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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG FROM THE 1950s AND WHY? (I will ask...

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James Porterfield
James Porterfield Discussion started by James Porterfield 7 years ago
I'm going to go through each decade one post at a time and ask this question, BUT FIRST WE START WITH the the 1950s. I want anyone who can to join me in this experiment/exploration!

Every time I ask a songwriter this sort of question I learn something new and often get such interesting and unique responses! It's subjective and it's personal, but that is the point! So come on, everybody! Let me hear your answers!


Some of you may not think you know the songs of the 1950s that well, but if you think about it, there are songs (in TV, movies, radio, family collections etc) that just keep going on and on and you know them. And we will keep marching through the decades all the way to modern day in my follow-up posts.

HERE IS MY ANSWER:
I was actually torn between several tunes that Elvis Presley recorded (such as "That's Alright Mama," "Jailhouse Rock," "Mystery Train," etc.) and ANYTHING written by SGA member, Chuck Berry. But I picked one odd little song written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton and recorded by Elvis called "Heartbreak Hotel."

DARK BEGINNINGS

This quirky, eery rock song was actually inspired by a lonely man jumping to his death from a hotel window. As the story goes, the lyrics were based on a report in The Miami Herald about a man who had destroyed all his identity papers and jumped to his death from a hotel window, leaving a suicide note with the single line, "I walk a lonely street."

So not surprisingly, when they pitched the song to other performers such as The Wilburn Brothers, it was deemed "strange and almost morbid." But the songwriters were persistent and managed to get it in front of Elvis who agreed to record it.

HATED IT

The song was deemed a mess by many industry professionals who heard it before it was released. Internal memos from the time show that every one of RCA's executive corps disliked it so much that one of them insisted "We certainly can't release that one!" When it was sent to the UK, BBC radio didn't consider it fit for general entertainment and placed it on its "restricted play" list. And the NME wrote that, "If you appreciate good singing, I don't suppose you'll manage to hear this disc all through."

LOVED IT

This song was a slow build and fought against the odds. But hip DJs and word of mouth got this single to the top. Within two months, "Heartbreak Hotel" reached number one on both the pop and country charts. It was the first song to make the top 5 on country, pop, and R&B charts simultaneously! It went to #2 on the UK charts. And by the end of the year was the biggest selling single in the world for 1956.

WHY I LOVE IT

It was so different, so unique a sound--and although it is an intriguingly morbid lyric, it owes a lot to Elvis for his input on the tempo, beat and style that made it such a cool groove. And his singing on it is so unique, from a mumbling growl to a howling yell it is just cool. And it showcases the power of dynamics in a rock or pop song. Go soft and low and then wail with a powerful beat. Nothing gets the emotions going better than that!

So that is my favorite song from the 1950s. What is yours??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9BLw4W5KU8



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Joe Loforte
Joe Loforte The 50's was a bit before my time, but I grew up listening to my parent's oldies. My favorite group of the 50's is The Platters, hands down. My favorite song is The Great Pretender, released on November 3, 1955. Beautifully written and composed by their Manager and Producer Buck Ram, this song was written in 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas in an attempt to follow up on the group's smash hit Only You. A lot of groups back in the 50's practiced in the bathroom, because of the preferred acoustics. The song hit number one on the R&B and Pop charts in the US and reached number 5 in the UK. Great lyrics, great melody. I love the way the song builds throughout and peaks at the end of the bridge the 2nd time around, "Too real is this feeling of make believe, Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal". Most can relate to this song at some point in their lives. Its a song about lost love and denial. Loading content, please wait. 7 years ago
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Joe Loforte
Joe Loforte www.youtube.com/watch Loading content, please wait. 7 years ago
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Eric Watkins
Eric Watkins To Joe LaForte - Yeah I have always really liked "The Great Pretender." It has a powerful sadness to it. And beautiful melody. 7 years ago
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Eric Watkins
Eric Watkins This is tough. Oh, how I wanted to go Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" for it's importance in defining rock and roll. I wanted to go with any number of Little Richard songs because Little Richard's voice is as good as it gets. I wanted to go with any number of Ray Charles songs because Ray Charles' voice is as good as it gets. Or Patsy Cline because Patsy Cline's voice is.... And Chuck Berry's writing is... And Elvis' very being is... well, you get the idea. Once you're at their level the concept of "the best" becomes irrelevant; they are all as good as it gets.

However, my pick for the greatest song of the 50's is a great song, funny yet poignant and historically poignant:

"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" - Hank Williams

If it weren't Hank Williams' last single released right before he died I might've made another choice. But it was, and it was such a gut punch and so perfect that the greatest, most influential artist in country music history wrote his own epitaph, appropriately dark and funny at the same time. He was 29 year old. 29! Holy Fucking Shit! So considering the impact and importance that Hank had on every genre of music (as many punk bands cover Hank as country acts...), this is my choice.

Cheers!

www.youtube.com/watch Loading content, please wait. 7 years ago
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Rick Carnes
Rick Carnes SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME - (Pomus, Shuman)

This song, composed by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, was the B-side of a Drifters single in 1960 (for the sake of argument let's call that the last year of the fifties!). Fortunately the DJ's flipped the record and started playing the B-side and it became a smash hit. The soaring latin-inspired melody and rhythm, coupled with the jealousy-tinged romantic lyric, is songwriting perfection to my ears. The story behind the song, I learned many years later, is that Doc Pomus was at his wedding confined to a wheelchair due to polio and his brother Raoul danced with his wife all evening while Doc wrote the lyrics to this song on the back of a wedding invitation... If you have never heard this song I recommend that you stop reading this and immediately find the song and enrich your ears and your heart. Dig the awesome middle eight bridge! And feel the jealousy in that last verse "Cause don't forget who's taking you home and in whose arms you're gonna be so darling save the last dance for me"... wow...

www.youtube.com/watch Loading content, please wait. 7 years ago
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