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The royalty of rock ’n roll

One of the best responses I’ve ever had to writing an article on the Internet came from this one. One of the Juniors who supported Danny on the classic disc “At the Hop” wrote to me and thanked me for nominating the song as the fourth best rock ’n roll record of all time. He obviously has a sensor device on his computer which picks up any reference to the band. Elvis was always my favourite artist, though Buddy Holly came in a close second. Long live the late 1950s when it all started. You could hold a vinyl record in your hand: polish it when it got scratched. Now music is an abstract download. Something has been lost.

On a recent weekend radio show, someone asked what was the greatest rock record of all time. I think the answer given was “Bohemian Rhapsody“ by Queen.

It got me thinking because I was there when rock was rock ’n roll. It all started when Bill Haley topped the charts in 1955 with “Rock Around the Clock“. The “roll“ was removed when The Beatles and The Rolling Stones rose to fame in 1963. This column, therefore, addresses a more focused question: What was the greatest record of that eight-year period and who were the Kings and Queens of Rock ’n Roll? I know that for young readers this is like asking about Arthur and Boadicea when we live in the time of William and Kate (sorry, Catherine now). Nevertheless, the source of modern pop music was that incredible era when songs involved three chords, guitars were acoustic, microphones were crystal and amplifiers were combined in small boxes with speakers. The dance was The Jive.

Let me start with my choice of royalty. The king, of course, was Elvis when he played with Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (upright bass) and DJ Fontana (drums). It all started with “That‘s All Right“ recorded at the Sun Records studios. It ended when he went into the army and Tom Parker, his manager, reinvented him afterwards as a smooth balladeer.

Coming close to Elvis in the royalty stakes are Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis: Holly and Orbison because of the range of their voices; Berry because of his classic rock compositions; and Lewis because of his mesmerising piano-playing technique. Interestingly, there was no super-star female singer like Madonna at that time, but Brenda Lee and Connie Francis produced the odd rock ’n roll hit like “Sweet Nothings“ and “Stupid Cupid“.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Britain only produced copycats like Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele and Billy Fury. None of them cracked it in the United States; so it was one-way traffic until The Beatles arrived on the scene.

Be that as it may, let‘s get back to the first question of the best rock ’n roll record of all time. Here is my top ten in descending order:

1 Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley

2 Rock Around the Clock by Billy Haley

3 Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly

4 At the Hop by Danny and The Juniors

5 Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley

6 Whole Lotta Shakin‘ Going On by Jerry Lee Lewis

7 Tutti Frutti by Little Richard

8 Hello Mary Lou by Ricky Nelson

9 Wake Up Little Susie by The Everly Brothers

10 C‘mon Everybody by Eddie Cochran

There you have it. It‘s one for the money, two for the show! “Blue Suede Shoes“, written by Carl Perkins and turned into a hit by him at the same time as Elvis Presley, is for me the quintessential rock song. However, Elvis‘ version takes the prize because of his insanely vibrant voice and Scotty Moore‘s awesome guitar solo.