"reason, the disc jockey Alan Freed received credit as a co-writer of ""Maybellene"". Robert Christgau's October 1972 essay on Chuck Berry suggests this was the case for Freed's publishing credit. Leonard Chess, in Christgau's words, ""flipped"" for Berry's ""Maybellene"" and ""forwarded it to Alan Freed."" ""Having mysteriously acquired 25 percent of the writer's credit,"" Christgau writes, ""Freed played 'Maybellene' quite a lot, and it became one of the first nationwide rock and roll hits."" Russ Fratto, who had loaned money to Chess, also received credit. (Some Chess insiders have said that Chess owed money to Fratto, a printer and stationer,"
"Ida Red ""Ida Red"" is an American traditional song of unknown origins that was made famous in the upbeat 1938 version by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Wills' Ida Red served as the primary inspiration for Chuck Berry's first big hit Maybellene. It is chiefly identified by variations of the chorus: Verses are unrelated, rather humorous, and free form, changing from performance to performance. ""Ida Red's"" identity is unknown, but is feminine in most uses. The earliest recording is a one by Fiddlin' Powers & Family (Victor 19434, 1924), which includes vocals. There is also an early well-known instrumental"
"time instead of following the easy going Appalachian tempo. Ida Red ""Ida Red"" is an American traditional song of unknown origins that was made famous in the upbeat 1938 version by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Wills' Ida Red served as the primary inspiration for Chuck Berry's first big hit Maybellene. It is chiefly identified by variations of the chorus: Verses are unrelated, rather humorous, and free form, changing from performance to performance. ""Ida Red's"" identity is unknown, but is feminine in most uses. The earliest recording is a one by Fiddlin' Powers & Family (Victor 19434, 1924), which"
"in 1955. Jackson was impressed with Vaughan's impersonation of Mario Lanza and arranged an audition with the head of HMV Records Wally Ridley. Ridley encouraged Vaughan to record popular ballads of the day and Vaughan had his first hit with ""Ev'ry Day of My Life"" in 1955. The song reached No. 5 in the UK charts. ""Ev'ry Day of My Life"" was the first of many hits he achieved throughout the latter half of the 1950s, three other major releases being ""St. Therese of the Roses"" in 1956, 1957's ""My Special Angel"" and ""More Than Ever"" (""Come prima"") in 1958."
"1955. Donegan's fast-tempo version of Lead Belly's ""Rock Island Line"" was a major hit in 1956, featuring a washboard (but not a tea-chest bass), with ""John Henry"" on the B-side. It spent eight months in the Top 20, peaking at No. 6 (and No. 8 in the U.S.). It was the first debut record to go gold in Britain, selling over a million copies worldwide. It was the success of this single and the lack of a need for expensive instruments or high levels of musicianship that set off the British skiffle craze. A few bands enjoyed chart success in"
"successes including ""Cumberland Gap"" (1957), ""Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour"" (1958) and ""My Old Man's a Dustman"" (1960). However, the British rock and roll scene was starting to take off, producing home-grown stars like Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde and Cliff Richard and the Shadows (themselves originally involved in skiffle). Donegan was the only skiffle act to make a serious impact on the charts, and even he began to look outmoded. The skiffle craze was largely over by 1958, as its enthusiasts either abandoned music for more stable employment or moved into some of the forms of music that"
"looking to move beyond it, and he thought Berry might be the artist for that purpose. On May 21, 1955, Berry recorded an adaptation of the song ""Ida Red"", under the title ""Maybellene"", with Johnnie Johnson on the piano, Jerome Green (from Bo Diddley's band) on the maracas, Jasper Thomas on the drums and Willie Dixon on the bass. ""Maybellene"" sold over a million copies, reaching number one on ""Billboard"" magazine's rhythm and blues chart and number five on its Best Sellers in Stores chart for September 10, 1955. Berry said, ""It came out at the right time when Afro-American"
"first big break came after auditioning for comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson in 1939. Their song ""G'Bye Now"" made it into Olsen and Johnson's Broadway revue ""Hellzapoppin""'. In 1946 Livingston and Evans signed a contract with Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Livingston and Evans, both members of ASCAP, won three Academy Awards, in 1948 for the song ""Buttons and Bows"", written for the movie ""The Paleface""; in 1950 for the song ""Mona Lisa"", written for the movie ""Captain Carey, U.S.A.""; and in 1956 for the song ""Que Sera Sera"", featured in the Alfred Hitchcock movie ""The Man Who Knew Too"
