Customer Reviews

The Golden Age of American Popular Music: Hard-to-Get Hot 100 Hits From 1956-1965

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Ace is tagging this release as an offshoot of their Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll series, but the blurb for the disc on their website reveals that not everyone on the Ace team was behind it. Too much white bread, some feared, too much metronome.

They shouldn't have worried. Thanks to AMERICAN GRAFFITI and its offspring, many assume that the pre-Beatle era consisted only of Elvis, Buddy, Chuck, the Flamingos, and a few others. (Only one of the above tunes appeared on that movie's soundtrack.) But it's good to remind ourselves that there was a time when Elvis's only serious competition was Pat Boone.

A fellow who runs an oldies shop in Portland once told me that rock 'n' roll, in his view, was "anything teenagers listened to." This makes sense to me. (In my experience, it was also music that my parents were unlikely to listen to.)

Ace isn't the first to retrieve obscure 50s and 60s pop, and even the title of the release gives a nod to Eric's series HARD-TO-FIND 45's ON CD, which has done a good job covering much of the same turf. Still, few can beat Ace for thoroughness (their CD booklets are among the best in the industry) and sound quality. Hats off to this UK label for acknowledging Gene McDaniels, Dorsey Burnette, the Four Preps, Jerry Wallace, and the other disparate artists whose records shared space on the jukebox with the greats of rock 'n' roll.

I luckily own the complete ACE series on Golden Age of American Rock
& Roll, that means 10 CD's + the special editions on Country and Novelty
which make it 12 + the 4 CD's called "Teenage Crush" Vol, 1,2,3 and 4.
This special Golden American Popular Hits is the best of them all.
First, because the song selection is out of sight since quite a few
songs (hits) never made it to Europe (I call them "new oldies"),second
reason because of its quality, that always have been unbeatable on all
ACE records, but this time at least 13 songs are in wonderful full
stereo including recordings from 1959. Third and lastly, many of these
songs were never available on any other Rock and Roll compilation not
even in the USA. Thanks to this UK label (ACE)a lot of dreams have
come true especially for people like me who were kids during those
wonderful years (decade from 1955 till 1965).

28 hits from the American Hot 100 chart (not 100 hits as some people seem to think). I hope this is a new series rather than just a one off. There are still more rare songs from the US chart I need.

Good stuff.

Ace's Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll series has been a treasure trove of musical gems left behind by those compilers who seem to endlessly recycle the same fifty or so records forl nostalgia collections. This latest entry focuses on the popular songs that were appreciated by both the kids and the parents of the '56 - '65 era. The sound is er, Ace, as usual with the excellent, informative liner notes for which this re-issue house is known. Add this to your collection and you're bound to be thrilled as long ignored songs like "Hey-Da-Da-Dow" and "Moonlight Serenade" tickle the memories.

I love oldies, from good rock and roll, to that often dreamy 60s style, that so famously got destroyed with JFK's assassination and/or the Beatles' invasion of pop. But there are so many compilation Cd's; which ones to choose? Simple: ACE is the best of the best, only equaled sometimes by Eric Records. So that is why I have almost all ACE compilation Cd's. What makes this label stand out?
1) Every single compilation they release lives up to the title, because the songs really represent what the Cd cover states. We all know that wonderful feeling to hear a song again we were looking for, or hear something new but wonderful, thinking; yes this is exactly what I hoped this Cd would contain. Ace has given me that listening enjoyment on every compilation I have bought from them.
2) You get truly rare songs, some never before issued on Cd.
3) There are always many tracks on the CD, unlike Time Life or Rhino or some other reissue labels, that give you 58 minutes or so.
4) All tracks are in good, to best, sound quality.
5) And then last but not least the booklet, that is the best I have seen anywhere: packed with background information about the style of that particular music, the artists, the particular tracks.
So if you look for something particular in the 50s or 60s era, Ace is where you should look first.

This first of a spin-off series from Ace's Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll was launched with trepidation, as some within Ace weren't too sure that the wide range of material making up the 28 tracks would appeal to a large enough audience. I don't know details of their sales, of course, but I can say that, to inveterate collectors like myself, it is a gold-mine of extremely hard-to-find hits, something embellished by Ace's usual high quality in both sound and packaging (a complete discography is on the reverse).

Also, producer Trevor Churchill made certain there were just enough familiar songs/huge hits to grab the attention of those not heavily into collecting, such as those by The Four Preps, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Earl Grant, Billy Grammar, Jerry Wallace Dorsey Burnette and Vic Dana. Each would be instantly familiar to anyone who lived in that era and loved the music being played. A bit less familiar, but still significant hits, are those by a pre-Dawn Tony Orlando, Paul Petersen, The Duprees, The Playmates, Gene McDaniels, The Rover Boys, Adam Wade, and Dicky Doo & The Don'ts.

