From young Michael Padgett and his girl friend sharing a soda at the Malt Shop on the cover of The Fabulous Fifties: Great Moments (2000) to Elvis singing one of his great songs, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” this compilation CD presents some of the hits that makes the Fifties one of Michael’s favorite musical decades.
I started listening to music on a radio on a regular basis around 1956 (I was 7 years old). And watching musical acts on the Ed Sullivan Show. But it would be years before I bought my first vinyl album.
To me, the best song on this CD is Nat King Cole’s iconic “Unforgettable.” I always liked Paul Anna’s “Diana.” I prefer the Righteous Brothers version of “Unchained Melody” to Al Hibbler’s.
50’s Sock Hop from 1991 features one of my favorite songs by the Everyly Brothers: “Wake Up Little Susie.” Other classics include the Dell-Vikings’s “Come Go With Me” and “To Know Him Is To Love Him.” “”To Know Him Is to Love Him” is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father’s tombstone, “To Know Him Was to Love Him.” It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member, the Teddy Bears. Their recording spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958,[4] while reaching No. 2 on the UK’s New Musical Express chart. Peter & Gordon and Bobby Vinton later had hits with the song, with its title and lyrics changed to “To Know You Is to Love You”. In 1987, the song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the U.S. country singles chart. The song is in 12/8 time.” How many of these songs do you remember? Any favorites? GRADE: B+ (for both)
TRACK LIST for The Fabulous Fifties: Great Memories
| 1 | Andy Williams– | Butterfly |
| 2 | Pat Boone– | April Love |
| 3 | Nat King Cole– | Unforgetttable |
| 4 | Elvis Presley– | Are You Lonesome Tonight? |
| 5 | Morris Stoloff– | Moonglow And Theme From “Picnic” |
| 6 | Al Hibbler– | Unchained Melody |
| 7 | Eddy Arnold– | Make The World Go Away |
| 8 | Paul Anka– | Diana |
| 9 | Perry Como– | Juke Box Baby |
| 10 | Eddie Fisher– | Dungaree Doll |
| 11 | Georgia Gibbs– | Dance With Me Henry (The Wallflower) |
| 12 | Lou Monte– | Lazy Mary (Luna Mezz ‘O Mare) |
| 13 | The Ames Brothers– | The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane |
| 14 | Jaye P. Morgan– | That’s All I Want From You |
| 15 | Jim Reeves– | Four Walls |
TRACK LIST for 50’s Sock Hop:
| 1 | The Everly Brothers*– | Wake Up Little Susie | 1:59 |
| 2 | Buddy Holly– | Peggy Sue | 2:28 |
| 3 | Big Bopper– | Chantilly Lace | 2:22 |
| 4 | Danny & The Juniors– | At The Hop | 2:31 |
| 5 | Frankie Avalon– | Venus | 2:21 |
| 6 | Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers– | Why Do Fools Fall In Love | 2:17 |
| 7 | Brenda Lee– | Sweet Nothin’s | 2:21 |
| 8 | The Dell-Vikings– | Come Go With Me | 2:15 |
| 9 | The Teddy Bears– | To Know Him Is To Love Him | 2:18 |
| 10 | Fats Domino– | I’m Walkin’ | 2:12 |
Last night I went to a local concert where the group played all early sixties instrumental music. A lot of it was TV theme songs. I haven’t realized how many of these sort of surfer songs there were. They kept comparing themselves to the Ventures.
Patti, The Ventures were a big instrumental rock band back in the day. And people remember all those TV theme songs!
SOCK HOP hits the mark far better than The Fabulous Fifites, which features some good artists with some good songs and some bland artists with some bland songs.
I’m partial to Nat King Cole, Elvis, Georgia Gibbs, The Big Bopper. Frankie Lymon, and Fats Domino, and I’ll listen to anything by the Everlys or Jim Reeves (who was my father’s favorite singer). I have some great memories of “Lazy Mary” and “At the Hop.” The older I get, the less I appreciate Pat Boone (if I ever had), Andy Williams, Paul Anka, and Eddie Fisher, although my once weak fondness for Perry Como continues to grow.
And keep those pesky kids off my lawn!
