50s - Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley)

Heartbreak Hotel

"Heartbreak Hotel" was Elvis Presley very first single for his new label, RCA. Prior to this, Elvis had released five discs on the Sun label.

Reactions to his brash new style of singing then had been mixed, but one thing for sure, he was big hit with the American teenagers.

"Heartbeat Hotel", co-written by Elvis with Mae Boren Aston and Thomas Durden, occupied #1 in US Pop Chart for 6 weeks (April - June 1956) and his first LP "Elvis Presley" topped the US Album Chart for 10 weeks (April - June) too. It reached only #2 in the UK pop single chart.

Many artistes had covered the song after Elvis. Among them were: Connie Francis (1959), Chet Atkins (1963), Adam Faith (1965), The Animals (1967), Merle Haggard (1977). And Willie Nelson and Leon Russel had a no. 1 cover version in 1979 on the country charts.

50s - Little Richard

Little Richard

Little Richard (nee Richard Wayne Penniman) is a Rock 'n' Roll legend whose influence can be heard in the work of countless artistes like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

In the mid- and late 50s, his no-holds-barred vocal style, explosive music, charismatic persona and untamed stage show shocked the older generation and earned him hordes of teenage fans.

His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll.

"Tutti Frutti", his first Rock 'n' Roll classic was recorded in September 1955. It rocketted into the R&B Top 5 and entered the US Pop chart too. "Long Tall Sally" proved even more successful; it topped the R&B chart and was his first US Top 10 hit. Both "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" entered the UK Top 3 too.

This was followed by "The Girl Can't Help It", "She Got It", "Lucille", "Keep A knockin'", "Jenny Jenny" , "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "Baby Face", etc - all major transalantic hits.

He was among the first artiste inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He was also presented with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1993 and a similar award from the R&B Foundation a year later.

50s - The Poor People Of Paris

The Poor People Of Paris

You might have heard this music during some grand ballroom scenes in movies.

"The Poor People Of Paris" was adapted by Jack Lawrence in 1954 from the French language song "La goualante du pauvre Jean" ("The Ballad of Poor John") .

A recording of the song by Les Baxter's orchestra was a # 1 hit on the Billboard Singles Charts in the US in 1956 for 6 weeks (Mar - Apr).

In the same year, the version by accomplished and versatile pianist Winifred Atwell was number one in the UK Singles Chart from April 13 to 27.

Other cover versions include Lawrence Welk and Chet Atkins. Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded a version containing the seldom-heard Jack Lawrence lyrics.

50s - Memories Are Made Of This (Dean Martin)

Memories Are Made Of This

"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller in 1955.

The most popular version of the song was recorded by singer/actor Dean Martin. It reached #1 on the US Billboard chart for 6 weeks (Jan - Feb) in 1956, and became his biggest hit. He was backed by The Easy Riders (who consisted of Gilkyson, Dehr, and Miller), who wrote it.

Among the many other artistes who recorded this song are: Petula Clark (1956), Everly Brothers (1960), Ray Conniff (1961), Jim Reeves (1963), Paul Anka (1963), Frank Sinastra (1964), Little Richard (1964), The Drifters (1966), Johnny Cash (1996), etc.

Lyrics:

(Sweet, sweet memories you gave-a me
you can't beat the memeories you gave-a me)

Take one fresh and tender kiss
Add one stolen night of bliss
One girl, one boy
Some grief, some joy
Memories are made of this

Don't forget a small moonbeam
Fold in lightly with a dream
Your lips and mine
Two sips of wine
Memories are made of this

Then add the wedding bells
One house where lovers dwell
Three little kids for flavor
Stir carefully through the days
See how the flavor stays
These are the dreams you will savor

With His blessings from above
Serve it generously with love
One man, one wife
One love through life
Memories are made of this
Memories are made of this

50s - The Platters

The Platters

The Platters were a popular vocal group formed in 1953 in Los Angeles, California during the early Rock 'n' Roll era.

