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I
start in 1955, because my first true memories of what was soon to be
called, ROCK & ROLL, begin about that time.
Below are listed some of the tunes that came out in 1955. See how many you remember. Click on the highlighted artist or song for more info. Kick back and reminise. |
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| 1955
Johnny Ace—Pledging My Love Chuck Berry---Maybelline, Thirty Days Pat Boone—Two Hearts, Ain't That A Shame Teresa Brewer—Pledging My Love Rusty Brown—All Night Long The Cadillacs—Speedo Ray Charles—I’ve Got A Woman, Come Back, A Fool For You, This Little Girl Of Mine, Blackjack, Greenbacks The Cheers—Black Denim Trousers Don Cherry—Band Of Gold The Chordettes—The Wedding The Clovers—Blue Velvet, Nip Sip The Crew Cuts---Ko Ko Mo, Earth Angel, Gum Drop, Mostly Martha The Crows----Baby Doll The Dells---Tell the World Bo Diddley---Bo Diddley, I’m A Man Fats Domino---Don’t You Know, Ain’t That A Shame, All By Myself, Poor Me The El Dorados---At My Front Door, I’ll Be Forever Loving You Tennessee Ernie Ford—Sixteen Tons Bill Haley & The Comets--Mambo Rock, Razzle Dazzle, Birth Of The Boogie, Rock Around The Clock, See You Later Aligator, Burn That Candle Roy Hamilton--Unchained Melody, Without a Song, Everybody's Got A Home But Me Bill Hayes--Ballad Of Davy Crockett Smiley Lewis---I Hear You Knocking Litle Richard---Tutti-Fruitti Clyde McPhatter---Seven Days Dean Martin---Memories Are Made Of This The Nutmegs---Story Untold Fess Parker---Ballad Of Davy Crockett The Penguins--Earth Angel,( actually released in November of 1954) The Platters---Only You, The Great Pretender Perez Prado--Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White,(instramental) The Robins---Smokey Joe's Cafe Shirley And Lee--Feel So Good Gale Storm---Memories Are Made Of This The Turbans---When You Dance Joe Turner---Flip Flop And Fly |
I'm sure there are more. If you think of any please email me and I'll add them to the list.
Johnny Ace: was born, Johnny marshall Alexander Jr. on
June 9th 1929 in Memphis Tennessee. He recorded a song called
"Pledging My Love" in 1954. While on a promo concert
tour of that year and on Christmas Eve, of all nights, he was
playing Russian roulette, backstage at the City Auditorium in
Houston. He accidently shot himself and died the next day.
The song went on to become a big hit in January of 1955. The song
was featured in the soundtrack of the movie,
"Christine", based on the novel by Stephen King.
Remember Arnie and the strange love affair with the 58 Plymouth?
A great car and a cool movie and even cooler book and author.
Aint That A Shame: I still haven't figured out how Pat Boone was chosen to cover this great Fats Domino song. I mean he has a good smooth voice, but a good smooth voice isn't always what Rock & Roll needs. April Love and Love Letters In the Sand are Pat's cup of tea. Speedy Gonzales is cool too and I've heard that it's Pat's favorite song. "Ain't That A Shame" has been recorded by several artists including, Lloyd Price and The Four Seasons.
All Night Long: This classic was recorded by Rusty Bryant in 1955 and by Sandy Nelson in 1962. I mention this tune because it was used as a theme song for the great Alan Freed at WINS radio in New York.
Earth Angel: was written by Curtis Williams for his girl
friend. I'm sure that this is not the only song that came about
in this fashion. At a local club, he met a grammar school friend,
Cleve Duncan, whom he had not seen in quite some time and told
him about the song. Cleve was forming a group at the time and
Curtis became a member of the soon to be "Penguins". The song was recorded and
became a hit in November of 1954.
It has been recorded many times and as we all know is one of the
all time classic rock tunes. It was released in January of 1955
by The Crew Cuts and also by Gloria Mann. Johnny Tillotson even done the song in 1960.
Ballad Of Davy Crockett: was released on Cadence Records in January of 1955 by Bill Hayes. In just seven weeks it was number one on the charts and had sold over a million records. I'm sure that this was due to the popularity of the Walt Disney show, "The Adventures of Davy Crockett", starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen. Fess recorded the song and released it in February of 1955 and had a top ten hit with the tune. Bill Hayes had the bigger hit.
As if that wasn't enough, the two men released another Disney song at the same time in 1957 called "Wringle Wrangle". This time Fess had the biggest hit.
Chuck Berry: (Charles Edward Anderson Berry) was born October 18th 1926 in Wentzville, Missouri. Before Chuck became one of the most well known names in Rock & Roll, he considered becoming either a hairdresser, photographer, or a singer. Good choice Chuck. It was Muddy Waters who suggested Chuck visit Leonard and Phil Chess (Chess Records) Chuck done a song that he had written called "Ida Red". Well the song was great, the name was changed to "Maybelline" and a legend was born.
Fats Domino: Antoine "Fats" Domino was born February 26th 1928 in New Orleans. He began playing the piano as a kid. The world was almost cheated out of his talent. While working in a factory his hand was mashed and cut severly. There was doubt as to his using the hand again but thankfully he regained the use of the hand and gave us so many great songs.In 1950 he recorded a song called "The Fat Man" and so began the nickname "Fats". 1955 brought his first big hit, "Blueberry Hill".
The Robins: formed in L.A. and after their hit "Smokey Joe's Cafe", two of the members ,Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn, left the group to start another one. They faired pretty well too. The group? The Coasters.
Little Richard: was born Richard Penniman December 5th 1932 in Macon Georgia. He began singing as a kid and in 1951 won a talent contest in Atlanta and wound up with a recording contract with RCA. After a couple of blah recordings he went to Peacock records in Houston. It was in 1955 while he was working as a dish washer in a Greyhound bus station in Macon, he sent a recording to Specialty Records. They purchased his contract and in 1955, in New Orleans at Cosmo studios he recorded "Tutti-Fruitti". And the rest is history.
