Category: Fifties

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Johnnie Ray

The era of the Big Bands had ended by 1949. This gave way to the rise of the solo vocalist.

In 1951, one such vocalist arrived in the form of Johnnie Ray. Despite having a series of hits in a recording career that lasted for almost a decade, the late, great Johnnie Ray is almost forgotten today.

Mainstream popular music in the early 1950s was staid, reflective of the mores within American culture at that time. So when Johnnie Ray appeared and began delivering performances which featured such a unique style, the teenagers went wild.

Johnnie became the first white artist to remove the microphone from its stand. His presence on stage was both raw and unpredictable. He would remove his shoes, roll on the floor, pound his fist on the piano, and literally cry. Such behaviour, in some quarters, earned him the nickname of the ‘Nawab of Sob’.

Years before James Brown took to collapsing on stage, Johnnie had perfected the art. An attendant would enter from a wing to ‘revive’ him by offering a glass of water. Little did the audience realise, the glass contained not water but vodka.

http://youtu.be/tIhIa72cUXY

Partially deaf as the result of a childhood accident, John Alvin Ray had been born into a deeply religious farming family, in Oregon, in January of 1927. His initial release, “Cry”, in 1951, was such a meteoric and momentous success that no one outside of his record company, Okeh, knew anything about him. Not only did “Cry”, which became his trademark song, spend eleven weeks atop the American hit parade but the record’s B-side, “The Little White Cloud That Cried”, which he had penned himself, occupied the No.2 position, simultaneously. Something that had never been achieved before.

In 1954, Johnnie appeared in the film, ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’, cast as one of Dan Dailey and Ethel Merman’s children. The film also starred Marilyn Monroe, Donald O’Connor and Mitzi Gaynor.

When Johnnie Ray visited Australia for a second time, in 1955, ten thousand fans greeted him at the airport. In fact, he was to tour that country on something like nineteen occasions and with the advent of rock and roll it was to be countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia that continued to support the sale of his records during the latter part of his career.

http://youtu.be/XvB3KbERNP4

Although not all of Johnnie’s recordings suited his style — for example, I much prefer The Drifters performing “Such A Night” to Johnnie’s cover, despite his version having reached No.1 on the British charts, in 1954 — those that did, I regard as classics of his era. “Cry”, speaks for itself as do his revivals of the numbers “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home”, “Here Am I – Broken Hearted” (both from 1952) and “Just Walking In The Rain” (1956). Whilst I am an atheist, as a person enamoured of music I must admit that I truly enjoy listening to his religious releases, such as “Satisfied” (1952) and “If You Believe” (1955); as well as the hits “Yes Tonight, Josephine” and “Look Homeward, Angel” (both from 1957) and perhaps my favourite track of Johnnie Ray’s: “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, which he wrote and first recorded in 1952 before a much more polished version was released in 1959. While it did little business in America and Great Britain, it reached its zenith at No.1 in Australia.

http://youtu.be/8FGEVLeaDU4

Following the monumental success of his first release, Johnnie Ray was hastily signed to record on the Columbia label. It was there that he also recorded in duet with Doris Day. The most successful of these was the ditty, “Let’s Walk Thata-Way”, in 1953.

Johnnie last appeared on Australian charts in the early months of 1960, when he took “When It’s Springtime In The Rockies” to as high as No.13. His liver finally failed him, in February of 1990, at the age of sixty-three.

For the names of more tracks recorded by Johnnie Ray please consult the suggested playlists, where you shall also find a list of more of my favourite recordings. I shall be adding to this list from time to time.

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Sam Cooke

Although he was only on this earth for a relatively short time, Sam Cooke’s music was to influence artists for decades after his passing. Rod Stewart was once quoted as saying that for a period of two years he listened to no other recordings than those of Sam Cooke.

Sam Cooke, in some quarters is looked upon as the founder of soul, while in others one of its pioneers. As with other African-American artists of his era he began by singing gospel. His father, a Baptist minister, had taken the family from the state of Mississippi to the city of Chicago, Illinois, when Sam was a child.

