the best songs ever

[Eric the Green]

Just while I have been in the middle of the 1950s on this thread, PBS has been broadcasting TJ Lubinsky's special "Magic Moments: the Best of '50s Pop." So that gives me a chance to remind myself of some of the songs I liked in the era between big band/ballads and rock'n'roll. This era is often disparaged as a time when inspiration ran dry and the music was superficial and unexciting. That it was, and some of it is pretty dreadful. But I remember listening to the radio when I was sick in late 1957 and I enjoyed listening to this music. The AM pop stations had not entirely switched over to Elvis and rock'n'roll by then, and even after then, the music of this style continued to be part of the pop music mix through the 1960s. I was glad to hear a lot of the groups on the show and not just the solo crooners and Sinatra imitators that I tend to think of as typical. The adjectives for this style are given at the amazon website for part of the show's music (not entirely the same list as the broadcast, apparently):

Quote:Album Moods

Bittersweet Bright Carefree Dramatic Earnest Happy Intimate Laid-Back/Mellow Light Lush Passionate Playful Refined Reflective Smooth Soft/Quiet Soothing Springlike Swaggering Warm Wistful Yearning Amiable/Good-Natured Cheerful Gentle Innocent Poignant Romantic Sentimental Sweet

If I had to choose a favorite of this 50s pop genre, besides a few others I have already mentioned, it might be this one that I heard then:





Sugartime, The MaGuire Sisters (1957-58)