165 Fun Facts About 50s Music

Who sang 'Poor Little Fool', the first song ever to top the Billboard Hot 100?

Nelson was already a TV star on his parents' sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which is why the song took off as a radio hit from an EP.

Which future record executive was one of the three journalists credited with creating the Hot 100?

Stein went on to co-found Sire Records and sign the Ramones, Talking Heads and Madonna; he said he could not recall who picked the chart's name.

In what year did Billboard discontinue its Most Played in Jukeboxes chart?

The jukebox chart had mattered because many radio stations refused to play rock and roll, so jukebox plays were one of the few measures of what teenagers actually liked.

Which song won Record of the Year at the very first Grammy Awards, held in May 1959?

'Volare' (Nel blu dipinto di blu) by Domenico Modugno took Record of the Year on May 4, 1959, beating Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Perry Como; the ceremony ran simultaneously in Beverly Hills and New York.

Music from which TV detective series won Henry Mancini the first-ever Album of the Year Grammy?

The Music from Peter Gunn also won Best Arrangement, and Mancini shared the two-award tally with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Domenico Modugno.

Which instrumental by the Champs won the first Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance?

'Tequila' by the Champs won Best Rhythm & Blues Performance at the first Grammys in 1959; its only vocal is the single spoken word 'Tequila', and the band was named for Gene Autry's horse, Champion.

Berry Gordy founded the label that became Motown in January 1959 under what original name?

Gordy founded Tamla Records on January 12, 1959; the company was not incorporated as Motown Record Corporation until April 1960, and 'Tamla Motown' later became the brand for UK releases.

How much did Berry Gordy borrow from a family savings cooperative to start his label in 1959?

Gordy borrowed $800 from the Ber-Berry Co-op, his family's savings fund, after some debate; the first Tamla release, Marv Johnson's 'Come to Me', went out regionally in January 1959.

What was Gordy's 1959 Detroit recording studio on West Grand Boulevard nicknamed?

Gordy bought a second Detroit studio, Golden World, in 1966; it became Studio B to Hitsville's Studio A.

Before founding Motown, Berry Gordy co-wrote 'Reet Petite' and 'Lonely Teardrops' for which Detroit singer?

Jackie Wilson's hits earned Gordy only modest royalties, which convinced him he needed to own the records himself; he wrote with his sister Gwen and Billy Davis.

Bandstand was broadcast from which city from its 1952 debut until it moved to Los Angeles in 1964?

The show began as a local program on WFIL-TV, and Dick Clark's national ABC version premiered on August 5, 1957.

Who hosted Bandstand as a local WFIL show before Dick Clark took over permanently?

The show grew out of Horn's WFIL radio program of the same name and originally featured short musical films rather than live acts.

In Bandstand's Rate-a-Record segment, teenagers scored songs on a scale that topped out at what number?

The scale ran from 35 to 98, and the segment gave the world the catchphrase 'It's got a good beat and you can dance to it.'

In which city did Alan Freed stage the 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball, the first major rock and roll concert?

Freed staged the Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena on March 21, 1952; his Moondog persona borrowed its name from New York street composer Louis Hardin, who later sued him over it.

Alan Freed was fired by WABC in 1959 after refusing to deny he had taken what?

Freed refused to sign a WABC statement denying he had taken payola, payments from record companies to play their discs, and was fired in November 1959; Dick Clark survived the same congressional hearings.

Which vocal group recorded the 1954 original of 'Sh-Boom'?

The Chords' 'Sh-Boom', on Atlantic's Cat label, crossed into the pop top ten in 1954; the Crew Cuts, a white Canadian quartet, then took their cover to number one.

Which Los Angeles group recorded the 1954 doo-wop hit 'Earth Angel'?

The Penguins recorded 'Earth Angel' for Dootsie Williams's Dootone label in 1954; it topped the R&B chart and crossed into the pop top ten in early 1955.

The term 'doo-wop' first appeared in print in 1961, in a review of which group's 'Blue Moon'?

The Chicago Defender used the word just as the style's vogue was ending; the Marcels' record turned a 1934 Rodgers and Hart standard into a nonsense-syllable romp.

Which Billboard reporter coined 'rhythm and blues' in 1949 to replace 'race music'?

Wexler later became a partner at Atlantic Records and produced Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Wilson Pickett.

Elvis Presley was born in 1935 in which Mississippi town?

Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935; his twin Jesse Garon was stillborn 35 minutes earlier, and the family moved to Memphis in 1948 when he was 13.

Sun Records sold Presley's contract to RCA Victor in 1955 for how much?

RCA Victor paid $40,000 in November 1955 ($35,000 to Sun plus a $5,000 bonus to Elvis), relieving Sun's money troubles and funding the careers of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis.

What was Presley's first RCA Victor single, released in January 1956 and his first pop number one?

