Wilbert Harrison--Kansas City (1959)

     "Kansas City" was one of earliest songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Written in 1952, the song was inspired by Big Joe Turner and his songs about the mid western city, and was written specifically for Little Willie Littlefield.   As a pair of 19 year olds, neither one had been to Kansas City before (neither claim to have visited there until 1986!). In fact, the "12th Street and Vine" that was referred to in the song didn't exist at the time, it has since been concocted as a marketing tool by city fathers. The song, which was released as "KC Lovin'", had some success on the west coast, but none on the national charts.
     Wilbert Harrison, born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1929, had bounced around as a singer of several types of music including calypso. He had heard Littlefield's version several times over the years and wanted to do a version of his own, which he did in 1959 on the Fury label. The song not only became a big hit for Harrison, but it proved to be so popular with other artists that at one point in the spring of 1959 there were FIVE versions of the song on the charts. (Harrison's, Hank Ballard, Rocky Olson, Rockin' Robert and the Rebels, and a re-release of Littlefield's original)
      The song not only became a rock and roll standard at that time, it continued to be a staple for a number of acts including The Beatles, and James Brown. Harrison hit the charts again in 1969 with the song, "Let's Work Together" which cracked the top 40, and continued to tour for much of the rest of his life. He died in 1994 at a nursing home in Spencer, North Carolina at the age of 65. Below we have the original by Littlefield, and the hit by Harrison.

    
     

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Frankie Ford--Sea Cruise (1959)

     Frankie Ford is what we would call a lifer. He began singing in talent shows and the like from the age of five and has never looked back. He was the adoptive son of Vincent and Anna Guzzo of Gretna Louisiana from an early age showed an assertiveness and charisma that served him well all of his life and foresaw his life as an entertainer.
     He was signed to Ace records and his first song, "Cheatin Woman" became a local hit. It was it's follow up, "Sea Cruise" which hit big nationally. The song which was sung over a pre-recorded track by Huey "Piano" Smith (who wrote it) went to number 14 in the spring of 1959 and made Frankie a star.
     He reached the bottom reaches of the chart over the next two years (the highest charting was, "Seventeen" in 1961 at #72), until his going into the Army in 1962 put an end to his life on the hot 100. He continued to entertain while in the military and on his release, sang on a fairly long list of local record labels throughout the next 30 years. He continues to live in the town where he grew up and tours up to 200 dates a year. You can find him at: http://www.frankieford.com/ff-main1.htm 

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The Fleetwoods--Come Softly To Me (1959)

     The Fleetwoods consisted of three high school classmates from Olympia (WA) High School. Gary Troxel was heard singing a tune as he was walking the halls of the school. Gretchen Christopher heard it and commented that it was the same progression to a song she had been working on. She sang the lyrics to his riff to her friend and singing partner, Barbara Ellis.
     The trio performed the song a few times around school, and classmates began to ask for recordings of it. They made a demo on a tape player that belonged to Gretchen's dad, and took it to Seattle producer Bob Reisdoff who started Dolphin Records, to record it. It took several months to get the vocals just right as Troxel use his car keys to keep time (you can hear that on the record), and then sent to LA for acoustic and bass guitar overdubs.
     The result was a number one hit for the trio and began a string of top 40 hits that reached to 1963, (including another number one; "Mr. Blue" later in 1959) when Troxel had to serve in the military.

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The Flamingos--I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)

    The song, "I Only Have Eyes for You" has been a touchstone song for many generations dating back to it's origins in 1934. Written for the movie "Dames" starring Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, then later used in the movie the following year, "The Lady in Red" starring Barbara Stanwick and Gene Raymond. The song was recorded by Peggy Lee in 1950, but it was this version by The Flamingos that has become the standard version. 

   The song later became a hit for Art Garfunkel in October of 1975 and have been used in TV shows as recent as the supernatural thriller, "666 Park Avenue" and "Glee" and movies such as the 2003 movie, "Something's Gotta Give" with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
  

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Sunday Morning Vault: Darla Hood--My Quiet Village (1959)

     Those of a certain age remember "The Little Rascals". When I was a kid of the late 60's and early 70's they were a staple of my Saturday morning television along with "The Three Stooges". Back when they were made from 1922 to 1942, it was known as the "Our Gang" series. Most casual fans of the show are mostly familiar with the cast from the shows dated 1936-39 with Alfalfa, Spanky, Porky, Buckwheat and Darla Hood.
     Darla Jean Hood was born in Leedey, Oklahoma in 1931. Her mother, a music teacher taught her dancing and singing at an early age. In fact, at the age of 3 the family traveled to New York City for a screen test with Joe Rivkin who was a scout for Hal Roach Studios. She did well and the family moved to Culver City, California to appear in the "Our Gang" series, where she made her debut at the age of four in 1935. She was to stay with the group until 1941. Most of the time I remember her as the love interest of Alfalfa. Here is an early clip....

