and cute.

[samborez]

Agreed. This is typical of most productions of that era. Really pretty good,actually. May seem cheesy to the hardened youth of today,but this sort of music made everything that came after it possible.

[jolivia]

maybe not the greatest singer/dancer, but she was a real cutie and the song is just as good as many others of the era. I can't believe it didn't chart, especially with TV exposure, Groucho's connections, etc.

[Lampshade51]

Melinda--much later--said that she really didn't want a career in show biz, that Groucho kind of pushed her along.

She was always cute as a little kid on the quiz show in the 50s, and she is trying hard here as a teen in the 60s....but she didn't really have all that much talent.

The 60s production of the record and the dance moves of the era are nostalgic in a charming way, though.

Definitely a knock-off of "Downtown"!

[takineko]

@Lampshade51 Makes sense, his mom kind of pushed all her sons into it. Maybe he felt that was something you have to push kids with.

[takineko]

@Lampshade51 From how Groucho tells it, he didn't realize she didn't like performing until she told him later on.

[Xeria]

ok she can sing but the dancing is bad....very bad

[xwsftassell]

That's lovely, man.

[ourvic]

Loved you Groucho, but I hope your daughter had a first/second/third job! Even your best one liners could not bring this back to life.

[cynthiacher]

Melinda Marx had little talent, but Groucho tried to make her into a singer or actress. He was crazy about his pretty daughter and wanted her to be a star. It didn't happen. The joke about giving her a "small" wedding...actually he gave her a BIG, formal weeding. A few weeks after her marriage she ran off with a guy she was making a low-budget film with and had his baby.

[gbj11]

Interesting. I'd never seen a clip of her at this age. Yeah, it's definitely got that Petula Clark feel.

From what I've read, I don't think she was forced into this at all. She wanted a showbiz career. It was Groucho who wasn't too keen on it.

[badfrog101]

I've been listening to France Gall and some of the other yeye girls. This fits in perfectly with its time, and shows how an expensive production job can make almost anyone sound good. Not quite Serge Gainsbourg, though. I was thinking Shangri-Las too.

[sampson1959]

cute girl decent decent voice - she seems she doesn t want be there. saw her other performances and i feel she may have been forced . oh,well,still cute girl!!!

[ath16]

Hello, I think they were thinking about their moves so much that she just looked that way, remember back then those shows were live. That had to be real hard to make sure not to mess up.

[scotpens]

These types of shows were recorded on videotape, not broadcast live. But they were done as cheaply and quickly as possible and there was no time for multiple retakes if someone screwed up.

[sarniatownreggae]

Very Petula Clark.

[IDLERACER]

I'd go a bit further than that. Considering the date of this clip, I would say this song was a deliberate reworking of "Downtown" which had been the nation's #1 song only four months earlier. Same tempo, similar instrumental break. Unfortunately, the clothing and choreography can best be described as "The Shangri-Las Meet Lawrence Welk."

[Chandavkl]

Thanks for uploading. Never saw this one before which is more of a production number than the one originally updated by jthymemn. That one is merely titled "East" since that's how Gene Weed introduced it on Shivaree.