I previously noted how enamored I've become of the music of the 1940s, thanks to satellite radio. (Sirius/XM's '40s on 4.)I've recently moved up a notch, allowing myself to be serenaded by the '50s on 5, as I was yesterday evening while making chocolate peanut clusters. (Recipe to follow in a later post.)
After listening extensively to these two channels during the past few weeks, I've concluded that Sirius/XM subscribes to my theory of the history of popular music. Which is that the 40s ended and the 50s began in 1955 -- an observation based strictly on chart position and airplay.
Here's some of the evidence.
"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and his Comets debuts on Billboard's Top Pop Singles on May 14, 1955, and eventually spent 8 weeks at #1.
Fats Domino makes his first Top Pop chart appearance on July 16 with "Ain't That a Shame", covered in a #1 version, which hit the chart a week earlier, by Mr. Whitebread himself Pat Boone. Fats' version made it to #10.
Chuck Berry. "Maybellene". August 20, 1955. Climbing as high as #5.
Not to mention the one-hit wonder of The Turbans' "When You Dance". November 11. Although it peaked at #33, it enjoyed a 21-week run.
The Old Guard, however, did not leave the stage willingly.
The top songs at the end of 1955, when I was a kindergartner at Whittier Elementary School in Great Falls Montana, favored those with conservative musical tastes.
"Sixteen Tons" (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
"Autumn Leaves" (Roger Williams)
"Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" (Four Aces. And the beat goes on.)
"Moments to Remember" (Four Lads)
And then came Elvis and "Heartbreak Hotel" on March 3, 1956, his first single spending 8 weeks at #1 and 27 weeks on what had then become Billboard's Hot 100.
Coincidentally, Carl Perkins' version of "Blue Suede Shoes" also debuted on March 3rd and spent four weeks at #2. (Elvis's version began its chart run a month later and peaked at #20.)
1956 was also a big year for Little Richard: "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally", and "Rip It Up".
(For those of you wondering, I'm using print (!!) as a source for these facts and figures: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990, a compilation based on Billboard's charts.)
I suspect that if I listen to Sirius/XM "'60s on 6", I'll confirm my theory that the 1960s, musically speaking, started in 1964, when the Beatles cleared the way for a British invasion.
Here's the top 10 from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week ending December 28, 1963.
1. "Dominique" (The Singing Nun). Actually, I should be able to stop right here, but I won't.
2. "There! I've Said It Again" (Bobby Vinton. A big hit for Vaughn Monroe in 1945, who also sang this great song.)
3. "Louie Louie" (Kingsmen -- giving birth to garage rock.)
4. "Since I Fell for You" (Lenny Welch. Call me old-fashioned, but I really love this song.)
5. "You Don't Have to be a Baby to Cry" (Caravelles)
6. "Drip Drop" (Dion DiMuci -- definitely lesser Dion)
7. "Forget Him" (Bobby Rydell. Still touring!)
8. "Popsicles and Icicles" (Murmaids. Whoda thought there'd be demand for a reunion tour?)
9. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" (Johnny Tillotson), appearing at the Surf Ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa, on January 29, 2009.)
10. "Be True to Your School" (Beach Boys, making waves for more than a year at this point)
By early April 1964, the Beatles had achieved the unprecedented, and still unequalled, feat of charting the top 5 songs on the Hot 100: "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
So when did the '70s start?
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