MUSICAL DECADES - 1950s - Classic Pop

Popular music dominated the charts for the first half of the 1950's decade. Vocal-driven classic pop replaced Big Band/Swing, although it often used orchestras to back the vocalists. 1940s style Crooners competed with a new generation of big voiced singers, many drawing on Italian Canto Bella traditions.

Whereas Big Band/Swing music placed the primary emphasis on the orchestration, early 1950s era Pop focused on the song’s story and/or the emotion being expressed.

Mitch Miller, A&R man at the era's most successful label, Columbia Records, set the tone for the development of popular music well into the middle of the decade. He integrated country, Western, rhythm & blues, and folk music into the musical mainstream, by having many of his label's biggest artists record them in a style that corresponded to Pop traditions.

Classic pop declined in popularity as Rock and Roll entered the mainstream and became a major force in American record sales. Crooners such as Eddie Fisher and Perry Como—and Patti Page, who had dominated the first half of the decade, found their access to the pop charts significantly curtailed by the decade's end.

Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known by her professional name Patti Page, was an American singer of classic pop music and country music. She was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist of the 1950s, selling over 100 million records during a six-decade long career. She was often introduced as "the Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page".

Patti's signature song, “Tennessee Waltz”, was one of the biggest-selling singles of the 20th century, and is recognized today as one of the official songs of the state of Tennessee. It spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard magazine's Best-Sellers List in 1950. Patti had three additional Number 1 hit singles between 1950 and 1953, "All My Love (Bolero)", "I Went to Your Wedding", and "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window".

"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window" is a popular novelty song published as having been written by Bob Merrill in 1952 and very loosely based on the folk tune, Carnival of Venice. This song is also loosely based on the song "Oh, where, oh, where, has my little dog gone?" Patti's original recording included the sounds of dogs barking, credited on the label as "Barks by Joe and Mac" (her arranger, Joe Reisman, and a violinist). The recording also featured Page's signature multi-part tight harmonies, all sung by her. It reached Number 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953, and sold over two million copies.

Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, comedian, and film producer. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nick-named the "King of Cool" for his seemingly effortless charisma and self-assurance.

Dean's relaxed, warbling, crooning voice earned him dozens of hit singles, including his signature songs "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare", and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"

The most popular version of “Memories Are Made of This” was recorded by Dean Martin in 1955. He was backed by The Easy Riders (who consisted of Gilkyson, Dehr, and Miller), who wrote it.

Dean's version reached Number 1 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, remaining at the top for five weeks in 1956. It became a Gold record and Dean's biggest hit. It was also his only UK Number 1 hit, topping the UK's New Musical Express chart and remaining at the top for four weeks. The song also reached Number 2 in the Netherlands and Number 20 in Flanders.

Samuel “Sammy” George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor and comedian. He was noted for his impressions of actors, musicians and other celebrities. At the age of three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and Will Mastin as the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally. Sammy became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist.

“That Old Black Magic” is a 1942 popular song written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The Sammy Davis Jr. recording was released by Decca Records, charted in 1955, and spent six weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at Number 16. Sammy performed "That Old Black Magic" during a guest appearance on the television series, I Dream of Jeannie.

Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928) is an American classic pop and big band singer, songwriter, actor, radio and television presenter, and entertainer who is best known for songs such as "You're Breaking My Heart" (a Number 1 hit), "On the Street Where You Live" (from My Fair Lady), and "My Heart Cries for You".

In 1955, Vic had one song on the charts, "Por Favor", which did not make it above number 73. However, he did have major roles in two movie musicals, Hit the Deck and Kismet. In early 1956, he moved from Mercury to Columbia Records, and had some success on that label with hits such as "On the Street Where You Live" (his final top 10) and "An Affair to Remember" (from the movie of the same name). His six original, long-playing albums on Columbia between 1957 and 1961 were That Towering Feeling, Angela Mia, Closer Than a Kiss, This Game of Love, On the Swingin' Side, and Young and Lively.

The most popular single of “On the Street Where You Live” was recorded by Vic Damone in 1956. It reached Number 4 on the Billboard chart and Number 6 on Cash Box magazine's chart. It was a Number 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1958.

The Four Lads is a Canadian male singing quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember," "Standin' on the Corner," "No, Not Much," "Who Needs You?" and "Istanbul."

"Standing on the Corner" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1956. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella.

A Columbia Records recording of the song by the Four Lads peaked at Number 3 on each of the various charts in 1956: the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, the Juke Box chart, as well as the composite chart of the top 100 songs.

Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American classic pop singer.

In 1955 Grant signed with a small record company, Era Records, and had her first top ten hit with "Suddenly There's a Valley". The next year, she had an even bigger hit, reaching Number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart with "The Wayward Wind" and holding there for six weeks. The song sold over one million copies in the United States alone, and peaked at Number 9 in the UK Singles Chart. She was voted the most popular female vocalist by Billboard magazine.

This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia )

Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of old music and the author of The Dr. Hook Trivia Quiz Book. Read about it and her other books at the website:

NikDesignsGraphics.com