Girl groups, orchestras, The King and the gospel

Voice recording #259, from Jan. 7.
The Platters, maybe "You've Got the Magic Touch", year? This song and a number of others were on a  novelty album called "The Flying Saucer", which included excerpts from radio broadcasts about a saucer's landing. The announcer would say they were going to a correspondent for a bulletin, which would be snippets from other Platters songs. The Platters were '50s icons. This is not their best, but it's pretty good. 4,400.
Little Richard, "Tutti Frutti", year? Little Richard was a straight-up rocker. I don't think rockers even existed when he was coming up, but he was one of those who defined what it meant to rock. The instrumentation was different from what we're used to from rock. There's piano, but it's hard-driving piano. The bridges between the verses were likely to be horns -- saxophones, in this case. Little Richard was a giant. 4,100.
Crests, "Isn't It Amazing", year? I've mentioned that '50s music was limited partly because of a lack of technical knowledge, partly because of a lack of imagination in engineering and instrumentation, but also because the lyrics lacked imagination. This song does things such as rhyming angels from above with turtle dove. At worst, it's a really sappy song, at best it's not very good. 4,900, which may be generous.
Tommy Edwards, "It's All in the Game", year? This song has been done before and after Tommy Edwards. It's a classic, standard banner. Not bad. 4,600.
Ray Smith, "Rockin' Little Angel", year? This one seems to have taken other tunes and put Mr. Smith's own words into them. It's not very good. 4,925.
The Shirelles, "Everybody Loves a Lover", year? There are a lot of better versions of this song. Those were probably later than the '50s. The Shirelles had some good hits, mostly in the '60s. At the divide between '59 and '60 or between Kennedy and Eisenhower, or whatever it was, girl groups really found an identity. They may have been more viable economically at a time when record companies and producers weren't ashamed of ripping off artists. I'm sure there were some engineering advancements by that time. This isn't The Shirelles' best. Generously, 4,850.
The Drifters, "Fools Fall in Love", 1957. The things I said about the girl groups also apply to The Drifters, who were much more successful financially and esthetically in the '60s than in the '50s. I thought later about the Shirelles' song that in later versions the tempo was changed, possibly syncopation was added, or starts and stops, things were done that made it a better song. 4,900.
The G Clefs, "I Understand (The Way You Feel)", year? The '50s were a time when people tended to do things without asking why. The G Clefs musically seem like a group made up of people who did what their parents or teacher, or pastor or whatever, told them to do. Their was a lot of religious feeling to this one. There were a lot of staccato strings. Playing over the melody at times was "Auld Lang Syne". 4,950.
Elvis Presley, "Hard Headed Woman", year? I may already have done this one, and if I did I don't think I would have given it higher than 4,650. It's Elvis, and that's the only reason why it would be that high. I really like Elvis, but this is not good Elvis music. This is probably well down the list of Elvis hits. I may remember this song just from having seen the title while I was filling in the database. I kind of zipped through the early '50s and the '40s. The Billboard Hot 100 was just a Top 30 during the early '50s, and there wasn't a year-end survey during the '40s but just weekly lists of who's number one. So in the '40s there might have been anywhere from four or five to 12 or 13 number one songs during a year, and those would be the only ones listed. Even with 12 or 13, there might really have been 9 or 10 because different orchestras sometimes took the same song to the top during a year. There were years during the '40s when there weren't any solo artists with No. 1 hits, but instead it would Woody Herman and His Orchestra, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra or Somebody Else and His Orchestra. Probably one of the Dorseys and His Orchestra. Occasionally a Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby would break through. So it took me a short time to add the '40s and early '50s.
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go", which was a hit in 1960. I don't know anything about Hank Ballard. My original thought was that he was a country-music guy. This song sounds more gospel; I'll check it out. The lyrics make it sound as if we're being invited to a revival meeting: "There's a three-ill upon the hee-ill. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Some of that might be because of the '50s religious -- not fervor, but more fundamentalism. The gospel music seemed to be based more in the black churches, as opposed to some newer, made-up religions. Well, some would say they're all made up. I did go to a couple of revival meetings in the '60s and '70s, though it was in the spirit of more of a goof. I've gone to a lot of Baptist church in Texas, and I prefer the ones that aren't all fire and brimstone. I understand there's a place for that. We're supposed to behave properly, but I'm not sure we need to be frightened into doing that. This song is well intentioned. 4,850. I checked, and realized that I should know more about Ballard. The group was primarily R&B, but Ballard wrote and recorded "The Twist" before Chubby Checker covered it more successfully with a crossover audience. Ballard is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he died on my birthday in 2003.
Ritchie Valens, "Donna", year? 3,800.

