Teddybears STHLM - You Are Teddybears (1993)

"Backbite" by Teddybears STHLM


Swedish grindcore band Skull released one song for a compilation album then transitioned down to a less abrasive hardcore punk, changing their name to the unlikely Teddybears STHLM.

The band consists of brothers Klas (bass) and Joakim Åhlund (guitar), Patrik Arve (lead vocals), and Glenn Sundell (drums).  Teddybears released their first record, an EP, in 1991 that showcased an explorative blend of influences including classic rock, British punk, metal, and a touch of hip hop.  With all of these influences, it wasn't clear what genre of music Teddybears played in (at least from their recordings) until the release of their debut album You Are Teddybears came out in 1993 and all songs from the album built off a hardcore punk foundation.

Here is the discography surrounding Teddybears STHLM's debut album:

On a Mission in Blood (1991 compilation song as Skull)
Women in Pain (1991 EP)
Extra Pleasure (1993 EP)
You Are Teddybears
We Are the Best! (1994 EP)

"Taken by Surprise" by Teddybears STHLM


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The Teddy Bears - The Teddy Bears Sing! (1959)

"Seven Lonely Days" by The Teddy Bears


Phil Spector might just be famous as only a producer, but out of high school, he performed in his own band The Teddy Bears.  The Teddy Bears and Spector broke out with an out-of-nowhere #1 hit single "To Know Him, Is to Love Him" in 1958.  The recording featured Spector (guitar, backup vocals), Marshall Lieb (backup vocals), Harvey Goldstein (who would soon leave the band), and Sandy Nelson (drums) performing behind the lead vocals of Annette Kleinbard.  The band released a couple more singles and an album, but they ended up being just a one-hit wonder and broke up by the end of 1959.

Here is the discography surrounding The Teddy Bears's debut album:

To Know Him, Is To Love Him (1958 single)
Oh Why (1959 single)
The Teddy Bears Sing!
Don't Go Away (1959 single)
If You Only Knew (The Love I Have for You) (1959 single)
Wonderful, Loveable You (1959 single)
Greatest Hits (2013 compilation album)

"To Know Him, Is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears


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The Ronettes - ...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)

"I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" by The Ronettes


Sonny got Cher work as a backup singer for Phil Spector's various band projects.  Her most notable backup performance stands on The Ronettes' hit 1963 single "Be My Baby" on which Bono also played percussion.

Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and cousin Nedra Talley started singing together in 1957.  They performed at Apollo's Amateur Night (familiar place) and translated that into an early career of small gigs and bar mitzvahs as Ronnie and The Relatives.  Their first record deal was with Colpix Records in 1961 through producer Stu Johnson, but none of their recordings sold well despite being excellent girl-group offerings.  The Relatives became The Ronettes and slowly got jobs as session backup singers and a consistent gig at The Peppermint Lounge (but as dancers, mainly).

Their recording career would finally break through when Estelle placed a phone call to Phil Spector to arrange an audition for his new record label Philles Records.  Spector had already seen The Ronettes live and had a particular soft spot for Veronica.  This audition was more of a formality.  The Ronettes were exactly the sound Spector wanted and he got them to trick Colpix out of their record contract and then sign with Philles in 1963.  The work with Spector wasn't too rewarding at first as they recorded singles that didn't see release (Spector wanted his pet band to debut with a bang) and recorded singles in the name of another Philles girl-group, The Crystals.  But the breakout hit came when Philles released the #2 "Be My Baby", a landmark in rock and particularly in popular music production.  Spector was already a wunderkind, but with this release he was a genius and landscape shifter.  The Wall of Sound was impressive.

The Ronettes followed the single success with appearances on television, a tour of Europe where they met admirers in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and more Top 40 hits.  But by the end of 1964, The Ronettes had already suffered a decline in popularity.  Part of it can be attributed to the rapidly changing musical landscape, but also to a degree of self-sabotage on the part of Phil Spector who saw his pet project getting too much attention and possibly being tempted to leave him.  Phil had always been particular on what singles to release, but he refused to release The Ronettes's excellent version of "Chapel of Love" in early 1964.  Months later, The Dixie Cups had a smash hit on their hands with the same song.  More singles refused to be released and those that were underperformed terribly.  By 1965, they opened for The Beatles in America and toured with them in 1966 (though without Veronica who was in a relationship with the insecure and jealous Spector).  Passing out of favor with the public, The Ronettes broke up in 1967 and married.  They reunited briefly in 1969 for a single and stint of recording with Jimi Hendrix.

After Veronica (now Ronnie Spector) divorced Phil from an abusive marriage, she tried to get The Ronettes together one last time in the mid-70s, but she proved the only one interested.  Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes released two singles with a non-Spector contemporary sound, but neither did well.  Ronnie, understanding the end, moved on to her solo career.

Here is the discography surrounding The Ronettes's debut album:

I Want a Boy (1961 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
Silhouettes (1962 single)
Good Girls (1962 single)
Be My Baby (1963 single)
Philles Records Presents Today's Hits (1963 compilation album)
Baby, I Love You (1963 single)
A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963 compilation album)
(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up (1964 single)
Do I Love You? (1964 single)
Walking in the Rain (1964 single)
Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love (1964 single by Veronica)
So Young (1964 single by Veronica)
...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
The Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1965 compilation album)
Born to Be Together (1965 single)
Is This What I Get for Loving You? (1965 single)
Paradise (1965 single)
He Did It (1965 single)
I Can Hear Music (1966 single)

The Year 2000 (1968 single by Estelle)
You Came, You Saw, You Conquered! (1969 single)
Go Out and Get It (1973 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine (1974 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits (1975 compilation album)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1981 compilation album)
The Colpix and Buddha Years (1992 compilation album)
The Ultimate Collection (1997 compilation album)
Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes (2010 compilation album)

"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes


"Sleigh Ride" by The Ronettes


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Sonny & Cher - Look at Us (1965)

"Baby Don't Go" by Sonny & Cher


Another relative of Vince Guaraldi and Muzzy Marcellino's in the music business was singer, songwriter, and producer Sonny Bono.

Sonny Bono worked for Phil Spector.  He played percussion and wrote songs and learned from the master but lacked the master's talent.  Sonny met the young Cherilyn Sarkisian and arranged for her to sing as a backup singer, a brick in Spector's Wall of Sound.  She sang on a handful of notable iconic Spector hits and recorded a couple singles for him to no success.  Cherilyn wasn't really a Spector project anyway, she was Sonny's (and they eventually married).  Sonny started packaging the two of them as the musical duo Caesar & Cleo, a girl-boy partnership based on the previous successes of Les Paul & Mary Ford, Mickey & Sylvia, and even Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.  They had no notable success as Caesar & Cleo.

The name change to Sonny & Cher on the duo's third single "Baby Don't Go" coincided with it being a local hit.  When they released the follow-up, a Sonny penned and produced "I Got You Babe", Sonny & Cher had a surprising #1 hit single and cultural landmark.  Its success pulled up their associated debut 1965 album, Look at Us to #2 on the album charts.  The single's success also ended up featuring the two on a good number of talk and variety shows and even the occasional movie appearance.  Sonny & Cher had become household name.

