Pre-Boomer Musings

Here they are the moldy oldies, blats from the past, the knocked out nifties.  If you were born between 1930 and 1945, the music of the fifties will always be part of your life.  As a pre-boomer, you’ll remember these hits.

1950: Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole), Music! Music! Music! (Teresa Brewer), The Tennessee Waltz (Patti Page), Rag Mop (Ames Brothers), Cry of the Wild Goose (Frankie Lane).

1951: Too Young (Nat King Cole), Cry (Johnny Ray), Come On-a My House (Rosemary Clooney), Because of You (Tony Bennett, Be My Love (Mario Lanza).

1952: Unforgettable (Nat King Cole), You Belong To Me (Jo Stafford), Wheel of Fortune (Kay Starr), Heart and Soul (Four Aces), Why Don’t You Believe Me (Joni James).

1953: That’s Amore (Dean Martin), Your Cheatin’ Heart (Hanks Williams), Rags To Riches (Tony Bennett), I’ve Got the World On a String (Frank Sinatra), The Doggie In The Window ( Patti Page).

1954: Shake Rattle and Roll (Bill Haley and His Comets, credited with launching rock and roll, recorded Rock Around the Clock first but the tune did not top the charts until the following year when the movie Blackboard Jungle was released with it as the title song), Young At Heart (Frank Sinatra), Sh-Boom (The Crew Cuts), Three Coins In The Fountain (Four Aces), Secret Love (Doris Day).  Since this was my senior year in high school, I’ve added one more to the list, because I used the title when signing yearbooks: Till Then (Hilltoppers).  Sorta corny, but said it all.  At least I thought so.

1955: Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (Perez Prado & His Orchestra), Sincerely (The Mcguire Sisters), Sixteen Tons (“Tennessee” Ernie Ford), Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (Four Aces), Autumn Leaves (Roger Williams).  Besides Rock Around the Clock, there were so many songs fighting for our attention and hoping to be included under the Rock and Roll banner.  But Pop radio was a local thing, so different sounds played well in some areas and not in others.  A record could be a hit in one market or region and never played in another.  This was soon to change.

1956: Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley), Don’t Be Cruel (Elvis Presley), My Prayer (Platters), Hound Dog (Elvis Presley), The Great Pretender (Platters).  New stars were emerging.  Blue Suede Shoes also

made the charts, but it was the Carl Perkins version.

1957: All Shook Up (Elvis Presley), Love Letters In The Sand (Pat Boone), Little Darlin’ (The Diamonds), Tammy (Debbie Reynolds), Banana Boat/ Day O (Harry Belafonte.  This was the year The Everly Brothers, Marty Robbins, Sam Cooke, The Dell Vikings, Paul Anka, The Coasters, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Rodgers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Tommy Sands, Johnny Mathis, and Fats Domino all had hit singles.

1958: All I Do Is Dream (The Everly Brothers), Tequila (The Champs), It’s Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty), Get A Job (The Silhouettes), Yakety Yak (The Coasters).
1959: Mack The Knife (Bobby Darin), Venus (Frankie Avalon), Put Your Head On My Shoulder (Paul Anka), A Teenager In Love (Dion & The Belmonts), Lipstick On Your Collar (Connie Francis).

The above hits were selected at random from the lists compiled by Tune Charts, which you can check out at http:www.tunecharts.com.  I chose songs I personally remembered or thought might spark your thinking and take you back more fifty years.  There were so many great artists and records to consider, so visit the site and pick your own favorites.  Don’t bore your grand kids by talking about what music was like in the ‘50s; they don’t even know what “45 rpm” means, but we sure do.

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