'Heartbreak Hotel', released January 27, 1956, became Presley's first pop number one that spring; writers Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden took its mood from a newspaper story about a suicide note.

Which actor hosted Elvis Presley's first Ed Sullivan Show appearance in 1956 while Sullivan recovered from a car crash?

Charles Laughton hosted the September 9, 1956 broadcast while Sullivan recovered from a car crash; it drew about 60 million viewers, an 82.6 percent share, after Sullivan had declared Presley unfit for family viewing.

On The Steve Allen Show in 1956, Presley sang his new single to what animal in a top hat and bow tie?

On July 1, 1956 Allen had Presley, in white tie, sing 'Hound Dog' to a basset hound wearing a top hat; the next day Elvis cut 'Hound Dog' and 'Don't Be Cruel' in New York.

Which TV host persuaded Presley to leave his guitar backstage for a June 1956 performance, freeing his hips?

The Berle appearances drew such ratings and outrage that Presley was immediately booked for The Steve Allen Show.

On Elvis Presley's third and final Ed Sullivan Show appearance, in January 1957, the cameras famously did what?

Shot him only from the waist up is true of that final visit alone; the legend that Elvis was always filmed from the waist up is false.

After being drafted in 1958, Presley served as an armor intelligence specialist in which country?

Presley served with the 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, West Germany, from October 1958 to March 1960; living in nearby Bad Nauheim, the 24-year-old met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, and he donated his Army pay to charity.

Presley bought which Memphis mansion in March 1957?

Elvis bought Graceland, on Highway 51 South in Memphis, for $102,500 in March 1957; the road was later renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard and the house opened to the public in 1982.

Who founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952?

Sam Phillips opened Sun Records in 1952 as an outgrowth of his Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue; before Elvis it concentrated on Black blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King.

Which newspaper's headline named the December 1956 Sun Studio jam the Million Dollar Quartet?

Memphis Press-Scimitar entertainment editor Bob Johnson's story ran under the headline 'Million Dollar Quartet' with the famous photo of Presley at the piano; the uncropped version shows his girlfriend Marilyn Evans sitting on it.

Which Sun engineer recorded Jerry Lee Lewis's first session and taped the Million Dollar Quartet jam?

Clement said he thought he would be remiss not to hit record on the jam; the tapes sat unreleased until 1981.

How old was Jerry Lee Lewis's cousin-wife Myra Gale Brown when the 1958 scandal broke?

Myra Gale Brown, born July 1944, was 13 when a reporter at Heathrow asked who she was in May 1958; the British tour was cancelled after three shows and his bookings collapsed.

What was Jerry Lee Lewis's nickname?

Lewis was 'The Killer', a nickname that dated from his Ferriday, Louisiana schooldays; his 1957 Sun hits 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' and 'Great Balls of Fire' made the name famous.

Which future televangelist was Jerry Lee Lewis's cousin and childhood piano-playing partner?

Jimmy Swaggart, Lewis's first cousin from Ferriday, Louisiana, learned piano alongside him; Alec Baldwin played Swaggart in the 1989 biopic Great Balls of Fire!, with Dennis Quaid as Lewis.

Johnny Cash's 1955 debut Sun single paired 'Hey, Porter' with which song?

Sun 221 (June 1955) paired 'Hey, Porter' with 'Cry! Cry! Cry!', which Cash wrote overnight after Sam Phillips rejected his gospel audition songs as uncommercial.

Cash, born with only the initials 'J. R.', adopted 'John R.' when he enlisted in which service in 1950?

He spent much of his four years in West Germany as a Morse code operator, and met his first wife Vivian at a San Antonio roller rink during basic training.

What were Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant, Johnny Cash's Sun-era backing duo, known as?

Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant were the Tennessee Two; their boom-chicka-boom sound partly reflected Perkins's limited technique, and when drummer W. S. Holland joined in 1960 they became the Tennessee Three.

Cash left Sun in 1958 to sign a more lucrative deal with which label?

Cash signed with Columbia Records in 1958; one of his first projects there was the gospel album Hymns by Johnny Cash (1959), the kind of record Sun had refused to let him make.

Which Chuck Berry song is the only rock and roll track on the 1977 Voyager Golden Record?

'Johnny B. Goode' is the only rock and roll track on the 1977 Voyager Golden Record; its opening riff was lifted almost note for note from Carl Hogan's intro on Louis Jordan's 'Ain't That Just Like a Woman'.

Berry's 1955 breakthrough 'Maybellene' was an adaptation of which country fiddle tune?

'Maybellene' reworked the fiddle tune 'Ida Red', which Berry knew from Bob Wills's 1938 recording; Leonard Chess preferred the hillbilly number to Berry's blues, and the record topped the R&B chart in 1955.

Which blues star told Berry to contact Leonard Chess when he visited Chicago in May 1955?

