![]() ![]() Well the pretty little raven at the bird bandstand ![]() He out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole! They started goin’ steady and, bless my soul, Taught him how to do the bop and it was grand. Love to hear the robin goin’ “Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!”įlap-a their wings singin’ “Go, bird! Go!”Ī pretty little raven at the bird bandstand Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and a-singing’ his song. He rocks in the tree top all the day long, I didn’t choose to revisit this hit from 1958: it popped up on YouTube while I was writing and for some reason, despite sixty years of casual familiarity with it, I “heard” it for the first time! And one of them was Bobby Day’s “ Rock-in Robin,” the record with the guys making the silly bird sounds in the background. I don’t think anyone would fault me for saying that the “intellectual” content of the lyrics of many of those golden oldies was effectively non-existent.Īnd while a few would connect with me (“ You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog” still bowls me over), I generally considered songs about dancing birds with guys tweeting in the background to be background music that could be tolerated for its period novelty factor.įortunately, I have apparently been as wrong about dismissing some of those ’50s hits as I was about hating those ’60s hits. But the “Don’t Be Cruel” quickly overtook the intended hit side and RCA Victor reissued the sleeve with “Don’t Be Cruel” above “Hound Dog.” Both are very difficult to find in anything resembling NM condition and if you do, it’s probably a counterfeit! Those oldies but goodiesīut there were ’50s records that I never connected with emotionally or intellectually and so I summarily dismissed them and rarely looked back. The initial picture sleeves promoted “Hound Dog” above “Don’t Be Cruel” as the A-side of Elvis’s third single of 1956. Hell’s Belles, I always loved a few records by Frankie Avalon (“ Venus” is a damn near perfect pop record) and even teenaged Elvis wannabes (“ Turn Me Loose”). (I tended to run screaming from falsetto voices and, if I remember accurately, my screaming was often pitched higher than Brian’s or Frankie’s vocals.)īy 1964, ’50s rock & roll hits were considered “golden oldies” and while I had deep and long-lasting loves for music and artists from this era, I had not hates that I remember. This includes records like “ 96 Tears” and “ Mony Mony” and groups like the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons. Some have become faves so dear it’s difficult to believe I ever harbored anything but love for them. Even better, though, is that I outgrew my hates, and many (most?) of the records and artists that I hated then I like now. For me, this period was 1964-1969: to this day, most of my greatest loves come from this “era.” Most of the records and artists that I have loathed also originated during this time.įor the most part, those records that I loved then, I love now-which I take as a sign of my good taste then and now. Somewhere around 13 or 14 years old, we start both intense for love and equally intense hate affairs with the pop music of the day. FOR MOST OF US, the period in our lives when we are most passionate about music is our teenage years. ![]()
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