         After she left the group, other than an occasional movie role, she was your normal teenager at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. After her graduation she made a number of television appearances and began a long and successful career as a night club singer in LA (at the Coconut Grove), in New York (at the Copacabana) and in Las Vegas (at the Sahara). During the late 50's and early 60's she attempted to translated this into record sales.
     The song your going to hear today is from 1959 and was done first by Martin Denny the pianist who popularized the "exotica" style of music in the late 50's. She has a great voice (she also did a number of sides for Acama Records as well), but this one was truly a record of it's time. Darla performed and did a great number of "Our Gang" reunions up to her death from diabetes at the age of 47 in 1979.

  
    

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The Falcons--You're So Fine (1959)

    The Falcons hold a place in the history of r&b not only with their big hit, "You're So Fine" in 1959, but also for it's members who went on to further the history of 60's soul.
    The group began in the mid-50's out of Detroit, and in 1957 made the changes that would set up their first major success. First, Joe Stubbs, brother of Levi who would make his own mark with The Four Tops joined the group, then later Mack Rice came along. Mack would later come to fame as the man who wrote and was the first to record, "Mustang Sally" in 1965.
    It was these two men who along with Eddie Floyd, Lance Finne, Robert Ward and Willie Schofield who comprised the line up that broke on the charts in 59. A year after this song, Stubbs left and was replaced by Wilson Pickett who stayed until leaving in 1963 for a very successful solo career.
    Another interesting side note about the group. When Pickett left the group, the rest of the band decided it was time for all to go and the group disbanded. However another Detroit group, The Fabulous Playboys, took the name, "The Falcons" and had a hit of their own in 1966 ("Standing On Guard").
    One more thing...the musical group who backed the vocalists during the Wilson Pickett years were known as "The Ohio Untouchables" who in the late 60's changed their name and began a switch over in sound to a harder funk sound. "The Ohio Players" because one of the top funk/r&b groups of the 1970's.

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Tommy Facenda--High School USA (1959)

     Marketing departments get paid for making whatever product they are selling seem appealing. There is no regard to quality of the product...some might be good, some are not so good, but it's not really the point I suppose, the fact that your interested in buying is the whole point. In the recording industry, marketing has played a major role in the industry. Overall there are more important factors (like talent), however, for the course of one single, there are times where a gimmick is all it takes.
     Tommy Facenda was a member of Gene Vincent's backing group, The Blue Caps. He was a guitar player, but in the band was known more as one of the guys who provided hand claps on the records. In fact, him and fellow member Paul Peek were known as "The Clapper Boys" After about a year with the group he left to attempt a solo career in 1958.
     His first single, "Little Baby" received no attention, and he moved from his home in Virginia to New York City to jump start things. It was here he met Frank Guida of Legrand Records Guida asked him to record a novelty song called, "High School USA". There is a part to the song where a list of local high schools were to be add. For each major city the song would be released, a set of schools would be overdubbed so it would sound as if it were a local record. In all 28 different versions of the song was released. All versions were counted together on the charts, and the single reached #28 on the top 100.
     Facenda never had another hit, and after a stint in the military his career was effectively over. He worked as a firefighter in his hometown of Portsmouth, Virgina, but did tour with The Blue Caps in the early 1980's. The version heard here is the national one which actually very few people had ever heard.

   

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Fabian--Tiger (1959)

     In the wake of Elvis Presley's success, record companies attempted to find their own gold mine. In doing so however, it was obvious that many knew little of what the core of this new "rock and roll" really was. First of all, this new market of teen buyers was still foreign in many ways to marketers. In previous days, pop records were made to the taste of adults, but as time went on the post-war era, teenagers were becoming more dominant in the marketplace, which began a search for a music to call their own. Secondly, those who had a bit of a clue about what the kids wanted, did NOT want anyone as dangerous as an Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis, or someone who was as flamboyant as a Little Richard. In other words, a singer that you could bring home to meet mom. The success of Pat Boone suggested to the suits who ran these companies, that you could have someone who was good looking, could sing and had a more wholesome image.
     Looking back now over 50 years later and we see that although this short term strategy was proven successful on the charts, artistically the results were mixed. Of course, for many of these older guys, none of them believed rock and roll was going to be around forever, so short term gain was all that was expected anyway.
     Fabian Anthony Forte was born in Philadelphia in 1943, and was discovered by Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis on the recommendation of Frankie Avalon and was signed to Chancellor Records. One has to remember that because American Bandstand was being broadcast out of Philly at the time (and on everyday no less), there was a fierce competition among record labels citywide to provide good looking men (especially), who could carry a tune who could be promoted on the show.  This formula worked well for about a year (1959) before the hits began to dry up.
      Although he released songs until 1963, his career on the charts was over by the end of 1960. He became the poster boy for those who criticize the, "looks first--talent second" artists of the late 50's/early 60's, mainly due to his testimony in Congress during the payola scandal. In those probes he admitted to the world that his voice had received a substantial amount of electronic doctoring to improve his voice.  Although he voice wasn't very good, he was far from the only artist who had their voices enhanced. A listen to many of the singers of that day shows that the echo chamber was a friend to many.
     After the music had run it's course, he attempted to follow Avalon's footsteps into films. Although his short term was not close to his friends, he managed to have a nice career throughout the 60's and into the early 70's.