Muddy Waters, whom Berry sought out at a Chicago club in May 1955, pointed him to Leonard Chess; Berry had been playing blues and country in St. Louis with pianist Johnnie Johnson's trio.

Little Richard was born in 1932 in which Georgia city?

Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, on December 5, 1932, the third of twelve children; his father was a church deacon who also ran a nightclub and sold bootleg moonshine.

What did Little Richard take as a sign from God to quit rock and roll during a 1957 Australian tour?

He enrolled at Oakwood College in Alabama to study theology, and refused to record secular music again for several years.

Which clean-cut white singer's cover of 'Tutti Frutti' charted higher than Little Richard's original?

Pat Boone's 'Tutti Frutti' reached number 12 on the pop chart in 1956 while Little Richard's original stopped at 17; Boone had also outsold Fats Domino with a milder 'Ain't That a Shame' in 1955.

What was the title of Fats Domino's first single, sometimes called the first rock and roll record to sell a million?

'The Fat Man', cut in New Orleans in December 1949 with producer Dave Bartholomew, was a toned-down rewrite of 'Junker's Blues', a song about drug addicts; Bartholomew stayed Domino's collaborator for decades.

Domino's 1956 "Blueberry Hill" revived a song first recorded in which year by Glenn Miller and others?

'Blueberry Hill' dates from 1940, when Glenn Miller's version was a hit; Louis Armstrong and Gene Autry also cut it, and Domino's 1956 revival held number one on the R&B chart for 11 weeks.

Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" became a phenomenon in 1955 after opening which film?

'Rock Around the Clock' played over the opening credits of Blackboard Jungle in March 1955; the 1954 record had first been issued as the B-side of 'Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)' and flopped.

Before they became the Comets in 1952, Bill Haley's western-swing group was called what?

The Saddlemen became Bill Haley and His Comets in 1952, a pun on Halley's Comet; the guitar solo on 'Rock Around the Clock' was played by session man Danny Cedrone, who died in a fall weeks after recording it.

Whose band actually played on 'Rocket 88' (1951), credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats?

Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm cut 'Rocket 88' at Sam Phillips's Memphis studio in March 1951, with saxophonist Jackie Brenston singing; the fuzzy guitar came from an amplifier damaged on the drive and stuffed with newspaper.

Buddy Holly was born in 1936 in which Texas city?

Charles Hardin Holley was born in Lubbock on September 7, 1936; a 1956 Decca contract misspelled his surname as Holly and he kept the shorter version.

Because Buddy Holly was still under contract to Decca, 'That'll Be the Day' was released under which band name?

The Crickets was drummer Jerry Allison's suggestion, and the record topped both the US and UK charts that autumn.

Holly recorded 'That'll Be the Day' and most of his hits with producer Norman Petty in which town?

Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, was about 100 miles from Lubbock; Holly went there in February 1957 after clashing with Decca's Nashville producer Owen Bradley, and cut 'That'll Be the Day' there.

Which venue hosted the final show of Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on February 2, 1959?

The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was a last-minute booking on a supposed day off of the Winter Dance Party tour; the ballroom has hosted an annual tribute concert since 1979.

What type of aircraft crashed on February 3, 1959, killing Holly, Valens, the Big Bopper and their pilot?

The Beechcraft Bonanza, tail number N3794N, was flown by 21-year-old Roger Peterson out of Mason City; despite the legend it was never called American Pie, and no record exists of it having a name.

Which member of Holly's touring band gave his seat on the doomed flight to the Big Bopper?

Waylon Jennings, playing bass on the tour, gave his seat to the flu-stricken Big Bopper; Holly joked 'I hope your damned bus freezes up again' and Jennings shot back 'I hope your old plane crashes'.

Which 1971 song coined the phrase 'the day the music died' for the 1959 crash?

Don McLean's 'American Pie' opens with his memory of delivering newspapers carrying news of the crash; the single topped the Hot 100 for four weeks from January 15, 1972.

How old was Ritchie Valens when he died?

Valens, born May 13, 1941, was 17 when he died; his whole career lasted eight months after Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records signed him in May 1958 on a tip from a San Fernando high school student.

Ritchie Valens' all-Spanish hit 'La Bamba' was notable because Valens did what?

Valens learned the words phonetically because the Valenzuela family spoke only English at home; 'La Bamba' adapted a Veracruz folk song and was the B-side of 'Donna', which reached number two.

How many other acts reportedly turned down 'Bye Bye Love' before the Everly Brothers cut it?

'Bye Bye Love' had reportedly been rejected by 30 acts before the Everlys cut it in 1957; husband-and-wife team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote it and most of the brothers' later hits.

The Everly Brothers recorded their 1950s hits for which independent label, run by Archie Bleyer?

After three years there they signed a then-huge $1 million deal with Warner Bros.; Cadence kept issuing singles from the vaults into 1962.

