Della Reese: “Don’t You Know”
Entered the chart on: 10/5/1959
Peaked on: 11/30/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin
And we end the 50s as we began it: with a song I’ve never heard before.
I know Della of course, but as an actress, not a singer. She was part of my childhood, appearing on the now-rarely-seen Chico and the Man and guest-starring frequently on Sanford and Son, not to mention a ton of other TV shows.
Reading up on this tune has been interesting to say the least. Adapted from an aria from Puccini’s La bohème, you say? I’m intrigued! That would make this the first pop music adaptation of a classical piece to appear on this feature. I thought I would need to wait for a certain tune from the mid-60s for that! Oh, you’ll see!
Whoa! That’s the most forceful orchestration I’ve heard on this feature in a while! I know “There Goes My Baby” has a string orchestration, too, but this string section doesn’t f$&% around! The single crows “A Hugo & Luigi Production,” so I guess they’re responsible for the screaming strings, bombastic brass and pounding tympani. There’s nothing subtle about this.
In all, this is a throwback to the pre-rock sound from before. It really sits oddly among all those rock & roll records, I have to say. And her voice is powerful—damn, it would just about have to be to compete with that blaring orchestra—but it certainly has nothing to do with rock or R&B. Her voice is loaded with melodrama, and reminds me of divas from across the pond like Shirley Bassey and Dorothy Squires. I can understand this being a hit over in the UK more than here.
That said, you really have to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this, Della’s singing ability, and the power of her voice. Majestic is the word for this one.
Paul Anka: “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”
Entered the chart on: 9/14/1959
Peaked on: 10/5/1959
Weeks at #2: 3
Song at #1: “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin
I’ve been dealing out a lot of fours and fives in this series of late. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Ladies and gentlemen, that day has arrived.
You see, I knew I’d have to talk about the “teen idols” sooner or later. Tommy Sands was just the tip of the iceberg. That Frankie Avalon tune sitting in the top spot during the Coasters’ entry was the sword of Damocles hanging over this feature until now. 1959 was the year the dam burst and the opportunists flooded the market with a bunch of non-threatening pretty boys designed to make teen girls swoon. In general, they had nothing to do with rock & roll; more a throwback to the old crooner days, minus the quality control. Many of them (I’m looking at you, Fabian) couldn’t even sing; it was all faked by a laborious technique of “punching” in every note and hoping he’d hit it right eventually. Being the producer and/or engineer of one of these sessions must have been a thankless task.
And then we have Canadian import Paul Anka. Paul had a leg-up on the competition in that he could play the piano and wrote his own material. Mind you, that didn’t mean that material was any good. This was the man, after all, that would bring us “You’re Having My Baby,” one of the most cringe-worthy MOR horrors the 70s ever wrought. And yes, that song hit #1. The man has a lot to answer for.
O sweet Zeus, make it stop! The tremolo guitar, the angelic female backing vocals, Anka’s overwrought voice, the cheesy punching of the word “baby,” it’s all too much. He’s certainly no Fats Domino at the ivories, either, his playing, apart from a flamboyant glissando leading into the Eurovision-style key-change at the end, it’s all steady “plink plink plink” with no variation from beginning to end.
Before, I was thinking, “well, at least it’s one of his more tolerable songs.” I was wrong. This is worse than I had remembered. Don’t make yourself suffer like I did.
Rating: 0
Phil Phillips: “Sea of Love”
Entered the chart on: 7/20/1959
Peaked on: 8/24/1959
Weeks at #2: 2
Song at #1: “The Three Bells” by the Browns
I don’t recognize the song at #1. Should I even bother to listen to it? For context, you understand.
I definitely recognize “Sea of Love,” which is another one-hit wonder, alongside the Impalas in the Class of ’59. Lots of these short-run artists struggle for years to have a second hit (see: Cathy Carr) without success, but Phil only had a couple of other singles to his credit. Not sure what’s happening there, but let’s examine the case of “Sea of Love” just the same...
Ooh...Phil’s voice is like honey! I could listen to a voice like that every day. The backing vocals are by a vocal group by the Twilights and they’re nice, as is the seesaw piano part which forms the base of the instrumental backing. This sounds like it came from earlier on in the 50s, based on the very stripped-down arrangement compared to the last few tunes I reviewed. It’s piano, vocals, and not much else.
