DO THE FREDDIE
The Freddie was a short-lived 1960s fad dance prompted by the release of the songs “I’m Telling You Now”, and “Do the Freddie”, both by the British band, Freddie and the Dreamers. “Do the Freddie” had been a #18 hit in the United States in 1965, and American dance craze stalwart Chubby Checker had then made it to #40 with the minor hit “Let’s Do the Freddie” in that same year. (More from Wikipedia)
The extravagant glasses that Elton John has worn throughout his decades-long career all started when young Reg Dwight began wearing glasses in his teens “not because he needed them, but in homage to Buddy Holly”, as Philip Norman wrote in his biography of the English legend. Lead singer Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers is another British star who wore Buddy Holly glasses on stage; in the 1970’s, pub music star Elvis Costello was doing the same. Allmusic describes Freddie and the Dreamers as “the clowns of the British Invasion” due to their outlandish hits like “Do the Freddie”, but there is a lot more to them than that (though I will have to get into that another time).
(June 2013/1)
