Memories Rock the Shore Area
By Donald B Kravitz
“Greetings and salutations from the boss with the hot sauce, from the Geator with the heater” echoes Jerry Blavat. Standing on his bandstand looking out over the packed dance floor, Blavat sings and sways in time to the music, just like those who fill his club Memories in Margate to capacity.
Blavat has never formatted music and used no music sheet, “I play music that I have done for years. My audience knows what they like and over the years, I have learned to listen to them … that is why they are here,” Blavat said emphatically. Proof of his popularity showed by the fact that although the time is 12:45 A.M., the people waiting in line outside to get into Memories continues to grow.
Blavat recalls with a smile, the lucky opportunity that brought him and Memories together, ” Buying Memories was an accident, just a lucky chance of fate. Memories was known as the Elbow Room back in 1971, and I had a band called The Geator and The Geator Men. We were booked into the club in September of 1971 as the house band. Every night, the club was packed, I mean to the rafters, the crowds were enormous” said Blavat. The Elbow Room became a “Blockbuster Club” Blavat adds.
“After that smash summer ended, the group running the Elbow Room took off before the 1972 summer season and went to Florida. The owners of the Elbow Room approached me and said, “We do not know anything about running a club . . . how about you buying it?” Having an astute business sense, Blavat agreed to buy the club, “I had seen how well the club was doing while we were playing there, so I jumped at the chance, and took over ownership in the summer of 1972, of what is now Memories. Since I bought it, we have not changed the format one iota.”
“I have been so fortunate and so blessed, I have been in this business forty years, and lucky enough to be able to make a living at show business.”
Born and raised in South Philadelphia, Blavat began his show business career at the early age of 13, when he and a group of other Philadelphia teenagers started dancing on the Original Bandstand. At the age of 16, Blavat took on the role as Road Manager for Danny and The Juniors who had a hit record called At The Hop. It was during that same period that Jerry Blavat met a comedian named Don Rickles and became his personal valet.
In 1959 Blavat started his own talk show on WCAM-AM in Camden, New Jersey. According to the Geator; on a snowy night in January 1960, he pulled out a stack of records and entertained listeners throughout the night starting the legend of “The Geator.”
With radio under his belt, Blavat tackled television. From 1967 – 1970 Blavat had a television show called “The Discophonic Scene” which was syndicated through Triangle Publications and seen coast to coast in forty markets. Blavat has not only been a local personality but has appeared on The Tonight Show, and television shows like The Mod Squad and The Monkees and films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Baby, It’s You and Cookie.
Blavat did not take his success lightly, “I am a very fortunate guy, in as much as what I have and what I have been able to accomplish comes from hard work but it is also a gift from God.”
Over the years, Memories has seen its share of stars that Blavat has grown up with as a part of his role in the music industry. “Little Anthony and the Imperials, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, The Righteous Brothers and many other stars drop into Memories when they are appearing in Atlantic City or Philadelphia. On any given summer weekend, Memories attracted about one thousand or so guests moving in and out of the club. Blavat had some strong ideas about how to treat the public and how the public should act.
“I learned growing up in South Philadelphia that you should always extend yourself with warmth and caring. I treat a person who comes to Memories as if they were coming to see me, I welcome them as a part of my family” remarked Blavat. Memories, according to Blavat is, “A meeting place designed for people who want to see their friends and have a good time. We have Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians and tourists of all age groups, mingling together in a fun atmosphere . . . it is the most unique club in America!” When people come to Memories, Blavat wanted them to have a good time. His philosophy was to run the club like “the people are a guest in my home. There are rules on how people are expected to act while a guest in someone’s home, I carry those rules over to Memories. We turn people away who are not properly dressed or look like they may have had too much to drink. We want a club where people can feel good and be relaxed.”
Blavat stands behind his turntable, looking out at a huge banner that says “Hasta La Vista Baby”, extolling the fact that, “I’m spinnin’, and I’m groovin’ and keeping time to the music by clapping his hands at least a thousand times an evening”. Throughout the night, adoring fans came up to the platform and greet Blavat with warm affection, which he returned with a friendly smile . . . every now and then throwing a kiss.
Blavat was happiest when he was on stage, “The reward I get is knowing that I am performing and making people happy”. As Operations Manager and the Afternoon Drive Personality at his namesake radio station, Geator Gold Radio, WSSJ-1310 AM, Jerry could be heard on weekdays and be seen hosting dance parties at various nightclubs in the Delaware Valley. No story would be complete without some Geator Wisdom, so the writer leaves you with … per the Geator, “Youth is a gift of nature, age is a work of art.”
Thousands attended Jerry Blavat’s Celebration of Life in Philadelphia today, January 28, 2023.
Donald B. Kravitz is an Entertainment & Special Events photographer for national publications including Getty Images & Miss America
