music of the 1950s: part 1

It is slightly misleading to talk about the music of a given decade as defined by the calendar, because the emergence of new musical styles doesn’t neatly coincide with the start of a decade. For example, from a musical point of view, the 1960s didn’t begin until January 1963 with the release of the Beatles’ Please, Please Me. The 1950s experienced a similar delay, because the music of the decade is inevitably defined by the emergence and early development of rock ’n’ roll.

The milestone in this case is Rock around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets, which was originally released in the USA in 1954 but didn’t catch on around the rest of the world until it was used to back the opening credits of the film Blackboard Jungle the following year. However, although I’ve labelled this record a ‘milestone’, I also regard it as one of the most overrated records of all time. Wikipedia describes it as ‘a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format’, but although I’m not an expert on music theory, it sounds to me more like a novelty foxtrot sung by a balding, middle-aged man with a condescending attitude. That patronizing mindset is exemplified by the reasons Haley gave for ‘cleaning up’ the lyric to Shake, Rattle and Roll (see below).

In preparing for this assessment of the music of the decade, I started by compiling a ‘top ten’. That seemed easy, except that I soon found myself pondering what to leave out! As I reviewed the options, I found myself struggling to restrict the list to a ‘top twenty’, and in fact the following list contains 42 records. And I’ve probably still overlooked at least one recording that belongs on the list. In case you’re wondering, I have to confess that I didn’t hear any of the early records on this list at the time they were released. The main reason I’m familiar with them now is that as a student in Manchester in the mid-1960s, I spent a lot of time scouring the city’s second-hand shops looking for old 45s.

I’ve deliberately excluded urban blues recordings of the period, such as Smokestack Lightnin’ by Howlin’ Wolf, Hoochie Coochie Man by Muddy Waters, Dust My Broom by Elmore James and I’m a King Bee by Slim Harpo. Although these are now regarded as classics, they attracted very little mainstream attention when first released.

I’ve listed the following records in approximately chronological order with the year that they were released and a YouTube link so that you can listen to ones with which you’re unfamiliar (click on the artist/title). You may notice that all but one of the 42 records are by American artists. The sole exception is a Canadian doo-wop group that achieved its success solely in the United States. Britain didn’t make any original contributions to the development of rock music until the release of Shakin’ All Over by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates in 1960.

Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats—Rocket 88 (1951)
This track is often touted as ‘the first rock ’n’ roll record’, although to my ear it sounds more like the kind of urban rhythm and blues that was becoming increasingly popular towards the end of the 1940s. Definitely worth a listen though.

Lloyd Price—Lawdy Miss Clawdy (1952)
Although rock ’n’ roll didn’t become defined as a distinct genre until the emergence of Elvis Presley, this record is a classic early example of one of the two main influences on the developing style: urban rhythm and blues. You will notice that the guitar is merely part of the rhythm section; the principal accompanying instruments are piano and tenor saxophone.

Big Mama Thornton—Hound Dog (1952)
Although Hound Dog sounds like ‘authentic’ blues, it was actually written by two professional songwriters from New York, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were Jewish. However, like much of the blues, this song is full of sexual innuendo, albeit not in the sanitized—and inferior—version recorded by Elvis Presley a couple of years later.

The Drifters—Money Honey (1953)
In the later years of the decade, the Drifters specialized in saccharine ballads and went through so many personnel changes that there were half a dozen vocal groups touring the world as ‘The Original Drifters’ in the mid-1960s, but this record features the original line-up, with Clyde McPhatter as lead vocalist. It dates from the time when the Drifters were still an authentic doo-wop quartet.

Joe Turner—Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)
Now this is a real 12-bar blues (with refrain), although its status as an embryonic rock ’n’ roll song is obvious. And if you listen to the lyric, you will get a sense of why Bill Haley thought it necessary to prettify it. It is relentlessly misogynistic. However, I might add, if you think the Haley version superior, you ain’t no rock’n’roller.

Carl Perkins—Blue Suede Shoes (1955)
This is the first of several songs on this list to be recorded by Sun Records of Memphis and is also the first example of the second main influence on the development of rock ’n’ roll: an offshoot of country and western music known as ‘rockabilly’. Note that there is no piano or saxophone on this track. This is when a guitar became the main instrument to accompany a song.

Elvis Presley did a passable version of this song, but this is the original. Not that Perkins had any grounds for claiming he’d been upstaged. The other song for which he’s well known, Matchbox, is merely a reworking of Matchbox Blues by Blind Lemon Jefferson, which was recorded in the 1920s!

Fats Domino—Ain’t That a Shame (1955)
Fats Domino had been recording since the late 1940s, but this is his first song to catch on with a mainstream audience. It is also the first recording on this list to feature piano (played by Fats himself), saxophones and guitar in the accompaniment. It was covered by Pat Boone at the time, apparently in the belief that the Domino version would be too ‘difficult’ for white audiences.

I should also note that in compiling this list, I decided to restrict every singer to just one entry. Had I not done so, Fats Domino would have been mentioned half a dozen times, with songs like Blue Monday, Blueberry Hill, I Hear You Knockin’ and Sick and Tired.

Smiley Lewis—I Hear You Knockin’ (1955)
Having mentioned I Hear You Knockin’ in connection with Fats Domino, it is probably a coincidence that this recording is next on my list. Both artists were recorded by Imperial Records of New Orleans, and this is the original version of a much-covered song. The distinctive driving piano is provided by Huey ‘Piano’ Smith.

Elvis Presley—Heartbreak Hotel (1956)
Presley’s early (and best) work was recorded by Sun Records of Memphis but reached only a local audience. This was his first record for RCA and showcases his unique vocal style—a style that was slowly diluted, to the extent that he recorded absolutely nothing worth remembering after he was drafted into the US Army in 1958.

Little Richard—Long Tall Sally (1956)
And this is when rock ’n’ roll performance really became exciting. Nobody could match the hysterical singing and frenetic piano playing of Little Richard. All the songs for which he’s famous (e.g. Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Rip It Up, Lucille, Good Golly Miss Molly) were recorded during a two-year period, and this record is Little Richard at his most intense. Try sitting still while listening to it!

Roy Orbison—Ooby Dooby (1956)
Roy Orbison’s reputation rests almost entirely on the quasi-operatic ballads (Only the Lonely, Running Scared, Cryin’, In Dreams, etc.) that he recorded for Monument Records in the early 1960s. I suspect that the vast majority of the people who bought these records are totally unaware of his rockabilly recordings for Sun Records in the mid-1950s. This is the best.

Gene Vincent and his Bluecaps—Be-Bop-A-Lula (1956)
This recording is quite a rarity: an example of a slow (and moody) rockabilly number. Few singers could have pulled this off, but Vincent does. In spades.

LaVern Baker—Jim Dandy (1956)
You would probably have to be familiar with the R&B scene of the 1950s to have heard this record, but it’s a classic.

The Del-Vikings—Come Go with Me (1956)
The Del-Vikings were a racially mixed group at a time when this was an extreme rarity. In this classic doo-wop song, you won’t hear a single intelligible word until 30 seconds has elapsed from the start!

The list is continued in Part 2 (1957–58).