It\u2019s going to be a rockin\u2019 good time come Feb. 15 in Tyrone.
\nTyrone-Snyder Library officials announced yesterday that two legendary artists of the 50s and 60s will be headlining the kick-off for their $325,000 fund drive to help pay for the new facility, soon to be located at the intersection of Tenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re tremendously excited about this announcement,\u201d said Library Board president Fred Thomas at a press conference held yesterday in Snyder Township. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we kicked this thing off with a bang and get people to realize how serious we are about seeing this project through. We\u2019ve put together an all-star concert to get things going and we\u2019re planning to keep the surprises coming.\u201d
\nThis particular concert will feature opening gig The Marcells, whose 1961 recording of \u201cBlue Moon,\u201d sold more than two and a half million copies. The feature act is the 60s pop group Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners\u2019 whose single \u201cSince I Don\u2019t Have You\u201d propelled the now legendary artists into one of the most admired and accomplished vocal groups in pop music.
\nThe concert is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Tyrone Area High School auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 15. Officials believe the show will last about two hours. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
\nTickets are $30 and all proceeds will be donated to the library\u2019s building fund. They go on sale Monday and can be purchased at a number of locations, including the library, Joy Beans, the Bull Pen, Med-Center Pharmacy, Miller\u2019s Car Care and Bressler\u2019s Food Mart and Sports. There are also a number of locations in Altoona and State College and tickets can be purchased from any board member. For more ticket information, contact 684-7929 or 684-1133.
\nThe Marcells feature the vocal talents of Julius Hopson, Richie Merritt, Richard Harris and Ted \u201cReno\u201d Smith. Their three albums and numerous hit singles have recorded sales in the millions. They recorded the theme song, \u201cThe Greatest Love\u201d for the motion picture :The Inters\u201d and appeared with Chubby Checker in the film \u201cTwist Around the Clock.\u201d
\nThe Marcells also pay tribute to yesteryear\u2019s vocals by performing hits from the glory years of The Temptations, The Four Topps, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Smokey Robinson and the incomparable Jackie Wilson.
\nThe headlines, who, by the way, will be warming up the night before at Ceasar\u2019s Palace in Atlantic City, is none other than the widely known Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners\u2019.
\nProducer Phil Spectre calls Jimmy Beaumont \u201cone of the best lead singers in group history\u201d and credits The Skyliners\u2019 with \u201cbringing class to rock and roll.\u201d
\n\u201cThis star in the entertainment sky\u201d came into focus over Pittsburgh more than 40 years ago, when \u201cSince I Don\u2019t Have You\u201d was recorded in 1958. The hit skyrocketed to number one in several weeks time and opened the doors for an American Bandstand appearance when their lead singer, Beaumont, was just 18 years old.
\n\u201cIf tickets are available, we will have tickets at the door,\u201d said Chuck Banas Jr., public relations director for the library, \u201cbut we\u2019re not expecting there to be that many left over. This is going to be a first-rate performance and a fun-filled evening for the entire family.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why we want to get this message out here in the community of Tyrone and surrounding areas. Better listen up, these tickets are going to sell fast.
\nAccording to Banas, once word got out the bands would be performing, checks began pouring in – even without an official announcement.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say that we\u2019ve already sold three or four hundred tickets,\u201d said Banas, \u201cand we hadn\u2019t even really let anyone know about it until now. That really goes to show the caliber of the performance ticket holders will witness.\u201d
\nThomas said if the show sells out, the library will make a little more than $20,000.
\n\u201cWe realize the importance of having a state-of-the-art library facility in our area,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a long road of fundraising ahead of us, but we\u2019re all full steam ahead and ready to make this project finally become a reality.
\nJeff Long Contracting is doing the work at the site. Thomas said, weather permitting, the roof should be on by the end of the year and work inside should run until late June or early July.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to move in later in the summer,\u201d said Thomas.
\nThe project, which is being estimated at $625,000, is being partially funded through the state with a $100,000 grant. Banas said other fundraisers are being explored to generate more funding.
\nThe library is currently located on Logan Avenue in a 3,000-square foot building that is not handicapped accessible. There are no elevators in the two-story structure and the restrooms do not accommodate wheelchair-bound visitors.
\nThe new building will encompass between 7,200- and 7,300-square feet with incorporated plans should the need for future expansion arise. Also, there will be better parking facilities and will be fully handicapped accessible.
\nThe new library will also contain a conference room, a computer lab, a historical room, an expanded children\u2019s area, and, for those people who know what it\u2019s like working on the second floor of the current building in August – a centralized air conditioning unit.
\n\u201cI think this will give the community an updated modern library which would be able to serve preschoolers through college students and adults,\u201d said Banas. \u201cIf you\u2019ve been around Tyrone, you would know that that corner has just been a shell filled with stones and fill for the last eight or nine years. It was an eyesore.
\n\u201cThis new building will make our downtown look just that much better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s going to be a rockin\u2019 good time come Feb. 15 in Tyrone. Tyrone-Snyder Library officials announced yesterday that two legendary artists of the 50s and 60s will be headlining the kick-off for their $325,000 fund drive to help pay for the new facility, soon to be located at the intersection of Tenth Street and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}