By Moore Tosay
(Printed in a previous edition)
While driving to work the other day and listening to the car radio, I heard a new recording by the Spinners, “Cupid,” which is a remake of the old song by the late Sam Cooke. This prompted me to reminisce of the days at Fairystone Park when the jukebox constantly played all of the top tunes at the rate of five plays for a quarter. Thoughts of rock and roll shows in the Winston-Salem coliseum, riding ’57 Chevrolets to the beach, and the many different recording artists of the ’50s and early ’60s came to mind.
Before the current “hard rock” and disco music and before the “Motown” sounds of 1964, music was classified as rock and roll and rhythm and blues, along with popular and hillbilly, of course. There were as many different singing groups and solo entertainers during this time as there are now. About two times a year many of these artists were featured at a concert in the coliseum in Winston-Salem. If my memory serves me correctly, ticket prices ranged from $1.50 to $3 each which covered the cost of eight to 10 different acts. These attractions were always a sellout and you had to order your tickets early.
Among some of the groups which were popular at this time were the Platters, with such songs as “Only You,” “Twilight Time,” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes;” the Drifters, featuring “There Goes My Baby,” “Dance With Me,” and “Some Kind of Wonderful;” Little Anthony and the Imperials (“Tears On My Pillow”), the Crests (“16 Candles”), the Cadillacs (“Peek-a-Boo”), and Dion and the Belmonts.
Popular solo singers included Sam Cooke (“You Send Me”), Jimmy Clanton (“Just a Dream”), Brenda Lee (“I’m Sorry”), LaVern Baker (“Tra-la-la”), Fats Domino, who had a string of hits including “Blueberry Hill,” “My Blue Heaven,” and “When My Dreamboat Comes Home,” and many others.
Many groups and artists made only one or two records and faded into oblivion. Some of these included the Casuals, the Kalin Twins, the Olympics (remember “Western Movies”), and the Bobbettes. One group, the Falcons, had a big hit at the beach in 1960 called “The Teacher” but this must have been the only place in the entire country where this song was popular, because no record stores ever carried it. I was able to obtain a copy, however, from one of the jukebox owners at the beach.
The Coasters were responsible for turning out novelty hits such as “Yakety Yak,” “Poison Ivy,” and “Searching.” Duane Eddy produced several instrumentals such as “Ram Rod” and “40 Miles of Bad Road.” Any teenager from this period will definitely remember the late Bobby Darin with “Mack the Knife” and “Splish Splash.” In later years, Fabian and Freddy Cannon gave us “Turn Me Loose” and “Palisades Park.” Ricky Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet fame had several songs on the charts including “Hello Mary Lou” and “Travelin’ Man.” Also, former Mickey Mouse Club member Annette had a brief singing career.
These are only a small portion of the artists who supplied the country with music during the rock and roll years. Many records never made the charts and many of those that did only remained there for a short time.
Where are all of these recording stars now? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to find out.
Fashions for boys during this ear included Levi jeans, narrow belts, white socks with loafers, and shirts with button-down collars. They smelled of Old Spice, Avon, and Mennen. Girls wore full skirts, blouses with half sleeves, bobby socks rolled down to form a huge cuff, and loafers. Many wore their hair in ponytails. Contrary to popular belief, I never saw a young man with slicked down greasy hair wearing a black leather jacket with only a t-shirt underneath it or a girl with a poodle design on her skirt.
Gasoline to run these ’57 Chevrolets, ’40 Fords, and other “hot cars” cost 27 cents a gallon and oil ran about 35 cents a quart. A pack of cigarettes was about 25 cents if you dared to “slip around” and smoke. Some dances were referred to as “sock hops” because patrons took off their shoes and danced in their socks.
To me, these were wonderful years, well worth remembering. The tragic part is that many of the “teen angels” and “sweet sixteens” of that time now have children who are seniors in high school and freshmen or sophomores in college. Several of those trim suave young men aren’t so trim anymore!
