Rock and roll continued its success story in 1959. The genre’s share of the record market had increased from 16% in 1955 to 43% in 1959.With record sales topping $600 million, rock and roll continued to be the dominant force, but the names were changing. Elvis Presley only had one #1 song in 1958 (“A Big Hunk ‘O Love”) and many of the leaders of the rock and roll movement were disappearing from the charts:
Pat Boone, who had originally pasteurized the genre for mass consumption, had posted 15 songs in the top 10 from 1956 - 1958. He didn’t have a top ten record in 1959.
After the scandal of 1958 due to his marriage to his young cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis had no top forty songs in 1959.
Little Richard retired from rock and roll. While he has told many different stories over the years as to the cause, the result is documented. He took himself off tour in 1957 and “retired” proclaiming rock and roll the “devil’s music.” He enrolled in a Seventh Day Adventist seminary in Huntsville, Alabama. Specialty records still released “Good Golly Miss Molly” in 1958 ( a #10 song) but Little Richard would only be recording Gospel music for the remainder of the 1950’s and early 1960’s.
Chuck Berry was busy converting his music successes of ‘57 and ‘58 into financial success. He had used his earnings to open a night club in (Club Bandstand) in the middle of white, upper class St. Louis. His public performances were still receiving enthusiastic response even though he had no top ten recordings in 1959. During one of these performances he recruited a girl to come to St. Louis and work in the club as a hatcheck girl. He subsequently fired the girl and she began soliciting at a local hotel. When she was arrested, she pointed the finger at Berry. Chuck Berry was charged with violating the Mann Act (transporting a woman across a state line for prostitution). In today’s light, the charge appears to be obviously racially motivated. A first conviction was actually overturned due to racist comments by the judge, but he was still found guilty in a second trial in 1962. The result was a disruption in a the career of one of the rock and roll greats. In 1964, after serving a year and a half in prison, Chuck Berry would reemerge on the record charts and be revered and copied by the new rockers, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
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Some of the top acts of 1958 continued their success into 1959. The Everly Brothers were one of the best in ‘58 and had a #4 song with “’Til I Kissed You.” in 1959. Ricky Nelson had four top ten songs and The Coasters put three in the top ten. The phenomenally consistent Fats Domino had two top ten recordings. But much of the recording successes in 1959 were relative newcomers. Paul Anka, Bobby Darin and Frankie Avalon had charted their first records in 1958 and would be among the top performers of 1959. Ray Charles, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Rydell, and The Drifters (a re-formed group) would have their initial success in 1959 and would go on to significant music careers.
1959 began with The Platters taking the number one spot from the 1958 carryover, “The Christmas Song” by The Chipmunks, with their rendition of an old Jerome Kern song from 1933, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” After three weeks, Lloyd Price claimed the top spot with a remake of an old folk song, “Stack-O-Lee.” Price had had some earlier success on the R & B charts, but he would be the top pop artist of 1959 as “Personality” (#5) and “I’m Gonna Get Married” (#22) would join “Stagger Lee” (#12) in Gilbert & Theroux’s top forty for the year. Bobby Darin had a big year, also with “Dream Lover” claiming the #7 spot on G & T’s list and “Mack the Knife” claiming the top spot. Cashbox and Billboard concurred. Only The Fleetwoods would double up on number one songs in 1959, with “Come Softly to Me” reaching #1 in the spring and “Mr. Blue” climbing to the top in November. Guy Mitchel would finally regain his success of 1957 with his version of “Heartaches by the Number” finishing out the year in the top spot.
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One of the biggest developments in the industry in 1959 was the emergence of the Brill Building music writing teams. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had been the first super writers of the Elvis Era, producing hits for The Coasters and Elvis Presley in the late 1950’s. By 1959 there was a big demand for songs as the major labels sought to corral the rock and roll genre and produce their own hits. The major labels needed songs for their new rock protégés. The Brill Building was located in the heart of Manhattan and became a focal point for song writing in the early 1960’s. In 1959 Aldon Music set up shop across from the Brill Building. Under the supervision of Don Kirschner and Al Nevins, song writing teams began producing a steady flow of hit songs. Kirschner had formed an association with Robert Cassoto in 1957 and after some false starts, Cassoto was coming into his own in 1959 as Bobby Darin. Neil Sedaka began producing hits in partnership with his high school classmate, Howie Greenfield (Sedaka writing the melodies and Greenfield providing the lyrics). In 1958 Connie Francis took the Sedaka / Greenfield song “Stupid Cupid.” to number 14. Sedaka would have his first top ten record with “Oh, Carol” ( #9) in 1959. Other teams soon developed: Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Intense competition between the teams helped to produce high quality music. Other teams outside of Aldon music also contributed to the “Brill Building sound” -- Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman; Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. What they all had in common was an effort to create professionally polished songs in the rock and roll style that would appeal to teen audiences. All of this was just getting started in 1959.
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In other regions, primarily Philadelphia, a different approach was taken to produce a hit record. This was the beginning of the “Teen Idol” era of rock and roll. There was less emphasis on the song, and more on the performer. In Philadelphia, Bob Marucci and Peter DeAngelis sought to capitalize on the proximity of American Bandstand to produce new rock and roll acts. Frankie Avalon was already a fairly successful local performer when they brought him to their Chancellor records in 1958. He reluctantly recorded “De-De Dinah” (holding his nose in protest and producing the high nasal sound). Amazingly, it became a hit. Attempts at follow-ups didn’t succeed until Marucci and DeAngelis had him record “Venus.” The song went to number one and established Frankie Avalon as the first “Teen Idol” of rock and roll.