Here is the discography surrounding Sonny & Cher's debut album:

The Letter (1964 single as Caesar & Cleo)
Love Is Strange (1964 single as Caesar & Cleo)
Baby Don't Go (1964 single)
Baby Don't Go (1965 compilation album by Sonny & Cher and Friends)
I've Got You Babe (1965 single)
Look at Us
Just You (1965 single)
The Letter (1965 single)

"I've Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher


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Muzzy Marcellino - Birds of a Feather... (1958)

"Call of the Bird Watcher" by Muzzy Marcellino


Vince Guaraldi had many musical relatives and relatives in the music business.  One of them was his uncle, band leader and whistler extraordinaire Muzzy Marcellino.

Marcellino started his career in 1932 for Ted Fio Rito's Orchestra as lead guitar player and occasional lead singer.  He started his own orchestra in the late thirties which lasted about a decade, and played a couple small roles in B pictures during this time.  After his band dissolved, Art Linkletter offered Marcellino as musical director of the The Linkletter Show in 1952, a job that would last through the show's 17 year run.  During this time, Marcellino became notorious for his whistling.  Originally, his whistling was more of a novelty act for his Big Band, but Muzzy became high in demand to whistle on whatever advertisement, TV show, or movie that needed just that.  Famously, he performed the theme song for The High and The Mighty and even recorded  bird calls for Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room.  Muzzy Marcellino would release his debut album of whistling ballads, Birds of a Feather..., in 1958.

Here is the discography surrounding Muzzy Marcellino's debut album:

Birds of a Feather...

"Willow Weep for Me" by Muzzy Marcellino


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Vince Guaraldi Trio - Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956)

"Django" by Vince Guaraldi Trio


The Cal Tjader Trio featured a young 24 year old Vince Guaraldi on piano.  Just two years later, he had his own trio with Eddie Duran on guitar and Dean Reilly on bass.  The Vince Guaraldi Trio released its debut album Vince Guaraldi Trio in 1956.

Here is the discography surrounding Vince Guaraldi's debut album:

Modern Music from San Francisco (1955 compilation album with two songs by the Vince Guaraldi Quartet)
Vince Guaraldi Trio

"Three Coins in a Fountain" by Vince Guaraldi Trio


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The Cal Tjader Trio - The Cal Tjader Trio (1953)

"Chopsticks Mambo" by The Cal Tjader Trio


The Dave Brubeck Trio featured the percussion art of Cal Tjader who played the drums and vibraphone, but also stood out for bringing bongos and other traditional latin and african instruments to the West Coast jazz scene.

Cal Tjader's work with Brubeck brought him rapid notice but an unfortunate accident ended the trio's work suddenly.  Tjader went on to record and tour with bandleaders like George Shearing and Alvino Rey.  He also formed his own trio and recorded his first 10" record for Fantasy Records.  His band featured bassist Jack Weeks and pianist John Marabuto (on Side A) and newcomer Vince Guaraldi (on Side B).  The Cal Tjader Trio came out in 1953.

Here is the discography surrounding Cal Tjader's debut album:

The Cal Tjader Trio

"Three Little Words" by The Cal Tjader Trio


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The Dave Brubeck Trio - Dave Brubeck Trio Featuring Cal Tjader (1950)

"Indiana" by The Dave Brubeck Trio


Negativland's founding duo were born and raised in Concord, California whose other famous natives include actors Tom Hanks and Mark Hamill and one of the leaders of the school of West Coast jazz, pianist Dave Brubeck.  Young Dave took lessons from his mother, as did his siblings, but he could not read music.  Less the matter since he had no interest of pursuing music anyhow.  He originally intended to work with his father on the cattle farm and attended College of the Pacific to study up.  As it happens, his mind was clearly in the conservatory across the way and not in his studies, and his professors encouraged him to transfer to the music school.

Brubeck was drafted into the military where his piano skills allowed him to avoid combat service.  Instead, he led the US Armed Forces' first racially integrated band "The Wolfpack".  After his service, he returned to school, this time studying at Mills College under composer Darius Milhaud and, for a short time, under Arnold Schoenberg.  After graduating with his masters, he performed and recorded with an octet and a trio.  Dave led both groups as he was the performer with the most recognizable name.  The Dave Brubeck trio issued its recordings first on fantasy records and featured Ron Crotty on bass and Cal Tjader on drums, the vibraphone, and the bongos.  Their first album was a collection of Fantasy singles released as Dave Brubeck Trio Featuring Cal Tjader in 1950.  The jazz was good and sold well.  The album also features probably my favorite album cover of all time.  I gotta know who painted that masterpiece, buy it, frame it, and smile every day.

Here is the discography surrounding The Dave Brubeck Trio's debut album:

You Stepped Out of a Dream (1950 single)
Singin' in the Rain (1950 single)
Body and Soul (1950 single)
Indiana (1950 single)
Blue Moon (1950 single)
Undecided (1950 single)
Dave Brubeck Trio Featuring Cal Tjader

"I'll Remember April" by The Dave Brubeck Trio


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Negativland - Negativland (1980)

"10" by Negativland


Neu! had many fans and two of them thought it appropriate enough to name their band after one of Neu!'s songs.

Negativland formed in 1979 around two high schoolers Mark Hosler and Richard Lyons.  They recorded their debut album Negativland in 1980 and self-published it on their own Seeland Records (another Neu! reference) as they felt they ought to accomplish something before graduating high school.  They were joined by then-cable repairman David Wills (who officially joined the group) and a couple of high school friends (who did not).  The album is a series of sound collages, tape manipulations, and the occasional song-like recording.  Each individual album also had its own unique cover with the one above being the "official" cover found on the band's website.

Here is the discography surrounding Negativland's debut album:

Negativland

"11", "12", and "13" by Negativland


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Neu! - Neu! (1972)

"Hallogallo" by Neu!


Klaus Dinger was a very short-lived member of Kraftwerk only having played on one song "Megaherz" from their debut album.  Friend and bandmate Michael Rother didn't even record with the band but toured with them.  When it looked like Kraftwerk were going to break up with Hütter leaving the band, Dinger and Rother broke off to form their own experimental group Neu! in 1971.

After forming, the duo went immediately to record at Star Studios with (again) Conny Plank.  On what became their 1972 debut album Neu!, Michael Rother played guitar and bass.  Klaus Dinger played drums, guitar, and a heavily manipulated Japanese banjo that can be heard on one of their staple tracks "Negativland".  On this album, Dinger introduced the "motorik" drumming style, a driving and unadorned 4/4 beat that would be sonically associated with the krautrock scene for its prolific use.  The album released on Brain Records but sold poorly.  Despite the slow start, Neu's debut would stand out as a critical darling, one of krautrock's cornerstone recordings, and an incredibly influential recording on music scenes to follow from the UK punks to post-rock and modern EDM.