A writer of his own material, Sam surely could not have envisaged a more impressive beginning than when his first hit, “You Send Me”, went all of the way to No.1, in 1957. A long succession of successful releases followed, with him even charting posthumously with hits such as “Shake” and the highly emotive “A Change Is Gonna Come”, in the midst of Civil Rights’ Movement.

http://youtu.be/oqzv1ZS6uZs

Controversy still surrounds his death in a hotel, in Los Angeles, in December of 1964. I saw actual footage in a recent documentary, on Sam’s life, in which the manageress is seen to claim that she had fired up to thirty bullets into him, in an act of self-defence. Uncertainty even exists as to his actual age at the time of his obit, with me having seen it listed as twenty-nine and on another occasion, thirty-three.

Briton Craig Douglas did such a superb job of covering Sam’s “Only Sixteen” that, in 1959, it went all of the way to the top of the British charts. Dr. Hook revived this song in 1976. The British group, Herman’s Hermits, successfully revived “Wonderful World”; Rod Stewart, “Twisting The Night Away”; the Australian band, The Groove, “Soothe Me”; The Spinners, “Cupid”; and country star, Mickey Gilley, my favourite track of Sam’s, “Bring It On Home To Me”. Perhaps the greatest homage to Sam Cooke was paid by the incredibly talented Cat Stevens, when he departed from his own material to record “Another Saturday Night”.

http://youtu.be/SQU4torUz-Q

The names of more recordings by Sam Cooke can be found in the selected playlists. Whilst there, why not peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be updating this list from time to time.

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Little Anthony and The Imperials

Tenor, Anthony Gourdine, was still in high school in Brooklyn, New York, when he helped to form the group, The Duponts. His next group, The Chesters, was to change its name and call itself The Imperials.

Little Anthony and The Imperials’ initial hit, “Tears On My Pillow”, in 1958, was to sell a million copies. This, in spite of the group not being fond of the song. Kylie Minogue revived it in 1989, with it appearing in her film, ‘The Delinquents’.

A short list of singles that had failed to perform as expected led the quintet to record a novelty song, “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop”. It was to restore the vocal group’s status within the recording industry, as 1959 met 1960.

http://youtu.be/UGlHOasCgxY

Nonetheless, further singles failed to chart with impact and, as a result, the group split up. However, by 1964, the members had been convinced that they should re-form and from this reformation the five were to experience their most successful period, with the release of “I’m On The Outside (Looking In)”, the pop standard “Goin’ Out Of My Head”, “Hurt So Good” and “Take Me Back”.

http://youtu.be/UIEndpLXk54

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Bobby Rydell

Robert Louis Ridarelli was born in Philadelphia, in April of 1942. He wanted to be an entertainer from an early age and took to playing the drums, having become a fan of Gene Krupa, a legendary drummer in the era of jazz. In fact, it was an early pioneer of jazz, orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, who first noticed his potential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09J1iEAWcsg

Nevertheless, it was as a singer, and bearing the new name of Bobby Rydell, that ‘Robert’ was to make his mark. At a time when teenage heart-throbs were selected as much for their looks, as their ability to sing, Bobby began a long series of entries to the charts, in 1959, that was to last until the middle of the 1960s. He would appear quite regularly on Dick Clark’s televised dance show, ‘American Bandstand’, and was to make his debut in a major film when he appeared as Hugo Peabody in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, the musical which stars Ann-Margret.

Bobby’s last sizeable hit was “Forget Him”, which was written by Briton Tony Hatch. Ironically, it was the British Invasion, led by The Beatles, that was to bring an end to the recording careers of many American artists, and Bobby Rydell’s was no exception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKpA__9kTU

When the producers of the overwhelmingly popular musical, ‘Grease’, wanted to pay tribute to the era of the clean-cut teenage idol, they named the high school, in the film, after none other than Bobby Rydell.

The titles of more hits by Bobby Rydell can be located in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why don’t you peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Rosemary Clooney

In the first half of the 1950s Rosemary Clooney vied for popularity with such other leading female recording artists as Doris Day, Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Kay Starr and Peggy Lee. Rosemary had been born in Kentucky in May of 1928. By the time she was fifteen her parents had separated and she and her mother opted to live in California.

Although Rosemary had been recording on the Columbia label since 1946, her career as a solo artist did not really materialise until “Come On-A My House” spent eight weeks atop the American charts, in 1951. Similarly successful hits followed. These included “Half As Much”(1952), “Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)”(1952), “Hey There”(1954), “This Ole House”(1954) — revived by the Welsh rocker, Shakin’ Stevens, in 1981 — and “Mambo Italiano”.

