Fantastic Oldies Game!

[AlexBrowne]

It was not a huge hit when it was released in 1958 -- it was the B-side of "Donna" and peaked at only #22 on the Billboard Hot #100 -- but Ritchie Valens' upbeat version of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba" is among rock 'n' roll's most enduring recordings, particularly those sung in a foreign language; Valens, a Californian, learned the Spanish lyrics phonetically because he had spoken English from birth, and the song was still on the charts when he died in the infamous "day the music died" plane crash on February 3, 1959.

 

[GridLeakBias]

It was not a huge hit when it was released in 1958 -- it was the B-side of "Donna" and peaked at only #22 on the Billboard Hot #100 -- but Ritchie Valens' upbeat version of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba" is among rock 'n' roll's most enduring recordings, particularly those sung in a foreign language; Valens, a Californian, learned the Spanish lyrics phonetically because he had spoken English from birth, and the song was still on the charts when he died in the infamous "day the music died" plane crash on February 3, 1959.

March 3, 1963, after performing at a benefit show in Kansas City, Patsy Cline boarded a Piper Comanche bound for Nashville, flown by her manager Randy Hughes, along with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. However, they never made it to Nashville. The plane flew into severe weather and crashed at 6:20 p.m., according to Patsy's wristwatch, in a forest just outside of Camden, Tennessee, only 90 miles from their destination. There were no survivors. Patsy Cline was 30 years old. In 1973, Cline was elected to The Country Music Hall of Fame, making her the first female solo artist in country music history to receive that honor.

 

[AlexBrowne]

After Patsy Cline's death, Decca released two of her singles that charted later in 1963: "Sweet Dreams (Of You)," previously a country hit for Faron Young in 1956; and "Faded Love," previously a country hit for Bob Wills in 1950.

 

[andreajesus]

1963 was the LAST year that American pop music dominated the American charts, before the arrival of four long-haired boys from Liverpool a year later...

 

[AlexBrowne]

Guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn were key sessionmen for Stax Records' notable Memphis soul sound, providing backup work on many great recordings; the two were also members of three great groups: the Mar-Keys (whose biggest hit was "Last Night" in 1961), Booker T. & The MG's (whose biggest hit was "Green Onions" in 1962; note that the late Isaac Hayes, who passed away this week, played piano on some MG's records); and the Blues Brothers (whose biggest hit was "Soul Man" in 1978).

 

[GridLeakBias]

Guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn were key sessionmen for Stax Records' notable Memphis soul sound, providing backup work on many great recordings; the two were also members of three great groups: the Mar-Keys (whose biggest hit was "Last Night" in 1961), Booker T. & The MG's (whose biggest hit was "Green Onions" in 1962; note that the late Isaac Hayes, who passed away this week, played piano on some MG's records); and the Blues Brothers (whose biggest hit was "Soul Man" in 1978).

The Brothers Four began as a folk group in 1957 in Seattle, Washington. They left for San Francisco in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager. Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a contract with Columbia Records. Their second single, "Greenfields," released in January 1960, hit #2 on the pop charts, and their first album, Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the top 20. They also hit with their single "The Green Leaves of Summer". They recorded the theme song for the ABC television series Hootenanny, "Hootenanny Saturday Night", in 1963, but dropped in relative obscurity with the advent of the British invasion.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Tony Bennett's theme song may be "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," but it was only a modest hit, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962; the Columbia recording artist (who's still going strong!) had a number of bigger hits, including three #1 records in the pre-rock era: "Because Of You" (1951, his first charted single), "Cold, Cold Heart" (1951), and "Rags To Riches" (1953).

 

[GridLeakBias]

Tony Bennett's theme song may be "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," but it was only a modest hit, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962; the Columbia recording artist (who's still going strong!) had a number of bigger hits, including three #1 records in the pre-rock era: "Because Of You" (1951, his first charted single), "Cold, Cold Heart" (1951), and "Rags To Riches" (1953).