Here is the discography surrounding Neu!'s debut album:

Neu!
Neu! '72 Live in Düsseldorf (1972 rehearsal recording)

"Negativland" by Neu!


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Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk (1970)

"Von Himmel Hoch" by Kraftwerk


While the other members of Organisation went off to university, Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter continued performing together as the newly christened Kraftwerk.

Along with drummers Andreas Hohmann and Klaus Dinger, Kraftwerk became one of the defining acts of the krautrock movement.  On their Kraftwerk debut album in 1970, Schneider (flute, synthesizers, electroviolin) and Hütter (organ, synthesizers) developed an experimental sound that meanders through different sonic ideas from instrumental sound design to drum-driven psychedelia.  The players have an improvised, jazz feel to their performances where each musician slowly builds off of motifs introduced by the others.  The album was produced by Conny Plank.

Here is the discography surrounding Kraftwerk's debut album:

Kraftwerk

"Ruckzuck" by Kraftwerk


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Organisation - Tone Float (1970)

"Noitasinagro" by Organisation


Konrad "Conny" Plank helped Grobschnitt produce their eponymous record, which makes sense because, as producer, Plank had his fingertips all over the krautrock scene including the work of one of the earliest krautrock outfits, the experimental quintet Organisation.

Actually, the band was named Organisation zur Verwirklichung gemeinsamer Musikkonzepte, or the "Organization for the Realization of Common Music Concepts", but they digressed.  The band formed in 1967 and included Ralf Hütter (organ), Florian Schneider-Esleben (flute, violin, percussion), Basil Hammoudi (glockenspiel, percussion), Butch Hauf (bass, percussion), and Alfred "Fred" Mönicks (percussion).  Organisation released only one album in 1970 titled Tone Float on the British label RCA Victor, but it failed to sell prompting their drop.  The band disbanded with most of the members opting to attend university.

Here is the complete discography for Organisation:

Tone Float

"Tone Float" by Organisation


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Grobschnitt - Grobschnitt (1972)

"Symphony" by Grobschnitt


The Moody Blues's magnificent debut was recently remastered and rereleased not only by a remastering engineer but also by a huge fan and musician influenced by The Moodies's body of work.  The mastering fan was Joachim Ehrig, better known as Eroc, drummer for the progressive krautrock band Grobschnitt.

Eroc formed Grobschnitt in 1970 out of the refuse of his defunct psychedelic rock band The Crew.  The eight man group started stylistically where The Crew left off, but by the time they recorded their debut album Grobschnitt in 1972, the band had moved firmly into the realm of symphonic progressive rock.  Alongside Eroc, the band included as members Gerd Otto Kühn (aka Lupo: lead guitar), Stefan Danielak (aka Willi Wildschwein: rhythm guitar, vocals), Herrmann Quettling (aka Quecksilber: keyboards), Axel Harlos (aka Felix: percussion), and Bernhard Uhlemann (aka Bär: bass, flute).  They attracted a popular fan base through their exciting live shows that included pyrotechnics and comedy skits.  Grobschnitt signed with Brain Records, an iconic record label that fostered some of the best and most influential krautrock bands of the 70s and 80s.

Here is the discography surrounding Grobschnitt's debut album:

Grobschnitt

"Travelling" by Grobschnitt


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The Moody Blues - The Magnificent Moodies (1965)

"I'll Go Crazy" by The Moody Blues


The Move and The Moody Blues shared the same city in Birmingham, the same producer in Denny Cordell, and the same manager in (not Don Arden) Tony Secunda.  Before The Move switched to Arden, they rose to prominence with Secunda helped along by his publicity stunts which included ridiculous stage antics, signing their recording contract on the back of a topless model, and a libelous cartoon poster of the Prime Minister at the time, Harold Wilson, in bed with his secretary.  After the legal action took a big chunk out of the band, they let Secunda go.

The Moody Blues formed in 1964 with Michael Pinder (keyboard), Ray Thomas (percussion, flutes), Denny Laine (harmonica, guitar, lead vocals), Graeme Edge (drums), and Clint Warwick (bass) out of the refuse of other short-lived Brum Bands such as The Diplomats, The Rebels, and The Krew Cats.  Their early and short-lived residency at the Carlton Ballroom gathered the attention of producer Alex Murray who helped swing a record deal with Decca.  In a matter of months of existence, The Moody Blues released their debut single "Steal Your Heart Away" to a flop.  Their presence grew, however, thanks to spots on television including the first purposeful, promotional film for their only #1 single "Go Now!" later that year.

Despite the single success, their debut album The Magnificent Moodies released in 1965 failed to chart.  The band continued to release a consistent stream of singles but found each one less and less successful.  By 1966, lead singer and guitarist Denny Laine had had enough and left the band for a solo career.

Here is the discography surrounding The Moody Blues's debut album:

Down the Line (1959 single by El Riot and The Rebels)

The Bat (1961 single by The Krew Kats)

Samovar (1961 single by The Krew Kats)

Trambone (1961 single by The Krew Kats)
Forever and a Day (1963 single by Denny Laine and The Diplomats)

Doctor Feelgood (1964 single by Gerry Levene and The Avengers)

Steal Your Heart Away (1964 single)
Go Now! (1964 single)
I Don't Want to Go On Without You (1965 single)
The Moody Blues (1965 EP)
From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You) (1965 single)
The Magnificent Moodies
Everyday (1965 single)
Stop! (1966 single)
This Is My House (But Nobody Calls) (1966 single)
Life's Not Life (1967 single)

The Village Postman (1968 single by The Hinge)

"Go Now!" by The Moody Blues


"Bye Bye Bird"


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The Move - Move (1968)

"Weekend" by The Move


The notorious manager for Small Faces was Don Arden who, throughout his career, managed several of England's top bands including Birmingham's The Move.

The Move are a sort of Birmingham supergroup.  Although the area boasted an inordinate number of young bands (most of them Beat in the shadow of The Beatles), very few of them had found success in recording contracts aside from a few singles here and there.  So, a number of the best local musicians (from the likes of The Vikings, The Nightriders, The Diplomats, and The Mayfair Set among many other bands) joined together to form a band bound to sign with someone.  It didn't hurt that they tried out an assortment of new ideas buffered by boundless, charismatic energy, as well.  The band's early lineup featured Carl Wayne (lead vocals), Roy Wood (lead guitar), Bev Bevan (drums), Ace Kefford (bass), and Trevor Burton (guitar) with all members adding to the harmonies.

Very quickly, The Move scored a residency with the Marquee Club in 1966 and an independent record producer Denny Cordell.  Their first single "Night of Fear" ran to #2 on the UK charts and their success would continue as their next three singles "I Can Hear the Grass Grow", "Flowers in the Rain", and "Fire Brigade" all ran to the Top 5.  Their debut album did not fare as well as 1968's Move only managed a disappointing #15 spot on the album charts and a middling critical reception.  The album maintained the psychedelic pop of the band's singles but added a little variety with goofy but faithful renditions of early rock and doo-wop standards.  They followed up the album with a few singles including the Hendrix-inspired though unsuccessful "Wild Tiger Woman" and their biggest hit, the #1 "Blackberry Way".

