PLEASE JOIN ME THIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 ON THE DOO-WOP CAFE…JOE TROIANO’S…”CAFE MEMORIES”, BRINGING YOU THE BEST DOO-WOP ON THE NET. HOPE YOU CAN BE THERE AND ALSO JOIN ME ON OUR CHAT LINE…PLEASE STOP BY AND SAY HELLO!!!
TILL THE NEXT TIME—JOE
Category: FABULOUS FLIPS
Last Friday on February 3…marked 53 years since the tragic airplane crash took the lives of three of the biggest stars of Rock and Roll…BUDDY HOLLY…BIG BOPPER and RITCHIE VALENS. They lost their lives in a plan crash near Mason City, Iowa. The world grew a little sadder that day when news of their death flooded the air-waves…their star status…lifted to legendary…their music was of course, “original in sound”, each so very distinctive.
THE ”GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL” IS PROUD TO PRESENT A FEW OF THEIR CLASSIC HITS…LONG MAY THE MUSIC AND THEIR MEMORY LIVE…THEIR SONGS HAVE TOUCHED US ALL!!!
Big Bopper - Chantily Lace – 1958 Mercury Records
Big Bopper - Big Bopper’s Wedding – 1958 Mercury Records
Ritchie Valens – La Bamba – 1958 Del-Fi Records
Ritchie Valens – Donna – 1958 Del-Fi Records
Buddy Holly – Everyday – 1957 Coral Records
Buddy Holly – Maybe Baby – 1958 Brunswick Records (The Crickets)
LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER…
Till the next time—Joe
Growing up in the 1950s it is hard not to remember the great sounds of early rock and
roll. One of the songs that became a huge hit was recorded by the legendary R&B bandleader/composer…Johnny Otis…the classic…WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE. The single record on Capitol Records (3966), made its Billboard Top 100 debut on June 23, 1958 and charted at #9. The record remained on the Top 100 for 16 weeks. WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE charted even higher on the Billboard R&B chart, reaching #3. The song is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame..
With its great rhythm and beat the record was a natural for the teen market. Johnny was born John Veliotes on December 28, 1921 in Vallejo, California. In 1945 he started his own band, charting many hit records…one of his best is his version of HARLEM NOCTURNE-1951. He wrote, EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART which became a big hit for Gladys Knight and The Pips in 1961.
Johnny was known as the “Godfather of Rhythm and Blues”. Johnny’s R&B Caravan featured the top R&B artists of the 1950s. He is credited with discovering, Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard and Little Willie John to name a few. He was also a well-known DJ in Los Angeles.
Johnny charted four hit records in the rock era, the biggest of course is his classic, WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE. Others include, CRAZY COUNTRY HOP-#87 in 1958…CASTIN’ MY SPELL-#52 in 1959 and MUMBLIN’ MOSIE-#80 in 1960. All of the single records were released on Capital Records.
Johnny Otis was selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 (non-performer). On January 17, 2012 Johnny passed away at the age of 90. His music lives on…in our hearts and minds…remembering the days of WILLIE AND THE HAND JIVE…wonderful memories from
the “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL.
CLICK ON A TITLE BELOW…THE LEGENDARY JOHNNY OTIS IS WAITING TO SING FOR YOU!!!
Willie Did The Cha Cha Cha—Flip side of “Crazy Country Hop”
Till the next time—Joe
One of the best doo-wop vocal groups to never have a national hit record. Earl Lewis And The Channels have been dubbed…”New York’s Finest” because of their wonderful blend of voices and romantic songs. Earl Lewis joined the group after they formed in 1955 and became the groups main songwriter.
Earl Lewis And The Channels have seven songs listed in the “greatest doo-wop hits” of all-time by writers Gribin/Schiff in their book “The Complete Book Of Doo-Wop”. The songs are: NOW YOU KNOW-1956…THE CLOSER YOU ARE-1956…I REALLY LOVE YOU-1956…THE GLEAM IN YOUR EYES-1956…THAT’S MY DESIRE-1957…BYE BYE BABY-1957…AND…MY LOVE WILL NEVER DIE-1957.
Earl Lewis wrote the classic…THE CLOSER YOU ARE-1956 (Port Records 70014), a hit in the New York area and other regional markets, but the song never charted. The record is of course a doo-wop classic, a masterpiece of vocal harmony, and a favorite on oldies radio. The flip-side of the single record is…NOW YOU KNOW, another great song that did not chart.
The “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL” IS PROUD TO FEATURE BOTH SIDES OF THIS GREAT 1956 
RECORDING…FOR SURE A CLASSIC HIT…THAT NEVER CHARTED…HOW DO YOU FIGURE!!!
