Cruisin' 1958 With Saint Louie's Jack Carney!

 Time for another volume of 

 Cruisin'...  

 the album series that pays tribute to 

 top 40 radio and features simulated 

 broadcasts by some of the greatest 

 disc jockeys of the 1950s and 60s. 

Today our Cruisin' journey takes us back to 1958 and the Home of the Blues -

the Gateway to the West - St. Louis, where we find top 40 radio personality

Jack Carney entertaining the heartland with his Silver Dollar Survey.

 Jack Carney - WIL, St. Louis 

I wanna testify that it was
great to be age eight in '58.
Everywhere I looked I found entertainment seemingly
designed with me in mind,
much of it coming from
the Walt Disney studios:
The Mickey Mouse Club,
Annette, Spin and Marty,
Boys of the Western Sea
and The Hardy Boys.

TV Westerns were huge: The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Cisco and Pancho,
"Hoppy" Cassidy, Roy and Dale, Wild Bill Hickok and his sidekick Jingles,
Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Paladin, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie.
Then there was Mike Nelson underwater on Sea Hunt and
Ricky Nelson on the bandstand in Ozzie & Harriet.
Man, it was all must see TV!

Drive-in theaters screened
low budget horror and sci-fi
flicks in a double-feature
format. All across the
U.S.A. (via Route 66)
crazy mixed-up kids
like me, Shady D, were
getting their kookie
way-out kicks!

 FRANKIE 
 AVALON 

In 1958, a lot of rock was schlock,
but it sure nuff kept me interested.
As the story goes, teen heartthrob
Frankie Avalon held his nose as
he recorded portions of his single
"Dede Dinah." Later on, Frankie
held his breath as he waited to see
if listeners would hold their noses
and plug their ears. Lucky for him,
most didn't. Frankie's record made
a run at the top 5 and remains a
favorite of mine. Go! Go! Go!

 "Dede Dinah" - Frankie Avalon 

 (Mar. 1958, highest chart pos. #7 Hot 100/#11 Cash Box, 
 dancers on Dec. 18, 1957, ep. of American Bandstand) 

 BOBBY DARIN 

Hard to believe that young, handsome, talented Bobby Darin has been gone almost
46 years. While still a boy, Bobby learned he had a serious heart condition and
would likely die young. The grim prognosis drove Bobby to achieve as much
as he could in his short life, a lesson for us all. In the years before his death
at age 37, Bobby achieved fame as a singer, songwriter, musician, music
business entrepreneur, actor and humanitarian. In the summer of 1958

Bobby released the top 5 rock 'n' roll hit "Splish Splash" followed later
that year by "Queen of the Hop," another rocker that cracked the top 10.

 "Queen of the Hop" - Bobby Darin 

 (Oct./Nov. 1958, highest chart pos. 
 #9 Hot 100/#12 Cash Box) 

 BETTY JOHNSON 

Carolina born Betty Johnson started out singing religious songs in her family group,

the Johnson Family Singers. In 1957 Betty became a regular on Jack Paar's Tonight

and stayed with the program until 1962 when the Johnny Carson era began. Betty

Johnson is best known (to me, at least) for her single "The Little Blue Man," a

creepy novelty number about a stalker from another planet. The voice of the

Little Blue Man was provided by Hugh Downs who at the time was Paar's

announcer on Tonight. As you might recall, Downs went on to host the

TV game show Concentration and later, with Barbara Walters, co-

hosted the long running news program 20/20. I always wondered

why this Halloween friendly record was released, not in October

as you might expect, but around Christmas in 1957!

 "The Little Blue Man" - Betty Johnson 

 (Mar./Apr. 1958, highest chart pos.
 #17 Hot 100/#25 Cash Box) 

 THE MONOTONES 

The Monotones were a doo-wop vocal group from Newark, New Jersey.

They went into the music history books as one-hit-wonders, their only

claim to fame being this song about a book-- the "Book Of Love."

 "Book Of Love" - The Monotones 

 (Apr./May 1958, highest chart pos. #3 R&B, 
 #5 Hot 100/#7 Cash Box) 

 HARVEY 
 AND THE MOONGLOWS 

Page through "The Book Of Love" and you're sure to find

"The Ten Commandments Of Love." That's the name of the

hit by Harvey And The Moonglows, a group from Louisville,

Kentucky, led by R&B singer, songwriter and record producer

Harvey Fuqua. Motown great Marvin Gaye got his start as

a member of Fuqua's Moonglows. Listen now to the

group's top 10 single from Halloween 1958-- 

"Ten Commandments Of Love."

 "Ten Commandments Of Love" - Harvey And The Moonglows 

 (Oct. 1958, highest chart pos. #9 R&B/#22 Hot 100/#39 Cash Box) 

 THE ROYAL TEENS 

"Short Shorts," the squeaky sax novelty number
by The Royal Teens, brings 1958 back alive.

The group included Bob Gaudio, who

later partnered with Frankie Valli to

form The Four Seasons, and Al Kooper,
one of the leading figures in 60s rock.
Kooper toured and played guitar with
The Royal Teens in 1959. In January
of 1958, the self-contained band was
jamming and goofing in the studio at
the end of a recording session when
"Short Shorts" came together. Two
young women were found hanging
hanging around the studio and the
guys pressed them into service as
singers on the call-and-response
parts of the song. Two different
short shorts girls were later used
when the band performed the
song on TV and at live shows.

"Short Shorts" is way out there, daddy-o... crazy, man, crazy!

 "Short Shorts" - The Royal Teens 

 (Mar. 1958, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100 & Cash Box) 

 Don't miss the next 

 thrill packed episode of 

 Cruisin'... 

 coming soon! 

Have a Shady day!