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There are some songs that will never disappear from the cultural zeitgeist. โHey Judeโ will be played forever, and โShoutโ has become a cultural norm at most wedding receptions. Whether theyโre undeniably fantastic or just have their perfect place and time, these songs will never be forgotten. Then thereโs the other side of that coin. Songs that were massive hits but have been largely lost to the sands of time. Songs from the ’50s.
Today, weโre going to take a peek at the second group. As the ’50s get farther and farther awayโ 1950 wasnโt just fifty years ago anymoreโ more of the songs that people loved are relegated to the history books. So letโs revive some today.
1. โMaybelleneโ – Chuck Berry
When you think of legendary Rock nโ Roll pioneer Chuck Berry the first two songs that spring to mind are his classics โJohnny B. Goodeโ and โRoll Over Beethoven.โ However, it was 1955โs โMaybelleneโ that first shot Berry to stardom and helped create rock music as fans know it.ย
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With its raucous guitar riffs and classic rock subject of fast cars and teenage heartbreak, โMaybelleneโ was universally loved. In fact, it was one of the first songs that were a hit on all three of the rhythm and blues, country and western and pop charts. While it may not get as much airplay as some of Berryโs other hits these days, โMaybelleneโ might have had the biggest impact on the emerging genre of rock.ย
Berryโs guitar playing on the song is so influential that Rolling Stone magazine simply states, โRock N Roll guitar starts here.โ Everyone from Clapton to Cobain certainly owes Chuck Berry a big old thank you for โMaybellene.โ
2. โWalkinโ After Midnightโ – Patsy Cline
Anyone who has experienced the loneliness and dejection of heartbreak can relate to the mournful lyrics of Patsy Clineโs 1957 single โWalkinโ After Midnight.โ Originally written for pop singer Kay Starr, the song sat unused on the shelf for three years after Starrโs rejection of it.ย
Cline was also initially hesitant to release the song. It wasnโt until after a performance on Arthur Godfreyโs Talent Scouts in which the audience reaction broke the in-house applause meter that she rushed to put the single out. โWalkinโ After Midnightโ blends blues and country to great effect, beautifully painting a portrait of a spurned lover adrift in the world. And audiences loved it.ย
The song went to #2 on the country charts and made Patsy Cline a star. While she may be better known for her 1960โs hits like โCrazy,โ โWalkinโ After Midnightโ might best distill Clineโs unique combination of pop, blues, jazz, and country down to its pure essence.
3. โThatโll Be the Dayโ – Buddy Holly
The world almost didnโt get to experience the awesomeness that is Buddy Hollyโs first hit song. Hollyโs record label was unhappy with the performance of his previous singles and refused to release “That’ll Be The Day.” So Holly formed a new band, The Crickets, signed to a new record label, and the rest is history.
โThatโll Be the Dayโ was among the first wave of massive rock and roll hits to sweep the nation. It shot to number one on the charts, and Holly and The Crickets are credited with popularizing the standard rock lineup of two guitarists, one bass player, one drummer. Unfortunately for the world, โThatโll Be the Day” ended up being one of the last recordings released by Holly, as he tragically died in a plane crash in 1959โ synonymous with the day the music died.ย
The influence of โThatโll Be the Dayโ didnโt die with him though. A cover of the song was the first thing ever recorded by The Quarrymenโ a group that would evolve into a little-known band named The Beatles.
4. โCherry Pink and Apple Blossom Whiteโ – Perez Prado
A wave of mambo fever swept the nation in the ’50s, and the man in the eye of the storm was Cuban bandleader Perez Prado. America had gotten its first taste of Perezโs Latin flair when he released โMambo No. 5โ in 1950, but the craze didnโt reach its peak until the release of 1955โs โCherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.โย
The song, an up-tempo, irresistibly catchy instrumental piece, flew up the charts, staying at number one for ten weeks and selling a million copies. Perez recorded โCherry Pink and Apple Blossom Whiteโ for the movie Underwater!, with Jane Russel famously dancing to the song. Which makes perfect sense, because who hears that trumpet and doesnโt start shaking their hips?ย
Unfortunately, the popularity of the mambo nosedived with the end of the 50s, and today Pradoโs gem isnโt heard nearly enough. But if you ever want a sure way to get a party started, throw โCherry Pink and Apple Blossom Whiteโ on and people will be grooving in no time.
5. โWhole Lotta Shakinโ Goin Onโ – Jerry Lee Lewis
When Jerry Lee Lewis first showed up at famous Sun Studio in Memphis in the ’50s, Tennessee the recording engineer told him, โWe don’t do much country around here. We’re in the rock and roll business. You ought to go home and work up some rock & roll numbers.โ And boy did he.ย
Lewis got his hands on the song โWhole Lotta Shakinโ Goin On,โ an R&B song about dancing. He then added his trademark propulsive piano, suggestive spoken asides, and turned the speed up to a billion, and voila, a rock and roll classic about, um, โadult dancing.โ The song was an instant hit, and the world was introduced to โthe Killer.โย
Although heโs remembered more today for โGreat Balls of Fire,โ it was โWhole Lotta Shakinโ Goin On,’ ‘ a song that has been described as the quintessential rockabilly anthem that truly established Lewisโ greatness.ย
6. โYou Send Meโ – Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke basically invented Soul music in the ’50s and paved the way for greats like Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye to follow in his footsteps. It all started with โYou Send Me,โ Cookeโs first single.ย
โYou Send Meโ is a love song that introduced the public to Cookeโs almost impossibly smooth singing voice. And the public loved it. โYou Send Meโ shot to number one on the R&B charts. However, record companies were skeptical that a black artist could have crossover appeal, and in a move typical of the times had a white singer, Teresa Brewer, record a version aimed at the pop charts.
ย But in a slap to the face to racists everywhere Cookeโs version also went to number one on the pop charts, significantly outperforming Brewerโs version. Overnight Cooke became a massive star, beloved by everyone, white, black, old, young, and the godfather of soul was born.
7. โRocket 88โ – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats
And now in a slight departure for this list, we have a song that you havenโt forgotten was awesome, but only because you probably have never heard of it in the first place. But awesome is an understatement when talking about โRocket 88.โ Aside from being an outstanding song in its own right, โRocket 88โ is acknowledged as the first rock song recorded. Ever. Let that sink in.ย
Credited to Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm, โRocket 88โ merged jump blues and up-tempo swing and was played in a free-flowing, raw manner to create a genre that was brand new.ย
The song also features one of the first known recordings of a distorted guitarโ the bandโs bass amp had been damaged and producer Sam Phillips filled it with a newspaper in an attempt to fix it. It didnโt work, but the resulting fuzz sound was kept and the rest is history. Ike Turner would go on to have great success working with his wife Tina in the 60s and 70s, but people forget he got his start by basically inventing rock music.
There you have them. Some of the most awesome songs from the โ50s that you forgot were awesome. Which of these songs do you love? What forgotten โ50s songs did we too forget?