After the signing with music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram, the act went through several personnel changes before hitting the charts, with the most successful incarnation comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed and Zola Taylor.

Buck Ram had The Platters recorded his composition "Only You" during their first session with Mercury Records and released it in the summer of 1955, the breakthrough year for the group. The song became the group's first Top Ten hit on the pop charts, and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks.

The follow-up hit, "The Great Pretender", with lyrics written by Buck Ram, exceeded the success of their debut. It became the Platters' first national #1 hit. "The Great Pretender" was also the act's biggest R&B hit, with an 11-week run at the top of the chart.

Other major hits for the Platters were "The Magic Touch", "My Prayer", "You'll Never Know" in 1956; "I'm Sorry" in 1957; "Twilight Time" & "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in 1958; and "Enchanted" in 1959. The Platters' last Top Ten single was 1960's "Harbour Lights".

In 1961, Tony Williams left the group and went solo. He was replaced by Sonny Turner as the lead singer. But Mercury records continued to release old William-led singles through 1964.

Off the charts from 1961 to 1966, the Platters changed line-up in 1962, with Sandra Dawn replacing the female lead singer Zola Tayler and Nate Nelson taking Robi's spot.

Williams and Ram battled in court during the 70s over the rights to the name Platters. Ram won the case. In 1989, however, the rights were returned to Robi, and in 1995 Robi's widow won back from Ram the written and publishing interests to much of the Platters' catalogue. There were more legal battles after this.

In the meantime, more personel changes were in progress. And ex-members of The Platters began to perform as splinter groups of the Platters.

The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

50s - Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

"If you were going to give Rock 'n' Roll another name, you might as well call it Chuck Berry" - this was the famous quote by John Lennon paying tribute to the legendary Rock 'n' Roll pioneer, Chuck Berry.

Although it is impossible to pinpoint the first Rock 'n' Roll record, you can bet that Chuck Berry was definitely the first successful guitar-playing Rock 'n' Roll singer/songwriter.

In May 1955, Berry recorded "Maybellene", an adaption of a country and western song "Ida Red". " Maybellene" went on to sell over a million copies, reached #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart and earned him the Best New R&B Artiste award from Billboard that year.
Berry was one of the era's outstanding entertainers, starring in many Rock 'n' Roll shows, performing his distinctive "duck walk" in low budget movies.

This prolific and profitable period continued with several hits like, "Roll Over Beethoven", "School Days", "Rock and Roll Music", "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Johnny B. Goode". All these great songs had been recorded by countless artistes, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stone, since.

Berry's record sale were on the decline when he was arrested in late 1959 for taking a 14-year old girl across the Mexican border. He was freed in late 1963 to find his music back in fashion.

He continued to have some chart success with hits like "No Particular Place To Go" in 1964 and "My Ding-A-Ling", his biggest seller in 1972.

Despite his drug, tax evasion problems and sex scandals, history will remember him as one of the most innovative, influential, important and exciting artistes in Rock 'n' Roll.

50s - 16 Tons (Tennessee Ernie Ford)

16 Tons

You load 16 tons and what do you get? A hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford!

It was written and first recorded in 1946 by Country & Western guitarist Merle Travis, who based it on his father's experiences as a coal-miner in Kentucky.

But it was Ford's version that hit the # 1 spot in the US Single Charts for 6 consecutive weeks (Nov - Dec) in 1955 and topped the UK Charts for 4 weeks (Jan - Feb) in 1956.

Lyrics:

Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong

chorus:
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin rain
Fightin' and Trobule was my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
Ain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you then the left one will.

The song depicts a hand-to-mouth existence of the coalminers who always fell into debt and were forced to pay the inflated prices charged at the only local store, belonging the mine owners. (re: I owe my soul to the company store.)

This song has been covered by wide variety of artistes including Frankie Laine (1955), The Platters (1957), Tom Jones (1967), Johnny Cash (1987) and Eric Burdon (1990), etc..