[78-L] Frosty the Snowman

[Michael Biel]

As I was growing up in the mid-50s I listened to classical and MOR
(middle of the road) but my older sister listened to rock on WMGM and
WINS.  I secretly listened in also.  A few years ago I got some
recordings of those stations from that era and was flabbergasted that
half of the records played were Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Sammy
Davis Jr, Joan Weber, Nat King Cole, Hugo Winterhalter, Mitch Miller,
and lots of things that we would call "slow dances" at parties.  These
were the top rock radio stations in the country.  Listen to the records
on Buchanan and Goodman's Flying Saucer from 1956.  It is the same mix. 
The teens WERE buying these records too, not just their folks.  We all
watched Perry Como's TV show -- Dream Along With Me, Letters We get
letters we get stacks and stacks of letters . . .  I think you will find
a similar mix on Dick Clark's American Bandstand of that era.  Even
Elvis wasn't all rock!



Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  


  -------- Original Message --------
 Subject: Re: [78-L] Frosty the Snowman
 From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
 Date: Sun, January 10, 2010 11:57 pm
 To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
 
 And I never thought of "So Rare" as a big band record. The posthumous
Tommy 
 Dorsey band's "Tea For Two Cha Cha" comes closer. Not much else
though..
 
 dl
 
 Cary Ginell wrote:
 > Couldn't, because the CD was programmed for me and I was only to
write about what was on it.
 > 
 > When I mention "The Big Band Era," I am referring to when big bands
were the most popular genre of music favored by the general public. By
the 1950s, that had gone bye-bye. Namby-pamby vocals by the Perry Comos
of the industry ruled in the early 1950s, giving way to rock 'n' roll by
the mid-50s. But big bands were long considered passe by the public by
then and bands didn't monopolize the best-selling charts in the 1950s. I
think the only big band hit of the 1950s was "So Rare" by Jimmy Dorsey.
Of course there were great big bands in the '50s - I loved the Basie
band that featured Neal Hefti compositions and arrangements. Terry
Gibbs' Dream Band was probably the most exciting kick-ass band of them
all, starting in 1959. And Quincy Jones continued with some great big
band charts in the 1960s. But big band music had become niche
programming by this time.
 > 
 > Cary Ginell
 > 
 >> Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:19:49 -0500
 >> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
 >> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
 >> Subject: Re: [78-L] Frosty the Snowman
 >>
 >> No need to duck, Cary..I was just rereading your great liner notes
to the Naxos 
 >> "Birth of Rock and Roll" CD, although I don't think you credited
Haley with 
 >> bringing Rocket 88 over at that time.
 >>
 >> And many big bands were still playing good music well into the
fifties. Woody 
 >> Herman did some great stuff while his "Mars" label existed, the
Sauter-Finegan 
 >> Orchestra proved big bands could have fun, Ellington and Basie could
still draw 
 >> a crowd even though they were both treading water..
 >>
 >> dl
 >>
 >> Cary Ginell wrote:
 >>> The Big Band era did not end in 1942. It was still the dominant
form of popular music until at least the late '40s. I would put the big
bands' last gasp at the 1948 Petrillo ban, but Chuck Cecil's Swingin'
Years takes it as far as "Rock Around the Clock," which really put the
final kabosh on it. 
 >>>
 >>> As for "Sh-Boom," it's a common mistake to say that was a rock 'n'
roll record. It was not. It helped usher in doo-wop as a major sub-genre
since it was the first R&B song in that style that "crossed over" (i.e.
having a white group - the Crewcuts - cover the original black version
by the Chords). In my opinion, the first rock 'n' roll record had to be
a white cover of a black record in the jump/R&B style that was prevalent
then. I know that there are as many opinions on this as there are
records, but for my money, it was Bill Haley's 1951 cover (Holiday) of
Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" (Chess). Brenston's record is given credit
as the first rock 'n' roll record by many pseudo-historians, but this
was an R&B boogie record. It took a white hillbilly artist covering it
that gave black music the credibility it needed to cross over. That's
what Elvis became famous for 3 years later, but Haley was the first to
do it. OK, I'll duck now while everyone chimes in.
 >>>
 >>> Cary Ginell
 >>>
 >>>
 >>>> Two fairly simple facts! First, after the c.1942 demise of the
"big band
 >>>> era," the record industry had NO useful idea of what would be the
next
 >>>> big thing! "Rock'n'roll" was just starting to emerge; beyond that,
we
 >>>> were given innumerable attempts at "dialect" ("Oh, Mein Papa" et
al)
 >>>> as well as meaningless attempts to create "standards" ("Tennessee
 >>>> Waltz," "Shrimp Boats," usw.!)
 >>>>
 >>>> Second, "Rudolph..." suggested there was a HUGE untapped market
 >>>> for Christmas/holiday tunes! The theoretical audience was the
"under
 >>>> 6" group...or. more accurately, the parents thereof...?!
 >>>>
 >>>> Fortunately for almost ALL of us, 1954 and "Sh-Boom" suddenly
 >>>> brought in a whole NEW musical style...!
 >>>>
 >>>> Steven C. Barr
 >>>> __________________
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