"of music. Phil Warren, a part-time drummer, began working at Begg's Music Store in 1955, and later formed Prestige Records, primarily to distribute overseas releases from independent labels. Dunningham pressured Warren into recording Devlin, so they came to an agreement and selected a poor-selling Presley release, ""Lawdy Miss Clawdy"" for the debut single. It was recorded at the Jive Centre one Sunday afternoon in May 1958, using the Dixielanders as the backing group, and given the primitive circumstances of the session and surroundings, the quality was awful, but ""Lawdy Miss Clawdy"" launched Johnny Devlin as New Zealand's first superstar when"
"Kiley and Doretta Morrow performed the song in the original cast of ""Kismet"" (1953). Vic Damone and Ann Blyth performed the song in the 1955 film. The most popular version was sung by Tony Bennett (1953), but other versions by The Four Aces (backed by the Jack Pleis Orchestra) and Tony Martin also received popular favor in 1954. Bennett's version reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in May 1955. It was not until 1955 that ""Kismet"", and thus the songs from the show, came to London. It was Bennett's debut hit record in the United Kingdom. The huge"
"so Haley taught Lytle the basics of slap bass playing. Lytle, who was only a teenager at the time, grew a moustache in order to look a little older, and became a full-time member of The Saddlemen and, in September 1952, he was with the group when they changed their name to Bill Haley & His Comets. Soon after, Lytle co-wrote with Haley the band's first national hit, ""Crazy Man, Crazy"" although he did not receive co-authorship credit for it (until 2002). Lytle played on all of Haley's recordings between mid-1951 and the summer of 1955, including the epochal ""Rock"
"co-founded the harmony group the Delfis, which recorded a demo but failed to secure a recording contract. Hyland was eventually signed by Kapp Records as a solo artist, issuing his debut single, ""Rosemary"", in late 1959. The label employed the Brill Building songwriting duo of Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance to work with Hyland on the follow-up, ""Four Little Heels (The Clickety Clack Song)"", which was a minor hit, and the songwriting duo continued to work with Hyland. Thus in August 1960, Hyland scored his first and biggest hit single at the age of 16, ""Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow"
"big hit for Big Maybelle and the songwriter's first hit. McCoy wrote other songs for Big Maybelle, and other popular R&B artists including Louis Jordan (""If I Had Any Sense I'd Go Back Home"" and ""House Party"") and co-wrote, with Fred Mendelsohn, Nappy Brown's 1955 single ""Don't Be Angry"" (also recorded for the pop market by the Crew-Cuts). In 1954, Rose Marie McCoy teamed with songwriter Charles Singleton. They soon scored their first hit, ""It Hurts Me to My Heart"", recorded in 1954 by Faye Adams. Their collaboration lasted about eight years and, individually and together, they penned many hits"
"a hit in 1944, they had three successful years. ""Begin the Beguine"" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. In 1947 Heywood was stricken with a partial paralysis of his hands and could not play at all. However, he made a comeback in 1951. In the 1950s, Heywood composed and recorded ""Land of Dreams"" and ""Soft Summer Breeze"" (1956) (which peaked at number 11 on the ""Billboard"" chart). He is probably best known for his 1956 recording of his composition ""Canadian Sunset"" (which peaked at number 2) which he recorded with Hugo Winterhalter"
"Fats Domino, Little Richard, James Brown, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, Ritchie Valens, Duane Eddy, Eddie Cochran, Brenda Lee, Bobby Vee, Connie Francis, Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson being notable exponents. In the mid-1950s, Elvis Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. Chuck Berry, with ""Maybellene"" (1955), ""Roll Over Beethoven"" (1956), ""Rock and Roll Music"" (1957) and ""Johnny B. Goode"" (1958), refined and developed the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, focusing on teen life and"
"like ""Say My Name"" in 2000), Kelly Rowland (4 #1 hits like Dilemma in 2002), Kelly Clarkson (3 #1 hits like ""A Moment Like This"" in 2002), rock and roll pioneer Roy Orbison (d.1988) (2 #1 hits like ""Oh, Pretty Woman"" in 1964), country singer Kenny Rogers (2 #1s like ""Islands in the Stream"" in 1983), Christopher Cross (2 #1s like ""Sailing"" in 1980), The Crickets (w/Buddy Holly (d.1959), ""That'll Be the Day"" in 1957), B.J. Thomas (""Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"" in 1970), Janis Joplin (d.1970) (""Me and Bobby McGee"" in 1971, she attended the University of Texas),"
