Continuing the countdown of music I enjoyed in my youth but that you rarely hear on the radio, here are the next 10 songs:
30. Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes-Chuck Willis (1958). Two weeks before this song charted, Willis collapsed onstage and died.
29. Surfer Joe-Surfaris (1963). Cheesy, sure, but look at Joe-uh-oh go-oh-uh-oh.
28. Little Town Flirt-Del Shannon (1962). The only popular singer to incorporate the name Larry in a hit ("Hats Off to Larry''), Shannon also became the first artist to chart a Beatles song in the summer of 1963 with "From Me to You,'' six months before the Fab Four mugged the charts.
27. Woo Hoo-Rock-a-Teens (1959). Early garage instrumental - heavy on drums, sax and guitar.
26. The All American Boy-Bill Parsons (1958). This send-up of Elvis' career is really Bobby Bare. The mix-up by his label delayed the start of Bare's career by three years. On the other hand, whatever happened to Bill Parsons?
25. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby-Little Eva (1962). Strong follow-up to "Locomotion'' for Carole King's baby-sitter.
24. Break-Up-Jerry Lee Lewis (1958). As Jerry Lee's career was unraveling, radio stations refused to play his songs and his own label gave up promoting him. But old Jer never stopped torturing the ivories, as this song plainly shows.
23. Gas Money-Jan & Arnie (1958). "If you really want to go, you've got to come up with the dough.'' While future partner Dean Torrence was off with the Army Reserves, Jan Berry and neighbor Arnie Ginsburg bagged a couple of hits with this and "Jennie Lee.''
22. Skinny Minnie-Bill Haley & His Comets (1958). "...she's not skinny, she's tall, that's all.'' A strong comeback effort by Haley near the end of his career, but a follow-up with the same theme, "Lean Jean,'' doesn't fare nearly as well.
21. Stubborn Kind of Fellow-Marvin Gaye (1962). Less than 2 years after marrying Motown founder Berry Gordy's younger sister, Gaye had his first charted song, with Martha and the Vandellas making their debut on backing vocals.
29. Surfer Joe-Surfaris (1963). Cheesy, sure, but look at Joe-uh-oh go-oh-uh-oh.
28. Little Town Flirt-Del Shannon (1962). The only popular singer to incorporate the name Larry in a hit ("Hats Off to Larry''), Shannon also became the first artist to chart a Beatles song in the summer of 1963 with "From Me to You,'' six months before the Fab Four mugged the charts.
27. Woo Hoo-Rock-a-Teens (1959). Early garage instrumental - heavy on drums, sax and guitar.
26. The All American Boy-Bill Parsons (1958). This send-up of Elvis' career is really Bobby Bare. The mix-up by his label delayed the start of Bare's career by three years. On the other hand, whatever happened to Bill Parsons?
25. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby-Little Eva (1962). Strong follow-up to "Locomotion'' for Carole King's baby-sitter.
24. Break-Up-Jerry Lee Lewis (1958). As Jerry Lee's career was unraveling, radio stations refused to play his songs and his own label gave up promoting him. But old Jer never stopped torturing the ivories, as this song plainly shows.
23. Gas Money-Jan & Arnie (1958). "If you really want to go, you've got to come up with the dough.'' While future partner Dean Torrence was off with the Army Reserves, Jan Berry and neighbor Arnie Ginsburg bagged a couple of hits with this and "Jennie Lee.''
22. Skinny Minnie-Bill Haley & His Comets (1958). "...she's not skinny, she's tall, that's all.'' A strong comeback effort by Haley near the end of his career, but a follow-up with the same theme, "Lean Jean,'' doesn't fare nearly as well.
21. Stubborn Kind of Fellow-Marvin Gaye (1962). Less than 2 years after marrying Motown founder Berry Gordy's younger sister, Gaye had his first charted song, with Martha and the Vandellas making their debut on backing vocals.
Larry Lehmer is a professional personal historian who helps people preserve their family histories. To learn more, visit his web site, send him an e-mail or follow him on Twitter.
Hi Larry,
I'm enjoying your Top 40 countdown of songs I've rarely heard. I thought I knew music in this time frame, but you're coing up with some real goodies here.
I do recall Little Town Flirt, Hats Off to Larry, Keep Your Hands Off My Baby, and All-American Boy.
I didn't collect records or albums - just listened to Top 40 radio for days on end! No wonder I missed most of these!
Cheers -- Randy
Posted by: Randy Seaver | October 07, 2009 at 10:56 AM