The 1950's
It Was A Great Time To Be Alive!
1950's Music
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Great 1950's Singers (.flv)
Top 30 Songs Of The 1950's (.flv)
Old friends you would like to meet
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Old fashioned country music
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Bob's Big Boy Hamburgers
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Remember This?
Music Of Our Era
When I grew up one could hear a beat, generally be sent a usable message, and walk away the the tune in your head. 60 years later it seems most music has degenerated into noise and vocalists scream to try and be heard over drums and guitars. Give me the 4-'s, 50's and early 50's.
Memories
Many musical styles flourished and combined in the 1940s and 1950s,
most likely because of the influence of radio had in creating a mass
market for music. World War II caused great social upheaval, and the
music of this period shows the effects of that upheaval.
In the 1940s, the major strands of American music combined to form what
would eventually be coined as rock and roll. Based most strongly off an
electric guitar-based version of the Chicago blues, rock also
incorporated jazz, country, folk, swing, and other types of music; in
particular, bebop jazz and boogie woogie blues were in vogue and greatly
influenced the music style. The style had developed by 1949, and quickly
became popular among blacks nationwide (see 1949 in music). Mainstream
success was slow to develop, though (in spite of early success with Bill
Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock"), and didn't begin in
earnest until Elvis Presley ("Hound Dog") began singing rock, R&B and
rockabilly songs in a devoted black style. He quickly became the most
famous and best-selling artist in American history, and a watershed
point in the development of music.
Rock & Roll
Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences. In addition, rock music drew on a number of other musical influences, including folk music, jazz, and classical music.
Bluegrass
The 1950s also saw the popular dominance of the Nashville sound in country music, and the beginning of popular folk music with groups like The Weavers. Country's Nashville sound was slick and soulful, and a movement of rough honky tonk developed in a reaction against the mainstream orientation of Nashville. This movement was centered in Bakersfield, California with musicians like Buck Owens ("Act Naturally"), Merle Haggard ("Sing a Sad Song") and Wynn Stewart ("It's Such a Pretty World Today") helping to define the sound among the community, made up primarily of Oklahoman immigrants to California, who had fled unemployment and drought. A similarly hard-edged sound also arose in Lubbock, Texas (Lubbock sound).
DooWop
In addition, doo wop achieved widespread popularity in the 1950s. Doo wop was a hormonaly complex style of choral singing that developed in the streets of major cities like Illinois, New York, and, most importantly, Baltimore. Doo Wop singers would work a cappella without backing instruments, and practice in hallways of their schools, apartment buildings, or alleys to achieve echo effects on their voices, and lyrics were generally innocent youthful observations on the upsides of teen love and romance. Groups like The Crows ("Gee"), The Orioles ("It's Too Soon to Know") and Brooklyn's Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers ("Why Do Fools Fall in Love") had a string of hit songs that brought the genre to chart domination by 1958 (see 1958 in music).
Big Boys
The chain is best known for its trademark chubby boy in red- and white-checked overalls holding a Big Boy sandwich (double-decker cheeseburger). The inspiration for Big Boy's name, as well as the model for its mascot, was Richard Woodruff (1936-1986), of Glendale, California. When he was six years old, he walked into the diner Bob's Pantry as Bob Wian was attempting to name his new hamburger. Wian said, "Hello, Big Boy" to Woodruff, and the name stuck. Warner Bros. animation artist Ben Washam sketched Richard's caricature, which became the character seen on the company logo. This character would also eventually be featured in The Adventures of Big Boy comic book, produced as a promotional giveaway for children visiting the restaurant.