Listening to 80 years of Billboard: Part 2: 1950s

[cnoocy]

"And when he does his shaky rockin' dance
Man I haven't got a chance"

The 1950s

If I asked you to guess what group sang the top song of 1950, what would you think? Would you try to figure out whether the Andrews Sisters were still making hits, or if the 50s girl groups were around yet?

I certainly didn't expect it to be "Goodnight, Irene" sung by the Weavers, the folk group that is better known for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and for its illustrious membership. I mentioned this at dinner with my family, and my dad told me that the reason that we don't think of the Weavers as a huge 50s group is that their careers were derailed by McCarthyism. But, as my brother responded, this did have side effects; being unable to perform at concerts sent Pete Seeger to summer camps and similar venues, where he planted seeds in the next generation.

Rock and roll famously shows up in the 50s, but recognizable country does too, a year or so earlier. But there were a lot of genres happening in the 50s, from novelty songs like "Eh Cumpari" which is quoted in Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" to blues like “Sixteen Tons” and even skiffle like “Rock Island Line.”

This is where I started tagging some songs that I already knew and loved like “Love Is Strange” and “Chantilly Lace” but there are also the songs that I thought I knew well, but surprised me. In particular I was really taken with the verses of “Lollipop” which I just find awesome.

"Goodnight Irene" by Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers: #1 in 1950
"Sam's Song" by Gary & Bing Crosby: #4 in 1950
"Simple Melody" by Gary & Bing Crosby: #5 in 1950
"Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" by Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers: #13 in 1950
"Mockingbird Hill" by Patti Page: #14 in 1951
"St. George And The Dragonet" by Stan Freberg: #15 in 1953
"Eh Cumpari" by Julius La Rosa: #18 in 1953
"C'est Si Bon" by Eartha Kitt: #29 in 1953 *
"Hey There" by Rosemary Clooney: #3 in 1954
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" by Bill Haley & His Comets: #26 in 1954
"Crazy Otto Medley I & II" by Crazy Otto: #11 in 1955
"Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford: #13 in 1955
"Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino: #41 in 1956
"The Fool" by Sanford Clark: #42 in 1956
"A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl" by Teresa Brewer: #46 in 1956
"Rock Island Line" by Lonnie Donegan: #50 in 1956
"Miracle of Love" by Eileen Rodgers: #94 in 1956
"Little Darlin'" by Diamonds: #3 in 1957
"Banana Boat" by Harry Belafonte: #15 in 1957 *
"Whole Lot of Shakin' Going on" by Jerry Lee Lewis: #28 in 1957
"Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia: #78 in 1957 *
"Bernardine" by Pat Boone: #81 in 1957
"Lollipop" by Chordettes: #37 in 1958 *
"Chantilly Lace" by The Big Bopper: #52 in 1958

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Comments

[yomikoma]

I was fascinated to learn in the Hip-Hop Family Tree comics that Sylvia of "Love is Strange"'s Mickey & Sylvia was an important producer in early rap 20 years later, founding Sugarhill Records.

[cnoocy]

That's very cool. She certainly knows the value of adding speech to music. Actually, I count at least 4 tracks in this list with spoken parts.