BLAST FROM THE PAST

The Platters

Sing it OTIS!

Solomon Burke (recently deceased in 2010), was one of my faves in mid-'60s sang this in 1962. The great R&B song was made popular again in the movie Dirty Dancing:



Scorching scene from Dirty Dancing with the song;

Gloria Gaynor's song reflected the cultural change brought on by the women's movement.

BTW, unlike many people, not only did I think that disco did NOT suck, I thought that it was a great genre!

There's no accounting for taste. I do love that song, though.

OK, dirty little secret. I am very fond of female vocalitst (so long as they have obvious talent), so i became a fan of ABBA. This is not their first recording, although it qualifies as their first "hit." It was not yet, though, a "breakthrough" for them in the U.S. and U.K., which was the benchmark for popular music in those days. Neil Sedaka punched up the English translation for them, and it was recorded and released in 1973.

Set- I went to high school with Neil Sedaka. He was a skinny little kid, who played the piano at the school assemblies.

In 1974, the group came out with this song, won the Swedish competition to represent their nation at the Eurovision contest. That got them lots of play time across Europe, and they finally broke into the U.K. and U.S. charts. It was the first single released under the group name ABBA, and it is one of the largest selling singles of all time. ABBA has sold 370 million albums world-wide, and, thanks to a revival based on motion pictures using their music, they now sell millions of albums every year. This song made them the first group from Sweden to win the Eurovision contest. This is their Eurovision performance in 1974.

'

Was "Breakin' up is hard to do" written abouty you?

Set-Thanks for the laugh. I am not sure, but I think that the song might have been written for Carol King. (Also, Oh Carol!!)

Let's hear from Neil. First recorded in 1962, this performance is from 1966. (Obvious lip-synch . . .)

I can't believe we been forgettin' this giant of rock . . . this song is often called the first rock and roll song, from 1955 . . .

This performer also claimed to have the first rock and roll song, also in 1955, and here it is . . .

I always thought that this was the first rock and roll song to hit the pop charts.

I have no dog in the fight--i'm just reporting what others write. great song, though . . .

I remember it as Bill Haley's take on Rock Around the Clock, in '54 per wiki, but that's not the first either..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_around_the_clock

I occasionally come across articles that claim to know the first rock song. Each time it is a different artist and song. This one by Fats Domino sometimes gets the call.

Better sound on this one, at least on my computer -

PrettyhHard to say what the first Rock & Roll song was as the genre evolved over time. Some attribute it to Fats Dominos song - some give it to Ike Tuner's in 1951 for Rocket 88'' with the Kings of Rhythm (Chess records released it under "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats", the drummer's name).

What RATC had the distinction of after being featured in Blackboard Jungle in '55, 1 yr after it was released as a minor hit) that it became the first number one hit for Rock & Roll, thus moving Rock to the mainstream forefront to stay for about 55 years. Prior to that none of the other songs had such broad acceptance and/or had become national number one hits.