Ricky Nelson: “Stood Up”
Entered the chart on: 12/30/1957
Peaked on: 1/13/1958
Weeks at #2: 3 weeks
Song at #1: “At the Hop” by Danny & the Juniors
Now, I was quick to come to Ricky’s defense, at least a little, during my last review but...come on! “Stood Up”? Ricky Nelson, the most desirable dream date for teenage girls in the late 50s? I believe that like I believe the Crew Cuts were the original artists singing “Sh-Boom.”
I’m sure I’m missing some context here. I never watched Ozzie and Harriet, and I’m sure this song was used, Partridge Family-style, to have Ricky teach a lesson to some high-school heartbreaker or something. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh here. Let’s examine the case of this song.
OK, already I like this better than “A Teenager’s Romance.” It’s more of that old-time rock & roll with some great electric guitar and an infectious beat. That said, after “Great Balls of Fire,” Ricky can’t help but come across as a bit...sedate? I kind of want Jerry Lee Lewis to come up behind him with a pitchfork to put a little more fire into his performance.
So...good, but not great. I like this, but it doesn’t excite me.
And isn’t that what good rock and roll is supposed to do?
Ricky Nelson: “A Teenager’s Romance”
Entered the chart on: 5/27/1957
Peaked on: 6/10/1957
Weeks at #2: 1 week
Song at #1: “Love Letters in the Sand” by Pat Boone
Oh dear, we’re back to the teenage exploitation records, aren’t we? Well, sort of. Ricky Nelson tried so hard for rock & roll credibility but it really eluded him until the 70s and his country-rock years with the Stone Canyon Band. Back in the 50s? Yes, he was fighting an uphill battle. In the popular consciousness, he was a radio/TV star using his parents’ Hollywood clout to kick-start a music career. Imperial Records surely just saw him as a cute, non-threatening fresh face that appealed to young girls. He could cover Fats Domino tunes until he was blue in the face, yet it would be stuff like this that the average Joe would wind up mentally associating him with for years.
OK, lyrically this is the same song as “Teen Age Crush.” The exact same. “They tell us we’re too young to know what true love is, blah blah blah.” That said, this is better on every level. I really like the male backing vocals that form the backbone of this tune, and are way up-front right at the start. Oh, that bass singer! I think I’m in love! The sax solo is another nice touch here.
And say what you will about Ricky, he did have a good singing voice. The melody doesn’t overly tax him, and you get the feeling he’d rather be singing “I’m Walkin’” (the flip side of this very single) but his voice is not without expression and pitch control. He does service to the song and proves he’s not just another pretty face.
That said, you can arrange the song as nicely as you please and it won’t cover up the fact that it’s rather lacking in substance. The lyrics, as I’ve already implied, are beyond vapid, and the song itself isn’t anything vastly special, either. I get the feeling that this is fairly typical of Ricky’s less-remembered hits these days: competently-made fluff.
I’d still rather listen to this than Pat Boone any day of the week.
Tommy Sands: “Teen-Age Crush”
Entered the chart on: 2/23/1957
Peaked on: 3/16/1957
Weeks at #2: 2 weeks
Song at #1: “Young Love” by Tab Hunter
So, my current review schedule has me binging on 50s music. Artists I’ve long appreciated but forgotten about: LaVern Baker, Nat “King” Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Johnnie Ray, Kay Starr, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and so on. A recent whim dug up this oddity* from my parents’ record collection. It always creeped me out a bit; why should a bouncy, uptempo piano-shuffle instrumental have this unearthly, wordless soprano choir delivering the melody? And then that infectious rock & roll sax solo comes out of freaking nowhere! What a weird song! It’s no wonder it wasn’t a bigger hit (peaking at #38)!
By now I hear you asking, “Mike, are you stalling because you don’t want to review this edition’s song?” Maybe. Maybe because it’s sung by an actor who’s mainly remembered today for appearing opposite Annette Funicello in the Disney musical Babes in Toyland. Or for his failed marriage to Nancy Sinatra. Or because it’s called “Teen-Age Crush.” Anyway, the edition in my copy of Joel Whitburn’s Top 40 Hits has a check-mark in pencil next to it, which means I have heard this song before, but I have no memory of it. Rateyourmusic reviewer “Paddlesteamer” quotes a Youtube comment on this song: “I didn’t like this song back in ’57 and after listening to it again I still don’t.” Bodes well, doesn’t it?