Sinatra's 1950s comeback began with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in which 1953 film?

Sinatra won Best Supporting Actor as Private Maggio in From Here to Eternity, released in August 1953; the Oscar, awarded in March 1954, restored a career that had cratered after Columbia dropped him in 1952.

Which arranger, formerly Nat King Cole's musical director, shaped Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours?

Nelson Riddle, who had arranged Nat King Cole's 'Unforgettable', shaped In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Sinatra's first 12-inch LP and a record often called the first concept album.

Sinatra's 1958 concept album with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour, was titled what?

The title track was written specially for him and was nominated for Album of the Year at the first Grammys, losing to Henry Mancini.

Patsy Cline scored her first hit, 'Walkin' After Midnight', after performing it on which TV show in 1957?

On Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in January 1957 Cline wanted to sing 'A Poor Man's Roses', but the producers insisted on 'Walkin' After Midnight'; it then crossed to number 12 on the pop chart.

Patsy Cline grew up in which Virginia town, where she began singing on radio at 15?

Cline grew up in Winchester, Virginia, where she sang on station WINC at 15; her childhood home there opened as a museum in 2011, and she died in a 1963 plane crash with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins.

Which producer wrote the Platters' hits 'Only You' and 'The Great Pretender'?

Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer, wrote both 'Only You' and 'The Great Pretender' (1955), with Tony Williams singing lead; 'The Great Pretender' became their first pop number one.

The Drifters were originally formed in 1953 as a backing group for which singer?

Clyde McPhatter formed the Drifters in 1953 after leaving Billy Ward's Dominoes, and Atlantic signed them as his backing group; a second Drifters led by Ben E. King formed in 1959 from the Five Crowns.

Which songwriting duo wrote most of the Coasters' hits, including 'Yakety Yak'?

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote and produced nearly all the Coasters' hits, including 'Yakety Yak', a 1958 number one; the Coasters became the first vocal group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Frankie Lymon was the boy-soprano lead singer of which doo-wop group?

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, from Washington Heights, were an integrated group with three Black and two Puerto Rican members; 13-year-old Lymon sang lead on their 1956 debut 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love'.

What was the original working title of Frankie Lymon's 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love'?

The song began as 'Why Do Birds Sing So Gay?', written by Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant from lines in a neighbor's love letters; retitled, the 1956 debut topped the R&B and UK charts.

Dion and the Belmonts took their name from a street in which New York borough?

Belmont Avenue was known as the Little Italy of the Bronx.

Which 1957 song was the Del-Vikings' first and biggest hit?

'Come Go with Me', first issued on the Pittsburgh label Fee Bee and picked up by Dot, reached number four in 1957, the Del-Vikings' first and biggest hit; 'Whispering Bells' followed at number nine.

The Flamingos are best known for their 1959 cover of which song?

The Flamingos' dreamy 1959 arrangement of 'I Only Have Eyes for You', a 1934 Harry Warren and Al Dubin song, reached number 11; Rolling Stone ranked it 158th among its 500 greatest songs.

The Five Satins recorded their million-selling 'In the Still of the Night' in which state?

The Five Satins, formed in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1954 by Fred Parris, cut 'In the Still of the Night' in February 1956 in the basement of St. Bernadette's Church in New Haven.

The Silhouettes' 1957 number one hit celebrated the virtues of what?

'Get a Job' was inspired by a mother's nagging to find work.

For how long did Perry Como record exclusively for RCA Victor?

Como recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 to 1987; 'Mr. C' reportedly sold over 100 million records and was an early star of the TV variety show.

Which 1951 Nat King Cole ballad became a 1991 duet with his daughter Natalie?

'Unforgettable', written by Irving Gordon, was a 1951 hit for Cole; Natalie Cole's 1991 duet with her late father's recording won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

Nat King Cole's Oscar-winning 1950 hit 'Mona Lisa' was written for which film?

'Mona Lisa', by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, was written for the Alan Ladd spy drama Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1950); Cole's recording topped the Billboard chart and the song won the Academy Award.

Which Italian-flavoured 1953 song became Dean Martin's signature hit?

'That's Amore', written by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks, debuted in the 1953 Martin and Lewis film The Caddy and reached number two; it was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar.

Doris Day introduced 'Que Sera, Sera' in which Alfred Hitchcock film?

In The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Day sings 'Que Sera, Sera' loudly at an embassy so her kidnapped son can hear her; the Livingston and Evans song won the Best Original Song Oscar.

Patti Page was born in which state?

Clara Ann Fowler was born in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 1927 and took the name Patti Page from a Tulsa radio show sponsored by the Page Milk Company.

Which 1950 Patti Page record became her biggest seller?

'Tennessee Waltz', written by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King in 1946, was released by Page in late 1950, topped the Billboard chart and became her biggest seller, with reported sales above ten million.

