I, too, came of age in the 1950s. What a glorious decade that was. I will never forget the day that I saw Bill Haley and the Comets on TV and was introduced to what was called rock’n roll. This was quickly followed by seeing Little Richard and other R&B stars such as Fats Domino and Chuck Berry, who quickly blended into the genre of rock’n roll.
Part of my teen-age years were spent in Miami, where I had my first date at 16 with a real live girl. We went to see Elvis in “Jailhouse Rock.” Darn, I have (temporarily) forgotten her name! Senior moment.
Lots of other memories but this has gotten too long as it is.
In retrospect, the 50s were such an age of innocence. Too bad the 60s came along and ruined it.
For those just a bit younger than you, at least the early 60's (through '66 or so, maybe longer) were just as magical.
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart; plenty of others I'm sure you'll recall.
Not meant to intrude on this thread though, which is all about the 50's, afterall!
Yes, the sixties ended the age or R&R innocence by injecting politics and social commentary into the music. We went from hotrods and broken hearts to drugs and revolution, seemingly overnight.
Some of the most influential American groups that emerged in the mid-sixties had folk music backgrounds - The Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, and of course Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were pure folk musicians. They worshipped The Weavers, Pete Seeger, and Woodie Gurthrie, who were all committed communists. No more adolescent dreaming and crying for these new spokespersons!
The anti-war protests and the music fed off of each other, and the British Blues Invasion came along for the ride. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones capitalized shamelessly on popular sentiment, without an ounce of polical committment on their part. Same with the Doors.
Still, the music was far more sophisticated, with modern production methods. I love both eras.
And I came of age with The Beatles and the Stones. And, it was just as sweet.
I always think of the 60s as two decades. The first half was a continuation of the 50s. The latter? Ugh. Turned our world upside down, and never got straight again.
For those who haven’t found it yet, www.pandora.com is fantastic. Just put in the name of any of your 50s songs, and it will play your own music, one song after another from that era. That can be done for any genre or time to create ‘your own radio station’ online.