The Kingston Trio - Scotch and Soda (1958)

Somewhere between 1953 and 1955- depending on who is telling the story and how they’re remembering it- Dave Guard and Bob Shane took a drive from Stanford University, where Guard was an undergraduate, to Los Angeles. The occasion was Easter; or, it might have been around Thanksgiving- again, depending on the recollection of the storyteller. But, as the story goes, Dave Guard was in a relationship with a fellow Stanford undergraduate, Katie Seaver, who came from Fresno, California. Since Fresno was on the way from Stanford to L.A., they decided to stop at the Seavers’ home and pay Katie a visit, presuming she was there.

But when the duo arrived at the doorsteps of Katie’s parents’ home, they were informed by her parents that she was not there. Being kind folks, Charles and Betty Seaver invited the boys inside in case she happened to return shortly. While in waiting, Guard and Shane were entertained by Katie’s parents and younger, eleven year old brother, Tom (who was, in fact, the same Tom Terrific who would later find success pitching for the New York Mets).

When the conversation turned to music, the Seaver couple played a song for the boys, heard below, which they had learned on their honeymoon in 1932 (or was it 1934?) in Phoenix, Arizona. They told the story about how while away on their honeymoon, they had grown fond of a particular song they had been hearing in the hotel lobby, being played by a backroom piano player. Considering it was their honeymoon, they asked the piano player to write the lyrics down for them so that they could always remember it as “their song." The piano player obliged, but never included his name, thus having himself remain anonymous to history.

As it were, both Guard and Shane became two-thirds of The Kingston Trio (along with Nick Reynolds) when the group was formed in 1957. The song learned from the Seaver couple was included on their first album, The Kingston Trio, which was released in 1958 and sold millions of copies. As time went on, Guard eventually gave himself credit for the song, much to the chagrin of his bandmates. Eventually, after years of not being able to identify the mystery piano player from Phoenix, the Seaver couple was given partial credit for the song.



The Kingston Trio - Scotch and Soda (1958)

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Lyrics:

Scotch and soda
Mud in your eye
Baby, do I feel high
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel high

Dry martini
Jigger of gin
Oh, what a spell you’ve got me in
Oh my
Do I feel high

People won’t believe me
They’ll think that I’m just braggin’
But I could feel the way I do
And still be on the wagon

All I need is one of your smiles
Sunshine of your eye
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel higher than a kite can fly
Give me lovin’
Baby, I feel high

Oh, people won’t believe me
They’ll think that I’m just braggin’
But I could feel the way I do
And still be on the wagon

All I need is one of your smiles
Sunshine of your eyes
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel higher than a kite can fly
Give me lovin’
Baby, I feel high

The Fleetwoods - Come Softly to Me [Undubbed] (1958)

Gary Troxel and Gretchen Christopher were waiting to be picked up after school during their senior year of high school. The duo began to pass the time by singing and humming together. Gretchen thought the vocals they were toying around with would go great with some music she had written, so she convinced Troxel to join her in combining the two. The duo was pleased enough with the result that they asked Gretchen’s singing partner, Barbara Ellis, to join them in their newly formed vocal group. Originally calling themselves Two Girls and a Guy, the trio named their song “Come Softly” and recorded the vocals over a five month period (June – November 1958). Since the trio was singing a capella, they kept time by having Gary jingle his car keys. Once the vocals were perfected, the group’s co-producers flew the tapes to Los Angeles and had acoustic and bass guitars overdubbed. The song, renamed “Come Softly to Me” was officially released by the renamed group, The Fleetwoods, in February 1959. It stayed on the charts for sixteen weeks, with four weeks at number one.

Later that very same year, the group released “Mr. Blue,” which also went to number one. This feat made the trio the very first group in the world to have multiple number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single year. They were also they first ever mixed-gender group to achieve more than one number one hit. All in all, the trio had eleven hit songs in their short career. Gary Troxel’s involvement with the group waned, as he had been obligated to join the U.S. Navy’s Naval Reserve in 1956. That, combined with the nation’s growing desire for British pop, saw the vocal group split up in 1963.

The song heard below is the finalized vocals of “Come Softly to Me” that were sent by the group to Los Angeles for overdubbing. The version heard here does not include the overdub of the Latin-influenced acoustic guitar playing (by Bonnie Guitar) nor the bass guitar. The only non-voice element heard is the jingling of Gary Troxel’s keys to help the singers keep time.



The Fleetwoods - Come Softly to Me [Undubbed] (1958)

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Lyrics:

Oh, I was busy kissing Gary.
Tee-hee.
Take three.

