It’s the rock and roll kickoff of Alabama’s summer.
The band transcends the generations. It transcends the races. It is the show band of South Alabama. On Friday, the Tip Tops will perform for "Live at Five" in Fairhope.
It will be a walk down memory lane for some fans as the Tip Tops play hits from the 1960s and 1950s. Other attendees may not have even been born yet when the Tip Tops started entertaining in the 1960s in Mobile.
The show starts at 5 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. The venue is Halstead Amphitheater in Fairhope.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids. They can be purchased online here. In addition to locals, music lovers are expected from Alabama beaches, Mobile, North Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
A new addition to the Tip Tops’ song list is former Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s favorite dance, "The Cupid Shuffle." It is a line dance with no partner, and all are invited to hit the dance floor, similar to the Electric Slide.
The band features five-part harmony, choreographed dancing and costume changes.
The brass section is called “the dancing horns.” It is used in many oldies songs, including those by Otis Redding, the Temptations, Marvin Gay, the Commodores, Wilson Pickett, and the Drifters.
They can also put out a Jimmy Buffett-like sound with Buffett’s version of the Van Morrison super-hit, “Brown-Eyed Girl.”
For songs with female lead singers, the band features “The Tip Topettes.” They perform The Supremes, Aretha Franklin and “girl groups” from the 1960s.
For more modern pop and funk, they play Kool and the Gang, Adele, and Wild Cherry’s “Play that Funky Music White Boy.”
Suggested attire is “beach,” except no flip flops. Only confirmed non-dancers should wear flip-flops. Dancers will wear casual, comfortable dancing shoes.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama. He writes about Alabama people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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