Rosemary Clooney's 1951 breakthrough 'Come On-a My House' is based on a folk song from which culture?

Armenian-American cousins Ross Bagdasarian and William Saroyan wrote it in 1939 while driving across New Mexico, adapting an Armenian folk melody; Mitch Miller pushed Clooney to record it in 1951 and it topped the chart.

Which emotional 1950s singer had a 1951 number one with 'Cry'?

Ray was partially deaf and known for his emotional, animated stage act.

Which crooner, a 20-time Grammy winner, founded a performing-arts school in Queens?

Tony Bennett and his wife Susan founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, in 2001; his 20 Grammys include a 1995 Album of the Year for MTV Unplugged.

Which 1950s crooner was married to both Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor?

Eddie Fisher married Debbie Reynolds in 1955 and left her for Elizabeth Taylor in 1959; he hosted Coke Time with Eddie Fisher on NBC and had number ones with 'Oh! My Pa-Pa' and 'I'm Walking Behind You'.

Guy Mitchell's 1956 chart-topper 'Singing the Blues' was first recorded by whom?

Marty Robbins cut Melvin Endsley's 'Singing the Blues' first, taking it to number one on the country chart in 1956; Guy Mitchell's pop version then spent ten weeks at number one from December 1956.

Debbie Reynolds scored a 1957 number one with the title song of which film?

'Tammy', the theme of the 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor, gave Debbie Reynolds a Billboard number one and was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar.

Bobby Darin's first million-selling single, co-written with a DJ on a bet, was which song?

'Splish Splash' (1958) was written in minutes with DJ Murray 'the K' Kaufman after a bet that Darin could not build a song on the line 'Splish splash, I was takin' a bath'; it sold over a million.

Bobby Darin's hit 'Mack the Knife' comes from which Kurt Weill work?

'Mack the Knife' is Marc Blitzstein's English version of 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer' from Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera (1928); Darin's 1959 recording won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

Paul Anka's 1957 debut hit 'Diana' was inspired by a girl he met where?

'Diana' was written for Diana Ayoub, an older girl Anka knew from his church in Ottawa; the 1957 single topped the Billboard chart when he was 16.

Connie Francis rose to fame in 1957 with a cover of which 1923 song?

'Who's Sorry Now?', a 1923 standard by Ted Snyder, Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, was recorded by Connie Francis in late 1957 and became her breakthrough hit after Dick Clark played it on American Bandstand.

Frankie Avalon's 1959 number one hit pleaded with which Roman goddess?

'Venus', written by Ed Marshall and first offered to Al Martino, gave Frankie Avalon five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.

Which 1959 single was teen idol Fabian's highest-charting hit, reaching number three?

'Tiger', written by Ollie Jones, reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 and was Fabian's biggest hit; 'Turn Me Loose' and 'Hound Dog Man' both peaked at number nine.

Which 1956 Little Richard single was backed with 'Slippin' and Slidin''?

'Long Tall Sally' was the A-side of Specialty 572 (1956), backed with 'Slippin' and Slidin''; it topped the Billboard R&B chart and reached number six on the pop chart.

Which Chuck Berry song wishes rhythm and blues were respected like classical music?

'Roll Over Beethoven' (1956) was inspired by Berry's sister Lucy monopolising the family piano for classical pieces; the Beatles covered it on With the Beatles in 1963.

The 'Bo Diddley beat' is essentially based on which Afro-Cuban rhythm?

The Bo Diddley beat is a 3-2 son clave pattern, the 'shave and a haircut' rhythm; Diddley built his 1955 debut single 'Bo Diddley' on it.

Which rockabilly pioneer wrote and first recorded 'Blue Suede Shoes' in 1955?

Carl Perkins wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes' and recorded it at Sun Studio in December 1955; Elvis Presley's cover opened his self-titled 1956 debut album.

Gene Vincent's 1956 top-ten hit with his Blue Caps was which rockabilly classic?

'Be-Bop-a-Lula' reached number seven on the Billboard chart in 1956 and was Gene Vincent's only US top ten; he later became a bigger and more lasting star in Britain.

Who co-wrote Eddie Cochran's 1958 hit 'Summertime Blues'?

Jerry Capehart, Eddie Cochran's manager, co-wrote 'Summertime Blues'; issued in 1958 as the flip side of 'Love Again', it was turned over by DJs and reached number eight on the Hot 100.

Ray Charles improvised 'What'd I Say' in 1958 because he had run out of what?

The two-part single was one of the first soul songs.

Ray Charles based his 1954 hit 'I Got a Woman' on a gospel song by which group?

'I Got a Woman' reworks 'It Must Be Jesus', a 1954 gospel record by the Southern Tones that Charles heard on the radio while touring; his version topped the R&B chart in 1955.

Which 1957 Sam Cooke single was his only pop number one?

