The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 1: Hard-To-Get Hot 100 Hits From 1951-1963 [Import]

Various Artists - Rock - Vintage Rock & Roll, The Golden Age Of American Rock & Roll (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 3, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ace Records UK
• ASIN: B0000009G6
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,594 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #22 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Oldies & Retro
  • #63 in Music > Pop > Oldies > Girl Groups
  • #74 in Music > Pop > By Decade > 1950s

Track Listings

1. Denise - Randy & the Rainbows

2. Sally Go Round The Roses - The Jaynetts

3. Mule Skinner Blues - The Fendermen

4. Sixteen Candles - The Crests

5. Pretty Little Angel Eyes - Curtis Lee

6. I Love How You Love Me - The Paris Sisters

7. Big Hurt, The - Miss Toni Fisher

8. Thousand Stars, A - Kathy Young w/ The Innocents

9. Rockin' Robin - Bobby Day

10. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) - The Penguins

11. Bongo Rock - Preston Epps

12. Tossin' And Turnin' - Bobby Lewis

13. My True Story - The Jive Five

14. Stranded In The Jungle - The Cadets

15. Angel Baby - Rosie & The Originals

16. Party Lights - Claudine Clark

17. When We Get Married - The Dreamlovers

18. Cindy's Birthday - Johnny Crawford

19. Let's Dance - Chris Montez

20. Who's That Knocking - The Genies

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Impeccable Collection of Pre-British Invasion Rock & Roll, July 20, 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 1: Hard-To-Get Hot 100 Hits From 1951-1963 (Audio CD)

ACE Records bills itself as "Kings of the Reissue Market," and after listening to this first volume of their ever-expanding Golden Age of American Rock and Roll Music series (eight volumes so far) it's hard to argue with their claim. They do an impeccable job of covering pre-British Invasion American rock and roll during the years 1954 to 1963. All the more amazing is that ACE is a British label.

All tracks are mastered from "the finest tapes still surviving" and rather than recycle the hits that everyone hears over and over, ACE chooses to focus on the small independent record labels. The first five songs are from the Rust, Tuff, Soma, Coed and Dunes labels--not exactly household names. But these are terrific songs. All but one (the Genies' "Who's That Knocking") made it to the Top 30, and over half went Top Ten. But these are not artists with a long track record of chart success. More than half of these were one-hit wonders, and only five of these acts placed more than two songs in the Top 40. However, all this really means is that these were hugely popular songs, but most of them don't get played on Classic Rock radio stations.

Sure, there are some exceptions--the Kingsmen's garage band classic "Louie Louie" (the only real rock song here), the Penguins' "Earth Angel" and Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin" (both of which sold over a million copies), but when was the last time you heard Ron Holden's "Love You So" or the Safari's "Image of a Girl" on the radio? These were Top Ten songs. As were "Cindy's Birthday" by Johnny Crawford (the kid actor from "The Rifleman"), "When We Get Married" by the Dreamlovers, and "My True Story" by the Jive Five.

In addition to the excellent song selection, each volume in this series has a 20 page-plus booklet with photos and information on the songs and the artists. Plus you get 30 songs. (That's less than 50 cents a song!) This series is truly a delight. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six stars deserved, August 19, 2001

By 

Zub "Zubenelgenubi" (Forks Twp., PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 1: Hard-To-Get Hot 100 Hits From 1951-1963 (Audio CD)

Ten years ago Ace records, the premier reissue label in the U.K., initiated their "Golden Age of American Rock and Roll" series. The intent behind this new series of compilations was to present a fully-packed CD of early American rock and roll tunes that goes well beyond the usual repackaging of the same hit titles using the best available tape sources along with interesting background material on the tracks included all at a reasonable price! Is this really possible from a major music company? Ace has proved it unquestionably. The entire series has become the benchmark for all other reissues from labels around the world and has been phenomenally successful in the process.

Here in the first volume emphasis is on top-10 hits with a few charting rarities seldom, if ever, found on CD and certainly not of this sound quality. Two of these tracks ("Cindy's Birthday" and "Since I Fell For You") appear in true stereo with the remainder in mono. While some of these songs have surfaced in stereo since, the quality of most of these tracks holds up even today. Completing the package is a twelve-page booklet with background notes on the tracks presented.

Here is an extraordinary production that is essential to any CD collection of pre-British invasion American rock and roll.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start to a Must-have Series, February 7, 2000

By 

J. A. MANKOWSKI "Music Madman" (APO, AP United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 1: Hard-To-Get Hot 100 Hits From 1951-1963 (Audio CD)

This is the first of the best Oldies compilation series I have ever seen. The sound is great, only the best sources were used, and the research in the liner notes reflects great dedication on the crew at Ace Records. Seems ironic that a U.K. company does the best job with U.S. music history. You are guaranteed to know at least half of the songs here, the rest will probably be a revelation. For related material, check out the "Teenage Crush" Series on this label, as well as "Chartbusters Usa", taking the music thru the 60s. A good buy, as are all the volumes.