Here is the discography surrounding The Move's debut album:

Tell Me What You're Gonna Do (1963 single by Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders)
Please Mr. Postman (1963 single by Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders)

What a Sweet Thing That Was (1964 single by Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders)
What's the Matter Baby (1964 single by Carl Wayne and The Vikings)

Tossin' and Turnin' (1964 single by Danny King)
Here I Stand (1965 single by Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders)
Take My Hand (1965 single by Mike Sheridan's Lot)
This Is Love (1965 single by Carl Wayne and The Vikings)
My Girl (1965 single by Carl Wayne and The Vikings)
Pretty Things (1965 single by Danny King and The Mayfair Set)
Amen (1965 single by Danny King and The Mayfair Set)
Don't Turn Your Back on Me (1966 single by Mike Sheridan's Lot)
Birmingham Beat (compilation album by Mike Sheridan and The Nightriders / Mike Sheridan's Lot)
It's Only the Dog (1966 single by The Nightriders)

Love Me Right Now (1966 single by The Nightriders)
Night of Fear (1966 single)
I Can Hear the Grass Grow (1967 single)
Flowers in the Rain (1967 single)
Fire Brigade (1968 single)
Move
Wild Tiger Woman (1968 single)
Blackberry Way (1968 single)

It's So Nice to Come Home (1968 single by The Lemon Tree)

William Chalker's Time Machine (1968 single by The Lemon Tree)

Curly (1969 single)
Something Else from the Move (1969 Live EP)

For Your Love (1969 single by The Ace Kefford Stand)

Mummy (1976 single by Rockstar)

Ace the Face (2003 compilation album by Ace Kefford)

"Walk Upon the Water", "I Can Hear the Grass Grow", "Night of Fear by The Move, Live on Beat Beat Beat


"Fire Brigade" by The Move on Top of the Pops


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Small Faces - Small Faces (1966)

"E Too D" by Small Faces


Guitarist Ian Samwell helped write Cliff Richard's debut single classic "Move It", but he was edged out of The Drifters in favor of Hank Marvin and Jet Harris.  He'd continue to make a career as a songwriter and eventually producer and he'd do both for London rock band Small Faces, writing their first hit song "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and producing their eponymous debut album for Decca Records.

Small Faces formed when former child actor Steve Marriott (guitar, vocals) met Ronnie Lane (bass) in a Music Bar in London in 1965.  Influenced by American Rhythm and Blues and Soul, they recruited drummer Kenney Jones and keyboardist Jimmy Winston to round out the foursome as a proper rock and roll group.  They played the London scene and quickly became one of the most popular and successful local live acts.  For reference, the band's name came from the slang for memorable, cool bloke (a "Face") and the fact that all of the band members were short.

Signed on the power of Marriott's stage presence to Decca Records, their debut single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" topped the British charts thanks in part to "chart fixing" on the part of their manager.  Their third single would prove their next hit as "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" also made it to the top.  Winston was dismissed from the band for either not being a skilled enough musician or trying to compete with Marriott for superiority in the band.  He did manage to play on a couple of the songs on their 1966 debut album Small Faces, though, but didn't make the cover.  His Small Face was replaced by Ian McLagen's.  The album performed admirably as did the single "All or Nothing" and the only thing that kept them from a US Tour victory lap were drug charges.

Despite all the success, they saw nearly none of the money.  This led to conflict with their manager and Decca and a rough cut in the relationship from both.  Small Faces moved to another label and Decca continued to release old new material after the separation including a handful of throwaway singles and another "studio" album of unfinished outtakes dismissed from previous recording sessions.

Here is the discography surrounding Small Faces's debut album

Whatcha Gonna Do About It (1965 single)
BBC Session August 1965 (1965 BBC Session)
I've Got Mine (1965 single)
Sha-La-La-La-Lee (1966 single)
BBC Session March 1966 (1996 BBC Session)
BBC Session May 1966 (1966 BBC Session)
Small Faces
Hey Girl (1966 single)
All or Nothing (1966 single)
BBC Session August 1966 (1966 BBC Session)
Beat Club '66 (1966 live bootleg)
My Mind's Eye (1966 single)
I Can't Make It (1967 single)
Patterns (1967 single)
From the Beginning (1967 compilation album)

"Hey Girl", "All or Nothing", "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", and "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" by Small Faces on Beat, Beat, Beat


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Cliff Richard and The Drifters - Cliff (1959)

"Apron Strings" by Cliff Richard and The Drifters


Harry Webb joined as lead singer of The Drifters (originally a skiffle group turned rock and roll) in the late fifties, but despite his Presley-like performance and look, his name wasn't rock and roll enough.  They dubbed him Cliff to imply "rock" and gave him the surname Richard, named for his favorite rock and roll artist.  The other Drifters consisted of Ian Samwell (guitar), Terry Smart (drums), and Norman Mitham (guitar).  None of these members, however, would last long in the band as they would be replaced by a professional touring group consisting of Jet Harris (bass), Bruce Welch (rhythm guitar), Hank Marvin (lead guitar), and Tony Meehan (drums).

The first record was a break out hit for Cliff Richard as "Move It" soared to number two on the UK charts, brought Richard and his band to instant stardom, and is often considered Britain's first real rock and roll record.  The need to follow up the success led to a series of followup singles (all charting well), film appearances, and Cliff Richard and The Drifters's debut album Cliff in early 1959.  The album was a live performance album performed in front of maybe 300 fans at Abbey Road Studios and featured a couple of B-Sides but mostly Presleyan covers of songs from the great American rock and roll song book from Little Richard's "Ready Teddy", Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula", Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day", and Ritchie Valens's "Donna".  The album hit #4 to continue Cliff's success.  Although backing bands took to the shadows as nothing but the support of a charismatic lead singer, The Drifters started early to establish themselves as legitimate songwriters and musicians in their own right by releasing two singles without Richard.  Both singles charted well.  With both entities successful in the UK, they began the turn away of Britain's fascination with skiffle music towards a native rock and roll.

Here is the discography surrounding Cliff Richard and The Drifters's debut album:

Teenage Love (1958 by The Chesternuts)
Move It (1958 single)
High Class Baby (1958 single)
Livin' Lovin' Doll (1959 single)
Serious Charge (1959 EP)
Mean Streak (1959 single)
Feelin' Fine (1959 single by The Drifters)
Cliff
Cliff No. 1 (1959 EP)
Cliff No. 2 (1959 EP)
Living Doll (1959 single)
Jet Black (1959 single by The Drifters)

"Move It" by Cliff Richard and The Drifters


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Little Richard - Here's Little Richard (1957)

"Keep a Knockin'" by Little Richard


There was one artist James Brown looked up to the most in his formative years and that was Little Richard.  Not only was Richard James's idol but also helped The Flames get a record deal through manager Clint Brantley.  And Brown always carried around a napkin on which Little Richard wrote "Please, Please, Please" of which he was determined to make a hit single.