'You Send Me', Cooke's first release under his own name after his Soul Stirrers years, topped both the Billboard pop and R&B charts in December 1957 and was his only pop number one.

Lloyd Price's 1959 number one 'Stagger Lee' is based on an 1895 murder in which city?

'Stagger Lee' recounts 'Stag' Lee Shelton shooting Billy Lyons in a St. Louis saloon on Christmas night 1895; Lloyd Price's version topped the Hot 100 for four weeks in 1959.

Which blues shouter first recorded 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' in 1954?

Big Joe Turner recorded 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' for Atlantic in February 1954; Jesse Stone wrote it under the pseudonym Charles Calhoun, and Bill Haley's cover followed that summer.

Which R&B singer inspired Atlantic's nickname 'the house that ___ built'?

Ruth Brown's early-1950s hits such as 'Teardrops from My Eyes' and '(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean' earned Atlantic Records the nickname 'the house that Ruth built', a pun on Yankee Stadium.

Which R&B singer had 1950s hits with 'Tweedle Dee' and 'Jim Dandy'?

LaVern Baker's Atlantic hits 'Tweedle Dee' (1955) and 'Jim Dandy' (1956) made her one of the label's biggest stars; she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Etta James performed on which network of Black venues early in her career?

Her 1955 debut hit was 'The Wallflower'.

Who wrote and originally recorded 'The Twist' in 1959 before Chubby Checker's cover?

Ballard fronted the Midnighters; his version was the B-side of 'Teardrops on Your Letter'.

Which macabre-props performer recorded 'I Put a Spell on You' and pioneered shock rock?

Screamin' Jay Hawkins recorded 'I Put a Spell on You' for Okeh in 1956 and built a stage act around it, emerging from a coffin with a skull named Henry; the record never charted on Billboard.

Where did Hank Williams die on New Year's Day 1953?

He was 29 and en route to a concert in Canton, Ohio.

Which of his own wives inspired Hank Williams's 'Your Cheatin' Heart'?

He dictated the lyrics to Billie Jean Jones while driving to Shreveport.

Which singer became the first woman to top the US country charts, in 1952?

Kitty Wells's 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels', an answer to Hank Thompson's 'The Wild Side of Life', topped the Billboard country chart in 1952, the first number one by a solo female artist.

Marty Robbins's 1959 ballad 'El Paso' won a Grammy in which category?

'El Paso' won Marty Robbins the Grammy for Best Country & Western Performance at the 1961 ceremony; it was also the first number one of the 1960s on both the Hot 100 and the country chart.

Johnny Horton's 1959 hit 'The Battle of New Orleans' describes a battle from which war?

The Battle of New Orleans (January 1815) was the last major battle of the War of 1812; schoolteacher Jimmy Driftwood wrote the song in 1936 to teach the history, and Horton's version topped the Hot 100 in 1959.

Country star Jim Reeves, who died in a 1964 plane crash, was nicknamed what?

Jim Reeves's smooth baritone and polished manner earned him the nickname 'Gentleman Jim'; his records kept charting for two decades after his 1964 crash, including 'Distant Drums' (1966).

Duane Eddy was famous for a guitar sound described as what?

Duane Eddy's 'twangy' sound came from picking melodies on the low strings of his Gretsch; his 1958 debut album was titled Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel, and 'Rebel-'Rouser' reached the top ten that year.

Why did some radio stations ban Link Wray's 1958 instrumental 'Rumble'?

It was one of the earliest rock records to use distortion and power chords.

The instrumental hit 'Sleep Walk' (1959) prominently featured which instrument?

Santo Farina's lap steel guitar carries the melody of 'Sleep Walk', which Santo & Johnny took to number one on the Hot 100 in September 1959.

Dave Brubeck's 1959 hit 'Take Five' is written in which time signature?

'Take Five', composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond for Brubeck's 1959 album Time Out, is in 5/4; the same album's 'Blue Rondo à la Turk' is in 9/8.

Which 1959 Miles Davis album was built almost entirely on modal scales?

Kind of Blue (1959) was built on modal scales rather than chord changes, giving Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans room to improvise; the RIAA certified it quadruple platinum in 2008.

Which Cuban bandleader topped the US and UK charts in 1955 with a mambo version of 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White'?

Pérez Prado's big-band mambo also gave the world 'Mambo No. 5'.

Harry Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso was the first LP by a solo artist to do what?

Calypso, Belafonte's third album, spent 31 weeks at number one on the Billboard album chart in 1956-57 and became the first LP by a single artist to sell a million copies.

The Kingston Trio's 1958 number one 'Tom Dooley' is based on a murder ballad from which state?

'Tom Dooley' recounts Tom Dula's 1866 murder of Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina; the Kingston Trio's version topped the Hot 100 in 1958 and won a Grammy.

Which cowboy actor wrote and performed the 1958 novelty number one 'The Purple People Eater'?