“Mambo Italiano”, written by the prolific Bob Merrill, has been covered by numerous artists over the years. One of the later versions is by Lady Gaga. Madonna performs “Come On A-My House” to her ‘master’ whilst they are marooned on  an island in ‘Swept Away’, a film produced in 2002. A modernised version of the song also accompanies the ‘Girls Of The Playboy Mansion’ television series.

Rosemary also tasted success with “Too Old To Cut The Mustard”, a duet recorded, in 1952, with Marlene Dietrich. In 1954, she appeared in the film, “White Christmas”, with Bing Crosby,who had had the smash single of the same name twelve years earlier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KwqTBFBvVA

Rosemary, while she continued to record and perform, became increasingly dependant upon pills. Nevertheless, it was to be lung cancer that eventually claimed her life, in June of 2002, at the age of seventy-four.

The names of Rosemary Clooney’s other hits can be located in the suggested playlists. While you are there, you may care to peruse the list of my favourite recordings. I will be adding more to it from time to time.

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Brook Benton

Benjamin Franklin Peay was born in Camden, South Carolina, in September of 1931. Vocally, he was coached by his father, who also engendered in him the patience he would need to display if he were to succeed as a singer in a professional capacity.

Brook Benton moved to New York, in 1948, at the age of seventeen, where he sang as a member of one gospel group before, three years later, joining another. He briefly sang on recordings, in 1955, that were directed by, the now legendary, Quincy Jones, who was twenty-two at the time.

Nonetheless, fame proved to be elusive, forcing Brook to try his hand at songwriting. He also sang on demonstrations of other writers’ tunes, which was really helpful because it provided him with instant cash. However, it was  to be his songwriting that was to grab the attention of those in the industry.

Firstly, there was “The Stroll”, recorded by the Canadian group, The Diamonds, then, the catchy “A Lover’s Question” by Clyde McPhatter. Buoyed by their success, Brook decided that he, himself, should record another of his own compositions, “It’s Just A Matter Of Time”. It was destined to spend nine weeks at No.1 on the rhythm and blues charts in the first half of 1959 and proved to be the launching pad to Brook’s substantial career as a solo artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuceTOjSubU

Brook’s last hit of substance was “Rainy Night In Georgia”, written by Tony Joe White, in 1970. It sold more than a million copies for the soulful baritone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW3IWMJineo

Brook Benton died in April of 1988, at the relatively young age of fifty-six, from the complications which arose from the contraction of spinal meningitis.

The names of tracks by Brook Benton can be located in the suggested playlist.

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The Drifters

Clyde McPhatter had been the leading singer in The Dominoes. When he was no longer wanted by that group, a new male group was formed around his voice: that of tenor. The Drifters, as this new quartet was called, created a driving vocal style as depicted in its first hit, “Money Honey”, in 1953.

Other classic rhythm and blues numbers followed as the musical revolution that was to become known as rock and roll unfolded. “Such A Night”, which was covered by Johnnie Ray, “Honey Love” and “What’Cha Gonna Do” were all prime examples of this new style.

Clyde McPhatter left The Drifters, to pursue a solo career, in 1955, and, over the years, there followed a succession of leading singers that included Johnny Moore, Johnny Lee Williams, Ben E. King — famed for his solo recordings of “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand By Me” — and Rudy Lewis.

The Drifters struggled to make an impression on the charts in 1957 and 1958 before experiencing a golden period that began with “There Goes My Baby”, in 1959, and virtually ended with “Under The Boardwalk” and “Saturday Night At The Movies”, in 1964. These five years also included such hits as “Save The Last Dance For Me”, “On Broadway” — revived by George Benson in 1978 — and “Up On The Roof”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4v_z0UepM

Although The Drifters’ run of hits ended in its native America in 1966, for whatever reason, the group’s popularity was unexpectedly reborn in Britain between 1972 and 1976. A series of eight entries to the Top 10 on the British singles’ charts during these five years included “Come On Over To My Place”, “Like Sister And Brother”, “Down On The Beach Tonight”, “Kissin’ In The Back Row Of The Movies”, “Can I Take You Home Little Girl”, “There Goes My First Love” and “You’re More Than A Number In My Book”; with “Hello Happiness” just falling short of joining these aforementioned seven hits. The eighth entry was a double-sided single that reissued the mid-Sixties’ recordings, “At The Club” and “Saturday Night At The Movies”.