Richard Penniman grew up in the church and the nightclub and influenced his interest in performing both Gospel and Rhythm and Blues.  The mix would knot his signature yell and impassioned vocals as Little Richard.  He wallowed in some unsurprising Rhythm and Blues for half a year, but the time he'd spent touring on the chitlin' circuit forged his style.  All the work led to his breakout hit single "Tutti Frutti" in 1955, the first of a string of million-selling records.  His effeminate demeanor and make up broke down some of the racial barriers in the South (he appeared less threatening), while his brand of rock brought both black and white audiences to his performances.  He helped break rock and roll onto the pop charts as well instead of just being relegated to the R&B charts.  His charisma also made him a sought commodity to feature in the rock films of the era.  His debut album Here's Little Richard released in 1957 packaged many of hit singles and remains a crowning achievement of Little Richard at the peak of his powers.

Here is the discography surrounding Little Richard's debut album:

Taxi Blues (1951 single)
Thinkin' 'Bout My Mother (1952 single)
Why Did You Leave Me? (1952 single)
Please Have Mercy on Me (1952 single)
Ain't That Good News (1953 single)
Always (1954 single)
Tutti Frutti (1955 single)
Long Tall Sally (1956 single)
Little Richard's Boogie (1956 single)
Rip It Up (1956 single)
Heeby-Jeebies (1956 single)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956 single)
Lucille (1957 single)
Jenny, Jenny (1957 single)
Keep a Knockin' (1957 single)
Maybe I'm Right (1957 single)
The Formative Years 1951-1953 (compilation album)
Here's Little Richard

"Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard from "Don't Knock the Rock"


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James Brown and The Famous Flames - Please, Please, Please (1958)

"Love or a Game" by James Brown & The Famous Flames


One of The Dominoes's biggest records was the 1952 hit single "The Bells", a novelty recording featuring Clyde McPhatter wailing and crying for a dead girlfriend and child.  One of the great admirers of Billy Ward and his band's output was James Brown and his group The Famous Flames.  The Flames took the song, added a performance skit, and it became an integral part of their live repertoire when they'd tour the chitlin' circuit with the crowd getting violent if they failed to perform it.

James Brown started singing at a young age and became more inspired to pursue performance as a career after watching a short film featuring Rhythm and Blues pioneer Louis Jordan.  His career took an early sidetrack after being arrested for armed robbery.  He got an early parole and was back singing by 1952.  His first and last group was The Gospel Starlighters who would change their names to The Flames in the form of the group's inspirations such as The Midnighters and The Dominoes.  They became famous as a unit on the circuit but didn't hit the big break until they got in contact with manager Clint Brantley.  Brantley set The Flames up with a demo tape which led to as signing with Federal Records (see Midnighters, Dominoes).  Their first single was also their first hit, the 1956 classic "Please, Please, Please".

It was a hot start followed by a quick cool.  None of the follow up singles for two years met with the same kind of impact and The Flames were in danger of being dropped from the label.  Their late 1958 single "Try Me" proved to be a saving grace and made The Flames a chart-topping band.  They quickly followed it up with a top selling album Please, Please, Please early the next year.  James Brown is the star of all of the singles with only the saxophonist for any real competition.  Brown took simple words like "Please", "I", "Yeah", and "No" and turned them into some of the most inspired and inspirational lyrics set to wax.  His stage presence and dynamic voice, able to go from sweltering heartbreak to smokey croon, made him the de facto star.  Their new manager and record label could see it and released The Famous Flames's recordings as James Brown With The Famous Flames, sometimes dropping them out entirely.  In protest and always under the impression that no one member was more important than the other, all of The Famous Flames quit with the exception of Bobby Bird who would continue to helm the namesake as Brown's backing band for years to come.

Here is the discography surrounding James Brown & The Famous Flames's debut album:

Please, Please, Please (1956 single)
I Don't Know (1956 single)
No, No, No, No (1956 single)
Just Won't Do Right (1956 single)
Chonnie-On-Chon (1957 single as James Brown)
Gonna Try (1957 single)
Messing with the Blues (1957 single)
You're Mine, You're Mine (1957 single)
That Dood It (1957 single)
Begging, Begging (1958 single)
Try Me (I Need You) (1958 single)
Please, Please, Please
Please, Please, Please (1959 EP)

"Please, Please, Please" by James Brown & The Famous Flames


"That Dood It" by James Brown & The Famous Flames


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Billy Ward and His Dominoes - Billy Ward and His Dominoes (1955)

"Sixty Minute Man" by The Dominoes


Federal Records, a subsidiary of King Records, was one of the breeding grounds for the birth of rock and roll, particularly from the blues-tinged doo-wop groups that populated its lineup such as Hank Ballard & The Midnighters and Billy Ward and His Dominoes.

The Dominoes start with Billy Ward, a Juilliard educated composer, pianist, and arranger.  He started on Broadway but set to form a vocal group after meeting talent agent and eventual songwriting partner Rose Marks.  Together, they put together an ensemble featuring Charlie White (tenor), Joe Lamont (baritone), Bill Brown (bass), and Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor) whom Ward discovered at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater.  (Note: That makes three blogged singers so far discovered through the Apollo's Amateur Night (McPhatter, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald in reverse order)).

Ward and His Dominoes (originally The Ques) got off to a hot start with the 1951 singles "Do Something for Me" with McPhatter singing lead and "Sixty Minute Man" lead by Bill Brown.  The latter is often in the discussion for the first rock and roll song.  The quintet were one of the hottest vocal groups of the early fifties but suffered from internal disputes brought on by Ward's military stricture and unfair compensation of his talent (often not even enough off which to live).  White and Brown left very early on and were replaced by James Van Loan and David McNeill.  The Dominoes continued with great success thanks to McPhatter of which all the singles on which he sang lead broke into the Top 10 of the R&B charts.  After all, Clyde never made a bad side and everyone knew it.

Here is the discography surrounding Billy Ward and His Dominoes's debut album:

Chicken Blues (1950 single as The Dominoes)
No! Says My Heart (1951 single as The Dominoes)
Sixty Minute Man (1951 single as The Dominoes)
Weeping Willow Blues (1951 single as The Dominoes)
That's What You're Doing to Me (1952 single as The Dominoes)
Deep Sea Blues (1952 single as The Dominoes)
That's What You're Doing to Me (1952 single)
No Room (1952 single)
I'm Lonely (1952 single)
The Bells (1952 single)
Don't Leave Me This Way (1953 single)

The Chronological Classics: Billy Ward & His Dominoes 1950-1953 (compilation album)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes (1954 EP)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes Vol. 2 (1954 EP)

Billy Ward and His Dominoes Vol. 3 (1954 EP)
Billy Ward and His Dominoes

"Don't Leave Me This Way" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes


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The Midnighters - The Midnighters Sing Their Greatest Hits (1954)

"Work With Me Annie" by The Midnighters


The "5" Royales had their name taken advantage of when a Motown vocal group of a similar ilk toured the South.  The band was The Royals and they would promote themselves as the North Carolina Royales even going so far as to try and get away with it in Winston-Salem.  The "5" Royales's manager took the copycats to court and the verdict concluded the Motown band could no longer record or tour under the moniker The Royals.  So, they became The Midnighters.

