Mr. Rogers' co-stars. My life has come full circle.

Even with the warbly audio ..sounds great .!

Always hated this tune! Loved Ken Griffin.

Amazing. I'm from Pittsburgh and Joe was a mainstay. Never met Johnny but I had met Mister Rogers and knew about Costa. I've NEVER seen this I wasn't been born! Thanks.

Great Job Marjorie!!!! Musician/Artist USA

an uncommonly talented beauty from long ago.

Zoinks

Never mind the Wurlitzer - just can't take my eyes off Marjorie Meinert. What a gorgeous lady. And such an attractive smile.

OMG! That lady at the end was Aunt Harriet from Batman and Robin

swell shred

What a great memory!!!!

Two super talented Italians from Pennsy!!!!!!

very very nice

What model type of guitar that Joe was playing on that show???

What fun for me since I knew them all.

During the Kennedy years, these two musical giants from Pittsburgh were on competing afternoon kids shows (way before "Mr. Rogers"): Costa played a cigar-smoking Original American maiden named, "Indian Mary," who strolled around playing the celeste, instead of talking, on a show called "Funsville," on KDKA, Ch.2; at roughly the same time each day, Negri was the comedic foil for a couple of puppets on a show called "Popeye 'n' Knish," on WTAE, Ch. 4. Any musician will tell you: Any gig is better than no gig.

I love the sound of the Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organs .... I have two of them - a 4400 spinet and a full size Orgatron from 1947 or so.

To hear Ken playing this Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organ with better fidelity watch- 'Ken Griffin Wurlitzer Electrostatic Reed Organ'. He also played this organ on many albums that people assume is the Hammond organ, but both the Hammond tone wheel organ and the Wurlitzer electrostatic reed organs are electromechanical. Meaning, the tones are generated by the motion of electrically conductive apparatus in proximity to a pick-up device. No other electronic organs operated this way. SAVE THEM

Ken played the Wurlitzer about as much as the Hammond it would seem. For instance, all of Anniversary Songs ( Yellow cover with flowers) is the Wurlitzer electrostatic reed ( 4600 free reed, meaning all reeds play continuous for instant attack like the Hammond tone wheel). If only some of us Wurlitzer fans could let some Hammond purists sit down at our rigs...no worry, some day I will perfect a more compact version of an ES reed organ. And not just for kicks, it's very important for the future!

sweet!!!

It's surprising that these people would be on a program hosted by Ken Griffen, they are definitely the opposite of Griffen's "Straight" organ playing (probably why he sits this one out ).

The Wurlitzer 4410 I got last year has proved to be one of the most incredible big sounding organs ever! I have it hooked to a Leslie high rotor, a Wurlitzer Spectratone, a 1946 Wurlitzer Vibrato cabinet, and a Hammond HR40 tone cabinet. The organ has a great ensemble of rich tone that is even more amazing than a Hammond where to theater sound is concerned.

The white version of Art Tatum and Tiny Grimes

Wow! Joe giving Les Paul a run for his money here. Looks like probably the same D'Angelico New Yorker I remember seeing on WTAE-TV back in the day. A handy man with that guitar he most certainly is. Both he and Costa are but only two examples of Pittsburgh's great jazz tradition, to be sure.

Yup. Only by marriage (he married an aunt). Sadly, I never knew my father's side of the family, and never got to meet him. :(

Oh my what a treat to hear. I rem. Joe back in the day on T.V. He is still great. Thankis for bringing this to the net. To hear all 3 of them is a treat. Loved little brown jug.

Thank you so much for posting this! Your statement is very true. This music carries sophistication and style well beyond the modern sound. Johnny Costa is truly one of the greatest musicians that ever walked the face of this earth. It was just amazing to see this one. Thanks alot

Have actually picked up a Wurlitzer 4410 electrostatic reed organ as well. My series 31 ES reed is actually a keyed reed, meaning air only goes to reeds when the keys are pressed. Hammond organs have a fast attack with the tone wheels always in operation, So Wurlitzer created the 'free reed' models to make the attack instant- in a free reed all reeds are blown from the moment the organ is turned on. The attack tab allows the old slow attack as well for hymns & fast attack for popular tumes.

AWESOME is what comes to mind whenever I see or hear Johnny or Joe! Thank you so much for sharing your incredible talent and inspiring us for so many years on Mister Rogers.

2 whole comments in over a year. I bet that programming executive is rolling in his grave.I'm with you Ken, just getting a Wurlitzer Orgatron model 31 from 1946...older than the one here in this video. I do believe it is a free reed though. What is that? In this organ Ken used on 67 Melody Lane it was unlike his usual tone wheel Hammond, but in it's own unique way was similar. Instead of tone wheels producing a frequency, the Orgatron used the motion of reeds and resultant capacitance changes.

Oh my God, what a GEM!!!!

KZbin needs to start featuring stuff like this! Come on folks, we can't just let the past die around us, we really need to give it a permanent place in the present. Meanwhile I'll keep on digging. And I dig this!

picking my jaw up off of the floor as we speak...wow

Johnny & Joe were two talented musical fixtures from Pittsburgh, who eventually worked together on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". That bald man chatting with Ken is Sterling Yates, who became a jazz buff radio dj at Pittsburgh's KDKA. '67 Melody Lane' was a syndicated limited-run tv show produced in Chicago.

Nice to see the duck found work after You Bet Your Life was cancelled.

This music is great, but their scripted lines must be from Leave It To Beaver.

Wait a second, that's really Bumble Boogie.

Cool! I just saw Joe and his trio this past weekend, and he can still rock it! BTW, Johnny Costa was my Great Uncle!

DUCK!!

Those two are as cool as Lennie Tristano and Billy Bauer!

go boys go!

Goodness - I knew Kathleen Murray really well. Knew all in video, actually.

It's amazing how good they were even 45 years ago.

Orale! Desde niño me han gustado los temas de Ken Griffin, pero jamás lo había visto por la TV tocar. Y ahora que tengo un teclado igual a ese voy tratar de interpretar el tema.

¡Hoo! Conocía las melodías de Ken Griffin, me encantan, pero nunca lo había visto tocar. Excelente video, gracias.

Sweet

Yeah, and Johnny Costa -- they guy who played all the background piano music on Mr. Rogers! (Live, I might add!)

67 Melody Lane was a syndicated TV series that was filmed in Chicago. It was one of the earliest shows filmed in color. The "acting" in this clip is a bit stiff, but it's fun to look back at how things once were.

i love organ !!!!

Imagens raras de um momento de pura magia desse virtuoso instrumentista em seu programa semanal na década de 1950. Um deleite para os ouvidos e a satisfação de uma curiosidade visual. Fantástico!