The decade of the Fifties gave birth to Rock and Roll. When Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock was recorded in 1954 the term “Rock and Roll” was not used, but the nation’s youth learned to swing to a whole new sound.
But, Rock and Roll wasn't the only music of the Fifties. Other artists with other songs had folks hummin' for much of the decade. Pat Boone, Perry Como, Percy Faith, Patsy Cline, (both country and pop charts) and Patti Page - just to mention some of the "Ps". There were holdovers from the forties also, remember the Mills Brothers recording of Queen of the Senior Prom that hit the Top 40 charts in April of 1957, and old blue eyes, my mothers favorite singer, Frank Sinatra was still hitting the charts in the late sixties.
But, Rock and Roll wasn't the only music of the Fifties. Other artists with other songs had folks hummin' for much of the decade. Pat Boone, Perry Como, Percy Faith, Patsy Cline, (both country and pop charts) and Patti Page - just to mention some of the "Ps". There were holdovers from the forties also, remember the Mills Brothers recording of Queen of the Senior Prom that hit the Top 40 charts in April of 1957, and old blue eyes, my mothers favorite singer, Frank Sinatra was still hitting the charts in the late sixties.
In 1950 “Your Hit Parade”, after 15 years on radio, moved to television and was broadcast for 9 years. The television Hit Parade attempted to dramatize each song with innovative skits, elaborate sets, and a large entourage of performers. Creating new skits for longer running popular songs proved difficult on television, particularly when we recall such hits from the period as "How Much Is That Doggie In the Window" and "Shrimp Boats Are Coming." A much more serious problem facing the program was the changing taste in American popular music. Rock 'n' roll was displacing the ballads and big bands that had been the mainstay of popular music during the 1930s and 1940s and early 1950s. The earlier music had a multi-generational appeal and the radio version of Your Hit Parade catered to a family audience. The rock music of the 1950s was clearly targeted to younger listeners and actually thrived on the disdain of its older critics. (How many times did one of your parents tell you to “turn that radio down”? or off?
Many artists spanned the decade and beyond, some had few hits and faded into obscurity. Teresa Brewer sang “Til I Waltz Again With You” in 52 and had “Empty Arms” in 1957. The Ames Brothers asked “Can Anyone Explain” in 1950 and had “Moments To Remember” in 1959. And we cannot forget the twenty four year old lounge singer who hit it big In 1951, he recorded two songs that were produced by Mitch Miller and on which he was backed by the Four Lads: “Cry” and “The Little White Cloud That Cried”. Cry was a smash hit, reaching number one and staying there for eleven weeks. Johnny Ray continued to record into the early sixties. The most prolific artist of the fifties was Perry Como, who started recording hits in the mid forties and charted more hits than anyone else from 1950 to 1959.
There are many others, too many to try to write something about, that were around at the beginning of the original “Rock and Roll” era that transitioned into the later decades.
The feel-good innocence of a lot of the Fifties music reflects on the post World War II optimism in America. The young people of the time, an emerging force called teenagers, hadn't struggled through the ”Great Depression”, only remembered stories about the rationing during World War II and were for the most part not effected by the “Police Action” in the Koreas. They were looking for something more exciting. They discovered that vitality in Rock and Roll.
When you look at the dates, musically the styles tend to break off mid-decade.
Big band began to be replaced with pop vocals about the time World War II ended.
The tunes from '55-'64 are pretty much alike. Things don't change much until the British musical invasion of U.S. in the mid sixties. From that point on “Rock and Roll” changed. We have heard various types of “Rock” over the ensuing years. The “rock” music of the late 60s and early 70s was good, but by the late seventies there was little relation to the “Rock and Roll” from the fifties. The R & B “Motown Sound” of the sixties and seventies was very good. Pop music had The Carpenters, Billy Joel, The Osmond’s and several others, but rock after the seventies was, for the most part, just noise.