Johnny Otis discovered The Royals in 1953 with the lineup of guitarist/songwriter/founder Alonzo Tucker, Henry Booth, Charles Sutton, "Sonny" Woods, and eventual leading man Hank Ballard (the last to join the band after the original lead singer Lawson Smith was drafted).  The name change coincided with a string of 1954 hits called the "Annie" series headed by "Work With Me Annie".  Each of the Annie singles were lead by Hank Ballard's baritone, sold over a million copies, and teetered near the top of the charts despite being banned from many radio stations for the sexual nature of the lyrics.  The songs were also a swing away from the Rhythm and Blues of their Royals work to the guitar-driven early sounds of rock and roll.  To benefit from The Midnighters's success, Federal Records packaged their rock and roll songs with a couple of ballads for the group's first album The Midnighters Sing Their Greatest Hits in 1954.

Here is the discography surrounding The Midnighters's debut album:

Every Beat of My Heart (1952 single as The Royals)
Starting from Tonight (1952 single as The Royals)
Moonrise (1952 single as The Royals)
A Love in My Heart (1952 single as The Royals)
Are You Forgetting? (1952 single as The Royals)
The Shrine of St. Cecilia (1953 single as The Royals)
Get It (1953 single as The Royals)
Hello Miss Fine (1953 single as The Royals)
That's It (1953 single as The Royals)
Work With Me Annie (1954 single as The Royals)
Work With Me Annie (1954 single)
Give It Up (1954 single)
Sexy Ways (1954 single)
The Chronological Classics: Hank Ballard & The Midnighters/The Royals 1952-1954 (compilation album)
Annie Had a Baby (1954 single)
Annie's Aunt Fanny (1954 single)
The Midnighters Sing Their Greatest Hits

"Annie Had a Baby" by The Midnighters


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The "5" Royales - The Rockin' 5 Royales (1956)

"Help Me Somebody" by The "5" Royales


Mahalia Jackson's second record label (her first being Decca) was Apollo Records, a label popular for their stable of doo-wop groups, blues artists, and gospel singers.  One of the Apollo's signed artists was The Royal Sons Quintet, a gospel vocal group from Winston-Salem, NC.  After two early singles, the group turned to performing secular material, thus moving from gospel to doo-wop and the more profitable rhythm and blues genre.  With the move, they'd change their name to The "5" Royales.  The group consisted of harmonizers Jimmy Moore, Obadiah Carter, Otto Jeffries, and lead singer Johnny Tanner all led by songwriter Lowman "Pete" Pauling.  They had a number of their most successful singles with Apollo in the early fifties including "Baby Don't Do It", "Help Me Somebody", and "Laundromat Blues", all of which charted in the top five on the R&B charts with two #1's.  The success didn't last and The "5" Royales switched to rival King Records in 1954.  Apollo still cashed in on a couple remaining singles and the group's debut album The Rockin' 5 Royales released in 1956.

Here is the discography surrounding The "5" Royales's debut album:

Come Over Here (1951 single as The Royal Sons Quintet)
Bedside of a Neighbor (1952 single as The Royal Sons Quintet)
Too Much of a Little Bit (1952 single)
You Know I Know (1952 single)
Baby Don't Do It (1952 single)
Help Me Somebody (1953 single)
Laundromat Blues (1953 single)
I Want to Thank You (1953 single)
I Do (1954 single)
Cry Some More (1954 single)
What's That (1954 single)
Six O'clock in the Morning (1955 single)
The Apollo Sessions (compilation album of pre-1955 material)
All Righty! The Apollo Recordings 1951-1955 (compilation album)
The Rockin' 5 Royales

"Baby Don't Do It" by The "5" Royales


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Mahalia Jackson - Queen of the Gospel Singers (1954)

"In the Upper Room" by Mahalia Jackson


When Aretha's mother died, she and her siblings were share raised by members of the community led by her grandmother Rachel and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.  Active since the age of sixteen in the late twenties, Mahalia Jackson sang gospel purely and powerfully.  She refused to sing secular songs and didn't touch the blues ("When you sing the blues, you still have the blues").  That said, the influence of the blues is a very clear influence on her style and backup instrumentation.  Whether it was just a piano or everything and a back up doo-wop group, Mahalia soared above it all.  Her career took off when she signed with Apollo Records when her 1948 single "Move on Up a Little Higher" sold over 8 million copies with a particular high demand from Europe.  She'd continue to sell out singles and firmly solidified her reputation as the greatest spiritual singer, or the Queen.  Apollo never released any compilation albums, but did release Mahalia's first LP of material Queen of the Gospel Singers in 1954.

Here is the discography surrounding Mahalia Jackson's debut album:

The Ultimate Collection (compilation of pre-1949 material)
The Apollo Sessions 1946-1951 (compilation of pre-1951 material)
How I Got Over: The Apollo Records Sessions 1946-1954 (compilation of pre-1954 material)
Queen of the Gospel Singers

"Dig a Little Deeper" by Mahalia Jackson


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Aretha Franklin - Songs of Faith (1956)

"Precious Lord" by Aretha Franklin


When Natalie Cole took soul circles by storm, the first wave of praise compared her so highly as to the incumbent and eternal Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.  Natalie's image, performances, and song library were modeled after Aretha's own though slightly more "fresh".  Even the songs from Natalie's debut were once offered to Aretha to perform.  She turned them down except "You".

Aretha was the daughter of a Reverend C. L. Franklin and gospel singer and pianist Barbara Franklin.  Through the church, Aretha got the opportunity to perform gospel standards for her father by the age of 10.  When she turned 14, the reverend took her on the road and by 16, she had a record deal with J.V.B. Records.  Her first album Songs of Faith released in 1956 and collected a series of gospel standards.  The record made cheaply with poor recording standards but Aretha's powerful voice soars to some truly chilling moments, accented by the reactions of a moved congregation.

Here is the discography surrounding Aretha Franklin's debut album:

Never Grow Old (1956 single)
Songs of Faith
Precious Lord (1959 single)

"Yield Not to Temptation" by Aretha Franklin


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Natalie Cole - Inseparable (1975)

"Inseparable" by Natalie Cole


Natalie Cole is Nat King Cole's daughter and Freddy's niece.  Although not an instrumentalist like many, many others in her family, she did perform from a young age as a singer (including with her father) though it's not clear if that was her intended career path early in life.  Only after university did she start performing in night clubs.  She usually disappointed her audiences because her name implied the sophisticated jazz of her father when Natalie was more a student of gospel and Janis Joplin rock and roll.

