Happy 50th Anniversary: Party Like It’s 1959!

Holy Batman and Robin!

No, wait — that was 1966.

I cannot believe it, but 1959 was fifty years ago, the year that Bobby Darin recorded “Mack The Knife,” The Coasters sang “Poison Ivy” and novely songs, country music, rock & roll and and love songs hit the airwaves and converged in one incredible swan song to the Golden Era of American music, not long before the Beatles showed up and the British Invasion began.

Music had already changed quite a bit by the time the Beatles hit in 1963. In 1961, at the Peppermint Lounge in NYC, Joey Dee & The Starlighters introduced the New York Jet Set crowd to learn (ugh, it pains me to think about it) a new dance (and it goes like this)… The Twist.

But I digress.

Back to 1959. Pre-Beatles, pre-Joey Dee and Chubby Checker.

Paul Anka once told me that he started his own baby boom in 1959. Nine months after the release of “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” a whole lot of babies were born.

I believe it.

I was just starting high school that year, a tennis playing, big-band singing New York City girl in Connecticut.

I was memorizing lyrics like crazy! It wasn’t enough to know all the material from the Swing Era anymore, or early Elvis, jive, rockabilly and C&W-influenced swing like the music Bill Haley and the Comets had taken mainstream in 1954.

Or the songs from the mid-1950’s “crooner period.”

The hit songs of 1959 blasted out of radio stations all over America, one station to a town. They simply called it all “music” back then. The fragmenting of radio formats had not yet begun.

Bobby Darin! The Coasters! Paul Anka! Dion, Elvis and Della Reese!

Never again in the history of music would there be such a wild and wonderfully divergent batch of music on a Top 100 list as there was in 1959:

