Chuck Berry’s first record, and first hit, pumped more excitement and genius guitar work into its short few minutes than most post-millennial bands muster in a career. They would score their signature No.1 in 1960 with ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’, but ‘I Met Him On A Sunday’ was the first single, a laconic, gorgeous doo-wop call and response that got them signed to Tiara before a Decca licensing deal sent them national. The rest is, as you know, history. This decade was a turning point in American pop music, and the radical changes that took place during this era … The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film. $(document).ready(function(){$("#tabs-menu a").click(function(){$("#nav").slideToggle("200")})}); Top songs of the 1950's is updated by the minute by, The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au). The man behind The Champs’ one and only hit (a massive one, mind you – No.1 in the US, No.5 in the UK) was Danny Flores, who played the wild sax solo and blurted out “tequila!”, as you do. Music from 1950 -1959. Elizabeth Cotten got her belated break in 1957 at the grand old age of 62 when her shimmering guitar playing talents were finally spotted by the Seeger family. Chess brothers Leonard and Phil also helmed this Chuck Berry number, a riffing, jangling template that Berry would habitually plunder as he struggled to maintain his later career. With tremolo guitar from Chet Atkins, ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’ is one of the decade’s more saccharine options, but proved how vital harmonies could be to a song’s DNA. A cover of the bluesy Big Mama Thornton track, Elvis changed the track into hip-swiveling pound of rolling drums and grinding guitars that set teenage girls alight and made parents blush. The Everly’s celestial harmonies were goose bump inducing, and would later influence everyone from The Beatles to Fleetwood Mac. The most Romantic Old Songs in the 50s & 60s. So begins the third greatest song of the entire decade and one of the best rock ‘n’ roll tracks ever. ‘Bye Bye Love’ pushed those voices front and centre. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley 3. Inspired in part by a guy’s precious love for his suede shoes over the girl he was dancing with, Perkins’ big hit went on to sell a million records in the first three months (no mean feat in ’55) and climb the country, rhythm and blues, and pop charts simultaneously. If there were any blues contained in this summer, we couldn’t detect them. From Jerry Lee to Goose and Maverick, this irrepresible dose of raw rock energy and serious piano abuse has been a stone cold classic for nearly 60 years. Plundering the early blues catalogue – notably Lil’ Son Jackson’s ‘Rockin’ And Rollin” – for inspiration, King created his own standard, his chiming guitar a hypnotic groove. From its brassy train whistle to the evocative lyrics, few tunes encapsulate a sense of travel and wonder as this early ‘50s classic. Still, it had the cash rolling in, which would explain The Five Satins’ continued existence. He left behind this delicate ballad – reputedly the first record Paul Simon ever bought – that lives on in 50s-fuelled movies like Stephen King’s Christine and, of course, Back To The Future. 1 earning the greatest … Jimmy Reed’s first US chart hit, ‘Honest I Do’ is a slow blues drawl featuring guitar and harmonica duelling from the man himself. This article is about the US number-one songs chart from 1950–1958.. An air of otherworldly mystery hangs about this bluesy stomp. ‘Pledging My Love’ was a posthumous hit for Ace who weeks earlier had suffered the ultimate rock’n’roll demise, shooting himself in a blitzed round of Russian Roulette. Reed’s pure voice and persuasive playing had a deep impact on the approaching rock’n’roll boom, particularly The Rolling Stones who covered ‘Honest I Do’ on their 1964 debut album. 9th March 2012. Recorded by several obscure artists before and numerous big names after (from Little Richard, Eddie Cochran and Gerry & The Pacemakers to Elton John and Ten Years After), this raucous ditty was made most famous by Lewis, who less tinkles the ivories than spanks them remorselessly. Our top 50 acoustic and electric guitar songs represent certain moments in history that solidified the guitar as one of the most versatile and expressive instruments out there. The cad! Decades after it was released, ‘Walkin’ After Midnight’ would be referred to as “David Lynch-esque”. Armed with an amazing rockabilly riff (so good that it was later covered by The Who), ‘Summertime Blues’ pulverizes with Cochran’s “gee, shucks” vocal style and jumping, speed demon rhythms. The comically named Spaniels formed at school in 1952 and clocked their biggest with this evergreen doo-wop number two years later. In the world of rock mythology, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was inspired by a real life suicide, the story of which propelled songwriting duo Axton and Durden to pen this track. Miles Davis’s ‘A Kind Of Blue’ has stuck around as an all-time great jazz album and one of the more accessible examples in its field, with ‘Blue In Green’ one of a couple of ballads revealing Davis’s more subtle, feet-up playing. }); Where the sound of street doo-wop met rock and roll, the precocious Harlem teen Lymon and his vocal harmony group The Teenagers sang with the type of honesty about teenage love angst which that only a (then) 15 year old could have known about . Appropriately the rugged anthem was full of bolshy swagger and teenage ballsiness. It was Diddley’s first ever recording and from day one established the Bo Diddley Beat, a frenetic pattering rhythm that underscored a career and set Buddy Holly and The Rolling Stones on their own rhythmic adventures. It took a claymation video to finally shoot ‘Reet Petite’ to the top of the UK charts at the end of 1986, at that point setting a record for longest gap between release and hitting No.1. Let us know what your favorite acoustic guitar song is! var viewportWidth = $(window).width(); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGI4PgAHxtg. Celebrate events from the 1950s. Old Love Songs 50's 60's | Best Romantic Songs, Classics and Oldies from the 50s & 60s Music By Listanauta. $(".photo-thumb-link").lightbox();$(".comp-slideshow-03 p a").lightbox(); She’d actually written the mesmeric ‘Freight Train’ when she was 12 – after 50 years in mothballs, it was soon covered by artists including country star Chet Atkins and folkie Joan Baez. It's subjective, of course, but it covers the early days of rock 'n' roll in search of the saddest and most morbid teen songs. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for 100 Greatest 50s & … This was the first version, and inspired no less than six covers within a month of its release. © 2021 NME is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. Rankings are based on the popularity of each song during the period of 1950 through 1969. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ek3eCbfqp0. 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