Lloyd Price, a native of New Orleans, had a massive hit with his first single on Specialty, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”. Dave Barthomew and his band (with Fats Domino on piano) was the backup band on this recording session. Price had no more chart hits with Specialty and went on to form KRC (Kent Records). The first single on this label was “Just Because”, which was picked up by ABC Records. From 1957 to 1959 Price recorded a series of national hits on ABC-Paramount that were successful adaptations of the New Orleans sound, such as "Stagger Lee", "Personality", and "I'm Gonna Get Married". "Stagger Lee" topped the pop and R&B charts and sold over a million copies. Dick Clark insisted the violent content of the song be toned down when Price appeared on American Bandstand but it was still the "violent" version that was on top of the R&B charts of 1959.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Van Morrison first came to public attention as the vocalist for Them, the rock band from Belfast, and the writer of their classic song "Gloria," released in 1965 and re-released in 1968, but he became well-known for such solo hits as "Brown Eyed Girl" (1967) and "Domino" (1970), and for the title cut from his 1970 album "Moondance."

 

[GridLeakBias]

Van Morrison first came to public attention as the vocalist for Them, the rock band from Belfast, and the writer of their classic song "Gloria," released in 1965 and re-released in 1968, but he became well-known for such solo hits as "Brown Eyed Girl" (1967) and "Domino" (1970), and for the title cut from his 1970 album "Moondance."

Chuck Berry’s first LP, “After School Session”, was released May 1, 1957. It contains such classics as “School Days”, “Too Much Monkey Business”, “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”, and “Havana Moon.” Neither it nor its six successor albums made Billboard’s album charts, as rock and roll was [at that time] still largely a singles medium. (“School Days” was recorded in Jan 1957 and as a Chess single went to #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the pop chart the week of May 13, 1957.)

 

[AlexBrowne]

In 1961, after his biggest hit, the #1 "Quarter To Three," Gary (U.S.) Bonds released "School Is Out" to celebrate the summer vacation, followed by "School Is In" which entered the charts in the fall; which was the more popular concept with record-buying teens? "School Is Out" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 as Bonds' second biggest hit, while "School Is In" only made it to #28.

 

[GridLeakBias]

In 1961, after his biggest hit, the #1 "Quarter To Three," Gary (U.S.) Bonds released "School Is Out" to celebrate the summer vacation, followed by "School Is In" which entered the charts in the fall; which was the more popular concept with record-buying teens? "School Is Out" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 as Bonds' second biggest hit, while "School Is In" only made it to #28.

Connie Francis specialized in downbeat ballads (often remakes of old standards) delivered in her trademark "sobbing" style, such as "Who's Sorry Now?" (#4 1957), "My Happiness" (#2 1959), "Among My Souvenirs" (#7 1959), "Together" (#6 1961), "Breakin' In a Brand New Broken Heart" (#7 1961), and the Italian song "Mama" (#8 1960). However, she also had success with a handful of more upbeat, rock-and-roll-oriented compositions, such as "Stupid Cupid" (#15 1958), "Lipstick On Your Collar" (#5 1959), and "Vacation" (#9 1962). Both "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" went to #1 on the Billboard music charts in 1960.

Billboard chart historian Joel Whitburn ranks Connie Francis as the top female vocalist on the Adult Contemporary chart during the 1960s. In 1961, Francis was the first female artist to score a #1 Billboard AC single, with "Together" (#6 Pop, #1 AC).

 

[AlexBrowne]

The Beatles' last #1 song in the '60s (they were to have their final two #1 singles, "Let It Be" and "The Long And Winding Road," in 1970) was "Come Together" from the album Abbey Road; it introduced listeners to phrases they had never heard before, including "joo-joo eyeball," "toe-jam football," "monkey finger," "walrus gumboot," "spinal cracker," and "mojo filter."

