Lee Martin: I worked the last two
summers and the last winter at The Mart. We had a great time and I
made some life long friends there. I wish I could find some of
those others. We were brothers in arms. Carmen and Tony
were and are great people. I truly appreciated the way they
welcomed me into their home for dinner and nights of
relaxation. Mrs. Marotta's cooking was tremendous and The Drag
was amazing. The staff was tremendous, Billy D, Slammer, Moon man,
Barry "butlick" Bukowski, Chink, Rocky Horrowitz, Dubie, Joycie Wah,
Dave, Big Ange (who saved me from brain damage), Suzuki ( a
truly inspirational guy), Steve Wright, and of course......
Animal. We had a lot of great times and a lot of great fights.
Saul Shocket: Hi Carmen, my name is
Saul Shocket, & I was the sax player for Tito Mambo & the Messiahs
of Soul in 1965.We worked across the street at Bayshores, but would
exchange sitting with Levon & the Hawks. I worked along side
another sax player named Diz Lee, who was an amazing player & mentor
to me. Those were incredibly memorable times, & interesting to see
how many people share these warm memories of SP/OC days in the 60's.
I remember the names of the BS bouncers, as we trained together
during the days. Do these names sound familiar? Guy Borrelli, Chris
Olson, Denny Lankes, & Ted Stremback. Ok, great site, tnx,& please
keep it going. SS
Paul Roselle: I was a bouncer at
Tony Mart's in 62, 63, and 64. They were the 3 greatest summers of
my life. I loved working for Tony, Pete and Ron Fry. They treated me
great! Also I loved our customers. In 1964 Philadelphia magazine
came in and did a story on us. We were called crowd control
engineers. I always liked Conway Twitty the best. He was such a
gentleman. WE WERE THE THE JERSEY SHORE!
Roger Werner: I was a regular at Tony Marts
from 1970-1973 living for two years in Atlantic City and then moving
down the coast to N. Wildwood and Wildwood. We spent parts of
most weekends at Tony Marts 'The Host of the Jersey Coast' I think
was how they marketed themselves on radio. I recall seeing
Johnny Caswell and the Crystal Mansion many times. And there
was a great house band with a lead singer that did a wonderful Mick Jaggar routine..wish I could remember the name of the band.
And then there was Ricky and the Rockets (Ricky who could kick the
shit out of everyone in Bayonne New Jersey was part of their
introduction...after the hubcap went flying from back stage).
In 1972, I dated a girl who was living and working in Ocean City.
Her roommate dated one of the Rockets guitar players but I can't
recall his name or hers. I met him often and he would give
Denise and I tickets to the band's shows when they played a coast
venue. One venue was The Stardust in downtown Wildwood.
Ocean City was an exciting play in the early 1970s. When I
wasn't rocking out at Tony Marts I was getting very drunk at The
Anchor (with 7 for 1 this was easy and cheap to do). The
memories are so thick I would write about them for hours and
honestly, I haven't thought about Tony Marts in almost 40 years. They are important memories indeed.
Jack Canning: 1965 - I recall a
Saturday or Sunday afternoon matinee at Bay Shores when everyone was
becoming impatient waiting for Tito Mambo to show up for his gig. A
boat procession pulled up at the dock behind the place and a coffin
was lifted
off and carried in and placed on the stage. The band commenced and
during the second or third number the lid slowly lifted and Tito
emerged. What a hoot.
Motor cycle "gangs" often showed up at Bay Shores weekend matinees.
One afternoon this guy drives right thru the front door and proceeds
to rev up his Harley circling the dance floor over and over and over
filling the place with choking exhaust while the crowed went wild.
Finally the cops arrived to spoil the fun.
One hot and sweaty night when I was underage, the cops raided the
place looking for fake IDs. A bunch of us "illegals" headed for the
known best exit under the circumstances ... the girl's restroom
which had a window at the back of the place you could climb out of
and drop into the bay. A short swim under the bridge to a little
beach by the parking lot of the Circle Liquor Store was our path to
safety.
Around 2AM you would find your car, often not a easy task, and head
for the Dunes, bleary eyed and totally under the influence to sweat
it out dancing to the loudest music ever coming from the elevated
band stand. "Johnny Caswell and
the Crystal Mansion" became the local Jersey band I followed
everywhere.
CL: Charles Laudsberry - artist and a bit of a Somers Point
historian:
CL: "All the bars in Somers Point closed at 2 AM. Everyone then
drove over that rickety bridge on the Longport causeway to the
Dunes. The Dunes catered to the late night set and people who worked
as waiters, waitresses, bartenders and bouncers. Everyone ended up
at the Dunes open past 6 in the morning."
CL: "It was daylight when you crawled out of the Dunes but breakfast
was waiting for you at the Point Diner then it was crash on the
beach so you could start the ritual all over again or if you were
not as lucky...head back to Philly."
