The Eldorados recorded an infectious rocker on the Vee Jay label in Jun 1955, one that featured a distinctive instrumental intro with sax, piano and bass (no drums), and then was reprised as a final musical statement to wrap up the song (no usual fadeout this time). “At My Front Door” was issued in July 1955 and by Labor Day was a smash hit. It’s hit status was assured when Pat Boone issued a cover version on Dot Records. “At My Front Door”, commonly referred to as “Crazy Little Mama” established itself as the biggest selling record in the history of Vee Jay records.AlexBrowne said:"Chapel Of Love" by The Dixie Cups was Red Bird 001, peaked at #1 in June 1964, and had quite a Brill Building pedigree: the first record for label owners Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector; and officially produced by Leiber, Stoller, Barry, and Greenwich.
Gary U.S. Bonds’ recorded “New Orleans”, which became a smash hit record, reaching the top ten in the Fall of 1960. “Quarter To Three” became a huge hit and topped the charts in the Summer of 1961. Bonds followed with three more top ten hits within a year: "School Is Out", "Dear Lady Twist", and "Twist, Twist Senora". His career headed into a twenty-year decline, although he did write “Friend Don't Take Her”, a song that was recorded by country-western artist Johnny Paycheck in 1972. In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence, working off collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band. Later hits included "This Little Girl", "Jolé Blon" and "Out Of Work". Bonds continues to release albums sporadically, and today is a mainstay of the nostalgia concert circuit.AlexBrowne said:While Vee-Jay specialized in R&B and blues, they are perhaps best known for their #1 recordings of The 4 Seasons ("Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like A Man") and their distribution of early Beatles singles that Capitol refused to release in the U.S. (including "Please Please Me" and "Do You Want To Know A Secret," as well as "Twist and Shout" and "Love Me Do" on Vee-Jay's Tollie subsidiary).
Smiley Lewis (given name Overton Amos Lemons) was a giant of New Orleans R & B in the early 50s. He scored his first national hit in 1952 with “The Bells Are Ringing”, and enjoyed his biggest sales in 1955 with the original recorded version of “I Hear You Knocking” (with Huey ‘Piano’ Smith on piano). Many of Smiley’s tunes were later covered by artists such as Fats Domino ("I Hear You Knocking", "Blue Monday"), Gale Storm ("I Hear You Knocking") and Elvis ("One Night"). Lewis died in 1966 from stomach cancer, all but forgotten outside of his New Orleans home base.Those RRRRs said:Michael (The Lover) was a 1965 hit on Kellmac Records for Robert Lewis & The COD's, a group that originated in Chicago.
Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (aka Rick Nelson), was the younger son of Ozzie Nelson, the leader of a big band, and Harriet Hilliard Nelson, the band's singer. As one of America’s first teen idols from 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 top 40 hits, more than any other artist at the time, except Elvis Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (who had 38). When Billboard introduced the Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958, Nelson's single "Poor Little Fool" became the first song ever in the #1 position on that chart. In addition to his recording career, Nelson also appeared in movies, including Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959) The Wackiest Ship In the Army(1960) and Love and Kisses(1965). In 1972, Nelson reached the top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him when he tried playing new songs instead of just his old hits from the 1950s and 1960s. "Garden Party" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and was certified as a gold single. Imperial released Ricky’s recording, “It’s Late” backed by “Never Be Anyone Else But You” which went to #9 on the Billboard Pop Chart in 1959.Those RRRRs said:The late Perez Prado composed an instrumental entitled "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" for a 1954 movie entitled "Underwater" starring Jane Russell.
The Innocents, a male harmony group out of southern California, cut their second record, ”Gee Whiz” backed with “Please Mr. Sun” on the Indigo label in late 1960. This platter went to #28 nationwide for 11 weeks. The Innocents had a recognizable and unusual (slightly off-key?) sound based on three voices almost harmonizing, backed by a reverb-drenched guitar playing arpeggios and clutch chords. Indigo Records was a California record label that was formed in 1960. The Indigo label was short lived, as it went out of business in 1962, but during that time managed to issue almost 50 singles and five LPs. The Innocents, although they were stars in L.A., had no further chart hits, and they disbanded in 1964.Those RRRRs said:"Little Fool" from NYC's Charlie & Ray, a great R&B duo, was the flipside of a song called "Mad With You Baby" on Herald Records in 1956, and although both sides were great in my opinion, neither was as great as their best known song called "Oh Gee Oh Wee."
Freddie King (no relation to B.B. or Albert King), one of the lynchpins of modern blues guitar, recorded “Hide Away” as the flip side of “I Love The Woman”, on the Federal label in late 1960. (Hide Away was named after Mel's Hideaway Lounge, a Chicago blues club.) Strictly an instrumental -- guitar with rhythm section -- it delighted everyone by crossing over and reaching #29 on the US pop chart in 1961. It is one of his most famous works and became one of his signature numbers. In 2003 Freddie King was placed 25th in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.AlexBrowne said:Nat "King" Cole was one of the most popular singers in recording history, boasting some 120 charted singles, from the first, "All For You" in 1943, through the 1966 posthumously-released "Let Me Tell You, Babe"; his daughter, Natalie, revived him from the dead with her 1991 "duet" which featured her singing along with Nat's 1961 recording of "Unforgettable," and every December his mellow tones are all over the airwaves telling us of chestnuts roasting on an open fire in the holiday classic "The Christmas Song," with lyrics by Mel Torme.
In 1963 at the age of 13, Little Stevie Wonder had his first major hit, "Fingertips (Pt. 2)". The song, featuring Wonder on vocals, bongos, and harmonica, and a young Marvin Gaye on drums, was a #1 hit on the US pop charts. Stevie Wonder, singer, songwriter, and record producer has recorded more than thirty top ten hits, won twenty-two Grammy Awards (a record for a solo artist), plus one for lifetime achievement, won an Academy Award for Best Song and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.AlexBrowne said:The Silkie was a British folk quartet made up of students from Hull University who got together in 1963, recorded a number of Bob Dylan songs, and then became a one-hit wonder on the U.S. charts: friends of The Beatles and managed by Brian Epstein, their cover version of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," from the movie Help!, featured musical accompaniment and production assistance from The Beatles, and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1965.