For Michelle Potter and Audrey McKenzie, life is a cabaret.
The two Leisure World residents sing, dance and organize about 20 other women and men in their doo-wop music group titled Let The Good Times Roll. The group has become a popular attraction in Leisure World and recently performed one of their free shows in the community’s Club House 4.
“I think we had about 140 people at our last performance,” Potter said, who along with McKenzie arrive for their interview dressed in their trademark poodle skirts.
Potter said she has done extensive research on doo-wop music.
Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.
The music style known as doo-wop emerged from the streets of northeastern and industrial Midwest cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
With its smooth, consonant vocal harmonies, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the 1950s and 1960s.
“We like to see the people enjoy the music and that makes it fun for us,” McKenzie said. “It seems like when I get on stage that something almost magical happens. We want to bring out the best of the audience and see the joy on their faces.”
McKenzie, who is originally from Great Britain is said to be very good singer. In her earlier life she was manager of the entire Marineland facility on the Palos Verdes peninsula.
She recalled meeting and giving tours of the facility to stars including Dustin Hoffman and Elizabeth Taylor.
“They actually are very nice and humble in person,” she said.
Potter is the president of the doo-wop club and works hard organizing the concerts that are followed by a party.
Up to 300 people have attended, dressed in poodle skirts and other costumes of the time period. Together they relive the era. They usually have a huge screen with videos of the doo-wop era playing as a backdrop to help heighten the feeling of the era.
“Time disappears,” McKenzie said. “It’s like walking into our youth. We are transformed and socialize and feel like we are at a high school dance.”
Their vice president is Leisure World resident Shirley Duckwood.
“We’ve been together for a while now but we took over for another club that was called Oldies But Goodies,” Potter said. “We put together about 10 acts per show and do the old songs like ‘Sugar Time,’ ‘Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,’ and ‘Chapel of Love.”
McKenzie said Leisure World is a hotbed of performers.
“It’s amazing how many talented people are in Leisure World,” she said. “We’re lucky because we have the time to pursue our dreams”
Potter is a Long Beach native.
“I have always loved acting and performed in plays and musicals since high school,” she said. “I recently played Daisy Mae in a Leisure World production of ‘Lil’ Abner.’”
Potter said she is proud of how much the Let The Good Times Roll players have honed their talents
“We have put together a good stable of performers with a wonderful group of people who are compatible and love to sing and dance,” Potter said. “We all have fun and really are getting better all the time.”
McKenzie said the key to their success is that they fun.
“I have always said that whatever it is, when it stops being fun I’m out of it,” McKenzie said.
Instead the women are branching out and starting a singing trio called The Pink Ladies so they can do even more performing.