Marucci and DeAngelis went in search of other talent and found Fabian Forte. He wasn’t much of a singer, but with exposure on American Bandstand they were able to promote him to two top ten records (“Tiger” - #3; “Turn Me Loose” - #9). And eventually Fabian would also find success as an actor.
Other “Teen Idols” became popular in 1959 as well. Bobby Rydell, who had been a drummer backing Avalon when he started out, had his first top ten record, “We Got Love” (#9) in 1959. Paul Anka followed his 1958 hit “Diana” with another #1 song, “Lonely Boy” and two other top ten hits. And, of course, Ricky Nelson owed some of his success to his good looks and continued appearances on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.”
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There was another face of rock and roll in 1959 that was more than the “Teen Idol.” But it’s influence would be cut short (see 1959 Introduction -- “The Day the Music Died.”). Buddy Holly had just gotten started in 1958 and Ritchie Valens was flying high with his two-sided hit, “Donna” and “La Bamba” when a plane crash took their lives. Eddie Cochran would die in a car crash in early 1960. These were artists who wrote and performed their own music. They were the guitar-toting inheritors of the persona Elvis Presley had first brought to the music in 1956. But the guy with the guitar was being replaced by the man with the mike.
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The late 1950s was the heyday of the instrumental and many had great success in 1959. Santo & Johnny had the top instrumental of the year. “Sleep Walk” was a number one record that Billboard ranked as the 11th best of the year. Dave “Baby” Cortez also had a number one instrumental with “The Happy Organ.” Johnny & The Hurricanes with “Red River Rock” (#5) and Sandy Nelson with “Teen Beat” (#4) would also make the top ten. With “Peter Gunn,” Ray Anthony not only made the top ten (#8) but also managed to have the top album of the year (G & T) with the soundtrack to the television series.
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Television made some other contributions to the popular music of 1959. As previously mentioned, Ricky Nelson continued to regularly promote his music on his parents’ television series. American Bandstand continued as the most musically influential program on tv. Its primary competitor went off the air in 1959. “Your Hit Parade” had emerged from radio in 1950 to bring the most popular music of the day to the television screen. Each week the show’s regulars would count down and sing their versions of the most popular songs. This worked well in the early 1950’s. But as rock and roll became more popular, the hit record became more a part of the performer’s version than just the song itself. The show’s performers, such as big band singer Snooky Lanson, had difficulty reproducing the unique sound of rock and roll. The show’s popularity had waned and it moved from NBC to CBS in 1958 in an attempt to revitalize it. On April 9, 1959, the last episode of “Your Hit Parade” was aired.
Television did produce one of the biggest “novelty” song of 1959. (Novelty tunes weren’t as successful as in 1958, but a couple did make a big impact. The Chipmunks returned with “Alvin’s Harmonica” (#3) a follow-up to their seasonal hit, “The Christmas Song.”) While “westerns” (see 1959 - The Year) ruled the airways, a new genre was making an impact: the private eye show. “77 Sunset Strip” had debuted in 1958 and was one of the more popular shows by 1959. And one of its stars managed to have a hit record. Edd Byrnes played a character on the show named “Kookie” who was the parking lot attendant working the nightclub next to the office of the show’s private detectives. Byrnes good looks quickly earned him prime exposure in the teen tabloids. His character was known for two things: combing his hair and his unique lingo. For Kookie, parking cars was “stabling the horses” and forgetting something was having “smog in the noggin.” And of course, something that was really good was “the ginchiest.” Paired with Connie Stevens, Byrnes parlayed the appeal of his character to a #4 song, “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb.”
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While television had its impact, the movies weren’t nearly as prominent in popular music in 1959 as they had been in prior years. There were no Elvis movies as Elvis was still in the army in Germany. The big teen movie of the year was “Gidget” which surprisingly didn’t produce any pop music -- the surf sound was still on the horizon. But, along with stage productions, the movies were still mostly responsible for top album sales. G & T had the soundtracks to “Gigi,” “South Pacific,” and “My Fair Lady” in the top ten. The Kingston Trio had made a big splash in 1958 with “Tom Dooley” and continued that success in 1959 with two top albums, “ “From the Hungry i” and “At Large.” They also managed two top forty singles, “M.T.A.” and “The Tijuana Jail.”
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“Doo-wop” music might have hit its peak in 1959. “Sixteen Candles” by the Crests was the most successful, reaching #2 and being ranked #26 for the year by Billboard and #33 by G & T. Other “Doo-wop” successes were The Impala’s “Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home),” The Mystics’ “Hushabye,” The Falcons’ “You’re So Fine,” The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and The Skyliners’ “Since I Don’t Have You.”
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Other notables in 1959:
• Barry Gordy establishes Tamla/Motown Records in Detroit
• Robert Zimmerman graduates from Hibbing High School in Minnesota
• Roy Orbison leaves Sun and signs with Monument Records
• Elvis Presley meets Priscilla Beaulieu |
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| Fabian Forte was the epitome of the "Teen Idol" recording star. Although his vocal talent was marginal, he was able to capitalize on appearances on American Bandstand to produce two top ten songs in 1959 and also starred in the movie, "Hound Dog Man." |
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