The premise came from a joke told by a friend's child.

The sped-up-tape technique on 'Witch Doctor' led Ross Bagdasarian to create which act?

The 1958 hit rescued Liberty Records from near-bankruptcy.

Which 1956 Lerner and Loewe musical, based on Shaw's Pygmalion, set a Broadway run record?

My Fair Lady, Lerner and Loewe's 1956 adaptation of Shaw's Pygmalion, starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews and ran 2,717 performances, then a Broadway record for a musical.

West Side Story marked the Broadway debut of which lyricist in 1957?

Stephen Sondheim, then 27, made his Broadway debut writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) to Leonard Bernstein's music; Jerome Robbins conceived and choreographed it.

Meredith Willson's The Music Man is set in which US state?

The Music Man is set in River City, Iowa, modelled on Meredith Willson's hometown of Mason City; the 1957 show won five Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Which actor originated the role of the King in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I?

Yul Brynner originated the King of Siam opposite Gertrude Lawrence's Anna in the 1951 Broadway production, winning a Tony, and went on to play the role more than 4,000 times.

Which singer performed the High Noon theme 'Do Not Forsake Me' in the 1952 film?

Tex Ritter sang 'High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)' on the 1952 film's soundtrack and at the Academy Awards, where it won Best Original Song; Frankie Laine's cover was the bigger chart hit.

In what year did Columbia Records introduce the LP record?

Columbia unveiled the 33⅓ rpm long-playing microgroove record in June 1948; RCA Victor answered with the 45 rpm single in 1949, starting the 'war of the speeds'.

The Regency TR-1, launched in 1954, was the first commercially made what?

The first transistor radio sold about 150,000 units thanks to its novel small size.

In what year did Fender begin continuously manufacturing the Stratocaster?

Fender introduced the Stratocaster in 1954, Leo Fender's double-cutaway design with a contoured body, three pickups and a synchronized tremolo.

Gibson first sold the Les Paul solid-body electric guitar in which year?

Gibson launched the Les Paul model in 1952 as its first solid-body electric, a gold-top with a mahogany body and carved maple cap, endorsed by guitarist Les Paul.

The Newport Jazz Festival was established in 1954 in which state?

The Newport Jazz Festival debuted in July 1954 in Newport, Rhode Island, bankrolled by socialites Elaine and Louis Lorillard and produced by George Wein.

The Louisiana Hayride radio show, which helped launch Elvis Presley, broadcast from which city?

It aired from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium.

Liverpool's famous Merseybeat venue opened on 16 January 1957 as what?

The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club in a Mathew Street cellar, frowning on rock and roll until the beat boom; the Beatles went on to play there nearly 300 times.

John Lennon formed which skiffle band in 1956 that evolved into the Beatles?

Lennon formed the Quarrymen in 1956 at Quarry Bank High School, whose school song mentions 'quarrymen'; Paul McCartney joined in 1957 and George Harrison in 1958.

Which British singer, the 'King of Skiffle', rose to prominence with a hit version of the American folk song 'Rock Island Line'?

Lonnie Donegan's 1956 version of Lead Belly's 'Rock Island Line' reached the top ten in both Britain and the US, launching the skiffle craze that put guitars in the hands of the Beatles' generation.

Which 1958 Cliff Richard song is often called Britain's first authentic rock and roll record?

'Move It', written by Ian Samwell, was the flip side of Cliff Richard's 1958 debut 'Schoolboy Crush' but became the hit, reaching number two in Britain backed by the Drifters, soon renamed the Shadows.

Which entertainer, discovered at Soho's 2i's Coffee Bar, is regarded as Britain's first teen idol?

Tommy Steele was spotted at the 2i's Coffee Bar in 1956 and became Britain's first rock and roll star with 'Rock with the Caveman'; his 'Singing the Blues' topped the UK chart in January 1957.

Which jazz saxophonist, nicknamed 'Bird', was a leading figure of bebop before dying in 1955?

Charlie 'Bird' Parker, the alto saxophonist who shaped bebop alongside Dizzy Gillespie, died in New York in March 1955 aged 34.

Ella Fitzgerald began her acclaimed Song Book series in 1956 with the works of which composer?

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (1956), her first release for Norman Granz's new Verve label, opened a series that went on to cover Rodgers and Hart, Ellington, Berlin and Gershwin.

Which cool-jazz trumpeter was nicknamed the 'Prince of Cool'?

Chet Baker, the West Coast trumpeter who also sang 'My Funny Valentine', was dubbed the 'Prince of Cool' for his sound and matinee-idol looks; his early promise was compared to 'James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix'.

The Ed Sullivan Show, which hosted Elvis Presley and later the Beatles, ran from 1948 to 1971 on which network?

CBS carried the variety show for its entire run, hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan.

Which enduring holiday hit did Brenda Lee record in 1958, aged 13?