 

[GridLeakBias]

The Beatles' last #1 song in the '60s (they were to have their final two #1 singles, "Let It Be" and "The Long And Winding Road," in 1970) was "Come Together" from the album Abbey Road; it introduced listeners to phrases they had never heard before, including "joo-joo eyeball," "toe-jam football," "monkey finger," "walrus gumboot," "spinal cracker," and "mojo filter."

Mojo is a term commonly encountered in the African-American folk belief called hoodoo. A mojo is a type of magic charm, often of red flannel cloth and tied with a drawstring, containing botanical, zoological, and/or mineral curios, petition papers, and the like. It is typically worn under clothing. The mojo referred to in Blues music is most commonly used by a woman, e.g.,

In "Spider's Nest Blues" by Hattie Hart and the Memphis Jug Band, Hart wants to go to New Orleans to get her toby (mojo) "fixed" because she is "having so much trouble" -- the mojo is protective and its power is wearing off, as witnessed by the "bad luck" she is having.

In "Louisiana Hoo Doo Blues" by Ma Rainey, the mojo is protective of an established love relationship and the singer is going to Louisiana to get a mojo hand because she's "gotta stop these women from taking my man."

In "Little Queen of Spades" by Robert Johnson, the woman has a mojo and uses it to gamble at cards and win, and the mojo explains her otherwise inexplicable winning streak: "everybody says she's got a mojo, 'cause she's been using that stuff".

In several songs -- notably "Scarey Day Blues", "Talkin' to Myself", and "Ticket Agent Blues" all by Blind Willie McTell -- a woman has "got a mojo and she's tryin' to keep it hid." The hidden mojo is a metaphor for her hidden genitals and the male singer says that he's "got something to find that mojo with." The bag or purse-like mojo symbolizes female genitalia, and in this very sexualized sense, mojos are more often associated with women than with men.

Preston Foster's "I've got my mojo working but it just don't work on you" was not intended as a song for Muddy Waters (“Got My Mojo Working”/”Rock Me”, Chess 1652 - 1957), and the first recording of that song was by a woman, Ann Cole, an R&B/former gospel singer who was the first artist signed to the popular 1950s label Baton Records.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Wow, GLB, you certainly got your mojo working on that encyclopedic answer!

Roger and Jody Miller were not related, but the two country crossover singers' careers intertwined in 1965 when Jody recorded "Queen Of The House," her "answer song" to Roger's #1 country hit "King Of The Road"; while Roger sang of a life on the move, being in the third boxcar of a midnight train heading towards Bangor, Maine, Jody opined that she got out of the house only for bridge club on Tuesday nights.

 

[GridLeakBias]

Wow, GLB, you certainly got your mojo working on that encyclopedic answer!

Roger and Jody Miller were not related, but the two country crossover singers' careers intertwined in 1965 when Jody recorded "Queen Of The House," her "answer song" to Roger's #1 country hit "King Of The Road"; while Roger sang of a life on the move, being in the third boxcar of a midnight train heading towards Bangor, Maine, Jody opined that she got out of the house only for bridge club on Tuesday nights.

Ray Charles pioneered soul music, which became enormously popular among both black and white audiences beginning in the late '50s. In secularizing certain aspects of gospel music (chord changes, song structures, call and response techniques, and vocal screams, wails, and moans) and adding blues based lyrics, he virtually invented a new genre of music. In 1954 he arranged and played piano on Guitar Slim's top R&B hit "The Things I Used to Do" for Specialty Records. In 1955 Charles had a hit in both the R&B and pop fields with his own composition "I've Got a Woman". Using top flight studio musicians Charles had hits consistently on the R&B and pop charts through the late '50s and early ‘60s with "A Fool for You", "Drown In My Own Tears", ”Hallelujah I Love Her So", "Lonely Avenue", "What I Say", "Georgia On My Mind", "Hit the Road Jack", "Ruby", and "Unchain My Heart".

Brother Ray’s history after this point is too complex to relate in this thread.