The names of additional tracks by The Drifters can be found in the suggested playlists.

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Shirley and Lee

Shirley Goodman and Leonard Lee were both born in 1936. In 1952, they recorded their first record, “I’m Gone”, in New Orleans.

Shirley had a unique voice, that possessed a high pitch. This makes recordings by Shirley and Lee, unmistakeable to the ear. Personally, I find it somewhat grating, which says much for, “Feel So Good”, as I place this classic rhythm and blues number in my top three on my list of favourite recordings. It was written by Leonard Lee and released in 1955.

The duo’s most successful recording was also written by Leonard. “Let The Good Times Roll”, was released in 1956 and performed well on both the rhythm and blues and pop charts.

Shirley and Lee moved to New York, in 1960, but the recordings they made there proved to be relatively unsuccessful and by 1962 the pair had returned to New Orleans. When this, too, proved to be a struggle the two went their separate ways.

For Shirley, this meant moving to California, where she worked mainly as a session singer. However, more or less by chance, she was once again to achieve success when she, backed by a group of studio musicians, recorded “Shame, Shame, Shame”, in 1974, under the name of Shirley and Company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBdgW87Ia_8

The talented Leonard Lee died in 1976. Shirley retired from recording and returned to New Orleans.

For the names of more tracks by Shirley and Lee, please, refer to the suggested playlists.

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‘Big’ Joe Turner

“Shake Rattle And Roll”, by ‘Big’ Joe Turner, is my favourite recording. I know this because a couple of decades ago — when I used to listen to the radio to hear its music — over the period of a long weekend, a countdown of ‘The Top 1,000 Hits Of All Time’ would invariably be played; with such playlists being published in the newspaper, leading up to that particular long weekend. One day, years later, I sat down to write out my own list of just 100 top recordings. To my surprise I ended up with the names of more than 120 which I, just as surprisingly, could not cull further. There, at the top of this list was “Shake, Rattle And Roll” by ‘Big’ Joe Turner.

Joseph Vernon Turner was born in Kansas City. While he had sufficient work singing in the clubs of his home town, when he moved to New York, in 1935, he found such work hard to obtain. Gradually, the opportunities did come his way and he was able to perform alongside some of the greatest names in jazz.

After the War his recordings gravitated towards the characteristics of rhythm and blues. These can be identified in such recordings as “My Gal’s A Jockey” (which doesn’t have anything to do with being a jockey) and “Sally Zu-Zazz”, both from 1946.

In 1951, ‘Big’ Joe was signed to the fledgling Atlantic label and under this livery he was to reap a string of hits. Initially, these consisted of blues ballads like “The Chill Is On” and “Chains Of Love” — which was to be revived by Pat Boone, in 1956 — before such up-tempo numbers as the self-penned classic “Honey Hush” (1953), “Shake, Rattle And Roll” (1954), “Flip, Flop And Fly” (1955) and “The Chicken And The Hawk” (1956), raised his popularity to new heights.

‘Big’ Joe Turner died in November of 1985, at the age of seventy-four.

The names of more tracks by Joe Turner can be found in the suggested playlists.

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Joe Tex

Joseph Arrington Jr. was born in Texas, in August of 1933. He sang in gospel groups in his formative years, before the winning of a local talent quest led to him being signed to a recording contract, in 1955. Nevertheless, the by now Joe Tex had to deal with a succession of recording companies, over the period of a decade, before he was to experience his first hit of any significance.

“Hold What You’ve Got” was recorded by the soulful Tex, in the famed studios of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in November, 1964. It was to be the title track for Joe’s first album.

Incongruously, most of Joe’s recordings were made in the ‘capital’ of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, although he also recorded in nearby Memphis, and, on one occasion, in New York.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVKNdZxVDhg

In 1965, Joe Tex achieved his first No.1 on the rhythm and blues charts with “I Want To (Do Everything For You)” and followed it, almost immediately, with another, “A Sweet Woman Like You”. Joe’s biggest hit came in 1972, when “I Gotcha” sold in excess of a million copies.

Joe’s talents extended into that period of music known as disco, when, in 1977, “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)” was also sell more than a million records. A convert to the religion of Islam, Joe Tex had changed his name to Joseph Hazziez, in July of 1972. He died of a heart attack in August, 1982 at the age of forty-nine.

The names of more tracks by Joe Tex can be located in the suggested playlists.