'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree', written by Johnny Marks, was cut by a 13-year-old Brenda Lee in October 1958; it reached number one on the Hot 100 for the first time in December 2023.

Tennessee Ernie Ford scored a 1955 number one with which song about a coal miner?

'Sixteen Tons', written by Merle Travis in 1946 about the Muhlenberg County, Kentucky coal mines his father worked, topped both the country and pop charts for Tennessee Ernie Ford in late 1955.

Which Everly Brothers hit was banned by Boston radio for suggestive lyrics?

'Wake Up Little Susie', written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, was banned by some Boston stations because the couple fall asleep together at a drive-in; it still topped the Billboard chart in 1957.

Which Big Bopper song reached number 6 on the Hot 100 in 1958?

'Chantilly Lace', recorded at Gold Star Studios in Houston, reached number six on the Hot 100 in 1958 and was the Big Bopper's biggest hit as a performer; he also wrote 'Running Bear' and 'White Lightning' for others.

Who wrote Jerry Lee Lewis's 1957 hit 'Great Balls of Fire'?

'Great Balls of Fire' was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer; Lewis's Sun recording reached number two on Billboard's pop chart in early 1958 and sold a million copies within weeks.

Who first recorded 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' before Jerry Lee Lewis's famous 1957 version?

Big Maybelle cut the first version of 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' for Okeh in 1955, produced by Quincy Jones, two years before Jerry Lee Lewis's Sun hit; the song is credited to Dave 'Curlee' Williams.

Cuban violinist Enrique Jorrín created which dance rhythm in the early 1950s?

Violinist Enrique Jorrín of Orquesta América created the cha-cha-chá in Havana in the early 1950s, naming it for the shuffling sound of dancers' feet; 'La engañadora' (1953) was its first hit.

Which Sun artist advised Roy Orbison to contact Sam Phillips in 1956?

Johnny Cash, whom Orbison had met in West Texas, told him to call Sam Phillips; Phillips snapped 'Johnny Cash doesn't run my record company' but signed Orbison in 1956 as Elvis left for RCA.

What was Roy Orbison's first recording for Sun Records?

'Ooby Dooby', written by Orbison's college friends Wade Moore and Dick Penner, was his first Sun single in 1956 and reached number 59 on the Billboard chart.

Which 'Queen of Rockabilly' briefly dated Elvis Presley while touring with him in 1955?

Wanda Jackson toured with Elvis Presley in 1955-56 and briefly dated him; he pushed her toward rockabilly, and 'Fujiyama Mama' (1957) and the top-40 hit 'Let's Have a Party' (1960) followed.

Johnny Mathis was invited to try out for the 1956 US Olympic team in which event?

Mathis set a San Francisco State high-jump record of 1.97 m, 7 cm short of the 1952 Olympic record, but on his father's advice chose a Columbia recording session over the 1956 Olympic trials.

What was Les Paul's birth name?

Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1915; he pioneered overdubbing, tape delay and multitrack recording and had 1950s hits with his wife Mary Ford.

Perry Como's 'Catch a Falling Star' holds what place in record-industry history?

'Catch a Falling Star' became the first single certified gold by the RIAA, on March 14, 1958; its flip side 'Magic Moments' topped the UK chart.

Johnny and the Hurricanes' biggest hit, a 1959 organ-led instrumental, reworked which cowboy folk song?

'Red River Rock', Johnny and the Hurricanes' 1959 top-five hit, reworked the cowboy folk song 'Red River Valley' around Paul Tesluk's Hammond organ.

The Fleetwoods recorded the demo of 'Come Softly to Me' a cappella with what as percussion?

The Fleetwoods' a cappella demo of 'Come Softly to Me' used Gary Troxel's jingling car keys as percussion; the 1959 single topped the Hot 100 for four weeks.

Whose 1959 recording took the R&B song 'Kansas City', first cut in 1952 as 'K. C. Loving', to number one?

Wilbert Harrison's 1959 'Kansas City' on Fury Records topped the Hot 100 for two weeks; Little Willie Littlefield had cut Leiber and Stoller's song in 1952 as 'K. C. Loving'.

Which label owner heard Little Richard's 1955 demo tape and set up the 'Tutti Frutti' session?

Rupe ran Specialty Records; local writer Dorothy LaBostrie was brought in to clean up the original lyrics before the song was cut in New Orleans.

Which real Detroit mob is name-checked among the characters in Elvis's 'Jailhouse Rock'?

'Jailhouse Rock' by Leiber and Stoller name-checks the Purple Gang, the Prohibition-era Detroit mob, as the 'whole rhythm section'; the writers meant it as a goof but Elvis sang it straight.

The Platters' 1959 chart-topper 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' was written for which 1933 musical?

'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta; Paul Whiteman had the first hit recording in 1934 and the Platters' revival topped the Hot 100 in 1959.