Today there are few places where the music of the fifties is available. The “Oldies” stations for the most part are stuck in the seventies and eighties, (I guess that’s old to a 25 year old DJ) and there are a few country stations that play Marty Robbins, Carl Perkins and even some of Elvis’s early stuff. I recently heard Betty Johnson’s 1958 top forty song “The Little Blue Man” on Oklahoma City’s Classic Country station. Never will figure out how it hit the charts or why anyone would still have a copy. (I just happen to have a copy) Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two hit the top forty charts in 1956 with “I Walk The Line” a recording that is now a staple for many country stations.
Many of the fifties artists have been all but forgotten and others are easy to remember. We won’t forget Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard, but few people would be able to tell you much about the music of “The Heartbeats’ or “The Four Tunes”. In 1958 Tommy Edwards asked us to “Please Love Me Forever” and while most can remember the top forty song we would be hard put to name the artist. Also in 1958 the Kalin Twins released “Forget Me Not” and we have forgotten them.
In 1956 a local Philadelphia television station fired the namesake host of “Bob Horn’s Bandstand” after Bob allegedly got way too friendly with the female teenage dancers who appeared on his show. Dick Clark took over and the show’s name was changed to American Bandstand. ABC picked the show up in 1957 and it became a national broadcast.
Some of the music we associate with the Fifties was actually recorded in the Sixties. Blue Moon, by the Marcels (1961) and Unchained Melody, by the Righteous Brothers for example. Les Baxter and Al Hibbler first released unchained Melody in 1955. The Righteous Brothers recorded their version in 1964. It has now been recorded over 700 times by more than 500 different artists. Most of the "girl groups" are from the 60's.
Probably the most memorable star who hit it big in the fifties is also the most imitated today. On July 5th1954 he recorded two songs at Sam Phillips “Sun Studio” in Memphis. Sam cut and released “That’s All Right Mama” with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on the “B” side. Historically it was at the end of this recording session the term “Rock and Roll” was first used.
The young man from Mississippi became a regular on the Louisiana Hayride stage in Shreveport in the mid-fifties and made a single appearance on the “Grand Ole Opry” in October 1954 singing “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”. He was never invited back. He was allegedly told, “Boy, you’d better keep driving that truck.” He needed that truck later to carry his gold records.
After the Opry appearance he signed a one-year contract with “Hank Snow Attractions” a company owned by country legend Hank Snow and “Colonel” Tom Parker. Parker managed Presley's singing and acting career for the rest of Presley's life and was said to be instrumental in virtually every business decision that Presley made—including his decision to cut back on recording and stop touring after being discharged from the Army in 1960 in favor of a film career.
Most of us who are in our sixth or seventh decade don’t have a vision of Elvis in a white jump suit, but we remember the slacks clad young singer, with the DA haircut “swiveling” his hips for national audiences on “The Ed Sullivan Show” until CBS told the camera operators to only shoot him from the waist up. Many local teens saw him on stage at the Municipal Auditorium at one of his two shows in October 16, 1955 when he was here with the “Hank Snow Show” and again on April 19, 1956 on his own tour. His third show in Oklahoma City was at the fairgrounds arena on November 16, 1970, he was back on July 2, 1973 at The Myriad. He was back at the Myriad on July 8, 1975 and May 29, 1976. His last appearance in Oklahoma was on March 25thand 26th1977for two shows at The Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. I was not present for any of the Oklahoma shows in the 70s, but I am sure the adults (33-43 age group) far outnumbered the teens in attendance. Elvis made 16 personal appearances in Oklahoma, beginning with a show on June 1, 1955 at the Guymon Oklahoma High School Auditorium. I last saw Elvis live in the early seventies at The International in Las Vegas.
“The King” will live on forever. Graceland is one the biggest attractions in Tennessee, with more visitors than “The Grand Ole Opry” and “Dollywood” combined, and by using a little imagination you can still see him on stage in Vegas. At any time one of more Elvis impersonators will be in the show rooms or lounges of Las Vegas.
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