This entry contains tunes glorifying sex and violence, which is less a warning than it is a point of interest because... well, it's 1959.
Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"Most songs back then were well under three-and-a-half minutes long. This one clocks in at six-and-a-half. Naturally 7-inch records weren't large enough to incorporate the whole thing on one side, so the single was released with "Part 1" on side-A and "Part 2" on side-B. The best part of the song (or at least the most obvious part) is the sassy call-and-response section. I don't know how they got away with it, and songs have been outright banned from radio for far less.
Lloyd Price - "Stagger Lee"
This song has been sung a hundred different ways by a hundred different people, but this version will always be my favorite. Based loosely on an 1895 incident in St. Louis, "Stagger Lee" is about a gambler who lost some money, went home and grabbed a gun, then shot the guy who swindled him. The end! Somehow blatant violence is so much more acceptable when it's in music form (see also: "Mack the Knife")
The Skyliners - "Since I Don't Have You"
A more traditional song from the era (complete with orchestral backing), the vocals here are fantastic. And melodramatically saaaad.
"I don't have fond desires. I don't have happy hours. I don't have anything, since I don't have you."
The Fleetwoods - "Mr. Blue"
The Fleetwoods, which their simple two girls/one guy harmonies, amp up the melancholy even more here. From the lamentingly poetic introduction to the lonely brass to the last broken-hearted notes, this one's a weeper. (And wait, wasn't Mr. Blue the name of a Reservoir Dogs character... who DIES?) The vocals are so butter-smooth, and it's a shame that the floppy-haired madness of the British Invasion effectively ended interest in this kind of music just a few short years later.
Santo & Johnny - "Sleep Walk"
The face of music has changed so much during the latter half of the 20th century. For example, I think I would like to hear more instrumentals on the radio (not composed by Yanni or John Tesh, that is). But at least one thing hasn't changed after fifty years -- "one hit wonders". Although their follow up single "Tear Drop" peaked at #23 on the pop charts in 1959, it's "Sleep Walk" that has survived and maintained familiarity status all these years. As for the song itself, it's amazing how much emotion a steel guitar can convey. Modest Mouse does a lyricized cover of this song on 2000's Building Nothing Out of Something, as do a handful of others.