Lyrically, it isn’t anything super spectacular. “La la la, I love you,” that sort of thing. But the piano arrangement is memorable and...damn! I could listen to Phil’s voice all day long.
Again, I’m regretting that he was only a one-hit wonder. What a voice!
The Drifters: “There Goes My Baby”
Entered the chart on: 6/29/1959
Peaked on: 8/17/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “A Big Hunk o’ Love” by Elvis Presley
Have we reached the apex of “malt-shop music” with this? It’s certainly one of those songs I’ve always enjoyed, and I had forgotten that Ben E. King was the singer on this one. More significantly, in the continued roll-out of rock/R&B numbers with higher production values of 1959, this is apparently the first “rock” record to feature a string section. This made it a game-changer, it seems Phil Spector was specifically inspired by this record.
So...I haven’t even re-listened to this and I’m already jittery with anticipation. Don’t disappoint me, now!
Well, I’d forgotten about that odd vocal intro. And then...[cascade of strings] “There goes my baby!...” It goes without saying that Ben E. King’s voice is flawless; spirited and confident and enchanting. There’s an undeniable vulnerability to his performance that makes this song personal.
The backing vocals and the string arrangement are what set this apart. That vocal intro recurs at odd points in the song, helping boost the lead, while the string part goes into a sort of bolero rhythm at one point. It’s easy to see how a lot of people were inspired by this. I rather hear this as a precursor to the Motown sound, with acts like the Temptations and the Four Tops obviously basing elements of their sound on this.
And it’s easy to hear why. This is truly inspired.
Lloyd Price: “Personality”
Entered the chart on: 5/11/1959
Peaked on: 6/15/1959
Weeks at #2: 3
Song at #1: “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton
Lloyd Price, now there’s a name you don’t hear much anymore! I don’t know why, he was an R&B legend with singles going all the way back to 1952 and already one number one hit to his name by this point. And that was with a song about a man who goes around shooting people!
That song (“Stagger Lee”) and this were both arranged for Price’s own orchestra by ABC-Paramount’s Don Costa. And I guess this song must have left a mark on people, as Price was hereafter dubbed “Mr. Personality.” So let’s re-acquaint ourselves with this one:
Hmm...I sense a pattern forming with these 1959 rock releases. Someone like Price, who once had to starve in cheap digs, was now afforded high-budget production values the likes of which were lavished only on white-bread artists like Perry Como and Joni James. We’ve come a long way since “Blue Suede Shoes” in three short years. Rock & roll was now big business, so we have full-on productions with horns, choruses and slick sound. That’s Costa’s doing.
But all this would be worthless were it saddled with a second-rate performer performing a lackluster song. Fortunately, such is not the case here. I really like the lyrics to this one: apparently the protagonist’s friends are down on his lady love, but not him. Why? Because she has personality! What a refreshing sentiment! I had forgotten about the “over and over” hook, so it’s interesting that this song has two hooks, not just one.
I also love the way Price just belts this song. I mean, man, he really sells it. I hadn’t really listened to this song analytically before, but not only does he have a very strong voice, but a powerful vocal presence. That’s really something to be cherished.
Better than “The Battle of New Orleans” any day of the week.
Bobby Darin: “Dream Lover”
Entered the chart on: 5/4/1959
Peaked on: 6/8/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton
Lots of folks forget that Bobby Darin started out as a rock & roller. I mean, nobody would confuse him with Jerry Lee Lewis, but I think that “Splish Splash” was definitely a credible stab at the genre (and it’s obvious he was really trying to emulate JLL, so let’s give him an A for effort).
This one was from that era, too. In fact, right on the cusp of that era, as we’ll soon find out.
The first thing that strikes me is the quality and smoothness of Bobby’s voice. There’s a little “catch” in it, though, that lets you know he’s feeling the lyric. Call me cynical, but I relate better to songs like this, about a lonely man wishing for someone to warm his bedside, than in songs that espouse how good it feels to be in love. For the record, I do believe this pre-dated Bobby’s romance to popular starlet Sandra Dee.
I guess because rock & roll was now Big Business, the arrangements were getting bigger too. Yes, the spiky electric guitar is there plucking along, but like with the Impalas song we have a full orchestration with a big mixed-voice choir backing him. The producer also added a smidgen of reverb to Bobby’s voice which isn’t strictly necessary, but is nonetheless a nice touch.
