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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 10:33:16 GMT -5
Prompted by an unpopular opinion voiced by the OP in the, um, "Unpopular Opinions" thread, this topic will function as a jukebox for pop music and classic rock'n'roll from the early '50s until "I Want To Hold Your Hand" broke in the US at the end of 1963. This is the all-important 45 that showed a youthful jk in 1961 (not 1960 as I initially thought) just what pop music was capable of--"So it can do this too!" I still love this record--it never fails to send chills down my spine. That Musitron solo was an utterly new departure at the time (The Tornados' "Telstar" was still a year away).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_(Del_Shannon_song) |
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Post by kds on Jan 22, 2019 10:39:26 GMT -5
I was still a full 18 years away from being born, but I think there was a lot of really good to great music released in the late 50s through 1963 by the likes of Bill Haley, Jerry Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Dick Dale, The Kingsmen, Phil Spector, etc. And that's not even including doo wop.
Also, The Beatles and Beach Boys released some great material in 1962 and 1963
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 10:48:19 GMT -5
I was still a full 18 years away from being born, but I think there was a lot of really good to great music released in the late 50s through 1963 by the likes of Bill Haley, Jerry Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Dick Dale, The Kingsmen, Phil Spector, etc. And that's not even including doo wop. Also, The Beatles [and Beach Boys] released some great material in 1962 and 1963That's true, if you look at the UK scene. That's why I called upon the British Invasion to mark the end of what I see as a musical Age of Innocence. It was odd living in the UK in the midst of Beatlemania while the US was still going its own way, oblivious of the mayhem on this side of the Atlantic.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 12:17:25 GMT -5
'61/'62 was a big musical year for me; I was 7 & 8 yo. My mom bought all these for me, except "*."
I loved: RAINDROPS - Dee Clark MOUNTAINS HIGH - Dick and Dee Dee LET'S TWIST AGAIN - Chubby Checker* MONSTER MASH - Gary Paxton RUBBER BALL - Bobby Vee QUARTER TO THREE - Gary U.S. Bonds
PALISADES PARK - Freddie Cannon
But THIS!
CINCINNATI - Frank Slay
Mom bought a grab bag pack of cutout 45's for me at the drugstore. I picked the pack showed GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY on the front; I thought you couldn't miss with that one. The Frank Slay record was one of the goodies inside. It drove me nuts. I played it over and over and over till it started to turn white.
The A Side was a reworked Hava Nagila, titled Flying Circle.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 13:24:22 GMT -5
'61/'62 was a big musical year for me; I was 7 & 8 yo. My mom bought all these for me, except "*."
I loved: RAINDROPS - Dee Clark MOUNTAINS HIGH - Dick and Dee Dee LET'S TWIST AGAIN - Chubby Checker* MONSTER MASH - Gary Paxton RUBBER BALL - Bobby Vee QUARTER TO THREE - Gary U.S. Bonds
PALISADES PARK - Freddie Cannon
But THIS!
CINCINNATI - Frank Slay
Mom bought a grab bag pack of cutout 45's for me at the drugstore. I picked the pack showed GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY on the front; I thought you couldn't miss with that one. The Frank Slay record was one of the goodies inside. It drove me nuts. I played it over and over and over till it started to turn white.
The A Side was a reworked Hava Nagila, titled Flying Circle.
Was I seven or eight in '61/'62? Let's leave that unanswered for the moment. That Frank Slay thing is amazing! Of the others you mention, "The Mountain's High" and "Quarter To Three" are great favourites of mine. Both are pretty weird. In "TMH", Dick is singing top and bottom and Dee Dee the two middle parts! As for "QTT", you have to wait awhile before discovering which key it's in.  Can't fault your mother's taste in music, Steve.  Here are those fantastic two tracks I can not get enough of: |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2019 6:49:30 GMT -5
If I were ever asked (possibly at pistol point) to sing a song, it would be "Kansas City". It requires a rollicking but basic piano accompaniment and it's within my limited vocal range. Be glad you're spared this particular experience and can enjoy this 1959 smash hit version by Wilbert Harrison instead.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbert_Harrison |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 19:20:08 GMT -5
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 25, 2019 21:01:16 GMT -5
I listen to tons of pre-1964 pop and jazz, so I'd likely be accused of spamming the thread if I were to just start posting all my favorites. Maybe I'll just point out some really odd ones that people might have missed.
Here's a good one to start with. This came out in 1956, and is so totally far out that I didn't believe that date at first and had to verify it.
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Post by The Cap'n on Jan 25, 2019 21:04:59 GMT -5
What aspects of it did you think brought its date into question?
