1950s EASY-POP Songs and Singers...on the verge of Rock 'n Roll
50s hit songs were associated with
the singers who recorded them There were attractive girl singers—Teresa Brewer,
Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Joni James, Patti Page, Della Reese, Dinah Shore,
Jo Stafford, Kay Starr, and Sarah Vaughan, handsome crooners—Tony
Bennett, Pat Boone, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bobby Darin, Eddie Fisher, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis,
Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, and Frank Sinatra, and harmonizing groups—the Ames
Brothers, the Chordettes, the Everly Brothers, the Fontane Sisters, the Four
Aces, the Four Lads, the Four Preps, and the McGuire Sisters.
Fifties Singers were Extraordinarily Versatile
Popular recording
artists in the fifties were expected to
embrace
many types of material. Perry Como’s hits ranged from the polka duet
Hoop-Dee-Do with the Fontane
Sisters, to the novelty Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity, Boom), to a moving
rendition
of composer Richard Rogers’ No Other Love from the World War II
documentary
‘Victory at Sea.’ Rosemary Clooney scored with the novelty Italian
Botch-A-Me and the very melodic
and breathy Tenderly. Eddie Fisher
had huge hits with the traditional Lady of Spain, the Swiss Oh My
Pa-pa,
and Broadway’s rousing (You Gotta Have) Heart. Patti Page went from the
old fashioned Tennessee
Waltz,
to the exciting flamenco Conquest, to the pseudo-gospel Cross Over the
Bridge, to the country Detour, to the classic novelty Doggie
in the Window
(arf, arf),
even to the
pulsing All My Love based on Ravel’s Bolero. Tony Bennett recorded
the swinging Rags to Riches and the more classical Stranger in Paradise
based on music from the
Polovtsian Dances
originally composed by 19th century Russian, Aleksandr Borodin.
Doris Day’s hits included the plaintive Secret Love, the unforgettable
lullaby Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be), and the novelty
songChoo
Choo Train (Ch-Ch-Foo) adapted from the popular
French song Le Petit Train.
For a list of the 12 most Popular 1950s Singers
Click here To read biographies of: 1950s Girl Singers
The women had natural,
clear delivery and beautiful smiles while the men had good looks and confident,
hearty voices. Vocalists in the 1950s took pride
in enunciation and breath control. The lyrics in fifties songs were always
clear and easy to understand. The carefree performers portrayed a sanguine
lifestyle—youthful, open, and inclusive. The singer’s voices were tied to their
personalities and it became increasingly important that the performers
themselves were personable, casual, and attractive. The style of their singing
was fun and effortless with the words flowing from the singer—unlike later rock
music where the singing seemed exceedingly difficult and the lyric needed to be
expelled as gutturally as possible.