This is a very good song, but you could kind of already hear that Bobby felt that he was outgrowing this kind of thing. He graduated from this song to transform himself into an old-school song stylist à la Tony Bennett. Apparently, in an interview after his performance of this very song on American Bandstand, Dick Clark came out and told Bobby he thought he’d lost his mind when he said that the next song he’d be doing would be an old and already much-covered standard from Kurt Weill’s A Threepenny Opera.
Obviously Bobby had the last laugh, as that song topped the charts for nine straight weeks and acted as the second wind for his music career. That is, until 1966 when he picked up an acoustic guitar and re-invented himself as a folk troubadour, with an affecting rendition of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter.”
Bobby Darin, pop music’s original chameleon. Move over, David Bowie.
The Impalas: “Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)”
Entered the chart on: 4/13/1959
Peaked on: 5/11/1959
Weeks at #2: 2
Songs at #1: “The Happy Organ” by Dave “Baby” Cortez and “Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison
Another one from my parents’ record collection! And I think this is the first one from the consolidated chart to be stuck at #2 behind two different #1 hits. The single (on MGM’s short-lived Cub subsidiary) “helpfully” contains the annotation “With Vocal Accompaniment.” Thanks for that, Cub, but aren’t the Impalas a vocal group? Despite having spun this on my crappy old GE Show ’n Tell record player (I now call it the Record Killer™) numerous times, I’m having difficulty remembering it clearly. Good sign or bad sign?
You can put the Impalas in the same box as the Crests in that they’re another multi-racial vocal group from Brooklyn. I wouldn’t put this on the same level as “Sixteen Candles,” which was simply stunning on every level from Johnny Maestro’s vocal on down. But this is a solid slab of peak-period doo-wop. Joe “Speedo” Frazier does a more than credible job singing lead, his voice having a youthful, innocent tone that has a touch of boyish irreverence to it (the repeated “Uh-oh!”). The song comes close to novelty song status without ever crossing the border.
Thanks to Leroy Holmes and his orchestra, this one has a fuller, more produced sound than a lot of rock & roll tunes of its era. And I think this might be the first trombone solo we’ve covered at Second Hand Goods since “A Blossom Fell” way back in ’55.
So, a good tune, indicative of its era, without being a classic. Worth listening to.
Elvis Presley: “A Fool Such as I”
Entered the chart on: 3/30/1959
Peaked on: 4/27/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “Come Softly to Me” by the Fleetwoods
Step 2 in the taming of your Elvis: have him sing some unapologetically sentimental ballads. Before you know it, he’ll be singing English-language adaptations of “O sole mio” and making cheesy movie musicals in Hawaii.
Technically, the full title of this is “(Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I,” but I didn’t feel like typing out the whole thing with the parenthetical subtitle over and over. You get that, right? Actually, it’s clearly been a long time since I’ve heard this, as the arrangement is way more rock & roll than I’d remembered. This song is actually a cover version, the original version by Hank Snow hit the country charts way back in 1953.
The loping guitar part gives this one a nice swing and the Jordanaires provide ample support on backing vocals (as with “Charlie Brown,” the bass singer gets a solo singing the title hook). Elvis is, as usual, good, but he seems to have tamed the wildness a bit here. This was the result of a quickie recording session made in the middle of his army service, and it seems a bit rushed and substandard as a result.
So, not bad, but not spectacular. Decent Elvis is better than no Elvis, I suppose, but he’s shown better elsewhere. It’s no “Love Me,” that’s for sure.
The Coasters: “Charlie Brown”
Entered the chart on: 2/9/1959
Peaked on: 3/9/1959
Weeks at #2: 3 weeks
Song at #1: “Venus” by Frankie Avalon
Talk about “the day the music died.” Check out what’s in the #1 spot. It didn’t take long for the fake-rock opportunists to move in!
But never mind about that. We’re here to discuss what hit #2, which if nothing else, saves me the agony of reviewing the execrable Frankie Avalon. And it’s easy to dismiss the Coasters as a novelty act, the Harlem Globetrotters of doo-wop, if you will. But that would be selling them short on being a first-rate vocal group with great songwriting (courtesy of the inimitable Leiber/Stoller, who already gave us Elvis’ spectacular early ballad “Love Me” on this feature). I loved this tune as a kid, let’s see if it holds up...
