1958
Full disclosure: not being a jazz buff, I had never heard of Lou Donaldson who died this week at the ripe old age of 98. This is his masterpiece. (more…)
Beautiful song, beautiful voice, beautiful boy… Ricky Nelson was only 17 when he sang this back in 1958. (more…)
Jackie Wilson was one of the first R&B superstars back in the ’50s but his music had a second lease of life thanks to Van Morrison and Dexys Midnight Runners in the ’70s and ’80s.
I discovered this rockabilly classic 20 years late when it was re-released on the dependably punk-adjacent Chiswick label in 1978. And it has quite the story behind it.
RIP Duane Eddy (1938-2024)
Everyone knows the guitar riff that kicks off Duane Eddy’s first hit single Movin’ N’ Groovin’ from back in 1958 – though not necessarily from this record.
Wanda Jackson exchanged country music for rock’n’roll on the advice of her teenage boyfriend Elvis Presley – and never looked back. (more…)
A hit from way back in the year I was born, this timeless doo wop ballad features two of the greats of soul music – Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. (more…)
I had never thought to look up the pop chart on the day I was born. Until now. So it is with great joy that I discover the best-selling single as I was popping out in a hospital in Newtownards, County Down, was Great Balls Of Fire. (more…)