Monday, March 15, 2021

That Old Time Rock 'N Roll - #MusicMovesMe

 

It's that time to join up with other music bloggers for #MusicMovesMe. I have two posts today; Garden Bloggers Bloom Day will be posted later, but I will include a link to Music Moves Me on that blog (in case you get confused).

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only , please!)   First, there is XmasDolly,   Her co-hosts are: Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, and me. Xmas Dolly is finally up and running (hope I'm not jinxing her) - welcome back!

Each month we have a guest host who picks themes for the month, and this month we are featuring our very own founder and head host, Xmas Dolly

The theme for today is "Build a Playlist of Old Rock and Roll songs".

Your wish is my command, and it helps that I am...umm...old.  So let's try these favorites from my childhood. 



We must start with a classic from 1954-The Chords and Sh-Boom.  I suspect The Crew Cuts version is a bit more well known, but I wanted to start with the original.

Let's move ahead a year -  Bil Haley and his Comets from 1955 - Rock Around the Clock.


In the Still of the Night - Fred Parris and the Satins, dates from 1956.


No "early rock" playlist can be without Elvis Presley, one of the greatest of all time.  Although Elvis was already making it big earlier, I am picking this song from 1957 - Jailhouse Rock. 

Skipping a couple of years, we arrive in 1959, where a lot of my favorite childhood songs reside.  Let me pick one: it's not technically rock.  In fact, it dates from 1928 and a work called The Threepenny Opera.  The lyrics were originally in German.   Bobby Darin's lyrics do deviate from the first English translation (and the lyrics of the song sung earlier that decade by Louis Armstrong).

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto in 1936) had what some might call a tragic life. He was raised by his grandmother, whom he thought was his mother. As a child, he survived bouts of rheumatic fever, which damaged his heart and affected his health for the rest of his short life.  He apparently always suspected he would die young and he did (at age 37).  A talented singer and songwriter, Bobby Darin went to my high school (not when I did!) so I wanted to go into some detail about his life.  Now, on to the song.


Bobby Darin and Mack the Knife.



Now, it's nearly time to return to 2021.  For my last song, from 1962, Gene Chandler sings Duke of Earl.

And that's a wrap!

Join us again next Monday for more music.

 

7 comments:

  1. Alana,

    Music from the 50s has such a classic sound which carried over into the early 60s. I always loved home coming week when I was a kid. The schools had a theme for each day which always included a 50s day. :) I enjoyed your tune lineup, my dear. Have a boogietastic week!

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  2. Great song list. We both picked Bill Haley. That song is just so good.

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  3. Mac the Knife, I love it. The lyrics mention Lotte Lenya, the actress who was married to Kurt Weill. Weill wrote “The Threepenny Opera” and Lenya starred in the original production, well played, whoever wrote the English lyrics.

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  4. ...I remember Sh-Boom and associate the tune with The Crew Cuts.

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  5. Some great old tunes here! Did you know that Gene Chandler is still alive and still doing oldies concerts?

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  6. So many good ones here, Alana! I'd have to pick Mack the Knife. It always gave me delightful shivers!

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  7. another great bunch of tunes. just like Bobby adopted3 penny opera, my school adapted Mack to become Bigtan and Teresh for the story of Purim.

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