When I was a kid, I thought this was about the Charlie Brown, i.e.: Charles Schulz’s oft-harangued character. It would explain the solo refrain for bass singer “Dub” Jones: “Why is everybody always pickin’ on me?” It seems not to be the case, though. This Charlie Brown shares the name of the comic strip character, but has a completely different personality. This Charlie Brown is a rebellious teen, an irreverent class clown who’s frequently in trouble for being such a merry prankster.
No wonder this song was such a big hit. Not only is the subject matter unique and attention-grabbing, but so is the vocal arrangement, with not only Jones’ repeated solo line, but also the brief appearance by David Seville’s Chipmunks* on background vocals. The sax hook is also completely infectious. When listening to this for this review, I was thinking, “Oh please, give this guy a solo!” Fortunately, my wish was granted. Never doubt Leiber/Stoller.
If all novelty songs were this good, maybe I wouldn’t be so down on them in general.
Rating: 5
*I know David Seville had nothing to do with this recording, they were just using the same trick of monkeying with the tape-speed. I’m guessing Leiber/Stoller heard “Witch Doctor” on the radio and decided to use the same gimmick, albeit mercifully not for the length of a record.
Ritchie Valens: “Donna”
Entered the chart on: 12/15/1958
Peaked on: 2/23/1959
Weeks at #2: 2 weeks
Song at #1: “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price
Suddenly, this feature becomes a lot less fun, and a lot more tragic.
And I don’t mean tragic in the “so bad it’s horrible” way (Believe me, we’ll get to Paul Anka in time, and I am not looking forward to it!). I mean actual tragedy, of the “talent taken from us too soon” variety. I think the only thing that could make this hurt more would be to have Buddy Holly in the top spot.
For those of you, presumably quite young, twisting your faces in confusion, do please research Richard Valenzuela, rock music pioneer and Hispanic icon, and learn of his tragic end and what it meant to popular music. Because it was a distinct dividing line. Popular music was not the same after the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy, Richie and the Bopper.
And for the record, the B-side of this single, a piece of infectious Spanish-language rock & roll called “La Bamba,” also charted, saving poor Richie the indignity of one-hit wonder status.
How did I forget that this song is in 6/8 time? And how nice the guitar accompaniment is (is that Richie himself*?)? Listening to Richie’s plaintive voice on this song (an ode to his real-life girlfriend, Donna Ludwig, fact fans) really hammers home the tragedy of his short life. In a just world, he would have lived long enough to produce a whole slew of sweet rock ballads of this quality. But as we are well aware, this world is anything but just.
Even divorced of its backstory, there’s something extremely touching about this ballad. Richie’s voice, while on the thin side, oozes sincerity and emotion, and sells the sorrow of lost love very well. And I just can’t get over the guitar playing on this one, it’s just so sweet and arranged to perfection.
Absolutely a delight. Such a shame we were robbed of more like this.
Rating: 5
*Yes, it is, along with Rene Hall, Irving Ashby and the legendary Carol Kaye. Is there any record she didn’t play on?
The Crests: “Sixteen Candles”
Entered the chart on: 12/22/1958
Peaked on: 2/9/1959
Weeks at #2: 2
Song at #1: “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price
More diner music. I can’t help but have images of waitresses in old-fashioned car-hop outfits bearing platters of patty melts and chocolate malts while this plays on an old Wurlitzer jukebox. Well, let’s refresh our collective memories of this evergreen:
I forgot about the “Happy birthday, baby” intro. And how did I never know that this was an interracial group? And that their one female member was the sister of Luther Vandross? All I knew was that their powerhouse lead tenor was one Johnny Maestro (né Mastrangelo).
Yes, it’s pretty obvious these folks had been listening to lots of the Platters. Maestro is no Tony Williams clone, he puts his own stamp on this recording with his impassioned delivery. Not sure who was the arranger for this session, but he sure knew his onions. Like the Connie Francis tune I covered a couple of reviews ago, it has a very understated arrangement, with everything as support to Maestro’s spectacular lead. The highlight of the backing vocals is bass singer J. T. Carter, who was the one who initially formed the group.
In spite of this staggering success, they weren’t able to follow it up effectively. They managed a couple of top 20 follow-up entries (if you know any other Crests song, “Step by Step” is probably it) but that was about it. Maestro later resurfaced as the lead singer of the Brooklyn Bridge, who had a top 10 hit in 1969 with “Worst That Could Happen.” Based on this, they deserved a rather better legacy.