Jerry, my mother was a big fan of Andy Williams, Eddie Fisher, and Perry Como so I heard a lot of that music while growing up. Glad these tunes jogged your memory!
George, I can guarantee you that’s not me in the picture–I don’t think I ever had that much hair even when I was a kid. This is just a guess, but I’d say my love for this music began in ’51 or ’52, but I also have it in my mind that it started with Elvis, which just isn’t possible–Elvis didn’t hit it big until ’56 with “Heartbreak Hotel”. I can’t say much for the Great Memories album since I’m unfamiliar with about half the songs. The Sock Hop album is much better. I’m familiar with all the songs but am drawing a blank with some of the artists. I’m sure there are more, but I’d say there are three glaring omissions–Roy Orbison and the two genuine madmen of 50s rock, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
Michael, there were several CDs in the TIME-LIFE series THE FABULOUS FIFTIES. I’m sure Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard show up on one of those discs. You’re right about Elvis being a touchstone for those years!
And where is Chuck Berry? I know the songs on cd 2 better than the ones on cd 1. Way too many artists I dislike (Eddie Fisher, Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, Perry Como ) or indifferent to like the Teddy Bears (can’t imagine ever liking anything by a group with that horrible name). I would give the first cd a D, the second a B-.
I didn’t listen much to music until the British Invasion. Before that the only albums I had were best of’s by The Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry and Brenda Lee.
I hate the tern sock hop. Something that had disappeared by the timed I was in High School.
At least there is nothing here by The Four Seasons whom I detest. ( How can people listen to Valli’s whining for 2 1/2 minutes on song after song is lost on me. And they kept that greasy hair for long after it was out of style.
Steve, the Fifties had a lot of transition from “traditional” singers like Eddie Fisher, Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, Perry Como, and Andy Williams to the Elvis, the Everly Brothers, the Platters, the Drifters, and so many early rock ‘n roll groups. Sock Hop faded out quickly in the early 1960s.
George, they weren’t so much “traditional” (since most of the most popular singers at the dawn of recording tended to be operatic, even the pop singers…Jolson giving way to Bing Crosby was about when that ended, when not “hillbilly” or “race” singers, who tended to sell less widely), so much as post-Crosby, post-Modernaires, post-Sinatra pop.
Valli and similar falsetto singers were a kind of last gasp of the operatic tradition reapplied to more recent pop trends. But I sure didn’t like his falsetto singing, either. It’s a sad commentary when one of one’s least unlistenable songs is the theme from GREASE.
I recently added the 50s station to my Sirius XM choices in the car but, so far, it seems that every time I tune in, they are playing novelty songs.
When I was young, our family did a lot of road-tripping. Us kids did our share of singing (my poor parents!) but my Mom always had the radio on. There are a few here I don’t recognize; I have very fond memories of the rest.
Beth, same here. My mother and father would play the radio in the car on Family Road Trips and I got to know many of these songs very well! Hearing them again brings back a lot of memories!
By coincidence, just a couple of days ago I was listening to a 4 CD set, TOP HITS OF THE FIFTIES (1956-1957-1958-1959). Lots of good stuff, including artists mentioned here as missing from your set. I admit I skipped stuff by Eddie Fisher (yuck!), Patti Page (who I dislike intensely, though at least it isn’t “Doggie in the Window”) and Andy Williams. When we moved to Brooklyn in 1958, we discovered our landlord’s family loved Perry Como, whose show was filmed a few blocks away from us. Like Jerry, I have a soft spot for him. This collection has artists missing from your collections – Jerry Lee Lewis, for one – but not others (no Little Richard). Note to Michael and Steve: Roy Orbison and The Four Seasons were ’60s, not ’50s, though both started out (Orbison as a writer) in the ’50s.
I’ve always been a fan of late ’50s/early ’60s instrumentals (Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” is my favorite, but I like “Moonglow & Theme from Picnic” here). On these two, my favorites are definitely Fats Domino, The Dell-Vikings (there was a great scene in AMERICAN HOT WAX recording “Come Go With Me” – “Okay, try five doms and a dom-be-doo-be” – with Kenny Vance & the Planotones in the Dell Vikings’ role) and Buddy Holly. Jackie liked Frankie Avalon’s “Venus” as a youth.
