[78-L] two hits - same song

rjh334578gmail rjh334578 at gmail.com
Fri Apr 25 19:37:20 PDT 2014


Interesting list and your research is appreciated.

The non-rockers out numbered the rock tunes by one - which may be just  
a subjective decision on your part trying to make some sense of the  
whole scene.  Not an easy task, to decide what was and what wasn't  
rock.  I recall leafing through one of Whitburn's books covering that  
period and was struck by how many tunes were non-rockers well into the  
1960s, and se of the earlier replies to this query noted that as  
well.  Al Hirt was on the charts in the middle Sixties.

Sent from my iPod - which explainz any bad typjng


On Apr 25, 2014, at 9:12 PM, Jeff Lichtman <jeff at swazoo.com> wrote:

> At 04:16 PM 4/24/2014, you wrote:
>> Or if you don't worry about rocker cred as such and just look at  
>> the biggest pop hits of 1957-1959, Wilbert Harrison didn't write  
>> "Kansas City," Johnny Horton didn't write "The Battle Of New  
>> Orleans," . . .
>>
>> Joseph Scott
>
>
> I didn't say that rock and roll performers wrote all their own  
> material - just that it was more common for them to do this than it  
> was for other types of performers.
>
> I did a little research - I looked up records from 1955 through 1957  
> and divided them into rock and roll and other types of pop. I then  
> counted the instances where the piece was written or co-written by  
> the performer. I didn't try to be comprehensive - I just wanted a  
> big enough sampling that the results would mean something. Of the 53  
> rock and roll records I surveyed, 24 were written at least in part  
> by the performers. Of the 54 non-rock-and-roll records, 5 were  
> written or co-written by the performers.
>
> It's possible that there was some sample bias in my survey, or that  
> my samples were too small. Still, in the cases I considered, the  
> rate of artists performing their own material is almost 5 times  
> higher for the rock and roll records.
>
> I think this is pretty easy to explain. Tin Pan Alley was still in  
> full swing at that time, and they mostly didn't write rock and roll  
> songs. They would write songs for anyone who wanted to record them,  
> and singers like Perry Como and Dean Martin were happy to perform  
> these songs. The rock and rollers didn't have a whole industry of  
> established songwriters, so they had to write their own stuff more  
> often.
>
> Here are the records I considered. I'll mark the ones where the  
> performer contributed to the composition with ****:
>
>
> Rock and Roll
>
> ****  Ain't That a Shame - Fats Domino  ****
> Ain't That a Shame - Pat Boone
> Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots - The Cheers
> **** Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley  ****
> Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) -  The Penguins (some sources credit  
> Curtis Williams of The Penguins as songwriter)
> Flip Flop and Fly - Joe Turner
> I Hear You Knocking - Smiley Lewis
> **** Maybellene - Chuck Berry ****
> Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley
> Hearts of Stone - The Fontane Sisters
> Only You - The Platters (written by Buck Ram, manager of The Platters)
> Tweedle Dee - LaVern Baker
> **** Sincerely - The Moonglows  ****
> **** The Wallflower (Dance with Me Henry) - The Peaches  ****
> **** Tutti Frutti - Little Richard  ****
> **** Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins  ****
> Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley
> **** Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley  ****
> **** Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent  ****
> **** I'm in Love Again - Fats Domino  ****
> See You Later Alligator -  Bill Haley
> Hound Dog - Elvis Presley (the Big Mama Thornton version was too  
> early for my survey)
> The Fool - Sanford Clark
> The Green Door - Jim Lowe
> **** Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Frankie Lyman  ****
> The Great Pretender -  The Platters (again, written by the manager  
> of The Platters)
> ****  Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley  ****
> **** I Put a Spell on You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins  ****
> Ooby Dooby - Roy Orbison
> I Gotta Know - Wanda jackson
> **** Honky Tonk - Bill Doggett  ****
> **** All Shook Up - Elvis Presley ****
> Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers
> **** Diana - Paul Anka  ****
> **** Party Doll - Buddy Knox ****
> **** That'll Be the Day - Buddy Holly  ****
> Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
> Little Darlin' - The Diamonds
> **** Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly  ****
> **** School Day - Chuck Berry  ****
> Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
> Sittin' in the Balcony - Eddie Cochrane
> **** Susie Q - Dale Hawkins  ****
> Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers
> **** Raunchy - Bill Justis  ****
> Raunchy -  Ernie Freeman
> Raunchy - Billy Vaughn
> Reet Petite - Jackie Wilson
> **** Rock and Roll Music - Chuck Berry  ****
> Oh Boy - Buddy Holly
> Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
> **** Come Go with Me - The Del-Vikings  ****
> Butterfly - Charlie Gracie
> Butterfly - Andy Williams
>
> Non-Rock-and-Roll
>
> Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
> The Yellow Rose of Texas - Mitch Miller,
> Autumn Leaves - Roger Williams
> The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes
> The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Fess Parker
> The Ballad of Davy Crockett - Tennessee Ernie Ford
> Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing - The Four Aces
> Melody of Love - Billy Vaughn
> Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford,
> Learnin' the Blues - Frank Sinatra
> Moments to Remember - The Four Lads
> Let Me Go Lover - Joan Weber
> A Blossom Fell - Nat King Cole
> Honey Babe - Art Mooney
> Ko Ko Mo - Perry Como
> Hard to Get - Gisele Mackenzie
> The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - The Ames Brothers
> That's All I Want from You - Jaye P. Morgan
> It's a Sin to Tell a Lie - Somethin' Smith and the Redheads
> Lisbon Antique - Nelson Riddle
> The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
> The Poor People of Paris - Les Baxter
> Que Sera Sera - Doris Day
> Memories Are Made of This - Dean Martin
> Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic" - Morris Stoloff
> I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
> Hot Diggity - Perry Como
> **** Canadian Sunset - Eddie Heywood and Hugo Winterhalter  ****
> Allegheny Moon - Patti Page
> Tonight You Belong to Me - Patience and Prudence
> Standing on the Corner - The Four Lads
> Ivory Tower - Cathy Carr
> On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone
> Band of Gold - Don Cherry
> More - Perry Como
> **** The Happy Whistler - Don Robertson  ****
> True Love - Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly
> Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
> Young Love - Tab Hunter,
> So Rare - Jimmy Dorsey
> Don't Forbid Me - Pat Boone
> Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
> Round and Round - Perry Como
> Tammy - Debbie Reynolds
> The Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte
> **** A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation) - Marty Robbins  ****
> Gone - Ferlin Husky
> Honeycomb - Jimmie Rodgers
> Dark Moon - Gale Storm
> Moonlight Gambler - Frankie Laine
> It's Not for Me to Say - Johnny Mathis
> **** Marianne - Terry Gilkyson  **** (this is a traditional song,  
> but I'm giving credit for the adaptation)
> Chances Are - Johnny Mathis
> Send for Me - Nat King Cole
> **** Rainbow - Russ Hamilton ****
>
>
>
>                       -        Jeff Lichtman
>                                jeff at swazoo.com
>                                Check out Swazoo Koolak Photography
>                                    at http://swazoo.com/
>
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