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The 50's


_jr_

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I did a search, and couldn't find anything on this topic. Of course, I am not the most adept person when it comes to computer stuff, so if there's a thread like this already, my apologies.

I know this doesn't get talked about much, so I thought I'd start a thread soley for the purpose of a discussion of the music of the 50's.

I like to listen to a lot of 50's stuff, mainly the rock and roll. Little Richard, IMO, was the best of the bunch back then, for pure energy. He was probably the most risque, as well.

One band you never hear a lot about is the Johnny Burnette Trio. They were overshadowed by Elvis, but man, they kicked it straight in the a##!!! Rockabilly at it's finest.

Any other thoughts on the 50's?

I know Unc sang in some doo-wop groups in Phiily.

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Without the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis we could only imagine if rock and roll woud exist today. Even the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elton John only came to be because of being inspired by these artists. They were truly the founders of Rock and Roll.

There is also the mellow side of the 50's with the great sounds of Doo Wop. I first gravitated to Doo Wop when I was a teen and saw a few shows a year. A couple of friends and myself use to sit on the stoops back in the Bronx back then and sang Accapella because of our appreciation of the music. Oh.....may I add we never made it off the stoop, we sounded awful!! But we did love the music.

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I love listening to 50's stuff. It's mostly all "feel good" music. I think part of that is that there was a little bit of rebelliousness in it, and you can feel the joy of the artists in playing and singing the way they want to.

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Hold on there Jr., I'm not that old. Yes, I grew up in the 50's (born in '46)but I didn't sing a in doo wop group until well into the 60's. I had to wait for my voice to change. LOL

All of the stuff posted in this thread is very relevant and brings back fond memories. The 50's brought us the birth of rock 'n roll of course. I agree as to Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Jerry Lee, et al. Also deserving of mention are Eddie Cochrane, Duane Eddy, Roy Orbison, Fats Domino, Huey Smith and The Clowns, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Robins, The Skyliners,The Rivieras, The Moonglows, The Harptones, The Cadillacs, The Edsels, The Fleetwoods, and yes, The ElDorados, The Platters, The Clovers, Connie Frances, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Jackie Wilson,...ok, I'll stop. I know I've left out some giants.

One of the interesting things about the 50's and the birth of rock is radio. Especially at the early stages. Early on the mainstream stations slowly introduced rock and roll into their formats. You'd hear Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore, Tony Bennett and then Little Richard. Hilarious, even at the time. It took a couple years before the first rock-only format was introduced. Until then the mixing and blending of pop/rock was a music director's nightmare.

There was the ugly part of it all, too. Many stations refused to play the devil's music. Especially in the South and Midwest. Evangelists denounced rock as being satanism. Even worse, many stations refused to play black artists. Then greedy record producers and slimy artists began "covering" black hits so that the radio stations would play them...white rock. If this wasn't so sad it would have been ridiculously funny. It still is. You haven't had a good laugh until you've heard Pat Boone doing Tutti Frutti. Find a copy. Play Little Richard's original and then Pat Boone's version. This a**hole gave white artists a bad name. I still revile Boone to this day for his racist righteousness and his greed.

Another overlooked element of the 50's was the beat generation. Beatniks. Like, cool daddio. The dress, hair and jive lingo were funny, but it scared the hell out of grandma and grandpa. See Maynard G. Krebbs on the Dobie Gillis Show for reference.

Ah yes, televison. Eventually rock made its way to the tube. Ed Sullivan is recognized for bringing the rock acts to TV. However, Steve Allen was actually the first to showcase Elvis. This all led to the early 60's gems like Hootenanny, Shindig and Hullaballoo.

Well, let me go dig out my continenatal black khaki pants (with the belt in the back) and my rat-stabber shoes and my black banlon shirt. Beat out hair. A slouch in my walk. I'm ready, Baby. Let's rock!!

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Great post Uncle :beatnik:

Sometimes the 50's feel like a bit of a stretch for me. I was born in 1984, so I have a lot to catch up on! I believe that the 60's were the finest musical decade, and always felt that anything beyond that was too far away for me to reach.

Of course, I was wrong. I already love Roy Orbison, The Drifters, The Platters, Buddy Holly and Elvis. I am currently reading a great book about John Lennon and in it he is discussing his earliest influences. As a result of this I find myself searching out Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochrane, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Music always seems to find me at the right time. Before I couldn't have listened to this stuff and now I find myself really into it. Anyways, it is rock in its purest form.

:)

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The best thing about the 50's sound is it's simplicity. Drums, guitar, bass, piano, and sometimes a sax.

There wasn't a bunch of dubbing and sound effects. It was straight playing into a microphone. What you heard on the radio and on your records was what they heard when they recorded it.

98% of the songs were about one thing: Love. Loss of, finding, sharing, etc.

It was a simple time. The bareness of the music is it's appeal. For me anyway.

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Actually I was looking for some '60s pop tunes and came across this page .

It's got some great '50's in there.

What a track listing!

Here's a couple of '50s compilations

on the vocal side.

Musical Interlude ...

