The short but intense domination of French popular music by rock’n’roll lasted barely three short years from 1960 to 1963. Guitar groups came to the fore singing well-known rocking songs adapted with French lyrics. These groups and singers performed some original songs as well as many excellent musical interpretations (which contrast to what in the […]
Music/Dance/Reads
1960-61 Johnny, Eddy and Dick, the French favourites
1959 The twist and other dance crazes
An extended twist dance scene from a 1962 episode of the American tv show ’77 Sunset Strip’ (Kookie is the man dancing with the blonde) ‘the locomotion – the bossa nova – the slop – the Madison’ in 1962 Britain
1958 The stroll and the madison
The stroll was both a slow rock’n’roll dance and a song that was popular in late 1950s. The dance called the stroll began in black communities to the songs ‘c c rider’ and ‘Betty and Dupree’ by Chuck Willis. Willis was known as ‘the King of the Stroll’ prior to the release of the song […]
1954 Alan Freed and rock’n’roll
How did rock’n’roll sound like before Bill Haley and his Comets started their ascent to stardom with Decca in 1954? Here is an ‘aircheck’ of Alan Freed’s ‘The Moondog Show’ on Cleveland WJW, dated 6 April 1954, six days before ‘rock around the clock’ was to be recorded by the Comets in New York. All […]