Well, let’s get this over with...
[groan]
Listening to him over-sing, over-enunciate and generally make me cringe is not a pleasant experience. He just has this over-loaded kind of voice that is just off-putting to listen to. Think someone without vocal training trying to imitate Anthony Newley and you get an idea of his voice. The instrumental track is your typical rock-imitative pop song of the era, with the insistent plink-plink-plink piano and “ah-ahhh” backing vocal support**.
It’s funny, it’s like people didn’t realize that teenagers were a thing that existed until 1956 or so, and that it was an audience that could be pandered to. This is exploitation, pure and simple. As bad as I know this is, I only know it’s going to get worse as the really crass and embarrassing “youth oriented” stuff begins to surface. I see Bobby Rydell and Paul Anka in my near future and I am not looking forward to it!
I should look on the bright side. I could be reviewing this single’s B-side, “Hep Dee Hootie (Cutie Wootie).” Or Tab Hunter’s “Young Love,” for that matter. What a toxic top 2 this is!
Rating: 0
*in case the link doesn’t work, the tune is “Cha-Hua-Hua” by the Pets.
**I see that’s the Jordanaires on backing vocals, they who were heard to much better effect on many of Patsy Cline’s big hits.
Gale Storm: “I Hear You Knocking”
Entered the chart on: 10/22/1955
Peaked on: 12/24/1955
Weeks at #2: 3 weeks
Songs at #1: “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford and “Memories Are Made of This” by Dean Martin
Not gonna lie, I went back and listened to “A Blossom Fell” again after doing “Moments to Remember.” To cleanse the aural palate, you see. I knew what was coming...
Also went and listened to the original blues version by Smiley Lewis, which did not chart. For context, you see. I won’t make the same mistake I did with “Ko Ko Mo.” I was previously familiar only with Dave Edmunds’ version, like most people my age. His version has a different feel than Smiley’s (based around Edmunds’ guitar instead of the eighth-note piano chords and skronking sax that was popular on 50s R&B recordings) but he is faithful to the spirit of the original tune.
Something tells me I’m not going to get that from this version. So let’s get this over with, shall we?
[shudders]
Right, thus far in this review series, I have noticed three categories of these “whitewashed” covers:
1. Treat it like a silly novelty song (the Perry Como strategy)
2. Make a half-hearted attempt at copying the original version (the Freda Lipschitz approach)
3. Remove anything that was good about the original song and replace it with things that make you want to individually slap everyone involved with this travesty silly (Pat Boone’s general plan of action)
I’ll let you figure out which category this falls into by providing you with these three tidbits of information:
1. It was produced by Billy Vaughn (responsible for all those Pat Boone atrocities)
2. It was released on Dot Records (home to, you guessed it, Pat Boone)
3. It was sung by TV’s My Little Margie*.
I’m actually a bit shocked that something that was nominally made by “professionals” sounds so slip-shod. I’m immediately taken by the sloppy piano playing right out of the gate. Obviously, nobody involved had anything resembling respect for the original artist’s work. That and/or they knew they were backing a TV star play-acting at being a singer, someone who knew nothing about phrasing or intonation, so they didn’t feel the need to put, you know, effort into their performances.
Seriously, I know this woman was a popular star at the time, but who thought it was a good idea to stick her in front of an orchestra and put a microphone somewhere within range of her thin, nasal voice? It took all my force of will not to lunge for the “STOP” button, so unpleasant a vocalist is she to listen to. People actually bought this record? WHY?
Oh, and I see she has a version of “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” among her discography! No, not even going there! Even my Mom, a former member of Pat Boone’s fan club, owned the Frankie Lymon original, thank you very much.
So...that was 1955. Started off silly, ended tragically, but hey, at least it produced one masterpiece.
I think I’ll listen to “A Blossom Fell” a third time. Then I’ll drill a hole in my head and try to remove the part that remembers what Gale Storm’s singing voice sounds like.
Rating: 0
*For those too young to remember, My Little Margie is a 50s sitcom which has been so discredited over the years, not even the most desperate-for-content “nostalgia” networks will touch it with a ten-foot pole.