Till the next time—Joe
TOMMY EDWARDS WAS NOT JUST A “ONE HIT WONDER”, IN FACT HE CHART
ED 14 HITS ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 BETWEEN 1958 AND 1960. MANY OF THEM WERE DOUBLE-SIDED HITS. THREE OF THEM BECAME HITS IN THE ROCK ERA, AFTER THEY HAD BEEN HITS IN THE EARLY 1950S…IT’S ALL IN THE GAME-1951…PLEASE MR. SUN-1952 AND…THE MORNING SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN-1951. THEY WERE RE-RECORDED IN THE LATE 1950S WITH AN UP-DATED SOUND, THAT BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THE ROCK ERA. THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF…IT’S ALL IN THE GAME…FROM 1951 IS INCLUDED.
ALL OF TOMMY EDWARDS HITS WERE RECORDED ON MGM RECORDS.
It’s All In The Game – #1 Hit Record 1958
Please Love Me Forever – #61 Flip-side of ‘It’s All In The Game”
Love Is All We Need – #15 Hit Record 1958
Please Mr. Sun – #11 Hit Record 1959
The Morning Side Of The Mountain – #27 Hit Record, Flip-side of “Please Mr. Sun”
(New In) The Ways Of Love – #47 Hit Record 1959
I Really Don’t Want To Know – #18 Hit Record 1960
It’s All In The Game – Original 1951 #18 Hit Record
TOMMY EDWARDS DIED IN 1969 AT THE AGE OF 47. HIS LEGACY IS HIS WONDERFUL MUSIC…THAT LIVES IN THE…”GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL”.
TILL THE NEXT TIME—JOE
High Sign-The Diamonds #37 hit in 1958…Mercury Records
I Thank The Moon-The Crests 1959-Flip side of “The Angels Listened In”
Chapel Bells – The Fascinators-1958 Classic Doo-wop
Don’t Let Go-Roy Hamilton #13 Pop hit 1958 Epic Records
White Bucks And Saddle Shoes-Bobby Pedrick, Jr. (Robert John)-#74 Pop hit
1958 Big Top Records
True True Love-The Corvairs 1962 Classic Doo-wop
Cherry Pie-Marvin & Johnny 1954 Modern Records
HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE “LOST GOLD” CLASSICS
Till the next time—Joe
I can still remember the day my father brought a 45 RPM record home from work and hande
d it to me. He said that he heard the song and liked it and thought that I would too. I must say that my dad did not bring records home. He did not like rock and roll and was always telling me to turn that “crap” down. The record he brought home was a shinny “Sun Records” single in a picture sleeve…that record was…Johnny Cash singing his current single…”GUESS THINGS HAPPEN THAT WAY / “COME IN STRANGER”.
It was June of 1958 and that single began its climb on the Billboard Top 100 and Billboard C&W charts. The top side of the single…”GUESS THINGS HAPPEN THAT WAY” (Sun 295) climbed the Top 100 all the way to #11 and remained on the pop chart for 16 weeks. The single was even bigger on the C&W chart, peaking at #1 and staying at the top of the chart for 8 weeks. Johnny Cash enjoyed 24 weeks on the C&W chart.
I really enjoyed that record and discovered that my dad liked the “rockabilly” sound of Johnny Cash. He was one of his favorites. Like any record buyer of the day, of course I flipped the record over and discovered another great hit…”COME IN STRANGER”. The single 
charted on the Top 100 at #66 and on the C&W chart it became a Top 10 hit…charting at #6. The picture sleeve was a dark cover, with Johnny Cash sitting on a stool…that record remains one of my favorite Johnny Cash singles…”Thanks Dad”…Johnny’s probably singing it for you in “Heaven”.
CLICK THE TITLE BELOW…JOHNNY CASH…IS WAITING TO SING HIS CLASSIC HITS FROM 1958…”GUESS THINGS HAPPEN THAT WAY” AND “COME IN STRANGER”
Till the next time—Joe
The Everly Brothers were at the top of the charts when Cadence Records released their ne
west single…BIRD DOG / DEVOTED TO YOU in early August of 1958. Don and Phil Everly charted a #2 pop hit and a #1 C&W hit with…BYE BYE LOVE in 1957 and followed it up with a #1 pop hit, a #1 R&B hit and a #1 C&W hit in September of 1957 with…WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE. They were just coming off the Billboard Top 100 with their biggest hit single record…ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM, a #1 pop, R&B and C&W hit.
On August 4, 1958 their latest single charted…BIRD DOG (Cadence 1350). The single was a huge hit and was in heavy play rotation on AM pop radio. The Everly Brothers latest hit went to the top of both the pop and C&W charts, making it their third #1 pop hit and fourth C&W #1. A week later on August 11, 1958 the flip-side of the single…DEVOTED TO YOU made its chart debut. The beautiful ballad featured a perfect blend of Don and Phil’s wonderful voices and became a smash hit of its own, charting at #10 on the Billboard Top
100. The single became The Everly Brothers first hit that featured both sides of the record, becoming Top 10 hits.
CLICK THE TITLE BELOW…THE EVERLY BROTHERS…ARE SINGING THEIR 1958 MILLION-SELLER…”BIRD DOG” AND “DEVOTED TO YOU”…SMASH HITS FROM THE “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL”.
Till the next time—Joe
