Fantastic Oldies Game!

[barnaby_wilde]

Not only did the "House Of the Rising Sun" do well in its own right, its melody and lyrics were also recognized as interchangeable with those of "Amazing Grace" and "The Gilligan's Island Theme."

 

[Those RRRRs]

I have heard of an island,
where young lovers often go,
they say it's wonderful, wonderful,
I wanna go, go, go,
I wanna go, go, go
because I read about it,
heard about it, talked so very much about it,
that's where we belong....

The great song called "Island Of Love," The Sheppards, 1959, on Apex records, not to be confused with "Lovers Island," The Blue Jays, 1961 on Milestone records.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Johnny Mathis' first hit, from 1957, was "Wonderful! Wonderful!" but the Philadelphia soul group The Tymes -- whose first hit "So Much In Love" is one of the best of all times -- actually had the bigger seller with their version of "Wonderful! Wonderful!" in 1963.

 

[Those RRRRs]

I was hoping someone would throw in Mathis after that last one so I could mention that Johnny Mathis had a brother named Ralph, who had a group called The Ambers that recorded three records between 1958 and 1960, the first one was called "Never Let You Go" and it is not to be confused with "Never Let You Go" by The Five Discs recorded in 1962 on Cheer Records.

 

[Don62]

I was hoping someone would throw in Mathis after that last one so I could mention that Johnny Mathis had a brother named Ralph, who had a group called The Ambers that recorded three records between 1958 and 1960, the first one was called "Never Let You Go" and it is not to be confused with "Never Let You Go" by The Five Discs recorded in 1962 on Cheer Records.

The Five Discs had a doo-wop gem called I Remember.

 

[AlexBrowne]

The Shangri-las, a "girl group" quartet from Queens, New York, made up of two sets of sisters, are best known for their gold single "Leader Of The Pack," but their first hit, also very popular, was "Remember (Walkin' In the Sand)," which featured the sound of seagulls.

[Partly personal here: The Shangri-las attended Andrew Jackson High School where my father was the principal.]

 

[Those RRRRs]

"The Sand and the Sea" is a forgotten gem recorded by The Duprees, but an even harder to find and even possibly better version was done by Sal and The Echoes.

 

[amfmsw]

I remember walking the beach in Wildwood in '63 listening to the "sound of the Tymes on Radio 99". I also remember a great song by the Five Discs called "Never Let You Go", that we would Stomp to. And it's a good thing Johnny Mathis didn't win in the Olympics in 1952 (field & track). It gave us some of the most beautiful music ever.

 

[Those RRRRs]

Ooooh! So many directions in which to go with that one.

We've mentioned The Five Discs, Mathis, and The Tymes, and Wildwood Days would be obvious, but did you ever "Dance By The Light Of The Moon" and then take your baby to a "Western Movie"...a couple of gems by The Olympics!

 

[AlexBrowne]

Many of Elvis Presley's hits were popular with fans of both rock 'n roll and country 'n western music, including these that reached #1 on both the Top 40 and Country charts: "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear," and "Jailhouse Rock."

 

[Don62]

Many of Elvis Presley's hits were popular with fans of both rock 'n roll and country 'n western music, including these that reached #1 on both the Top 40 and Country charts: "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear," and "Jailhouse Rock."

Johnny Preston had a great one during the late 50s called Running Bear.
Something about a dove in the words.

 

[AlexBrowne]

"Running Bear" was written by J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, whose biggest hit was "Chantilly Lace," and who perished with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, "the day the music died..."

 

[Don62]

"Running Bear" was written by J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper, whose biggest hit was "Chantilly Lace," and who perished with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, "the day the music died..."

1959 ( 4 years before I was born ) was a fantastic year for rock and roll music.

http://pages.map.com/freek/1959.html

One my favorites from that great year is Love Portion No. 9 by the Clovers.
THere's too many to mention.
My first choice was going to be Mack The Knife from Bobby Darin.
But then I saw the list of the songs....

 

[AlexBrowne]

"Mack The Knife," the biggest hit of 1959 and of Bobby Darin's career, was a most interesting arrangement, sounding quite different than it had in its original German form in 1928 as a song from "The Threepenny Opera" by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, with the well-known English translation by Marc Blitzstein.

 

[Don62]

"Mack The Knife," the biggest hit of 1959 and of Bobby Darin's career, was a most interesting arrangement, sounding quite different than it had in its original German form in 1928 as a song from "The Threepenny Opera" by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, with the well-known English translation by Marc Blitzstein.

Speaking of Bobby, and keeping this to 1959 - a golden year of rock and roll - despite what the dorks running radio today think (they think '72 is superior ) - Bobby Rydell had a great one called We Got Love..

List o 1959 hits..
http://pages.map.com/freek/1959.html

 

[AlexBrowne]

The musical Grease is set in Rydell High School, a nod to the earlier days of rock 'n roll, and the movie version of it includes two songs that became #1 hits in 1978: "You're The One That I Want" by the movie's stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John; and "Grease," the title song by Frankie Valli (written and produced by Barry Gibb).

 

[Don62]

The musical Grease is set in Rydell High School, a nod to the earlier days of rock 'n roll, and the movie version of it included two songs that became #1 hits in 1978: "You're The One That I Want" by the movie's stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John; and "Grease," the title song by Frankie Valli (written and produced by Barry Gibb).

The first rock and roll song to hit No. 1 on the national charts was Rock Around The Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets.

I imagine many oldies PDs didn't even know that fact.
They may not even be familiar with the song, judging from their "end product."

 

[AlexBrowne]

"(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley And His Comets was #1 on the charts for eight weeks beginning July 9, 1955, replacing "Unchained Melody" by Les Baxter, his Chorus and Orchestra, and then in September, "The Yellow Rose Of Texas," by Mitch Miller & his Orch. and Chorus, bumped Haley out of the top spot.

 

[Don62]

Speaking of rock, one year earlier, in 1958, another great year, this was a big hit:

Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay Danny & The Juniors #19

 

[AlexBrowne]

Displayed on the sidewalk of Broad Street in Philadelphia between Walnut and Spruce Streets, also known as the Avenue of the Arts, are 106 bronze plaques that celebrate five decades of Philly's most famous musical personalities, including an incredible list: Frankie Avalon, Dick Clark, John Coltrane, Patti LaBelle, Lee Andrews and the Hearts, Pearl Bailey, Jerry Blavat, Solomon Burke, Chubby Checker, Jim Croce, The Delfonics, The Dovells, Fabian, Eddie Fisher, Gamble & Huff, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Haley, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Gerry Mulligan, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, Phil Spector, the Stylistics, Danny & The Juniors, and many, many more!!