3.2 WORKSHEET 3

In this portion of Worksheet 3, we will look at teen idols, dance crazes, the rise of the producer, and girl groups.

TEEN IDOLS

There have always been teen idols in popular music, because that is just part of the package. If we see a nice face with a nice song, our enjoyment goes up also. There was a high concentration of them in the late '50s to the mid '60s. Some of them had questionable singing skills, and yet some of them were very talented. One of them, Fabian Forte, was literally discovered on the front porch by a talent scout, when he was just 14. There were 3 notable teen idols that had credible careers as they got older. 

Neil Sedaka was always writing for others. He had hits from the late '50s until the mid '60s. He kind of disappeared from public view, but had a comeback in the mid '70s. At his age, he is still performing!

Another teen idol that we have discussed, that also did well in later years was Bobby Darin. Even though he died young, he had a great career as an adult.

One more teen idol that did well was Paul Anka:

Paul Anka, then and now.

Besides his earlier hits. Anka had success as a Las Vegas performer. but even more success as a songwriter. He wrote hits for Frank Sinatra, and the theme song for the Tonight Show.

[personal note: I actually physically bumped into Paul Anka years ago. It was in the dressing room at the Las Vegas Sands Hotel. I'll tell you about it later, if we have a chance]

DANCE CRAZES

Like teen idols, there have always been popular dances, but a high concentration of them during the same time. If you ever saw the show or movie Hairspray, you get a feeling of how crazy it was. A partial list:

The frug

The hitchhike

The locomotion

The mashed potato

The shimmy

The swim

The Watusi

The Boogaloo

The Bristol Stomp

The Hully Gully

The Fly

The Jerk

The Pony

We could go on, but let's stop!

The all time dance hit of that era was The Twist, by Chubby Checker. In fact, it hit the top of the charts 2 years in a row!

Let's watch and listen:
THE TWIST, BY CHUBBY CHECKER Links to an external site.In a later worksheet, we will look at one of the terrific musical geniuses of popular music, Ray Charles. There was an '80s movie called The Blues Brothers, where Ray makes a cameo appearance playing the piano and singing "Shake A Tail Feather." He must mention at least 20 different dances, which are all demonstrated by the dancers on the street. Watch and enjoy:

RAY CHARLES - THE BLUES BROTHERS Links to an external site.

AMBITIOUS POP: THE RISE OF THE PRODUCER

With the need for songs for teen idols, girl groups, and dance tunes, we have seen how the importance of songwriters emerged. Also important in this mix was the producer. 

What is a record producer?  According to Wikipedia:
"A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music,. A producer has many, varying roles during the recording process."

The 1st important production team was Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. 

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller met as young teenagers, brought together by their mutual love of blues and honky tonk. They immediately started writing, and eventually ended up with more than 70 chart hits! Chances are you've have heard several of these songs, but I'm sure everyone has heard "Stand By Me," by Ben E. King. Carole King said that "Leiber & Stoller were absolute role models for Jerry [Goffin] and me in the beginning." And just as Carole King has a show of her hits ("Beautiful"), the music of Leiber and Stoller is also celebrated in the show, "Smokey Joe's Cafe" (also the name of one of their hits). Here is a look at that show:

SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE TRAILER Links to an external site.

[personal note #1 - one of their many hits. a humorous one called "Poison Ivy," has one of my favorite lyric lines ever:

"Your gonna need an ocean, of calamine lotion!"

Personal note #2 - I have played the song "Kansas City" thousands of times, since I was a kid. I did not know Leiber & Stoller wrote it. I thought it was a very old R&B song.]

One lasting legacy of Leiber & Stoller was their blending orchestral backing with easygoing R&B. That approach was soon to be called Sweet Soul.

By going over the Brill Building writers, we have already touched on the girl groups. Questions 9,11, & 12 have already been answered:
9. Who was the most successful of the girl groups? Shirelles

11. What was the 1st #1 girl group record? "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"

12. Who wrote "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Carole King and Gerry Goffin

The girl group record that we will put in our music journal is "Leader Of The Pack," by the Shangri-Las. If I were to pick an all-time girl group favorite, this would be it. It's got everything in it: drama, girls gossiping with each other, the "bad" boyfriend, parents who don't understand, death and destruction, and believe it or not, a real motorcycle revving, not a sound effect. On of the engineers had a motorcycle parked outside, so they brought it in, and put a microphone over it! Here we go:

19. LEADER OF THE PACK - THE SHANGRI-LAS Links to an external site.

Now let's move on to the next section, to finish Worksheet 3