Paul Anka – (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings – 02-59 – ABC Paramount
Paul Anka – It’s Time To Cry – 12-59 – ABC Paramount
Paul Anka – Lonely Boy – 06-59 – ABC Paramount
Paul Anka – Put Your Head On My Shoulder – 09-59 – ABC Paramount
Annette – Tall Paul – 02-59 – Disneyland
Ray Anthony – Peter Gunn – 02-59 – Capitol
Frankie Avalon – Venus – 03-59 – Chancellor
Frankie Avalon – Bobby Sox To Stockings – 06-59 – Chancellor
Frankie Avalon – A Boy Without A Girl – 07-59 – Chancellor
Frankie Avalon – Just Ask Your Heart – 09-59 – Chancellor
Frankie Avalon – Why – 12-59 – Chancellor
Lavern Baker – I Cried A Tear – 02-59 – Atlantic
Chris Barber’s Jazz Band – Petite Fleur (Little Flower) – 02-59 – Laurie
The Bell Notes – I’ve Had It – 03-59 – Time
Brook Benton -It’s Just A Matter Of Time – 03-59 – Mercury
Brook Benton – Endlessly – 05-59 – Mercury
Brook Benton – So Many Ways – 11-59 – Mercury
The Browns – Scarlet Ribbons – 12-59 – RCA
The Browns – The Three Bells – 08-59 – RCA
Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens – Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) – 05-59 – Warner
Freddy Cannon – Tallahassee Lassie – 05-59 – Swan
Freddy Cannon – Way Down Yonder In New Orleans – 12-59 – Swan
Ray Charles – What’d I Say (Pt. 1) – 08-59 – Atlantic
The Chipmunks – Alvin’s Harmonica – 03-59 – Liberty
The Coasters – Charlie Brown – 02-59 – Atco
The Coasters – Along Came John – 06-59 – Atco
The Coasters – Poison Ivy – 09-59 – Atco
Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez – The Happy Organ – 04-59 – Clock
The Crests – 16 Candles – 01-59 – Coed
Bobby Darin – Dream Lover – 05-59 – Atco
Bobby Darin – Mack The Knife – 09-59 – Atco
Tommy Dee – Three Stars – 05-59 – Crest
Dion & The Belmonts – A Teenager In Love – 05-59 – Laurie
Martin Denny – Quiet Village – 05-59 – Liberty
Carl Dobkins Jr. – My Heart Is An Open Book – 07-59 – Decca
Fats Domino – I’m Ready – 05-59 – Liberty
Fats Domino – Be My Guest – 11-59 – Imperial
Fats Domino – I Want To Walk You Home – 08-59 – Imperial
The Drifters – There Goes My Baby – 07-59 – Atlantic
Duane Eddy – Forty Miles Of Bad Road – 07-59 – Jamie
Tommy Edwards – Please Mr. Sun – 03-59 – MGM
Paul Evans & The Curls – Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat – 11-59 – Guaranteed
The Everly Brothers – Take A Message To Mary – 05-59 – Cadence
The Everly Brothers – (‘Til) I Kissed You – 09-59 – Cadence
Fabian – Turn Me Loose – 04-59 – Chancellor
Fabian – Hound Dog Man – 12-59 – Chancellor
Fabian – Tiger – 07-59 – Chancellor
The Fiestas – So Fine – 06-59 – Old Town
Miss Toni Fisher – The Big Hurt – 12-59 – Signet
The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You – 07-59 -End
The Fleetwoods – Come Softly To Me – 03-59 – Dolphin
The Fleetwoods – Mr. Blue – 09-59 – Dolton
Ernie Fields – In The Mood – 11-59 – Rendezvous
Frankie Ford – Sea Cruise – 04-59 – Ace
Connie Francis – Lipstick On Your Collar – 05-59 – MGM
Connie Francis – Frankie – 06-59 – MGM
Connie Francis – Among My Souvenirs – 12-59 – MGM
Frank Pourcel’s French Fiddles – Only You – 05-59 – Capitol
Wilbert Harrison – Kansas City – 05-59 – Fury
Homer & Jethro – The Battle Of Kookamonga – 10-59 – RCA
Johnny Horton – The Battle Of New Orleans – 05-59 – Columbia
The Impalas – Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) – 04-59 – Cub
The Islanders – The Enchanted Sea – 11-59 – Mayflower
Stonewall Jackson – Waterloo – 07-59 – Columbia
Jan & Dean – Baby Talk – 09-59 – Dore
Johnny & The Hurricanes – Red River Rock – 09-59 – Warwick
The Kingston Trio – Tijuana Jail – 04-59 – Capitol
The Kingston Trio – M.T.A. – 07-59 – Capitol
Steve Lawrence – Pretty Blue Eyes – 12-59 – ABC Paramount
Kathy Linden – Goodbye, Jimmy, Goodbye – 05-59 – Felsted
Wink Martindale – Deck Of Cards – 10-59 – Dot
Johnny Mathis – Misty – 11-59 – Columbia
Mitch Miller – The Children’s Marching Song – 02-59 – Columbia
Guy Mitchell – Heartaches By The Number – 11-59 – Columbia
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir – Battle Hymn Of The Republic – 10-59 – Columbia
Ricky Nelson – Never Be Anyone Else But You – 03-59 – Imperial
Ricky Nelson – It’s Late – 03-59 – Imperial
Ricky Nelson – Just A Little Too Much – 07-59 – Imperial
Ricky Nelson – Sweeter Than You – 08-59 – Imperial
Sandy Nelson – Teen Beat – 09-59 – Original Sound
The Nutty Squirrels – Uh! Oh! Part 2 – 12-59 – Hanover
Reg Owen – Manhattan Spiritual – 01-59 – Palette
Bill Parsons – All American Boy – 01-59 – Fraternity
Phil Phillips With The Twilights – Sea Of Love – 08-59 – Mercury
The Platters – Enchanted – 05-59 – Mercury
Elvis Presley – A Fool Such As I – 04-59 – RCA
Elvis Presley – I Need Your Love Tonight – 04-59 – RCA
Elvis Presley – Big Hunk O’ Love – 07-59 – RCA
Elvis Presley – My Wish Came True – 08-59 – RCA
Lloyd Price – Stagger Lee – 01-59 – ABC Paramount
Lloyd Price – Personality – 06-59 – ABC Paramount
Lloyd Price – I’m Gonna Get Married – 08-59 – ABC Paramount
Della Reese – Don’t You Know – 10-59 – RCA
Marty Robbins – El Paso – 12-59 – Columbia
Ivo Robic – Morgen – 09-59 – Laurie
The Rock-A-Teens – Woo Hoo – 12-59 – Roulette 4192
Bobby Rydell – Kissin’ Time – 09-59 – Cameo
Bobby Rydell – We Got Love – 11-59 – Cameo
Santo & Johnny – Sleep Walk – 08-59 – Canadian American
Jack Scott – Goodbye Baby – 01-59 – Carlton
Neil Sedaka – Oh! Carol – 11-59 – RCA
Skip & Flip – It Was I – 08-59 – Brent
The Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You – 04-59 – Calico
Cyril Stapleton – The Children’s Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Wack) – 02-59 – London
Dodie Stevens – Pink Shoe Laces – 03-59 – Crystalette
Travis & Bob – Tell Him No – 04-59 – Sandy
Sammy Turner – Lavender-Blue – 07-59 – Big Top
Conway Twitty – Danny Boy – 11-59 – MGM
Ritchie Valens – Donna – 01-59 – Del-Fi
Sarah Vaughan – Broken-Hearted Melody – 09-59 – Mercury
The Virtues – Guitar Boogie Shuffle – 04-59 – Hunt
Jerry Wallace – Primrose Lane – 10-59 – Challenge
Dinah Washington – What A Difference A Day Makes – 08-59 – Mercury
Thomas Wayne – Tragedy – 03-59 – Fernwood
Andy Williams – Hawaiian Wedding Song – 02-59 – Cadence
Andy Williams – Lonely Street – 10-59 – Cadence
Jackie Wilson – Lonely Teardrops – 01-59 – Brunswick