Legends of the Oldies Dance Party with Roy Head and Archie Bell

This interesting bill brings two Houston-bred artists, each with a massive national hit, out of semiretirement. Soul man Archie Bell is best known for his 1968 No. 1 hit "Tighten Up." Made with his band the Drells, friends since their days together at Leo Smith Junior High, "Tighten Up" remains a day-at-the-beach classic and is one of the decade's most infectious tunes. Proudly proclaiming in the intro that the Drells were from "Houston, Texas, where we can dance just as good as we walk," it was Bell's way of countering the negative images associated with Texas after the JFK assassination. Bell couldn't exactly revel in his unexpected success at the time -- when the song hit the top, he was recovering in a West German hospital from wounds received in combat in Vietnam. Head is best known for 1965's "Treat Her Right," a punchy, horn-fueled tune that was denied the top spot in the pop charts by the Beatles' "Help!" Later, Head cut dozens of singles and a few albums with producer Huey Meaux, and these platters often fused country, rock, blues and soul. Continental Club stalwarts the Allen Oldies Band and the El Orbits will also perform in this time warp of tunes.