Country Folk Hop to It With a New Step : Fountain Valley Roundup Celebrates Revamped Club With Line Dancing and Barbecue

The Scene: Hundreds of folks in haute cowboy and Orange County casual wear, line dancing their country hearts out Wednesday night at what used to be the Fountain Valley Hop. The fried chicken and barbecue-fed “VIP celebration” was to herald the transformation of the ‘50s-esque club into Bill Medley’s Music City, the Righteous Brother’s nod to the commercial clout of country music these days.

The Hop’s car chrome and diner decor has been replaced largely by a scaled-down mock-up of a Nashville street and country-cozy wood paneling.

On the newly expanded dance floor, DJ Billy the Kid kept up a mix of “new country and old rock and roll” that the club will use in its effort to satisfy new and old customers alike. As if to prove that compatibility, they got folks doing the Electric Slide to the Stones’ “Brown Sugar.”

Dance instructor Tom Potts also introduced a brand-new line dance, exclusive to the club, done to a tape of Medley’s new song “Orange County’s Dancin’ Tonight.” Line dancing, for those not acquainted, is where Americans renounce individual freedom and begin dancing in strict unison, making turns together like a school of fish when the current hits.

Who was there: Most of the VIPs were vendors with whom the club does business, sprinkled with the likes of Orange County entertainers Dick Dodd and Lee Ferrell. Cafe Lido jazz club owner Joe Sperrazza--one of few people in a suit--was there to check out the scene, not because he’s contemplating packing his club with steel guitars but because he is golfing buddies with Medley.

Who wasn’t there: Any number of major country stars--including Travis Tritt, Kenny Rogers and members of Alabama--who phoned or videoed their best wishes in.

Good luck charm: One-time rocker/now country-as-they-come singer Bob Gully was the first performer to appear in the new club, as he had been years before at the Hop and at Medley’s previous venue, Medley’s. “I’ve also closed a few clubs around here,” Gully noted. Medley joined him on stage for a few songs and joined singer Laura Bruce for “The Time of My Life.”

Quote: Dick Dodd, former Mouseketeer, surf drummer, Standells’ singer (remember “Dirty Water”?) and current rock-revue bandleader, noting that the club’s format change had put him out of a job: “Do you notice I’m getting a twang real fast?”

Best-kept secret: The private restroom in the club’s business office has an Elvis-on-velvet painting hanging over the commode.

There is a purpose to life: “I’ve been saying for years there’s a strong connection between the old rock and new country,” Medley noted. “Now I’m going to have to prove it.”

Low note: Medley, whose Grand Canyon-deep bass voice powered some of the greatest hits of the early ‘60s, sang a version of “Achy Breaky Heart,” a song better suited to a landfill.