In the early 1950’s, vocal driven “pop” dominated the charts before the rise of rock and roll. These songs focused on a story and the emotion of the singers, rather than the orchestration of songs that the Big Band era primarily focused on. This new idea of emphasizing the vocals in the song proved to be a success as the songs were catchy and was considered the most popular music in the U.S. for several years. This reason is also why many people find these songs enjoyable and two of the greatest vocalists during this trend of music were Bobby Darin and Louis Prima.
Bobby Darin: Darin came into fame in the ’50’s with popular hits including “Beyond the Sea” and “Mack the Knife” he would continue his success into the ’60’s and ’70’s becoming a famous actor as well as singer, before his death in 1973 at age 37.
Louis Prima: Prima revitalized his career in the 50’s with popular songs like “Pennies From Heaven” and “When You’re Smiling“. He helped to make the lounges in Vegas a hotspot with his performances. This popularity went on to give Prima a starring role in Disney’s 1967 film,The Jungle Book, playing King Louie the dancing orangutan performing the hit “I Wanna Be Like You“.
Both Bobby Darin and Louis Prima had successful singing careers in the early ’50’s, and although you most likely will not hear these artists on the radio, we luckily have the luxury of the internet with sites like youtube where you can listen to almost any song ever recorded. So, everyone should give them a shot. Who knows, maybe they’ll enjoy it.
Some other songs you may enjoy:
Dean Martin-Ain’t That A Kick In The Head
Frank Sinatra-Fly Me To The Moon
Frank Sinatra-Theme From New York, New York
Sam Butera and the Witnesses “Let The Good Times Roll”