(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)
(Come softly, darling)

(Come softly, darling)
(Come to me, stay)
(You're my obsession)
(Forever and a day)

I want- want you to know
I love- I love you so
Please hold- hold me so tight
All through- all through the night

(Speak softly, darling)
(Hear what I say)
(I love you always)
(Always, always)

I've waited- waited so long
For your kisses and your love
Please come- come to me
From up- from up above

(Come softly, darling)
I want- want you to know
(Come softly, darling)
I love- I love you so
(Come softly, darling)
I need, need you so much
(Come softly, darling)
Wanna feel your warm, warm touch

Ritchie Valens - Come On, Let's Go (1958)

Born Richard Valenzuela on May 13, 1941, this Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist only had a career that lasted eight months before ending in tragedy. As a young boy, Valenzuela was absent on one particular day of school to attend his grandfather’s funeral. On that same day, two planes collided above the playground of his school, killing and injuring many of his friends. From there forward, Valenzuela had a fear of flying. A self-taught musician, Valenzuela joined a local band at the age of sixteen, while still in high school, called The Silhouettes. He started as a backup singer and guitarist, but when the group’s lead vocalist quit, Valenzuela took charge. He was eventually discovered by Del-Fi Records' owner and president, Bob Keane, who had Valenzuela respell his first name from “Richie” to “Ritchie,” and shorten his last name from “Valenzuela” to “Valens.” Soon, Valens was recording nationwide hits, appearing in movies, and dropping out of high school to join a nationwide tour. “The Winter Dance Party,” a tour that began in early 1959, featured Valens, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Dion and the Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo. On February 2nd, 1959, just eight months after Valens’ career had started, Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash that also claimed the life of Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, now known as “The Day the Music Died.” Although his imprint on rock and roll history was short lived, there were an astounding number of future musicians to have been influenced by him, both Latinos and non-Latinos alike.

This was Ritchie Valens’ first hit song. It was written by Valens himself with the help of Bob Keane, credited as Kuhn, using his real surname, and featured the B-Side “Framed,” a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Heard below, the song was recorded, pressed, and released in a span of mere days. It was the success of this song and his record that followed (“Donna”/”La Bamba”) which led Ritchie to quitting high school and focusing music full-time. The song reached number forty-two in the US.



Ritchie Valens - Come On, Let's Go (1958)

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Lyrics:

Well, come on, let's go
Let's go, let's go, little darlin'
And tell me that you'll never leave me
Come on, come on, let's go’a
Again, again, and again

Well, now, swing me, swing me
All the way down, there
Come on, let's go little darlin'
Let's go, let's go again once more

Well, I love you so, girl
And I'll never let you go
Come on, baby, so
Oh, pretty baby, I love you so

Let's go, let's go, let's go
Little sweetheart
That we can always be together
Come on, come on, let's go again

I love you so, girl
And I'll never let you go
Come on, baby, so
Oh, pretty baby, I love you so

Let's go, let's go, let's go, little darlin'
They’re dancin’ and we’ll be longer
Come on, come on, let’s go’a
Again, again and again and again
Again, again and again and again
Again, again and again and again
Again, again…

Jerry Butler & The Impressions - For Your Precious Love (1958)

Born in Chicago, Illinois on December 8, 1939, Jerry Butler, Jr.’s family had very little money but attended church regularly. It was in a local housing community and the church choir that Butler would meet Curtis Mayfield, born June 3, 1942 in the mid-1950s. Together, the two boys sang in a gospel quartet known as the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. Inspired by artists such as Sam Cooke, Butler and Mayfield united with Arthur and Richard Brooks, brothers, to develop a vocal group of their own known as The Roosters. What they eventually became, with the addition of Sam Gooden, was The Impressions. After signing with Vee-Jay Records, the band released their first hit, heard below, in 1958. After their next hit, “Come Back My Love,” Jerry Butler left the band to embark on a solo career. Mayfield wrote most of his successful songs. Mayfield also became The Impressions’ new primary singer and songwriter as the group welcomed Fred Cash to the lineup, a member who had previously been with them for a short while when they were still known as The Roosters. The new Impressions soared to new heights, reaching number two with “Gypsy Woman,” number one with “It’s All Right,” number three with the famous “People Get Ready” (previously featured), and numerous others. Mayfield would eventually leave the group in 1970 to have a successful solo career of his own, but the group continued on. Although their last hit song, “Loving Power,” was released in 1976, the group is still together today featuring original member Sam Gooden and Roosters-era member Fred Cash.

Written by Jerry Butler with help from Arthur and Richard Brooks, this song was The Impressions first big hit. Released in 1958, it was put out with the credit being given to “Jerry Butler & The Impressions,” as the group was known before Butler parted ways. The song peaked at number eleven and has since been covered by Jerry Butler (as a solo artist in 1966), Otis Redding (in 1965), The Rolling Stones (in 1989), and various others.



