Don and Juan
Oldies Song Lyrics


"What's Your Name"
A Doo-Wop classic from 1962

Read my true story at Vinyl Record Memories about finding, What's Her Name.

It was 1962 when this Don and Juan oldies song lyrics titled "What's Your Name" was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their top ten hit. 

The song was written by Claude "Juan" Johnson and together with Roland "Don" Trone produced their one and only hit for this R&B vocal duo from Brooklyn, NY.

I remember the Don and Juan oldies song lyrics quite well as I was interested in a cute girl when this song was on the charts but didn't know her last name. 

Let me tell you my story as to why I remember this wonderful old classic Doo-wop vinyl record from over sixty years ago.


 "What's Your Name" - The Story Begins.

My good friend Doug Bippus lived down the street from this cute girl and all I knew was her first name. Without her last name I couldn't look her up in the phone book.

Doug gave me her last name but I was kind of backward about calling her for a date. I previously had a steady girlfriend since the 7th grade but due to my too cool attitude we failed to make it a go in our senior year and both went with someone else to the senior prom.

I never felt good about that after going steady with this really nice girl for five years. So you see, up until that point I never really had to call any girls for dates.

The calling for a date process was uncomfortable for me.  I would call, she would answer and I would hang up before saying anything.  Any of you fellows remember doing that or was it just me? Naaahhh....you guys did it too.

Those of you reading this and not familiar with life a half century ago there was no such tell-tale device for shy boys known as caller ID.


"What's Your Name"
A Second Girl Enters The Picture.

I finally got a date with this girl named Francine during the summer of '62 but what I remember about the date was that she never really seemed too interested in me.

She was great company, attractive and polite so maybe it was the way I dressed, which at time was a little on the "Elvis" side, kinda loud. Maybe not, but whatever the reason I don't recall going on another date with her. 

Enter the second "What's Your Name" girl during the following summer of 1963. As I was again leaving my friend Doug's house I turned the corner and spotted this pair of white short shorts and form fitting black sweater with a gorgeous dark haired beauty tucked inside.

She was sitting on her front porch steps and as I got closer she smiled as I drove by. The song "Next Door to an Angel" quickly popped into mind and I remembered some of the words in the second verse that surely must have been what I was thinking at the time. 

I took a look and oh what a shock
To find a little bit of heaven right on my block
I'm livin' right next door to an angel
And I'm gonna make that angel mine 

And really, how long can a guy drive down a street trying to look cool while staring at an angel on the porch, and facing oncoming traffic?

Nearly crashed my car. Gas was somewhere around 32 cents a gallon and I must have used a least a half a tank of gas circling the block in my cool blue '57 chevy to make sure this angel didn't disappear back into the clouds.    

Doug came to my rescue again and told me her name was Ladale. This time I managed to date her all summer before she cut me loose. I'm not real positive, but I believe those two girls must have know each other as they both told me the same thing on our first date..."Keep your hands to yourself."

A few years later I would marry the girl that made my life complete and is still with me today.  I've mellowed over the years so wherever those classy ladies are today I hope their lives have been good.

Watch this great video with an Oldies Jukebox and Don and Juan singing this classic old Doo-Wop song from 1962. After the song please continue reading and discover how the idea came to me to write a story based on this sixty year old song.


Don and Juan Oldies Song Lyrics
Written by Claude "Juan" Johnson
Released 1962


What's your name? I have seen you before
What's your name? May I walk you to your door?
It's so hard to find a personality with charms like yours for me
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ee

What's your name? Is it Mary or Sue?
What's your name? Do I stand a chance with you?
It's so hard to find a personality with charms like yours for me
Ooh-ee, ooh-ee, ooh-ee

I stood on this corner waiting for you to come along
So my heart could feel satisf-i-ied
So please let me be your Number One
Under the moon, under the stars, and under the sun

Oh-oh, what's your name? (what's your name?) Is it Mary or Sue?
What's your name? Do I stand a chance with you?
It's so hard to find a personality with charms like yours for me
Ooh-ee, ooh-ee, ooh-ee

What's your name?
What's your name?

Shooby-doo-bop-bah-dah!!


The Don And Juan Oldies Song Lyrics
How Fond Memories Created This Page.

Sharing with friends at the local soda shops was what teen life was all about during the golden age of vinyl records.