"of her like a hurt bird."" Waronker convinced London to pursue a recording career, and signed her with the then-newly established Liberty Records. London recorded 32 albums in a career that began in 1955 with a live performance at the 881 Club in Los Angeles. Her debut album, ""Julie Is Her Name"", was released in December of that year after a self-titled single, and ""Billboard"" named her the most popular female vocalist for 1955, 1956, and 1957. She was the subject of a 1957 ""Life"" cover article in which she was quoted as saying, ""It's only a thimbleful of a"
"Big Maybelle Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single ""Candy"" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, United States, Big Maybelle sang gospel as a child and by her teens had switched to rhythm and blues. She began her professional career with Dave Clark's Memphis Band in 1936, and also toured with the all female International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She then joined Christine Chatman's Orchestra, and made her first recordings with Chatman in 1944, before recording with"
"then in high school, had been singing as a group for several years. Unlike some black groups whose influences were based in gospel, the quintet was influenced by classical music and Latin hymns. Lead singer Arlene Smith had received classical training and performed at Carnegie Hall at age 12. She provided both lyrics and music. The girls were discovered by Richard Barrett, lead singer of The Valentines, and by the summer of 1957 they were signed to End Records, owned by George Goldner. Their first single was ""He's Gone"" (Pop #71) in August 1957, written by Arlene Smith. Released in"
"recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned. Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent. Chuck Berry's 1955 classic ""Maybellene"" in particular features a distorted electric guitar solo with warm overtones created by his small valve amplifier. However, the use of distortion was predated by electric blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis, Guitar Slim, Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf's band, and Pat Hare; the latter two also made use of distorted power chords in the early 1950s. Also"
"met and married Claudine Longet, and Thompson moved to Rome. Williams's solo career began in 1953. He recorded six sides for RCA Victor's label ""X"", but none of them were popular hits. After landing a spot as a regular on ""Tonight Starring Steve Allen"" in 1954, Williams was signed to a recording contract with Cadence Records, a small label in New York, run by conductor Archie Bleyer. Williams's third single, ""Canadian Sunset"", reached No. 7 in the Top Ten in August 1956; it was followed in February 1957 by his only Billboard No. 1 hit, ""Butterfly"", a cover of a"
"minor hit was their fourth single, 1959's ""Bad Girl"", released in Detroit as the debut record on the Motown imprint, and nationally on the Chess label. (Most early Motown singles were released through other labels, such as End, Fury, Gone and Chess.) Miracles lead singer William ""Smokey"" Robinson became the vice president of the company (and later named his daughter ""Tamla"" and his son ""Berry""). Several of Gordy's family members, including his father Berry Sr., brothers Robert and George, and sister Esther, were given key roles in the company. By the middle of the decade, Gwen and Anna Gordy had"
"the greatest songs of all time. The group that later became the Shirelles was formed in 1957 by four teenage girls from Passaic, New Jersey, under the name the Poquellos (or Pequellos). The founding members, Shirley Owens (born June 10, 1941), Doris Coley (August 2, 1941 – February 4, 2000), Addie ""Micki"" Harris (January 22, 1940, Passaic, New Jersey – June 10, 1982, Atlanta, Georgia), and Beverly Lee (born August 3, 1941), entered a talent show at Passaic High School at the suggestion of a teacher. After hearing them sing ""I Met Him on a Sunday"", a song they had"
"the Tiny Bradshaw's Orchestra from 1947 to 1950. Her debut solo recordings, recorded as Mabel Smith, were for King Records in 1947, when she was backed by Oran ""Hot Lips"" Page, but she had little initial success. In 1952 she was signed by Okeh Records, whose record producer Fred Mendelsohn gave her the stage name 'Big Maybelle' because of her loud yet well-toned voice. Her first recording for Okeh, ""Gabbin' Blues"", was a number 3 hit on the ""Billboard"" R&B chart, and was followed up by both ""Way Back Home"" and ""My Country Man"" in 1953. In 1955 she recorded"
"to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."" In 1956 Boone was one of the biggest recording stars in the US. Several film studios pursued him for movies; he decided to go with 20th Century Fox who made Elvis Presley's first movie. Fox reworked a play he had bought, ""Bernadine"", into a vehicle for Boone. The resulting film was a solid hit, earning $3.75 million in the US. Even more popular was ""April Love"" (1957), a remake of ""Home in Indiana"". Boone regards it as one of his favourites, ""the kind of movie I"