One other I remember: when my father first got a stereo , I can remember vividly some of the LPs he bought and played regularly. Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett live, a Belafonte calypso album, Della Reese (“Della Della Cha Cha Cha”), original cast albums of MY FAIR LADY and CAMELOT, MUSIC FOR DINING and MORE MUSIC FOR DINING (among Mantovani albums), MUSIC FROM MILLION DOLLAR MOVIES (themes from LAURA and LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING, among others). These were all RCA Victor records and I think he belonged to a record club. ANyway, another was an album of Million Sellers that had little in common, but one song was here – “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane.”
Jeff, I have TOP HITS OF THE FIFTIES around here somewhere. My mother and father loved Broadway soundtracks so we had a pile of those to listen to.
OK, here is the first, the Top Hits of 1956. I can’t swear to the accuracy, but they list the top chart position on the right, and of the 20 songs here, 10 were #1s, another 6 were #2s, and the others reached #3-4-5 and 7 (Eddie Fisher). To me, this is a very YOUR HIT PARADE list (for any geezers out there who remember that show).
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes
Johnny Ray, Just Walking in the Rain
Tennessee Ernie Ford, Sixteen Tons
Kay Starr, Rock and Roll Waltz
The Four Lads, Standing on the Corner
The Platters, The Great Pretender
Perry Como, Hot Diggity
Guy Mitchell, Singing the Blues
Patti Page, Allegheny Moon
Les Baxter, The Poor People of Paris
Gogi Grant, The Wayward Wind
Pat Boone, I almost Lost My Mind
The Chordettes, Born to Be With You
Hugo Winterhalter, Canadian Sunset
Eddie Fisher, Dungaree Doll
Jim Lowe, Green Door
Cathy Carr, Ivory Tower
Don Cherry, Band of Gold (not to be confused with the great Freda Payne song of the same name!)
Nelson Riddle, Lisbon Antigua
Doris Day, Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)
I believe the only one on this list still living is Pat Boone.
-I regmember most of these songs – they were played al lday and night on my favourite stations:
AFN and english radio Luxemburg.
And from 1957 or 1958 I had a really good radio with FM and shortwave even.
Wolf, we had a 50,000 watt AM radio station in Buffalo that broadcast over a thousand miles at night (when a lot of radios stations signed-off so there was less competition for band-with). FM came in strong in the 1970s but the range was limited.
Much better collection on the Rockola jukebox in my basement. For Elvis, you need the first one I ever heard, which was That’s Alright, Mamma, and for Domino Blueberry Hill.
Kent, I remember “That’s Alright, Mamma” and “Blueberry Hill” well. I’m sure they’re included on one of the other FABULOUS FIFTIES CDs.
The Beatles had a fine rendition of “To Know Her is to Love Her.!” Naturally, being an ancient fart, I know nearly all of these songs and singers/musicians! I have my SiriusXM presets at ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s music as well as Beatles and Elvis! On the non-musical side I have Howard Stern and a local talk radio show!
Bob, I have to go through the pricing dance with Sirus/XM radio next week when my subscription runs out. They want $23 a month…I’m going to hold out for my current subscription price of $5 a month.
Late to the party, I know. On the full 9-disc set, Fats Domino has Blueberry Hill and Ain’t That a Shame. No Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis. It does have the first record I ever bought for myself, Tom Dooley by the Kingston Trio.
Jeff, I only have three or four CDs in the 9-disc set of THE FABULOUS FIFTIES. In general, I’m fond of the various TIME-LIFE music series.
In cleaning out my mother-in-law’s house, I found dozens of big Time-Life vinyl sets in a trunk down the basement. I certainly considered taking them, but in the end let them go. Had they been cd sets…
Jeff, I think you made the Right Decision. I’m not a vinyl guy. I love CDs and continue to acquire them at ridiculously cheap prices as Baby Boomers dump their CD collections and go with music streaming services.
Vinyl might just survive longer in playable form (alas all systems), but it also destroys itself at least a little with every play (since no one seems willing to produce affordable laser-stylus record players).
I’ve always hated surface noise. Not to mention skips and scratches (which plague cds and dvds as well, among other laser media, alas).
Todd, like you I hate the skips and scratches, the pops and the hiss of some vinyl records. Yes, CDs have problems, too, but generally fewer of them.