'Rock 'N Remember Live!' struck a sweet, nostalgic chord at the Benedum Center

Saturday was a perfect day to enjoy some golden oldies at the Benedum Center, and “Rock ‘N Remember Live!” delivered with a jukebox’s worth of classic artists.

“Rock ‘N Remember Live!” presented by Spotlight Productions featured six bands and singers from the ’50s and ’60s in two and a half hours of pure nostalgia.

The event was hosted by 94.5 3WS’s Mike Frazer, who kicked things off by announcing that “hit after hit after hit are gonna hit the stage.”

The first band had hometown significance. Jimmie Ross and the Jaggerz are Pittsburghers, even deriving their name from the Pittsburghese word “jaggers.” Their set was short but sweet — they played only three songs, but all three rocked. After “Never Found Me A Girl” and “Gotta Find My Way Back Home,” they wrapped up with “The Rapper.” This was their big nationwide hit, and even if the band is celebrating their 60th anniversary next year, it still sounded just as good as when it was recorded. Before they started playing their final tune, Jimmie Ross dedicated the song to Pittsburgh.

Next up were The Duprees, a doo-wop singing group with a current lineup including Shawn Stevens, Jimmy Spinelli and Tommy Petillo. This trio continued the legacy of the original group’s lineup, singing a series of standards and hits to knock your socks off. Among the songs were “Beyond the Sea,” “My Own True Love,” a standout performance of “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday,” and “You Belong To Me,” which was a Billboard top 10 hit for The Duprees in 1962.

“The music has magic, doesn’t it?” commented Frazer as he returned to the stage after “You Belong To Me” to introduce the next band, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.

Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, with impressive instrumentation, performed half a dozen songs to great enthusiasm from the crowd. With hits like “Lady Willpower,” “This Girl Is A Woman Now” and “Over You,” Puckett pulled the crowd in. He has a very expressive voice and performed every song with his whole body. When the crowd sang along with “Lady Willpower,” he said, “I love when they sing.”

He revealed to the crowd that “Woman, Woman” is his favorite of his songs just before playing it, and brought the audience to their feet, singing along, when the band finished with “Young Girl.”

After the intermission, Frazer introduced The Lovin’ Spoonful. Steve Boone, the band’s original bassist, continues to perform with them, surrounded by a group of newer members who seem thrilled to get to be a part of such a legendary group. “I used to be in Badfinger, and, well, now I get to be in The Lovin’ Spoonful, which is really cool,” said Jeff Alan Ross, currently performing lead vocals.

They opened with “Do You Believe In Magic?” and it was, in fact, magical, evoking the kind of love and enchantment in the audience that its lyrics suggest. The band followed it up with “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?” “Daydream” (with a little of The Beatles’ “Good Day Sunshine” interpolated in) and “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice.”

“With all their top 10 hits, there was only one No. 1,” Ross said before they finished off their set with a red-hot rendition of that No. 1 hit, “Summer in the City.”

“This is music that touches our heart, music that brings us together … and when you think about some of the sounds of our generation, it comes down to words, music, connection, harmonies, the whole spectrum of the musical palette being used,” Frazer said, preparing to bring out the show’s fifth band, The Lettermen.

The Lettermen, who have gone through a number of singers throughout the years, is a trio of vocalists with incredible voices. They did interesting, updated arrangements of several classics, like “The Way You Look Tonight” and the theme from “A Summer Place.” Their cover of “Suspicious Minds” was fit for The King.

The last “Lettermenized” song they performed was “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” and the arrangement made it sound more like a ballad from the ’60s. The group played with harmonies, their vocals swooping over one another and lifting up to the cavernous Benedum ceiling.

Before the closing act took the stage, Frazer brought out a special guest — Jeanie Chedwick, wife of the late and legendary Pittsburgh radio host Porky Chedwick.

Please, support this music,” she said, “I’m very proud of you and proud of my husband.”

She talked about how artists who came to Pittsburgh would often be anxious to meet Porky. “They’d say, ‘Where’s Porky, I got to meet Porky, I got to thank him.’” The audience gave her a roaring reception.

Little Anthony and the Music closed the show. Little Anthony, who found fame in the 1960s as the lead of the group Little Anthony and the Imperials, came on to a stage full of musicians, including a horn section and backup singers, but he still made his voice heard over the music.

With his trademark high-pitched voice, which still has power behind it, he sang hits like “Tears On My Pillow,” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Hurts So Bad.”

In a blue velvet jacket with glittery red lapels, Little Anthony moved around the stage like he owned it and sang from the bottom of his heart. He capped off a wonderful trip down memory lane with “Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop” and “Goin’ Out Of My Head.”

Saying his goodbyes to the crowd, Frazer told everyone to “keep the music alive.” As long as shows like “Rock ‘N Remember Live!” keep being produced, that will be easy advice to follow.