There Goes My Baby – The Drifters

Transistor Days: Spring 1959

Episode 12

Episode date - March 6, 2020

How Music Changed
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By 1959, the rock and roll audience grew wise to the establishment ruse of lame copycat artists releasing inferior versions of original rock and roll and R&B material originally released by Black artists.

Pat Boone and his ilk were waning in popularity while real R&B took off so strongly that it competed with rock and roll for chart domination. Almost every one of these R&B artists were on small independent labels, so the major labels needed a new ruse. This time, they came up with a plan to invent their own ‘rock and roll stars’ by finding young kids with star appeal who were willing to follow orders. It worked for a while, but even that plan was quickly overwhelmed.

Featured tracks include:

It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Buddy Holly

Sea Cruise – Frankie Ford

Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison

Turn Me Loose – Fabian

That’s Why I Love You So – Jackie Wilson

Almost Grown – Chuck Berry

The Battle of New Orleans – Johnny Horton

There Goes My Baby – The Drifters

Tiger – Fabian

Lipstick on Your Collar – Connie Francis

What a Difference a Day Makes – Dinah Washington

I Only Have Eyes for You – The Flamingoes

Bongo Rock – Preston Epps

Channel 151 - Transistor Days