Through these gigs however, she met up with producers Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy who saw promise in her act.  Together, Natalie'd cut demos for potential record labels while Jackson and Yancy lent her their songs to perform.  Her demos were turned down by most labels but one Capitol Records, or "The House that Nat Built".  The trio would polish the demos for Natalie's 1975 debut album Inseparable that featured many gospel and soul inspired ballads tinged with the sound of the times, funk and proto-disco.  Her hit single "This Will Be" shot up the charts to be followed by her album and second single, "Inseparable".  For her instant fame and success, her initial burst of a career was capped with two Grammys: one for "This Will Be" (Best Female R&B Vocal Performance) and one for Best New Artist.

Here is the discography surrounding Natalie Cole's debut album:

This Will Be (1975 single)
Inseperable
Inseperable (1975 single)

"This Will Be" by Natalie Cole


The 1975 Grammy for Best New Artist


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Freddy Cole - Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues (1964)

"Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues" by Freddy Cole


Nat and Ike Cole had another younger brother who also played the piano and sang, though his expression followed more the Blues tradition than the jazz of his older brothers.  Twelve years Nat's junior and four years Ike's, Freddy Cole started playing the piano at a young age and "completed" his education at Juilliard and the New England Conservatory.  He continued his education touring with jazz bands featuring Earl Bostic and Grover Washington, Jr.  Freddy's first single came out (before his brother Ike's who was in Korea) in 1952, "The Joke's on Me", and followed it up with "Whispering Grass" a year later.  He wouldn't record a full album until over a decade later when he headed into 1964 with Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues.

Here is the discography surrounding Freddy Cole's debut album:

The Joke's on Me (1952 single)
Whispering Grass (1953 single)
It's Christmas Time (1962 single)
Black Coffee (1964 single)
Waiter, Ask the Man to Play the Blues
I'd Have It Made (1966 single)

"Whispering Grass" by Freddy Cole


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The Ike Cole Quartet - Get a Load o' Cole (1957)

Nat Cole had a younger brother who was also a jazz pianist and singer.  Ike Cole was born in Chicago eight years Nat's junior.  Ike's career was not as successful nor as easy as his older brother's but after a stint in the Army during the Korean War, he formed his own jazz quartet.  They'd record an album, 1957's Get a Load o' Cole, and a single for Bally Records, the last recordings for the label before it went defunct.  The album didn't make much of a mark anywhere for that reason, but still, he found some public renown by occasionally performing on television and regularly in Las Vegas.

Here is the discography surrounding Ike Cole's debut album:

Get a Load o' Cole
You Melt Me (1957 single)

"You Melt Me" by Ike Cole


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Nat King Cole - The Chronological Classics: Nat King Cole 1936-1940 (1940)

"That 'Please Be Mineable' Feeling" by The King Cole Trio


The picnic scene in Citizen Kane features a New Orleans jazz band whose sultry love songs and "jungle" mood counterpoint the torrid relationship between Kane and Susan.  Orson recounted that the inspiration for that part of the script and the jazz band in particular was the King Cole Trio though he knew that Nat was too much of a class act to appear in the film in such a fashion and didn't bother to ask.

Cole was born in Montgomery and raised in Chicago and learned the piano from his mother, the church organist and wife to a Baptist minister.  Nathaniel Cole took professional lessons and took up different styles from jazz to gospel to western classical.  He formed a jazz band with his elder, bass-playing brother Eddie at sixteen and recorded a couple of songs as Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers.  This jazz band didn't really work out and had Nat playing with the national tour of Eubie Blake's Broadway Revue "Shuffle Along".  When the tour faltered, Cole was stranded in Long Beach where he would form his Trio by the age of 18.  With Oscar Moore on guitar and Wesley Prince on bass, the band featured an atypical tight lineup at the height of the Big Band era.  They played gigs at local bars and recorded over a hundred radio transcriptions.  Their radio debut was in 1938 for NBC's Blue Network followed by a spot on the same network's Swing Soiree that helped the King Cole Trio garner the roots of what would become national fame.

Where Nat's piano playing had been aggressive and energetic in his first band in order to make up for the lack of skills of his band mates, he was able to cool down and stretch and balance his skills thanks to the rapport between he and his two bandmates.  In particular, his connection with Oscar Moore was spellbinding and the two accented eachother's solos perfectly.  The music was usually accompanied by the two or three-part harmonies of the band members.  Occasionally, they'd feature a guest female vocalist or a guest vocal choir (where they were more of a listless backing band) or perhaps Nat would sing himself, such as on "Sweet Lorraine", but the band was at its best with their own harmonies and plenty of room to just riff.

Here is the discography surrounding Nat King Cole's debut recordings:

The Chronological Classics: Nat King Cole 1936-1940
The Complete Early Transcriptions of The King Cole Trio: 1938-1941

"Rib Town Shuffle" by The King Cole Trio


"Let's Get Happy Tonight" by The King Cole Trio


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Bernard Herrmann - Citizen Kane (1941)

"Silent Noon, an Idyll for Orchestra" by Bernard Herrmann


When Orson Welles made the trip from New York to Hollywood to make a movie, he made sure to bring his Mercury Theater actors and crew, one of which was composer Bernard Herrmann for whom Citizen Kane would be his first film score.  Before Welles, Herrmann had already made a name for himself with accolades.  He won his first composition award at the age of 13, studied music at NYU and Juilliard, and had his own orchestra by the age of 20.  Three years later in 1934, CBS hired Herrmann as staff conductor.  During his tenure at CBS, he also worked as a music director with which position he was able to promote and perform (sometimes the US premiere) some of the world's freshest composers and their compositions regularly on the radio.  And he wrote and arranged scores for friend Welles's Mercury Theater and Campbell's Playhouse (including The War of the Worlds).  With his score for Citizen Kane, Herrmann brought to the film an innovative soundtrack that took heavily from his radio background (which he called "radio scoring") that allowed him rapid changes in mood to match the rapid, unconventional timeline of the film.  François Truffaut held the score as the first to properly set music in movies.  Welles maintained Herrmann's work to be half responsible for the success of the picture.  Herrmann believed it was his greatest film work.  "It's been downhill ever since!"

Here is the discography surrounding Bernard Herrmann's debut film score:

Silent Noon, an Idyll for Orchestra (composed in 1933)
Currier & Ives Suite (composed in 1935)
Moby Dick - Cantata (composed in 1938)
Citizen Kane

"Citizen Kane Suite" by Bernard Herrmann


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Orson Welles - The War of the Worlds (1938)

"The War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles with The Mercury Theater on the Air


Orson Welles, the prodigy, talked his way into the theater in Europe and parleyed that into a successful and heralded career as a theater and radio actor/director by the age of twenty.  What brought him to prominent, national attention was his work with CBS's Mercury Theater on the Air, a radio acting troupe that performed weekly various adaptations of classic novels and short stories.  The most famous and notorious being the 1938 adaptation of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, a sort of Halloween holiday special.  With the unique structure of a regular musical broadcast interrupted by increasingly alarming emergency news bulletins and field reportage, the United States was rapidly taken over by an alien threat from Mars starting in Grover's Mill, New Jersey.