Jerry Butler & The Impressions - For Your Precious Love (1958)

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Lyrics:

Your precious love
Means more to me
Than any love could ever be
For when I wanted you
I was so lonely and so blue
For that's what love will do

And darling, I'm-
(I'm so surprised)
Oh, when I first realized
That you were fooling me

And darling
They say that our love won’t grow
But I just wanna tell them
That they don't know

For as long
As you're in love with me
Our love will grow wider
Deeper than any sea

And of all the things that I want
In this whole wide world
Is just for you to say
That you’ll be my girl

And oh
(Wanting you)
Wanting you
(Oh, I'm lonely and blue)
I'm so lonely
(That's what love will do)

Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops (1958)

Born Jack Leroy Wilson, Jr. in 1934, “Mr. Excitement” was influential in shifting rhythm and blues music into the genre of soul. Dubbed by Elvis Presley as “The Black Elvis,” he was known for his dynamic stage presence which always involved high-energy dancing. He would often choose unattractive females from the audience to kiss him on stage, rationalizing that “if I kiss the ugliest girl in the audience, they’ll all think they can have me and keep coming back and buying my records.” His life was filled with numerous tragedies including multiple arrests, multiple gunshot wounds, and multiple offspring dying at a young age. Even his own life was cut short when a mid-performance heart-attack in 1975 would put him in an on-again off-again coma for the next nine years until his death.

This song was written by Roquel “Billy” Davis and the Gordy siblings, Berry Jr. and Gwen. The song reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as number one on the R&B charts. The popularity of the song not only led to wealth and stardom for Wilson, but much wealth for those who wrote it. Berry Gordy, Jr. would take his profits and start the recording giant Motown Records.



Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops (1958)

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Lyrics:

Hey
Hey
Hey!

My heart is crying, crying
Lonely teardrops
My pillow never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

My heart is crying, crying
Lonely teardrops
My pillow never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

Just give me another chance
For our romance
Come on and tell me
That one day you'll return
‘cause everyday that you've been gone away
You'll know why my heart does nothing but burn, crying

Lonely teardrops
My pillows never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

Say it right now, baby (say you will)
Come on, come on (say you will)
Say it, darling…

Link Wray and his Ray Men - Rumble (1958)

This man is responsible for pioneering the distorted noise made by electric guitars heard in nearly all rock music. He has the honored title of being the inventor of the “power chord” and thus making punk rock and heavy rock music possible. As part Shawnee Indian, he frequently incorporated his heritage into his performances and song titles. Unfortunately, he passed away from heart failure in 2005 at the age of seventy-six.

Originally titled “Oddball,” this song marks the defining moment where distortion and feedback became popular in rock and roll music. It’s said to be the first song to ever use the “power chord” and was banned in several regions because the guitar’s harsh noises “glorified juvenile delinquency.” Censors also weren’t fond of the title, which was a slang term for a gang fight. Despite its censoring, the song climbed to number sixteen in the charts and eventually made an impact all the way over in Britain, where groups like The Kinks and The Who have cited it as a large influence. To sum it up, Bob Dylan called it “the best instrumental ever.”



Link Wray and his Ray Men - Rumble (1958)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe (1958)

Born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in 1933, this American country musician held the record for most number one singles (in any genre) with fifty-five until it was broken by George Strait in 2006. He started his career with a rockabilly/rock and roll sound in 1958 and transitioned himself into a country star starting in 1965. He frequently won awards for his duets with Loretta Lynn and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

This song was the B-side to a failed release “I’ll Try”. It was written by Twitty and drummer, Jack Nance. Because of the style in which Twitty sang, many people believed that it was Elvis Presley singing the song under a pseudonym. The song reached number one on both the American national charts and the British national charts.



Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe (1958)

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Lyrics:

People see us everywhere
They think you really care
But myself, I can't deceive
I know it's only make believe

My one and only prayer
Is that someday you'll care
My hopes, my dreams come true
My one and only you
No one will ever know
How much I love you so
My only prayer will be
Someday you'll care for me
But it's only make believe

My hopes, my dreams come true
My life I'd give for you
My heart, a wedding ring
My all, my everything
My heart I can't control
You rule my very soul
My only prayer will be
Someday you'll care for me
But it's only make believe

My one and only prayer
Is that someday you'll care
My hopes, my dreams come true
My one and only you
No one will ever know
How much I love you so
My prayers, my hopes, and my schemes
You are my every dream
But it's only make believe

The Champs - Tequila (1958)

When Dave Burgess (known professionally as Dave Dupree) needed a B-side for his single “Train to Nowhere,” the executives at Gene Autry’s Challenge Records made him put together a band for the purpose of filling the empty side. This band was the result.

The band recorded this song, written and sung by their saxophonist Danny Flores. It quickly reached the number one spot in three weeks and vastly outshone its A-side counterpart. But because it was the group’s only success, it labeled them as a one-hit wonder.



The Champs - Tequila (1958)

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Lyrics:

Tequila

Tequila

Tequila!