The '50s were more kookie than ginchy

Voice recording #254, more from Jan. 7, again on Sirius Channel 5.
Eddie Cochran, "Sittin' in the Balcony", no year given. Cochran was an early rocker. I' not sure this song qualifies as rock 'n' roll. It has guitars and a very constant rhythm. 4,850.
Jim Henderson, "Snap Your Fingers", year? 4,900. And I moved Eddie Cochran up from 4,900 because I feared I might be able to populate most of the 4,900-5,000 slots just today otherwise.
James Darren, "Pin a Medal on Joey", year? 4,825.
Elvis Presley, "Need Your Love Tonight", year? 4,750.
The Browns, "The Old Lamp-Lighter", late '50s. He was the old lamp-lighter "of long, long ago." This song now qualifies as long, long ago. It was a remake -- at least I assume it was the same old lamp-lighter song that was a No. 1 hit during the '40s. The Browns had a number of nostalgic, sentimental songs. This was not the best. I think "The Three Bells" was by The Browns. This one is 4,800.
The Flares, "Foot Stompin' Part 1", year? I don't know whether there was a part two. The beat, just by stomping the sound, wasn't as dynamic as, say, The Lumineers' foot stomping. Another pet peeve: The Flares are spelled like a warning flare, but I have seen people write something like, "He finished the project with flare," when what they really mean is "with flair," as in panache. 4,825.
The Moonglows, "Mostly something", year? It's not just a case of being old so there weren't as many bells and whistles in the production, but this is not a very good piece of music. 4,840.
Jerry Lee Lewis, "Whole Lotta Shakin'", year? This is a classic, with drums and Jerry Lee's rocking' piano. 4,400.
Ike and Tina Turner, "A Fool in Love", year? I didn't realize they were recording in the '50s. I remember then from the mid-60s -- which really isn't must of a stretch, as I look back at it. I'm not sure which of them sang the lead. Ike's career didn't last much past the mid-60s, but Tina has kept going pretty much to the present. This is an early soul-rock song, more rock than soul. 4,825.
Pat Boone, "Speedy Gonzales", year? This song would not be made today. It caricatures and generalizes about Hispanics/Latinos. I'm not sure what was the the purpose for this song, but I guess it was supposed to be a funny novelty record. It's definitely dated. 4,925.
Little Richard, "Jenny Jenny", 1957. It's classic Little Richard, right down to the "Woooooo!" It is a great classic. It has been remade since, I believe by Mitch Ryder and possibly others. 3,900.
Bobby Vee, "Rubber Ball", year? This song is not to be confused with The Cyrkle's "Red Rubber Ball" from the '60s. This one is a song about a guy who has been done wrong by a woman who treats him like a rubber ball because he comes bouncing back to her. 4,200.
Fronc Pourcel, "Only You", year? This is an orchestral version of a song with actual words -- a love song, of course. There are a whole lot of strings in a high register, and they do a lot of things with those strings. The sung song is a better version. 4,600.
The Kingston Trio, but I neglected to record the song's title and year. They were probably the foremost folk group of a really folky decade. 4,700.
The Earls, "Remember When", year? It goes "re-mem-mem, re-mem-ba-mem-ber." It's a catchy tune. 4,600.
Edd Byrnes and Connie Stevens, "Kookie Kookie" (Lend Me Your Comb)", year? Edd "Kookie" Byrnes was a short-lived Hollywood heartthrob on the original "77 Sunset Strip" TV show. I believe his character's name was Kookie. He had a lot of long, wavy hair, pretty well Brylcreemed up in the '50s style. I pretty sure the character was known for combing his hair on the show. Connie Stevens was frequently seen as a beach bunny in the surfer movies that were popular then. This was a chance to take advantage of current popularity with a novelty song. The time warp that produced this song was probably best illustrated by Kookie's final words to Connie Stevens: "Baby, you're the ginchiest." I don't think that was a popular slang word even in the '50s. This song wasn't the ginchiest, but for its novel effects I'll give it 4,750.
Sam Cooke, I believe it's called "Send Me Your Lovin'", year? Sam had a long and distinguished career, but this was not one of its highlights. This is more a song of unrequited love than a gospel song, but there is kind of a gospel choir singing backup. 4,800.
The Dell-Vikings, "Come Go With Me", year? This was a typical group of the time, with a lead singer doing the melody and a deep-voiced guy for special effects. It's a jaunty tune, up-tempo, a good song for its time. The lyrics played with the four words in the title. At times the group sang, "come and go with me" and "come on, go with me."4,350.
Jelly Beans, I believe it's "I Want to Love Him So Bad", year? Probably about as bad as the singing in this one. 4,850, possibly.
The Big Bopper, but I didn't record the title or year. I hadn't heard it before, but the music is almost identical to "Chantilly Lace". I'm not sure why that was possible. Perhaps the same person wrote both songs so there was no copyright problem. This song was not good. 4,950.
Everly Brothers, "Dream", year? I believe that's the title; the words are "all I have do is dream," or more accurately "dre-ee-ee-ee-eam, dream, dream, dream." The Everly Brothers were the most underrated (or least rated) act of the '50s. They were not in Elvis country, but up there near the top. Their music was good, and this was one of their best songs. I think it was Don Everly, not Phil, who died in 2014. I give the song 4,050.
The Crows, "Gee", as in the first half of gee whiz, year? Before there were Black Crowes or Counting Crows or even Sheryl Crow, there were The Crows. They and this song were not particularly good. 4,900.
Faron Young, "Hello Walls", year? It's a country crossover. He was saying hello to the walls in a deep voice. 4,850.