Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers - 1957.

Cathy's Clown - The Everly Brothers - 1960.

Goodnight Irene - Gordon Jenkins and the Weavers - 1950.

Photo Credit: Public domain image of Chet Atkins. Sorry, РІР‚СљWith or Without YouРІР‚Сњ sorry, РІР‚СљLet It BeРІР‚Сњ sorry, a thousand other songsРІР‚В¦ The Teddy Bears beat you to it! None other than Phil Spector wrote, produced, sang back-up and played guitar on this song, which is significant also because itРІР‚в„ўs the earliest song (to my knowledge - there must be something earlier) to use the now-ubiquitous РІР‚Сљaxis of awesome,РІР‚Сњ aka the 1-5-6-4 chord progression. Now quick, go win yourself a drink or two!Р”В¦.Р’В РІР‚СљTo Know Him Is to Love HimРІР‚Сњ (1958) by The Teddy Bears.

The hits?Р’В РІР‚СљThe Happy OrganРІР‚Сњ (1959) by Dave РІР‚СљBabyРІР‚Сњ CortezР’В andР’В РІР‚СљKansas CityРІР‚Сњ (1959) by Wilbert Harrison. Wild Jimmy Spruill! Fantastic nickname, but who is he? Only the answer to a supremely wicked trivia question: Name the session guitar player who played (and soloed) on two consecutive 1959 #1 hits by different artists. The guitar, at least on РІР‚СљCome Softly,РІР‚Сњ was done by a woman named - are you sitting down? - Bonnie Guitar!Р”Тђ. ItРІР‚в„ўs smooth and subtle, adding a nice dimension to the already impressive production. Blue.РІР‚СњР’В Their vocals are so smooth and mellow as to be almost trance-inducingРІР‚вЂњdonРІР‚в„ўt listen while driving!РІР‚вЂњbut what really surprises is the guitar work in these songs. This high school vocal trio (one boy, two girls) from Olympia, Washington charted two #1 hits in 1959:Р’В РІР‚СљCome Softly to MeРІР‚СњР’В andР’В РІР‚СљMr. By contrast, there were eight blues-based songs, and a whopping 11 using the good old 1-4-5 chord structure (or a variant thereof).Р”В¤.

I was expecting to find many such songs atop the charts in the 50s, yet there were only three: РІР‚СљAll I Have to Do is DreamРІР‚Сњ by the Everly Brothers РІР‚СљDianaРІР‚Сњ by Paul Anka and РІР‚СљPoor Little FoolРІР‚Сњ by Ricky Nelson. 1-6-4-5 is a chord progression that fairly screams РІР‚Сљ1950s!РІР‚Сњ (and, to be accurate, РІР‚СљEarly 60s!РІР‚Сњ) Think of songs like РІР‚СљEarth Angel,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљBlue Moon,РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљRunaround SueРІР‚Сњ and РІР‚СљCome Go With MeРІР‚Сњ while they may be in different keys, they share the same type of chord progression, which is 1-6-4-5. The relative scarcity of 1-6-4-5 #1 hits. Pretty cool, considering later songs that would use the same device: РІР‚СљThe Kids Are AlrightРІР‚Сњ by The Who РІР‚СљA Hard DayРІР‚в„ўs NightРІР‚Сњ by the Beatles РІР‚СљDesireРІР‚Сњ by U2, and others.Р”Р€. This song was the first #1 hit to use a unique, stand-alone opening chord that instantly identifies the song. Chet AtkinsРІР‚в„ў shimmering opening chord on the Everly BrothersРІР‚в„ў РІР‚СљAll I Have to Do Is DreamРІР‚Сњ (1958). Oh, to be in the control room when they discussed whether to do another takeРІР‚В¦Р”Сћ. But at the soloРІР‚в„ўs midpoint, you neednРІР‚в„ўt be a musician to hear that Moore goes off on a wildly dissonant side trip for a few bars before seamlessly gliding back into key for the soloРІР‚в„ўs end. The song is based on a 12-bar blues progression, and the solo starts out well enough with some aggressive energy and a slightly dirty tone (distortion not yet being a thing). Of the 11 Elvis songs to hit #1 during the 50s, this one contains the craziest guitar work. Here are a few of the gems, surprises and trivia treasures I discovered in my researchРІР‚В¦Р”РЋ.Р’В Scotty MooreРІР‚в„ўs schizophrenic solo on Elvis PresleyРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљToo MuchРІР‚Сњ (1957). My analysis was also РІР‚Сљguitar-centricРІР‚Сњ: I wanted to look at the guitarРІР‚в„ўs role in these #1 hits. I recently completed my own analysis of hit songs from the 1950s, only through a slightly different lens: while Ken looked at the top 200 songs from that decade, I considered only the 62 songs that hit #1 on the Billboard charts during the 1950s rock era (starting with РІР‚СљRock Around the ClockРІР‚Сњ in July 1955 and ending with Frankie AvalonРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљWhyРІР‚Сњ - the final #1 hit of the 1950s). When I read Ken HymesРІР‚в„ў post on pop music of the 1950s, I kept nodding my head and exclaiming РІР‚СљYES!РІР‚Сњ Though weРІР‚в„ўve never met, Ken and I have been working along parallel lines.

Baby blue song 1950s