:beatnik:

Volare, oh oh

Cantare, oh oh oh oh

Let's fly way up to the clouds

Away from the maddening crowds

We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of

Where lovers enjoy peace of mind

Let us leave the confusion and all disillusion behind

Just like bird of a feather, a rainbow together we'll find

Volare, oh oh

E contare, oh oh oh oh

No wonder my happy heart sings

Your love has given me wings

Penso che un sogno cosi non ritorni mai piu

Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu

Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito

E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito

Volare, oh oh

E contare, oh oh oh oh

Nel blu, dipinto di blu

Felice di stare lassu

E volavo, volavo felice piu in alto del sole ed ancora piu su

Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiu

Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me

Volare, oh oh

E cantare, oh oh oh oh

No wonder my happy heart sings

Your love has given me wings

Nel blu, dipinto di blu

Felice di stare lassu

+

some standards

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While recognizing the enormous debt later rock artists owe to 50's rock and rollers, I'm just not especially fond of the rock and roll music of the 50's with a few notable exceptions.

I love Buddy Holly. As someone already mentioned, it would be amazing to see what he would have accomplished if he had not died at such a young age. I'm also partial to Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and Gene Vincent.

I think one of the reasons I'm not overly fond of 50's rock and roll is that I was not exposed to it growing up. I was born in 1958. My parents were too old to like rock and roll music and my sister was too young to listen to it. The music I grew up with was the rock and pop music of the 60's and 70's and the big band music and pop standards listened to by my parents.

We have an oldies station in Calgary that plays a lot of 50's rock standards. It's okay in small doses, but I wouldn't want a steady diet of it. To each his own, I guess.

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I have been rebuilding my 50's song library ever since I got ITunes! My mother sold all my and my sister's 45's in a garage sale for probably a nickel apiece. There would be no rock'n roll without Chuck Berry and the others mentioned in this thread!

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  • 11 months later...

This thread was born and died about one year ago. I know we've added some regulars that love the 50's. Being "Born Late '58" I don't have the background of listening to music in the 50's. But the early 60's really showed some of the spill over of talent and style.

New York city always had "Oldies" stations that played a great deal of 50's music, but as the years passed, so did the chance for airplay.

I still like to belt out something like Sea of Love...Chuck Berry or Little Richard.....great stuff.

comments?

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A thread worth reviving.

Was there ever an artist who was easier to sing along to than Fats Domino?

He actually started in the late 40's before the term Rock And Roll came into being.

Here are just some of his songs. (There are hundreds).

Blueberry Hill

Aint That A Shame*

Blue Monday*

I Want To Walk You Home*

Hello Josephine*

My Girl Josephine

I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday*

(Yes It's Me And) I'm In Love Again*

I'm Ready*

I'm Walking*

My Blue Heaven

Sick And Tired*

The Fat Man (1949)

Walking To New Orleans*

Whole Lotta Lovin*'

When My Dreamboat Comes Home

Be My Guest*

Did You Ever See A Dream Walking

Let The Four Winds Blow*

I'm A Fool To Care

Lady Madonna (yep, the Beatles' song)

Shu Rah

* My favorites.

Many of his hits were written by either Fats himself or by his writing

partner, David Bartholomew.

Several artists covered Fats including Ricky Nelson who had a couple

of hits with Fat Man covers.

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Fats actually did quite a few covers. Always in "his style" though. I was born in 56, but my mom played rock and roll all the time. Scandalous! She taught me the Green Onions dance when I was four. I love the 50's. Early 60's too. :)

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Joe,

Lady Madonna is Fats covering The Beatles? It wasn't a Fats original. What year was his released?

Fats actually did quite a few covers. Always in "his style" though.

True. Antoine Fats Domino recorded several covers. He covered everyone from Hank Williams to John Lennon. Lady Madonna was included in his Fats Is Back album in 1968.

He loved to redo old standards as well. I refer you here>>> [b]FATS DOMINO

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Well, I thought I knew a lot about Fats Domino, but I didn't know he did a cover of "Lady Madonna" ! I see from my Billboard Chart Book it spent one week at #100 on 7th September, 1968. The first time I ever heard him was on Ain't That A Shame in 1955, covered (and taken to Pop #1) by Pat Boone.

Pat Boone also ripped off songs by The Charms, Five Keys, Flamingos, Big Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter and of course Little Richard. Insipid covers, especially of Little Richard's Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally. Although he did follow up with some great ballads, such as Love Letters In The Sand (a 1931 song) and April Love, his two biggest hits.

:)

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When I was young around 7 or 8 I found a album of The Platters that was my parents. I put it on my little record player and liked what I heard. My Mom gave me some stuff from The Drifters and I would listen to both albums and be happy and dance. My parents were more into 40's and big band sound but they did have some stuff from the 50's. My parents dance and won quite a few contests in their time, now when I hear songs from those groups I see my parents dancing and what a great memory along with beautiful music.

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The first rock and roll record I ever played was in 1958, when on a visit to my aunt's house, I found the 45rpm "Rockin Robin" by Bobby Day and the Satellites. I must have played that song 20 times that day. I wanted to memorize every word in it. The flip side was "Over and Over," ironically.

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