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 25, 2019 21:10:54 GMT -5
What aspects of it did you think brought its date into question? It was included on an Aladdin Records compilation that was strictly rhythm and blues otherwise, so it stuck out like a sore thumb. Also the complete take goes on for another three minutes of heavy jazz mambo that gets cut off in this single version, but the b-side isn't up on YouTube. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2019 18:32:16 GMT -5
Ritchie Valens' finest hour in my view. Music to float off on:
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B.E.
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Post by B.E. on Jan 31, 2019 10:21:21 GMT -5
If I were ever asked (possibly at pistol point) to sing a song, it would be "Kansas City". It requires a rollicking but basic piano accompaniment and it's within my limited vocal range. Be glad you're spared this particular experience and can enjoy this 1959 smash hit version by Wilbert Harrison instead. Inspired by this thread, I evidently stumbled upon the same YouTube channel. "The Happy Organ" really stood out to me. Between featuring the organ (which reminded me of "The Rocking Surfer") and the "Shortnin' Bread" melody, I was really enjoying the Beach Boys vibes. Then, the organ drops out and that ridiculously raucous guitar comes in - sold! I read that the same guitar player, Jimmy Spruill, is featured on "Kansas City" as well. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 16:43:27 GMT -5
If I were ever asked (possibly at pistol point) to sing a song, it would be "Kansas City". It requires a rollicking but basic piano accompaniment and it's within my limited vocal range. Be glad you're spared this particular experience and can enjoy this 1959 smash hit version by Wilbert Harrison instead. Inspired by this thread, I evidently stumbled upon the same YouTube channel. "The Happy Organ" really stood out to me. Between featuring the organ (which reminded me of "The Rocking Surfer") and the "Shortnin' Bread" melody, I was really enjoying the Beach Boys vibes. Then, the organ drops out and that ridiculously raucous guitar comes in - sold! I read that the same guitar player, Jimmy Spruill, is featured on "Kansas City" as well. Thanks for the information, B. Wild Jimmy Spruil clearly has a lot to answer for. "The Happy Organ" is a lovely track. Talking of organ instrumentals, my first foray into pop on the piano (after years of tedious lessons and a two-year sabbatical) was Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Red River Rock" from the same year (1959). I was so proud to eventually get to grips with that chugging pattern in the left hand! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_and_the_Hurricanes |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 18:40:12 GMT -5
This guy kept things rockin', and don't forget that lead guitar player, too:
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Post by jk on Jul 17, 2023 15:10:46 GMT -5
It was a couple of comments in the Shoutbox that reminded me of this pre-Invasion stomper from my youth by The Five Du-Tones with a rocking band in attendance (I've always been intrigued by the singer's vibrato at 1:00 and 1:32): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shake_a_Tail_Feather |
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Post by boogieboarder on Jul 19, 2023 9:03:42 GMT -5
There are literally hundreds of songs I absolutely loved and still love from 1960 to 1963, before the British Invasion. I was 9 through 12 years old during those formative years, and constantly listening to top 40 radio. I had only just started buying albums with my paper route earnings, but the vast majority of the songs I remember were singles played on the radio. I particularly loved the songs with some humor, like “Who Put the Bomp?” or “Mother in Law.”
In the 1980s, it was fun to revisit my youth by purchasing the Time-Life compilation CDs of those eras, but they only scratched the surface. There are bootleg DVDs containing, believe it or not, mp3 files containing every song that ever made the Billboard top 100 from 1955 to 1969. And probably all these songs are on YouTube by now, if not Apple Music or all the other streaming services.
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Post by filledeplage on Jul 19, 2023 9:38:51 GMT -5
Strapping on my roller skates (with a "key") with my friends at a local tennis court where no one was playing tennis, completely oblivious to teenagers' music. 😂
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Post by jk on Jul 19, 2023 14:30:01 GMT -5
Strapping on my roller skates (with a "key") with my friends at a local tennis court where no one was playing tennis, completely oblivious to teenagers' music. 😂 Ah, so that's the key Melanie is singing about in her gorgeous 1971/72 US #1: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_New_Key |
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Post by jk on Mar 25, 2024 9:15:19 GMT -5
"You Don't Know" was Helen Shapiro's second record and the first of her two UK chart-toppers, all three recorded when she was 14! What a voice. We heard it while taking coffee during a holiday walk yesterday. One of her opening acts on tour would eventually engineer her demise in the pop world (see the wiki): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Shapiro |
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Post by jk on Apr 15, 2024 16:51:48 GMT -5
"Down In The Dumps", which regrettably reflects my mood right now, was the B-side of Lonnie Mack's "Memphis", the game-changing guitar instrumental first heard by an awestruck jk on French radio in 1963 (my guitarist brother bought that 45 at the time and may indeed still possess it): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wham_of_that_Memphis_Man |
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Here are those fantastic two tracks I can not get enough of:
