Ducktails, drive-ins, and broken hearts : an unsweetened look at '50s music / Hank Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Hank, 1941- author.

Series:

Excelsior editions.

Excelsior editions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Popular music--United States--1951-1960--History and criticism.

Popular music.

Sound recording industry--United States--History--20th century.

Sound recording industry.

Singers--United States.

Singers.

Musicians--United States.

Musicians.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (363 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Albany, NY : State University of New York Press, [2023]

Summary:

An unflinching look at the triumphs and tragedies of '50s rock and roll, from the biggest stars, like Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins, to those who barely grabbed the spotlight.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part I Hitmakers and Bold-Faced Names

1 Carl Perkins Meets Elvis in a High School Parking Lot

A Tiny Studio in the Middle of Nowhere

The Need for Change

Carl Meets Elvis

The Rockabilly Highway

2 LaVern Baker: Play It Fair

A Personal Experience

LaVern's Story

LaVern Keeps Getting Covered

A Strong Woman in the Boy's Club

Postscript

3 Frankie Laine: Bringing Passion to Pop

The Old West Beckons

Emotional Intensity

Frankie Meets Elvis

Playing It Straight to the End

4 Ella Johnson: Since I Fell for You

A Lasting Personal Connection

5 Charlie Rich: Before the Fox Was Silver

A Backstage Meeting

Some Final Words

6 Betty Johnson: No More Singing for Her Supper

7 Rosco Gordon: Just a Little Bit

Too Much Death

8 Ella Mae Morse: So Much, So Soon

A Founding Mother

Putting Ella Mae in Perspective

"I Just Hated It. It Was Awful."

But It Wasn't Over Yet

Missing Johnny Mercer

Life without Capitol (and Capitol without Ella Mae)

Living in the Real World: A Personal Reflection

A Final Regret

Part II One-Hit Wonders, Wannabees, and Supporting Characters

9 Chuck Miller: Fryers, Broilers, and the House of Blue Lights

Who Was Chuck Miller?

10 Huelyn Duvall: Close but No Cigar

"I'm Just a Rural Texas Boy"

Danny Wolfe

The Mysterious Movie Deal

Recording for Challenge

A Run-in with Grady Martin

Memorable Career Moments

Maybe It Wasn't Meant to Be?

A Huelyn by Any Other Name ...

11 Eddy Bell: His Alter Ego Became a Star

12 Sherry Crane: A Parakeet Visits 706 Union Avenue

13 Ben Hewitt: The Best Known Unknown

14 Joey Riesenberg: The Scrapyard Drummer.

15 Troy Shondell: The Early Years of a One-Hit Wonder

16 Carl Mann: That "Mona Lisa" Boy

Part III Chasing the Story

17 How Elvis and the Jones Brothers Ended Up in the Memphis Landfill

An Unexpected Reunion

18 Hannah Fay and Jeannie Greene: Searching for Missing Singers

Hannah Fay

Mary Elizabeth Jeanie Johnson Greene Lee

19 Allerton and Alton: Black, White, and Bluegrass

How It Began

Blacks in Country Music

After the War

20 Donna Dameron Loses Her Gig in an Iowa Cornfield

21 The Kirby Sisters: Envy Wrapped in Red Velvet

22 Unchained Melody: The Pre-Ghost Story

Back to the '50s

It Came from Hollywood

Credit Where It's Due

The Movie

The Music

The Singer

The Big Question

The Last Word

23 Chuck Berry and Other Passengers on the Hellbound Train

24 Delia's Not Gone: The Musical Legacy of the Late Delia Green

Part IV Doo Wop Stories

25 A Brief Introduction to Doo Wop

26 The Paragons Meet the Turbans

27 The Channels: The Closer You Look

28 God or Girlfriend?: The Prisonaires Create a Very Confusing Love Song

29 Going Steady with the Pearls

30 The Six Teens Meet the Cleftones

Part V The Bigger Picture

31 The First Rock 'n' Roll Record and Other Creation Myths

32 Politically Incorrect Music in the 1950s

Immigrants

Ignorance of Other Cultures

Women

Fat People

A Woman's Place

Underage Girls

Violence Against Women

33 "Sugartime" and Other Subtle Sexual Content in '50s Pop Music

Slipping Past the Censor

34 Looking under the Covers

35 The Dozen Most Influential Records of the 1950s

36 Instrumental Hit Records: No Words Were Necessary

The Big Mystery

Mystery Solved?

37 Ancestors of the Chipmunks.

38 The Bobbys: An Antidote to All That Rockin'

Enter the Bobbys

About the Author

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Davis, Hank Ducktails, Drive-Ins, and Broken Hearts

ISBN:

9781438492674

OCLC:

1379432978