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The Sunday Morning Vault: Bobby Darin--Mack the Knife (1959)

     Although not always successful, it would not be a stretch to call Bobby Darin one of the most versatile performers (if you define it through quantity) in the modern era. From teen pop to Frank Sinatra style crooning, folk rock, rock, and even a bit of Motown, Darin squeezed a lot of material in his 37 years on this planet. Not all of these attempts were successful, but if you take the time to look at his body of work, he accomplished much more than you would expect.
     Almost 40 years after his death he is defined though "Mack the Knife", which is probably why so many see him as just a night club act. "Mack" was written by the team of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht for their musical drama, "Die Dreigroschenoper" or as it's known in English, "The Threepenny Opera" in 1928.
     Gifford Cochran and Jerrold Krimsky wrote the English lyrics for it's Broadway debut in 1933, which failed badly. It fared better in the early 50's off-Broadway adaptation written by Marc Blitzstein. This is the version that we all know and Darin recorded in 1959. Louie Armstrong did the first swing version in 1956. Interestingly enough, the name Lotte Lenya which is found in the song belonged to Kurt Weill's widow who was at Armstrong's recording. As a bit of a tribute to it's original author, he spontaneously added her to the names in the song.
     Darin recorded the song and it was released as a single. Despite it's being an increasingly popular song in Darin's nightclub act, he was hesitant about it's release. There were those (Dick Clark among them) who thought that it's association with an opera would cause it not to sell well to teenagers. Darin, who already had three top 10 hits previous ("Splish Spash", "Queen of the Hop" and "Dream Lover") and was seen as a bit of a teen idol, was not sure about putting out a song about a murderer. The final decision was made by Ahmet Ertegun from Atlantic Records and Darin soon had his only number 1 hit.
     For those who are not aware of his full career, you might be interested to take a further look beyond here. He had a total of 21 top 40 hits with 9 of those being in the top ten. Although none of them were quite like the most swinging song about murder ever....

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Sunday Morning Vault: Dave "Baby" Cortez--The Happy Organ (1959)

    David Cortez Clowney was born in 1938 at Detroit. His dad who was a pianist steered David to the piano which he played for 10 years before switching to the organ. He started out for a few years as a singer in the group, The Pearls, then in 1958 went off on his own.
     His first charting single was his only #1. "The Happy Organ", released on the Clock label made Cortez the first African-American to have an instrumental reach that status in the rock and roll era. A few years later, he hit the top 10 again with, "Rinky Dink". His last charting song was in 1966, and his last album was released in 1972 until just past year, when Cortez released a new album on Norton Records backed by Lonnie Youngblood and His Bloodhounds.

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Marty Robbins--El Paso (1959)

     Every once in awhile an artist will create a song that overshadows his work so much that you THINK that he is a one hit wonder, but really isn't. Such is the case for Marty Robbins

     Robbins first No. 1 hit on the country charts was in 1952, and began a long relationship with country fans having 41 top 10 hits with 16 of those reaching the top. Not only that, but he reached the top 20 pop chart 11 times, with "El Paso" being is top hit.

     It's easy to understand why the song overshadows however. The melody sets the tone and then compellingly leads through a story that mixes the best elements of a Western movie, with a romance that will never be fulfilled. It was a strong enough song that Robbins recorded several other "sequel" songs that push the story forward. Although you can hear other songs that he performed on the radio now and then (Most notably, "A White Sport Coat). This overshadows his work so much that the impression can be made (outside of fans of older country music that know better) that it was his ONLY hit. Which is far from the truth.

      Little piece of trivia here....Robbins was not only an avid race car fan, he actually raced in 35 NASCAR races having come in the top 10 six times, including the 1973 Daytona 500.....

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Bobby Darin--Mack the Knife (1959)

     Today Bobby Darin would have been 75....

      The story of Mack the Knife has it's origins in Britain and Germany. It was composed by Kurt Weill and Bertoit Brecht for their drama "Die Dreigroachenoper" or in English, "The Threepenny Opera", and premiered in Berlin in 1928.
  
      The opera is based on the deadly Mackie Messer who himself was patterned after the highwayman Macheath in John Gay's, The Begger's Opera. The opera was translated into English in 1933, but was a flop on Broadway (although it did achieve some success off-Broadway). The first swing version was done by  Louis Armstrong in 1956. Interestingly enough the jazz great's use of the name Lottie Lenya was a total improv in honor of Weill's widow who was in the studio at the time of Armstrong's recording. This also became a part of Darin's version.

      One more story before we hear the song. Before choosing it, Dick Clark advised Darin not to record it since he thought that it being from an opera would turn off teen fans (obviously he didn't have a problem with the subject matter). Clark liked to laughingly refer to this story for years afterward....

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