The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 6: Hot 100 Hits From 1954-1963 [Import]

The Golden Age Of American Rock & Roll (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ace Records UK
• ASIN: B0000009KJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,222 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Shirley - John Fred

2. Come Go With Me

3. Black Slacks - Joe Bennett/The Sparkletones

4. Lollipop - Ronald & Ruby

5. Ten Commandments Of Love - Harvey/The Moonglows

6. Love Bug Crawl - Jimmy Edwards

7. Do You Want To Dance - Bobby Freeman

8. Hard Times (The Slop) - Noble 'Thin Man' Watts & His Rhythm Sparks

9. Imagination - The Quotations

10. I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me) - The Pentagons

11. At My Front Door - The El Dorados

12. You're So Fine - The Falcons

13. Tall Cool One - The Wailers

14. The Shape I'm In - Johnny Restivo

15. Little Star - The Elegants

16. Lover Please - Clyde McPhatter

17. Charlena - The Sevilles

18. Pledging My Love - Johnny Ace

19. Itchy Twitchy Feeling - Bobby Hendricks

20. Priscilla - Eddie Cooley/The Dimples

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Full Title - The Golden Age of American Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 6. 1997 compilation loaded with 30 oldies but goodies from 1954-1963 before the British invasion, some obscure, from such artists as John Fred, The Dell-Vikings, Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones, Ronald & Ruby, Harvey & The Moonglows, Jimmy Edwards, Bobby Freeman, & many more. Mono recordings mastered from the finest original source tapes, with four tracks in stereo. Ace.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hits, Near-Hits, and Forgotten Treasures, July 23, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 6: Hot 100 Hits From 1954-1963 (Audio CD)

The UK's leading reissue label ACE Records maintains its high standards with its sixth volume chronicling the early pop/rock scene in America from 1954-1963. As always, top-notch sound, an unheard of 30 tracks on a single disc compilation, and an informative 20-page booklet. Once again, ACE focuses on small, independent labels which means you aren't going to be getting the same old songs that have been recycled for the Baby Boomer generation for the past 30 years. In fact, only six of these songs were Top Ten and nearly half (13) didn't even reach the Top 40. What you get is a thoughtful blend of the familiar along with some forgotten treasures.

The album kicks off with the Crescent City sound of John Fred's "Shirley." If the name sounds familiar, it should. While his first single flopped in 1958 (as did his next 14 singles), he topped the charts ten years later in 1968 with "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)." Another terrific New Orleans R&B song from 1958 is Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns' "Don't You Just Know It."

There are a couple terrific rockabilly songs--the Sparkletones' 1957 hit "Black Slacks" and Jimmy Edwards' "Love Bug Crawl" that came out the same year (although it stalled at No. 78).

"Come Go With Me" was a million-seller by one of the first integrated doo-wop groups in 1957. The Quotations weren't as successful with their doo-wop version of the pop standard "Imagination," which didn't crack the Top 40. The most successful doo-wop song included here was the Elegant's "Little Star," which topped the charts in 1958. [Note: Unlike volumes 1-5, which struck more of a balance between the late-Fifties and early-Sixties songs, all but a handful of these were released in the fifties on volume 6.]

Other hits include the Royal Teens' "Short Shorts," perhaps best known for featuring future Four Season's member Bob Gaudio, who wrote their first hit "Sherry" and co-wrote many of their biggest hits of the Sixties.

A surprise is the inclusion of Ricky Nelson's second hit, the Fats Domino cover of "I'm Walkin'." The surprise is that ACE tends to include only artists with one or two hits (two dozen of these acts didn't have more than one Top 40 hit), and Nelson charted 36 times, making him the most chart active artist on the first six volumes of this series.

Highlights (and there are many) include Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love," a song that charted in 1955 two months after Ace tragically died on Christmas Eve while playing Russian Roulette. Then there's former Domino and Drifter Clyde McPhatter's plaintive "Lover Please." And the Rivington's original version of "Papa-oom-mow-mow" from 1962. It would do no better than No. 48, but two years later, the Trashment would take this song and the Rivington's other most memorable song, "The Bird Is the Word," rename it "Surfin' Bird" and take it to No. 4.

By itself, this volume is not as strong as the first three, but as a total series package it's unbeatable. If you love early rock and roll, be sure to add this volume to your collection. RECOMMENDED

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I like it...think i'm gonna buy number four tonight., June 12, 2000

By 

David Gates (Muskogee, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 6: Hot 100 Hits From 1954-1963 (Audio CD)

(I want to get the set before it's out of print!) I've been buying oldies compilations for ten years, and haven't seen a series with this much tough-to-find music in decent sound. It almost seems Ace reverse-engineered the series by researching old chart info looking for hits that nobody else was offering. These guys also did a LOT of homework, digging up everything you'd ever care to know about every track. "Tall Cool One", "Itchy Twichy Feeling", and (the original) "Lollipop" sold me on this CD, and "Hard Times(The Slop)", "I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me", and "Hide And Go Seek (part 1)" were nice surprises for someone who's never heard them before. The only dim spot (they admit it themselves!) is "The Shape I'm In", which is a textbook example of what happens when marketing experts at big record companies are allowed to make decisions for the A&R department. File under Teen Idol/Payola. Listen once through and not again. But the twenty-nine tracks I don't skip were definitely worth the price. Keep 'em coming!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Compilation!, June 1, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 6: Hot 100 Hits From 1954-1963 (Audio CD)

I love it! One of the selections here, "Real Wild Child" by Ivan, is very hard to find on a 45 -- and hence expensive. But here it is -- along with "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow", by the Rivingtons; "Priscilla", by Eddie Cooley and the Dimples; "At My Front Door", by the El Dorados -- and many more! All original recordings. A great addition to any rock 'n' roll collection!