It is Music Monday and I really enjoyed last weeks excursion down the blue grass highway. I hope that people are enjoying the musical themes each week as opposed to the countdowns that I was doing before. I imagine that I will return to the countdowns at some point and just kind of flip back and forth between the two. I think that this week we are going to be checking out some bands and some songs from the fifties. I know a lot of people consider that era the beginning of rock and roll. So lets get it started with a little something like this.
This was originally a Little Richard song and was covered by Buddy Holly in 1957. It is pretty typical of this era of music. Often what was popular on the charts were white artists singing covers of songs done by black artists. It was a hard time for black artists to get radio play.
"The Girl Can't Help It" is a classic Little Richard song. It was also the title song of the Jayne Mansfield movie of the same name in 1956. Here is the trailer.
Boy that looked like a quality film and so subtle. They just don't make them like that anymore. I noticed Gene Vincent in the trailer. Let's give him a little listen.
Gene Vincent is pretty much the father of rockabilly. I really love his sound.
ummmm Bop!! The Big Bopper and Chantilly Lace. This is a classic little number but seems a little creepy to me. That might just be my modern messed up sensibilities.
Lest you think that all of the music in the fifties was rock and roll. It seems that Frank Sinatra was also popular as well. He had an album called "Songs for Young Lovers" that peaked at number 3 on the US charts in 1954.
"My Funny Valentine" has been covered by lots of different artists. But his version is probably still the best one out there.
Another artist popular during this time was Doris Day with her most successful being "Que Sera Sera" in 1956
That really is a nice melodic song. But lets wrap up Music Monday with something that was a little more rocking. I am also glad to say that I made it through this without playing any Elvis. While he has his place. I think he is overplayed.
Nothing like a little Lord Rockingham's XI to get your toes a tapping. You got to love the quirky stuff that came out of Britain in the fifties.
There you go. I hope everyone has a good Monday.
1 comment:
The 50s were interesting to me because they were a mix of 40s crooner pop and the new doo wop and rockabilly music. Lots of really good music from that time period.
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