You can also hear a sample of Kay Starr’s “Comes Along A Love” at -

http:/www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/0,,1634649-4146351,00.html

Pity these aren’t longer but it does give you some idea of what they were like. Trish

The song was nothing special until about half way through, when this guitar exploded out of the speakers and change music for my generation (well it was the second time this happened to my generation…the first being Nirvana).

It’s these pivotal moments that I’m trying to capture. Either personal or the masses. Though this “thing” I am exploring comes mainly from the sound and lyrics, it would be good to discuss the scene.

2009/4/1 >

Hi Jeff

Was intrigued by your “project” on hit songs of the 1950’s. What exactly is this project and what sort of info are you actually looking for?

After we spoke on the phone, I sat down and listed some of the songs that I can remember from way back then and the approximate years I remembered them from.

How much is that doggie in the Window – must have been 1950 -1952

Johnny Ray and his “crying” songs. First one I remember is “Crying in the Rain” from 1954 but I think it came out about 1952. He was a BIG hit at the time, probably because he was very different with his histrionics on stage. (The forerunner to singers biting off heads of canaries?) Also because he was partially deaf.

The Platters – although this was early rock n roll era, they were a phenomenon. Their harmonising was wonderful and the content of their songs was romantic. They were fairly unusual in that they achieved world wide recognition and acceptance despite being a “black group”. This was in the days of segregation in America when blacks mainly entertained blacks and whites entertained whites, however there were a few individual exceptions – Winifred Attwell – Louis Armstrong and a couple of others whose names I can’t remember.
I remember the Platters from about 1955 to 1957, but I think they may have started a little earlier and went through to about 1960.
I am talking about the original group here. Other Platter groups containing one or more members of the original group were formed later but they did not have the same impact.

There wasn’t a teen ager alive in the Western world who hadn’t heard of Bill Haley and the comets with “Rock around the Clock”
I remember this as heralding the beginning of RnR in Australia in about 1955 to 1956. We did have something like rocknroll prior to this and it was called “jiving”. In our insular early teens pretty well only bodgies and widgies jived, but with Rock around the clock everyone began jiving. “Rock around the Clock” became a true classic. It caught on quickly, once it took hold it never let go and still seems to be as well known today as it was over fifty years ago. I really can’t believe it was that long ago!

Hope this helps – let me know if you want any more. Are you interested in what sort of clothing we wore back then, e.g members of groups wearing suits and ties on stage and women formally dressed etc? Trish

Have you tried Google’s new browser, “Chrome”? It’s fast and it rocks. But there’s no Google Toolbar! How can you bookmark pages to a central location (Google Bookmarks)? Here’s how, in just a few quick and easy steps .

First, download Chrome (duh!) .
If you don’t already see a bookmarks bar (right below the address bar or “omnibar” and above the actual web page) turn it on by hitting CTRL-B (you can hide it anytime by hitting CTRL-B again).
Visit http://www.google.com/bookmarks and note the message at the bottom-middle “Bookmark pages more easily. Drag this bookmarklet to the Links area of your browser:”
Go ahead and—you guessed it—drag that little box to the bookmarks area of Chrome.

from……http://www.bladam.com/main/entry/chrome-google-bookmarks