1955

1st Class Results! Which 1955 Song Is in the Hall of Songs?

After our first round of voting, we’re proud to announce our first inductee of the Hall of Songs!

Congratulations to “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets!

Here are the full results of the first round of voting:

Rock Around the Clock / Bill Haley & His Comets – 67.56%

Continuing to second round of voting

Tutti Frutti / Little Richard – 54.05%
Shake, Rattle and Roll / Big Joe Turner – 48.64%
Your Cheatin’ Heart / Hank Williams – 40.54%
Mr. Sandman / The Chordettes – 40.54%
The Great Pretender / The Platters – 40.54%
Ain’t That a Shame / Fats Domino – 37.83%
Sh’Boom / The Chords – 35.13%
Earth Angel / The Penguins – 35.13%
Maybellene / Chuck Berry – 32.43%
Hey, Good Lookin’ / Hank Williams – 27.02%
That’s All Right / Elvis Presley – 27.02%
Hound Dog / Big Mama Thornton – 24.32%
I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man / Muddy Waters – 24.32%
Bo Diddley / Bo Diddley – 24.32%
Cold, Cold Heart / Hank Williams – 18.91%
How High the Moon / Les Paul and Mary Ford – 18.91%
Mess Around / Ray Charles – 18.91%
Mannish Boy / Muddy Waters – 16.21%

Eliminated from the ballot

Rocket 88 / Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats – 10.81%
Lawdy Miss Clawdy / Lloyd Price – 10.81%
Dust My Broom / Elmore James – 8.10%
It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels – 8.10%
Crazy Man, Crazy / Bill Haley & His Comets – 8.10%
I’m a Man / Bo Diddley – 8.10%
Sixty Minute Man / Billy Ward and the Dominoes – 5.40%
Rock and Roll Blues / Anita O’Day – 5.40%
Have Mercy Baby / Billy Ward and the Dominoes – 5.40%
The Things That I Used to Do / Guitar Slim – 5.40%
Mystery Train / Elvis Presley – 5.40%
I’m in the Mood / John Lee Hooker – 2.70%
Mean Old World / Little Walter – 2.70%
Gee / The Crows – 2.70%
Money Honey / Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters – 2.70%
Shake a Hand / Faye Adams – 2.70%
(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean / Ruth Brown – 2.70%
Night Train / Jimmy Forrest – 0%
Work With Me, Annie / Hank Ballard and the Midnighters – 0%
Hearts of Stone / The Charms – 0%
Rock Island Line / Lonnie Donegan – 0%

1955: Our Nominees for the Hall of Songs

A massive year with some big songs. We add 10 nominees to the Hall of Songs pool. Now, it’s your turn to vote.

The film Blackboard Jungle signals that rock ‘n’ roll has arrived. About unruly high school students and the teacher who attempts to save them from destruction, the movie did well in the box office but was more popular for the song that accompanied its opening title card.

“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets plays at the very beginning of the film. It’s a propulsive way to introduce Americans to the world of mid 1950s youth. This wild sound was what the kids were listening to, and thanks to “Rock Around the Clock” it would become much more popular.

Of course, that’s one narrative. Rock ‘n’ roll had been building and shifting already by 1955. What we hear throughout this episode are songs that seem to perfect their individual genres. Little Richard gives New Orleans R&B some sheen with “Tutti Frutti” while Elvis Presley continues to rule rockabilly with “Mystery Train.” Over in blues, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters trade slaps and get better from it. All the while, Chuck Berry seemingly creates the first great post-“Rock Around the Clock” song.

This is 1955. Listen, then click here to vote for who you think should make the Hall of Songs.

Our 1955 nominees:

“Bo Diddley” as performed by Bo Diddley
- Written by Ellas McDaniel (as Bo Diddley), recorded March 1955, released April 1955
“I’m a Man” as performed by Bo Diddley
- Written by Ellas McDaniel (as Bo Diddley), recorded March 1955, released April 1955
“Ain’t That a Shame” as performed by Fats Domino
- Written by Antoine Domino (as Fats Domino), Dave Bartholomew, recorded March 1955, released April 1955
“Rock Around the Clock” as performed by Bill Haley & His Comets
- Written by Max C. Freedman, recorded April 1954, released May 1954 and May 1955
“Mannish Boy” as performed by Muddy Waters
- Written by McKinley Morganfield (as Muddy Waters), Mel London, Ellas McDaniel (as Bo Diddley), recorded May 1955, released June 1955
“Maybellene” as performed by Chuck Berry
- Written by Chuck Berry, Russ Fratto, Alan Freed, recorded May 1955, released July 1955
“Mystery Train” as performed by Elvis Presley
- Written by Junior Parker, recorded July 1955, released August 1955
“Tutti Frutti” as performed by Little Richard
- Written by Little Richard, Dorothy LaBostrie, recorded September 1955, released October 1955
“The Great Pretender” as performed by The Platters
- Written by Buck Ram, recorded fall 1955, released November 1955
“Rock Island Line” as performed by Lonnie Donegan
- Traditional song, recorded fall 1955, released late 1955

Check out the full episode to learn more about these songs and why they’re so great, vote now by clicking here, and come back on April 18, 2021, when we discuss our nominees from 1956.

The Very 1950s Music of ‘Back to the Future’

One of the best moments in cinema is when Marty McFly turns the corner and finds himself face to face with Main Street, Hill Valley, in November of 1955. In this classic scene setter in Back to the Future, Marty reads a poster promoting showings of the 1954 film Cattle Queen of Montana, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. That information comes into play later in the film – just about everything in Back to the Future has purpose.

At that same moment, “Mr. Sandman” by the Four Aces begins.

It’s the inferior “Mr. Sandman,” as we’ve discussed previously – the Chordettes perform the definitive, sprite and superbly produced version. The record store advertises new singles: “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” by Fess Parker and “16 Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Other record covers: “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole, Patti Page’s In the Land of Hi-Fi, and Eydie Gorme’s Eydie in Dixieland. There is an issue here, however: Both the Page and Gorme albums were released after 1955; in fact, Gorme’s came out in 1959.

Nevertheless, the scene is set: This is a different time.

Music plays a critical role in Back to the Future, helping to set scenes and even draw attention to the characters. For example, there’s Marty’s big moment on stage at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, where he helps Marvin Berry and the Starlighters finish a performance so Lorraine Bates and George McFly can kiss. The group plays “Earth Angel” by the Penguins when the big kiss occurs (one of the most satisfying moments in film history), and afterward, Marty breaks into the “new” sound of 1958: “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry.

“Earth Angel” is one of the two current Hall of Songs nominees that shows up in the movie. The Starlighters also play “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest as teenagers twirl about on the dance floor. We also get some nominee-adjacent tunes, such as the Four Aces’ version of “Mr. Sandman” and “The Wallflower” by Etta James, an answer song to Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “Work With Me Annie.”

But it ain’t all 1950s tunes in Back to the Future. Of course, Huey Lewis and the News pops in, but so does Eddie Van Halen. And that one, like just about everything in the film, has a purpose.