Whenever I decide to write a page I do it for a number of reasons. It could be about a vinyl record album, a song, a girl I was with, or a trip in a time machine to a particular place I may have been when a song was playing.

But I also get ideas from visitors or subscribers to my newsletter, just as I did with this song.

When my music buddy Bill Moore contacted me and said he was adding a song to his weekly entertainment schedule and told me it was the song "What's Your Name" I immediately went into flashback mode. 

The story above was a result of a particular place in time I had completely forgotten about, and yes it really did happen the way I wrote it as it probably happened the same with many other teens then and now. 

I have the 45rpm record and it's another song you don't hear enough on the radio, so I didn't have any immediate plans for the song until Bill mentioned it.  The memory kicks in (for now anyway) and the song goes live. Don & Juan can look down and thank Bill Moore for their special page on this site.   

I've always been amazed at the sound coming out of just two guys.

On February 1st, 1962 the song was performed on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Nine days later it entered Billboard's Hot 100 chart, eventually peaked at #7 and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100 list.
  
Sadly, both men are no longer with us. Roland "Don" Trone died in May 1982 at the age of 45 and Claude "Juan" Johnson passed on October 31st, 2002 at the age of 67.

And sad too is the passing of my friend, Bill Moore, in 2020. I enjoyed our long distance friendship and keep his memory alive for his family and friends. Rest easy, my friend.


Seeburg - The Happy Days Jukebox.

Seeburg Jukebox model 148 nicknamed - The Trashcan.

In the late 1940s, Seeburg manufactured its popular and distinctive "trashcan-shaped" series of jukeboxes. This one you see here is the Seeburg Symphonola, Model 148 "Trashcan" Jukebox of 1948, so nicknamed due to their shape. 

When they began to make jukeboxes, the 78 rpm record was standard and only a few selections could be played on one machine. This changed with the Seeburg model M100A which could play 50 records front and back for a total of 100 selections, an immense variety at the time.

In 1950, Seeburg introduced the first commercial jukebox designed to play the then-new 45 rpm records. They later increased the number of records from 50 to 80, then 100 per machine.

The classic M100C is featured during the opening of the "Happy Days" TV series.


You might also like these...




Enjoy this page? Share it with your friends!

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Return to Golden Oldies main page.

Return to the Doo-Wop main page.

Return Home.





Vinyl Record Memories
(VIP Club)

Become a member - FREE to Join.

A Little Bit of Nostalgia in your inbox each month.

FREE  To  Join



The Marcels
Blue Moon



Step back in time and relive those Blue Moon vinyl record memories with this unique cover of a Doo-Wop classic from 1961. You're gonna love this performance.



Do You Love Me!


Signed to the new Gordy label in 1962, this group recorded Berry Gordy Jr.'s "Do You Love Me," resulting in the group's (and label's) first hit. Read the story here.




Darling Lorraine



A remarkable true story and memories of this seldom played classic from 1959. Read the Darling Lorraine story.



"My Boyfriend's Back "
and...
"You're gonna be in trouble."



This story reveals how an altercation between 2 teens resulted in a #1 song for The Angels.   Read the finger pointing story here.



Girl Group Favorites.



As countless broken-hearted teenage girls cried into their pillows, girl group records addressed themes of special importance to these young teenage  girls. Read more..



The Royal Teens
"Short Shorts"


Strut on over and check out this great 50s video.

A fantastic saxophone solo, an opening line wolf whistle and a cute girl struttin' around on stage screaming "We wear Short Shorts" gave the Royal Teens a #3 hit song in 1958.  Read their remarkable story.



The Locomotion Cover
Plus The Original



This song was #1 for Little Eva in 1962, and the cover version by Kylie Minogue was so popular it spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart. Listen to the original 45rpm recording and watch the best dance version ever!  Read more.



Pink Shoe Laces
A Soda Shop Classic.



Pink Shoe Laces was a cute # 3 hit song for 13 year old Dodie Stevens in 1959. Forty years later she performs with her daughter in a 1999 special called "Rock-n-Roll Graffiti" and WOW! Check it out!



Andrew Gold
That's Why I Love You



"It's the smile on your face, It's your style and your grace... And that's why, that's why I love you."

A man with this much talent
should certainly be entitled to more than this one simple page that I have provided and not just because I enjoyed one particular song of his more than his others. Check out his Guitar Riffs in this song.






Top of Page
Top of Page