But what attracted me were the One-Hit Wonders and several with just a couple of hits that, to this point at least, just never seemed to be available in a quality CD. The first of the One-Hit Wonders in order of appearance are The Dolphins, a trio backed by The Driving Wind Orchestra, who had a # 69 Hot 100 in late 1964/early 1965 with Hey-Da-Da-Dow on the Fraternity label. Next up is My Lucky Love by Doug Franklin with The Bluenotes, a release in 1958 by Colonial Records that hit # 73 Hot 100 in September, followed by one that you do see now and then on compilations, See You In September by The Tempos, a quartet from Pittsburgh backed by the Billy Mure orchestra. It reached # 23 Hot 100 in summer 1959 on the Climax label (in 1966 The Happenings would have a # 3 cover hit).

In early 1957, Roulette picked up Hey! Little Girl, a release on the small Stars label by The Techniques, and it made it to # 29 Top 100, while in December 1958/January 1959, Teasin' by the Philadelphia string band calling themselves The Quaker City Boys made its way to # 39 Hot 100 on Swan Records. Another from that label, and backed by Earl Sheldon & His Orchestra, were The Upbeats who had their only hit, Just Like In The Movies, stall at # 75 Hot 100 in August 1958.

Continuing with the One-Hit Wonders, some might remember Pete Drake And His Talking Steel Guitar do his 1964 hit version of Forever, but four years earlier, in February/March 1960, a quartet calling themselves The Little Dippers had their original rendition go to # 9 Hot 100 on the University label. In early 1958, the NY City quintet, The Voxpoppers, had Wishing For Your Love come out on Amp 3 1004, but it wasn't until Mercury picked it up did it start to climb the charts, finishing at # 18. And finally there is Tony Perkins, made famous as Norman Bates in Psycho, whose only hit record, Moon-Light Swim, hit # 24 late in 1957 backed by the Frank DeVol orchestra on RCA Victor.

Those with more than one hit, but no less easier to find, are: Bob Beckham, an erstwhile Country singer who had a # 32 Hot 100 with Just As Much As Ever in September 1959 for Decca; The Rivieras (not to be confused with a group of the same name who had a 1964 hit with California Sun), whose cover of the Glenn Miller hit, Moonlight Serenade, reached # 47 Hot 100 in early 1959 for Coed; The Highlights, whose first of two hits, City Of Angels, finished at # 19 Top 100 in late 1956 for the Bally label (their second hit, To Be With You, would be billed as The Highlights featuring Frank Pisani - both were backed by the Lew Douglas orchestra).

The 15-page booklet, which contains artist- and track-by-track notes written by Brian Gari and Rob Finis, is full of pictures of things like vintage radios, posters, 45 rpm records, and photos of a young Tony Orlando, Billy Grammar, The Dolphins, Paul Petersen, The Tempos, Bob Beckham, The Rover Boys, The Rivieras, Dorsey Burnette, The Little Dippers, The Voxpoppers, Adam Wade, The Highlights, The Playmates, Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis, Gene McDaniels, Jerry Wallace, and Earl Grant.

If you are a serious collector of American popular music then this is one disc that should really float your boat. "The Golden Age of American Popular Music" features a generous total of 28 great pop tunes culled from the Billboard Hot 100 between the years 1956 and 1965. You probably already own a few of them, have several of them on you own "want" list and may have never even heard of some of the others. As other reviewers have already indicated, Ace records has really outdone itself with this collection.

"The Golden Age of American Popular Music" contains a few hits by artists most of us over 50 are familiar with. You'll hear the great 1957 Johnny Mathis hit "It's Not For Me To Say" as well as the late Bobby Darin talkin' 'bout "Things". But mostly, you will get to hear songs by long forgotten artists who had relatively short careers or by those who only managed to crack the Top 100 once or twice. Remember the great Gene McDaniels? "Tower of Strength" was a huge hit for him in 1961. I had not heard it in years. Adam Wade was another very popular artist for a few years in the early 1960's. Enjoy once again his great hit "As If I Didn't Know". Yes, he does sound a lot like Johnny Mathis! If you love group harmony like I do then you are sure to enjoy the original version of "See You In September" by the Tempos, "Hey Little Girl" by the Techniques and "City of Angels" by the Highlights. Along those same lines I finally got to hear the Rover Boys hit recording of "Graduation Day" from back in 1956. Great version! There are also some real oddities on this disc not the least of which is a hit record by Tony "Norman Bates" Perkins. "Moonlight Swim" climbed all the way to #24 in 1957. And you also get to sample a solo hit by one Tony Orlando nearly a decade before the advent of his 1970's group Dawn. Check it out! Finally, I was introduced to 7 or 8 songs that I had never seen nor sampled before. Of these, I most particularly enjoyed the Quaker City Boys "Teasin" and Dicky Doo and the Don'ts "Leave Me Alone (Let Me Cry)". I have to tell you that this was one CD I just had lots of fun listening to.

"The Golden Age of American Popular Music" features a remarkable 16 page booklet that includes information on all of these artists. Everything about this disc is absolutely first rate. I don't believe I have ever been disappointed by anything I have ever purchased from Ace records over the past 20 years. Very highly recommended!

Outstanding immediate servicew. The product was received in good
condition and functioned flawlessly.

The CD was exactly what I thought it would be. The delivery was fast.

Love this Album, nice comperlation. With "Forever" the best track on it.
Not to devalued the rest of the tracks, something worth the investment.