 

[AlexBrowne]

So, are you lonesome tonight? Loneliness has always been a popular topic in music, and we saw a lot of records that addressed the subject in the '50s and '60s: Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" was a #1 song in 1959, the following year Conway Twitty made the lonely boy even bluer with "Lonely Blue Boy," and in 1963 Duane Eddy gave him a similarly lonely instrument with which to express his loneliness in "Lonely Boy, Lonely Guitar"; in 1959, Don French sang of "Lonely Saturday Night," Charlie Rich's loneliness lasted longer in "Lonely Weekends" in 1960, the Shades of Blue had a "Lonely Summer" in 1966, and poor Jackie Wilson topped 'em all in 1961 with "Lonely Life"; in 1960 Dion sang about his life as a "Lonely Teenager, but by 1961 Elvis Presley with The Jordainaires' lonely subject was all grown up in "Lonely Man," Teddy Vann explained in 1961 that he was a part of "The Lonely Crowd," then in 1963 Jack Nitzsche identified the subject as "The Lonely Surfer" and The O'Jays said he was a "Lonely Drifter"; finally there are the subjects you wouldn't expect would be lonely, but they apparently are, including "Lonely Teardrops" (Jackie Wilson, 1959), "The Lonely Bull (El Solo Torro)" (The Tijuana Brass Featuring Herb Alpert, 1961), a "Lonely Chair" (Lloyd Price, 1963), a "Lonely Guitar" (Annette, 1959), a "Lonely Island" (Sam Cooke, 1958), a "Lonely Street" (Andy Williams, 1959), and the "Lonely Winds" (The Drifters, 1960).

 

[GridLeakBias]

So, are you lonesome tonight? Loneliness has always been a popular topic in music, and we saw a lot of records that addressed the subject in the '50s and '60s...

Great research Alex, you get a gold star by your name today.

If I may, I’ll add one to your excellent “lonely” list:
"Only the Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)" was co-written and recorded on Monument Records by Roy Orbison, it became his first major hit (#2 on Billboard pop charts) in May 1960. As an operatic rock ballad, it was a sound unheard of at the time, and is seen as a seminal event in the evolution of Rock and Roll. Country singer Sonny James covered the song in 1969 and had a #1 hit on the Billboard country music charts. "Only The Lonely" was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

 

[AlexBrowne]

Texas-born singer/guitarist Roy Head charted 24 country hits and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, but many folks know him best from "Treat Her Right," his 1965 pop hit, his first and biggest (#2 on the Billboard pop charts), recorded with his group The Traits; it offers a simple "method" which can ensure that a guy will get "a reputation as a lovin' man" by treating his woman right: "squeeze her real gentle, you gotta make her feel good, tell her that you love her like you know you should.... and you'll be glad every night that you're treatin' her right!"

 

[GridLeakBias]

Texas-born singer/guitarist Roy Head charted 24 country hits and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, but many folks know him best from "Treat Her Right," his 1965 pop hit, his first and biggest (#2 on the Billboard pop charts), recorded with his group The Traits; it offers a simple "method" which can ensure that a guy will get "a reputation as a lovin' man" by treating his woman right: "squeeze her real gentle, you gotta make her feel good, tell her that you love her like you know you should.... and you'll be glad every night that you're treatin' her right!"

Once lined with honky-tonks, the Tennessee portion of U.S. 45 was named Rockabilly Highway on July 4, 2008 in honor of the men who brought Rockabilly and Rock & Roll to a nation and eventually the world. The naming of the highway was enacted by the Tennessee legislature. The U.S. highway runs through Elvis Presley's hometown of Tupelo, Miss., and Carl Perkins' home of Jackson. The entire span of road goes from just north of Mobile, Ala., to Ontonagon, Mich., which is on the shores of Lake Superior. Only the nearly 55-mile section of road from the Mississippi/Tennessee state line to Interstate 40 was named Rockabilly Highway. The naming stays true to the original strip of road running through the heart of Jackson.