Much, much better than I had remembered. Superbly done!
Bill Parsons: “The All-American Boy”
Entered the chart on: 12/28/1958
Peaked on: 2/2/1959
Weeks at #2: 1
Song at #1: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by the Platters
When is a song not a song by who you think it is? When the record company screws up. Infamously, this song is actually by Bobby Bare, but Fraternity Records screwed up and listed Parsons as the singer. So not only were they unable to give Cathy Carr a follow-up hit, they couldn’t even credit their performers correctly! Doesn’t inspire confidence in their competence, does it?
Bleah...I really dislike spoken-word records. Not a big fan of novelty songs, either. It’s a spoof of Elvis, apparently, but it could be about any guy who wanted to be a rock star and wound up getting drafted. You know, because there were so many of those in 1959. Topical humor, who needs it? That’s Bobby Bare singing doing the vocal, but Parsons did in fact write and arrange this. It’s a fine rock & roll song from an instrumental standpoint, but the vocal just makes me cringe.
Sorry, I don’t think this has aged very well. I think there’s a reason I’ve never heard this before now, and I really don’t think I need to explain why.
Connie Francis “My Happiness”
Entered the chart on: 12/15/1958
Peaked on: 1/19/1959
Weeks at #2: 2 weeks
Song at #1: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by the Platters
Ah yes, Connie Francis. Until the 1990s, she was the most successful female soloist of the rock era. Bigger than Diana Ross. Bigger than Barbara Streisand. Bigger than Donna Summer. Bigger than Madonna.
By 1979, she was represented in the Rolling Stone Record Guide by a dismissive two-sentence review for a single greatest-hits package which received a rating of a bullet (zero stars). What happened for her to suddenly deserve such scorn?
Well, I suppose one thing might be Rolling Stones’ rock & roll attitude. Anything that smacked of artificiality, commerciality or bandwagon-jumping had them turning up their noses. The key to Connie Francis’ smash success was only partly due to her phenomenal, sorrow-laden singing voice.
Here lies the difference between her and the likes of Cathy Carr. While Cathy was struggling at Fraternity and a succession of other small, regional labels without the budget for A&R, Connie was being aggressively marketed to any potential artist willing to listen at MGM, who threw a ton of money at their investment.
Part of the result of this was that Connie was incredibly overworked. All her 50s and 60s hits were produced at mammoth days-long recording sessions. So the sorrow in her voice was probably not an act. I think it may have partly been fatigue*, which is why she sounded sad even on songs that didn’t call for it (Andrea Martin spoofed this on the fake record ad for 20 Depressing Hits by Connie Franklin [sic]). And MGM’s marketing towards all ages and ethnicities bordered on the crass (a sampling of Connie’s discography: Christmas With Connie, Rock ‘n’ Roll Million Sellers, Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites, Country Music Connie Style, Sings “Never On Sunday” and Other Title Songs From Motion Pictures, etc.).
While it’s true that commercial success is not a guarantee of artistic quality, especially considering the incredible volume of material that was churned out in such a short space of time, it’s obvious Connie could sing. She didn’t always get the grade A material her voice deserved, but then, that’s true of the 90s female soloists that supplanted her (believe me, we’ll get to them in time).
Enough stalling, let’s review this thing:
Good call on orchestrator David Rose (later of “The Stripper” fame) for knowing his bread-and-butter, giving Connie an a’cappella intro for her to sing. They’re also taking a a tip from Les Paul & Mary Ford, stunningly double-tracking her voice.
I’m really struck how wonderfully this is arranged. It builds to a crescendo, plinking piano and subtle saxophone rising out of the a’cappella intro, with the strings coming in very gradually and the choir only entering during the final verse. And none of it competes with Connie’s voice. Rose really knew his stuff!
What I was talking about earlier about Connie taking a happy song and making it sad kind of applies here, but there’s more to it than that. Unlike a lot of her later material, I think this song was selected specifically because it spotlighted her voice, and her personality, very well. The title is ironic, the narrator is actually sad because her lover is gone, and wants “[her] happiness” to return. Connie is a natural for this kind of tune.
Really, much, much better than I was expecting.
Rating: 4
*it’s since come out of the woodwork that Connie was suffering from bipolar disorder, which further explains this tendency, and suddenly turns that SCTV skit into a bit of a Funny Aneurysm Moment.