"best known in ""Bonjour Tristesse"" (1957) and Jean-Luc Godard’s ""À bout de souffle"" (1960); Jean Simmons (1929-2010), for example, in ""Angel Face"" (1952); and Rita Tushingham (b. 1940), whose first starring role was in ""A Taste of Honey"" (1961). The French singer Juliette Greco (b. 1926), who emerged from Bohemian Paris in the late 1940s to become an international star in the 1950s, also had gamine qualities. In many ways, the ""gamine look"" of the 1950s paved the way for the success of the following English models: Jean Shrimpton (b. 1942), one of the first to promote the mini-skirt in"
"rock and roll. Among his television appearances was a 1957 appearance on the TV game show, ""To Tell the Truth"". Because of the success of ""Two Different Worlds"", Jubilee quickly followed it up with another release, a double A-side, ""The Love I Never Had"" and a song ""Don't"" which was an entirely different song from the Elvis Presley song of the same name. However, this fared less well, and a third single, ""On Forgotten Street"" also failed to make an impact. Changing tempo in 1957, his next release was a cheerful number, ""White Silver Sands"", written by Red Matthews, and"
"covered by Louis Jordan. McLollie and his band remained popular live performers. In 1955, he recorded the ballad ""Convicted"", with an upbeat B-side, ""Roll Hot Rod, Roll"". The single was promoted by DJ Alan Freed, became McLollie's biggest seller on the Modern label, and won him a slot on the Hunter Hancock TV show. However, later releases were less successful. After returning to the Class label, he achieved his only national chart success in 1958 when ""Hey Girl – Hey Boy"", a duet with Jeanette Baker backed by Googie René's band, reached number 61 on the ""Billboard"" pop chart. The"
"fiddle tune with a long history, entitled ""Ida Red"". The resulting ""Maybellene"" was not only a #3 hit on the R&B charts in 1955, but also reached into the top 30 on the pop charts. Stax Records was founded in 1957 as Satellite Records. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul styles. In 1959, two black-owned record labels, one of which would become hugely successful, made their debut: Sam Cooke's Sar, and Berry Gordy's Motown Records. Blues had a huge influence on mainstream American popular music in the 1950s with the"
"Read's ""Such Is Life"" at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. During the show's run, Philips record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a recording deal. Bassey recorded her first single, ""Burn My Candle"", released in February 1956, when she was 19. Owing to the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but it sold well enough nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of ""Stormy Weather"". More singles followed, and in February 1957, Bassey had her first hit with ""The Banana Boat Song"", which reached No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1957"
"women as headline performers in the genre. She overcame poverty, a devastating automobile accident, and significant professional obstacles, and she has been cited as an inspiration by Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, and other singers in diverse styles. Books, movies, documentaries, and stage plays document her life and career. Her hits began in 1957 with Donn Hecht's and Alan Block's ""Walkin' After Midnight,"" Hank Cochran's and Harlan Howard's ""I Fall to Pieces,"" Hank Cochran's ""She's Got You,"" and Willie Nelson's ""Crazy,"" and ended in 1963 with Don Gibson's ""Sweet Dreams."" Millions of her records have sold since her death. She won"
"fiber acrylic.) A high school friend, Dovells lead singer Len Barry, encouraged them to audition for Cameo-Parkway Records at the turn of the decade. The group took his advice in the fall of 1961, but were rejected at first, although the record label signed the group after two more auditions. Cameo executive Dave Appell appointed Hightower as the lead singer, and began writing songs for them. In 1962, the group provided back-up vocals for Dee Dee Sharp's hits ""Mashed Potato Time"" and ""Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)"". They later found fame with their first national hit, ""The Wah-Watusi"", which reached"
"song sung by a black man"". Chess wanted a bigger beat for the song and added a bass and a maracas player to Berry's trio at the recording session. He also thought the titles ""Ida Red"" and ""Ida May"" were ""too rural"". Spotting a mascara box on the floor of the studio, according to Berry's pianist Johnnie Johnson, Chess said, ""Well, hell, let's name the damn thing Maybellene"", altering the spelling to avoid a suit by the cosmetic company. The lyrics were rewritten, also at the direction of Chess. ""The kids wanted the big beat, cars and young love,"" Chess"