It was a new structure for the radio and because some listeners only heard portions of the broadcast (the full script makes the dramatization quite clear both in its content and promotion), a spotty hysteria spread through the Northeastern United States and some parts of Canada that had people fleeing their homes.  If it all seems overblown, it might have been since the media ended up writing over 12,500 articles on the program and its aftermath.  Welles, as the director and lead actor of the program and by now a household name, was forced into an apology for any trouble the broadcast might have brewed.  He would end up building the event into a new career in film through an unprecedented contract with RKO.  Welles would return to the radio as an actor, but it would no longer be his primary profession.  The War of the Worlds adaptation remains the most talked about and available of his radio work.

Here is the discography surrounding Orson Welles's debut album:

The War of the Worlds

Orson Welles Apologizes


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Anton Karas - The Third Man (1949)

The first track of Chet Atkins's debut album was a cover of one of the most recognizable movie soundtrack themes of all time.  Legend has director Carol Reed discovering zither player Anton Karas in a Viennese Heuriger, wine taverns treated as a national landmark of culture in Austria, and recruiting him to compose and perform the soundtrack to the film he was about to shoot there, The Third Man.  Karas's "The Harry Lime Theme" unexpectedly became the most popular and memorable song of the year.  Not only did the song top the singles charts and sell over half a million copies (unheard of at the time for such a novelty single), but it also propelled Karas into international superstardom.  He toured the world in 1950 and again in 1951 but would soon return to the comfort of home in Vienna only returning to tour occasionally.

Here is the discography surrounding Anton Karas's debut album:

The Harry Lime Theme (1949 single)
The Third Man

"The Harry Lime Theme" by Anton Karas


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Chet Atkins - Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar (1952)

"Canned Heat" by Chet Atkins


The Everly Brothers's connection in the music industry was none other than legendary country singer and musician Chet "Mr. Guitar" Atkins, who pushed the duo to a successful career even after a few misfires.  That all took place at the first peak of his career.  For more than a decade before then, Chet Atkins was an itinerant session musician who wandered from country radio station to country radio station wowing executives and DJs with his finger-picking style of playing while simultaneously being dismissed for "not being country enough".  Still, he performed with the biggest names in country music, while his reputation as a skilled musician and upstanding individual grew over the years as did his singles output.  Starting with the jazz-influenced "Guitar Blues" in 1946 recorded at The Grand Ole Opry with only a clarinetist for accompaniment, Atkins would eventually release five to six singles for RCA Victor per year with various other musicians and singers, occasionally singing himself.  This was all before his first, purely instrumental 10" LP was released in 1952 called Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar.  He had no hits but this would slowly change.

Here is the discography surrounding Chet Atkins's debut album:

Guitar Blues (1946 single)
Canned Heat (1947 single)
Standing Room Only (1947 single)
Bug Dance (1948 single)
I Know When I'm Blue (1948 single)
Dizzy Strings (1948 single)
I'm Pickin' the Blues (1948 single)
Money, Marbles and Chalk (1949 single)
Barber Shop Rag (1949 single)
Telling My Troubles to My Old Guitar (1949 single)
Centipede Boogie (1949 single)
Galloping Guitar (1949 single)
One More Chance (1950 single)
Main Street Breakdown (1950 single)
Boogie Man Boogie (1950 single)
Confusin' (1950 single)
Indian Love Call (1951 single)
Mountain Melody (1951 single)
My Crazy Heart (1951 single)
Crazy Rhythm (1951 single)
In the Mood (1951 single)
Rainbow (1952 single)
Spanish Fandango (1952 single)
Meet Mr. Callaghan (1952 single)
Tennessee Rag (1952 single)
Galloping on the Guitar (1952 single)
St. Louis Blues (1952 single)
Black Mountain Rag (1952 single)
Imagination (1952 single)
Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar
Midnight (1952 single)
It Goes Like This (That Funny Melody) (1952 single)
Guitar Polka (1952 single)

"I'm Pickin' the blues" by Chet Atkins


"Wildwood Flower" by Chet Atkins


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The Everly Brothers - The Everly Brothers (1958)

"Wake Up Little Susie" by The Everly Brothers


When Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel started out singing as a folk duo, they were heavily influenced by Phil and Don Everly whose brotherly harmonies laid the creative and popular foundation for all folk and rock and roll-tinged vocal harmonizers that followed.  The two brothers were born into a musical family that had them perform at a young age and granted them early exposure to the music business.  These industry connections would prove fruitful when the duo sought a career of their own.  Their harmonies eventually caught the attention of music publishers Acuff-Rose and the lyric pens of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.  This early collaboration would lead to The Everlys's most iconic tunes that built off of the brothers' harmonies, country twang, and early rock and roll sound.  These included "Bye Bye Love" and chart-topper "Wake Up Little Susie" both released in 1957.  A packaging debut album The Everly Brothers was released in early 2008 to capitalize on the duo's quick rise to fame.

Here is the discography surrounding The Everly Brothers's debut album:

Keep a' Lovin' Me (1956 single)
Bye Bye Love (1957 single)
Wake Up Little Susie (1957 single)
The Everly Brothers
This Little Girl of Mine (1958 single)

"Bye Bye Love" by The Everly Brothers


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Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m. (1964)

"Wednesday Morning 3 a.m." by Simon & Garfunkel


One of the temporary drummers for Girls at Our Best! was journey-musician Paul Simon.  Known as the "other" Paul Simon, he is not to be confused with another Paul Simon from the famous folk vocal duo Tom & Jerry.  That is to say not famous at all.  Their first single "Hey, Schoolgirl" peaked at #49 on the pop charts when the duo of Tom Garff and Jerry Landis were still in high school.  The follow-ups didn't do nearly so well.  The two went to university and graduated with degrees in Mathematics and English respectively.  Landis continued in his prospects for the life of the itinerant musician and wrote songs and recorded them under other assumed names.  He wouldn't find success until getting back together with Tom for an audition with Columbia Records.  They garnered enough attention that the two were signed and encouraged to perform under their actual names Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, the first time something so ethnic would find itself on the pop charts.  The album they released from their contract with Columbia was a the soft, folk Wednesday Morning 3 a.m. in late 1964 only to see it flop and the duo break up.

Here is the discography surrounding Simon & Garfunkel's debut album:

Hey, Schoolgirl (1957 single)
Our Song (1958 single)
That's My Story (1958 single)
Surrender, Please Surrender (1962 single)
I'm Lonesome (1963 single)
The Complete Tom & Jerry (1964 compilation album)
Home Recordings (1964 home demos)
Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m.

"The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel


"Peggy-O" by Simon & Garfunkel


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