1958 Easy-Listening Hits

I previously mentioned late 50's musical genres other-than-rock-and-roll in these pages. It sounded as if I don't like rock 'n roll.. Not true. I actually LIKE rock 'n roll, but am surprised how much other stuff flooded KNEW while we were at Rogers in 1956 through 1960. I'm going go down this path a bit farther this month.

This is 2008, the 50^th anniversary of our sophomore year. I researched music in the top 100 for 1958. I found that there are several kinds of rankings. Among these are:

• Most sold, as reported by record stores

• Most played by disk jockeys

• Some other hazy top 100 rankings.

I can see loopholes and potential abuses in any of these reports, but I was also there, in 1958, so the names and artists ring a bell with me. I was amazed how many of the heavy-hitters were NOT rock 'n roll tunes. I distilled a list from these lists and then crossed out what I thought were rock 'n roll,. Excuse me if I made any bad calls about what isn't rock 'n roll. For example, I don't think that Bird Dog was rock, but I'm open to correction. The Chipmunk song? I don't think so. My subjective distilled 1958 list follows. It ranges from almost-country, through silly, to almost opera.  I would not be surprised to find this stuff on any easy-listening sound track today:

• "Bird Dog" - Everly Brothers

• "Blast Off" - The Tyrones

• "Blue Boy" - Jim Reeves

• "Breathless" - Jerry Lee Lewis

• "Catch A Falling Star" - Perry Como

• "Chipmunk Song" - The Chipmunks with David Seville

• "Come Dance With Me" - Frank Sinatra

• "Come Prima (Tu me donnes)" - Dalida

• "Dans le bleu du ciel bleu" - Dalida

• "The Day The Rains Came" - Jane Morgan

• "El Diablo" - Frankie Laine

• "Fever" - Peggy Lee

• "Gondolier" - Dalida

• "Guitare et tambourin" - Dalida

• "Hava Naguila" - Dalida

• "I Have To Cry" - Frankie Laine

• "I'm Not Just Anybody's Baby" - Mindy Carson

• "It's All In The Game" - Tommy Edwards

• "Journey's End" - Frankie Laine

• "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" - Jimmie Rodgers

• "Le jour où la pluie viendra" - Dalida

• "Left Right Out Of Your Heart" - Patti Page

• "Les Gitans" - Dalida

• "Milord" - Édith Piaf

• "Partners" - Jim Reeves

• "Rawhide" - Frankie Laine

• "Return To Me (Rittorna A Me)" - Dean Martin

• "Scarlet Ribbons" - The Kingston Trio

• "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - The Platters

• "Stupid Cupid" - Connie Francis

• "Teacher's Pet" - Doris Day

• "Tom Dooley" - The Kingston Trio

• "Twilight Time" - The Platters

• "Who's Sorry Now?" - Connie Francis

-Ed Mauget