Me: My regular pick me up at the Point Diner was a buttered cinnamon
bun done on the grill with a double order of bacon. Today my
cardiologist is grateful I'm still around to help with his BMW
payments.
Cork Young: My name is Cork Young I
played at Tony Marts with a band called Fast Cookies. What a great
memory I have. I see Sid once in a while. He had some very serious
health issues which left him with a pace maker. But he pulled thru
and is still playing. I think he now is playing bass. Bob is still
playing and is as incredible as ever. I ask Sid about Dana and he
pretty well dropped out of contact with everyone and I am pretty
sure he quit playing. I am still playing and planning to start a new
band. If anyone reads this who we became friends with please contact
me on facebook. Once again I have memories that will last forever.
Vic Stretton: I worked at Tony
Mart's, Bay Shores, and the Anchorage 1972-1980
.
Fran Wagner: In (about) 1986, after
TM's was gone, I had drinks w/ Carmen Marotta and a few others.
I had attempted to paint a picture of TMs and I presented it to
Carmen at that time. Remember? Long live Tony Mart's,
glad this tribute exists.
Tony Mart Replied: We remember, and it's hanging in our house.
Thanks!
Bob Petrilla: In 1955, I spent the
summer washing dishes and being promoted to "salad boy" at the great
old Lincoln Hotel in Ocean City, just up the street from the
ChatterBox. One of our fellow grunges had a great voice.
One night a week, maybe Wednesdays, Tony Mart's put on a singing
contest. Our guy won several weeks in a row. The house
band at the time was Dave Apple and the Applejacks. They packed us
in three deep around the bar. It was a great time. The
male to female ratio in dry OC was supposedly 7 to 1 that summer.
A few of us who had cars loaded them up and went to Somers Point as
many times a week as we could afford on peasant wages. Across
the street and down a bit from Tony Mart's was Bayshores, featuring
Mike Peddicin and his band. I know we can't go back, but to
really appreciate the scene that summer, you had to be there!
Sam: For several years (too many, by
any sane accounting) I spent nearly all my after-sundown hours on
the strip, or after closing, at the Dunes. My life was work
(reluctantly); surf; party - I'm not certain when (or if) I
slept. What little "downtime" I had was typically spent at the Fish
Market coffee shop around the corner resting my ears on acoustical
picking and drying out a bit. I seem to recall that over the inside
of the doors to Mart's was a large wooden plaque that read something
like this: "Through these doors pass the most beautiful women in the
world." Was that plaque salvaged, and are its current whereabouts
known?
Chuck Williams, 103.7 FM The Shark:
Was a Tony's regular in 1978-81. On my part of
The Shark Website, I have a tribute to Tony's and The Cruisers.
Thank you for the memories.
Donna Wright: The memories of Tony
Marts will always bring me joy. I remember when the band Mace played
there. When the bar closed and was torn down it was a sad day for
Somers Point. Gone but never forgotten.
Roger Evoy: Around 1958 I heard my
first live band at Bay Shores. There were many week ends when my
friends and I enjoyed the Somers Point scene. When I finally reached
legal drinking age I moved most of my attention to Tony Marts where
there was lots and lots of fun. In 1967 I took an
apartment in Ocean City and spent every Friday night, every Saturday
matinee, every Saturday night, every Sunday matinee and every Sunday
evening at Tony Marts. Every time, without exception, I had
the best time of my life. During most of my pre-marriage times, I
came to Wednesday Tony Marts too. Those great times continued into
my marriage and until the end of TM. The last night Carmen “hired”
me to stamp peoples wrists for reentry; he paid me with three Tony
Marts T shirts. Over the years, my friendship with the Marottas has
continued to grow; they are the nicest. I am so grateful to Carmen
for continuing to create great musical events whose times are
publicized on this web page. Thank you Carmen.
Judy De Vries: Lived in Ocean City
for the summer while going to Keystone College in Scranton in the
late 70's. Mays Landing, Wildwood, Atlantic City, The Anchor Bar was
the best deal. 7-7-oz. drafts (a round of beer) for a buck! And 2
snake bites for a buck. You could get hammered for under $5. And the
ABC was right on the circle. I love watching "Eddie and the
Cruisers" for old times sake.
Rex White: I worked at Tony Mart’s
in the late 1960’s with The Fendermen. The original Fenderman were
country (Mule Skinner Blues) but the group at that time was an R&B
horn band. We worked opposite Gunther’s Bus and they were excellent!
I remember sitting in with them on trombone and even though they
were not a jazzy, horn band kind of group, they were great to play
with! They really inspired me during my solos. Great group. Then
there were the apartments upstairs. Those stories I can’t print. The
diner across the circle, Dunes till dawn. Those were the days my
friend! Great club! Great staff. Great memories!! Thanks!
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