Various - 1950s Discovered

Tracklist

A1	–Nat King Cole	Unforgettable	3:11
A2	–Nat King Cole	Mona Lisa	3:14
A3	–Nat King Cole	A Blossom Fell	2:42
A4	–Nat King Cole	Smile	2:53
A5	–Nat King Cole	When I Fall In Love	3:10
A6	–Nat King Cole	Somewhere Along The Way	2:52
A7	–Nat King Cole	Because You're Mine	3:17
B1	–Perry Como	Magic Moments	2:40
B2	–Perry Como	Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes	2:50
B3	–Perry Como	Wanted	3:11
B4	–Perry Como	Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)	2:33
B5	–Perry Como	Catch A Falling Star	2:28
B6	–Perry Como	More	2:39
B7	–Perry Como	Kewpie Doll	2:38
B8	–Perry Como	Deleware	2:18
C1	–Doris Day	Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)	2:06
C2	–Doris Day	Secret Love	3:42
C3	–Doris Day	Ready, Willing And Able	2:25
C4	–Doris Day	If I Give My Heart To You	2:52
C5	–Doris Day	Black Hills Of Dakota	2:58
C6	–Doris Day	My Love And Devotion	3:02
C7	–Doris Day	Everybody Loves A Lover	2:42
C8	–Doris Day	I'll Never Stop Loving You	1:57
D1	–Rosemary Clooney	This Old House	2:24
D2	–Rosemary Clooney	Mambo Italiano	2:36
D3	–Rosemary Clooney	Hey There	2:59
D4	–Rosemary Clooney	Mangoes	2:33
D5	–Rosemary Clooney	Where Will The Dimple Be	2:23
D6	–Rosemary Clooney	Man (Uh-Huh)	2:33
D7	–Rosemary Clooney	Come On- A My House	1:57
D8	–Rosemary Clooney	Half As Much	2:47
E1	–The Platters	Smoke Gets In Your Eyes	3:11
E2	–The Platters	The Great Pretender	2:38
E3	–The Platters	My Prayer	2:51
E4	–The Platters	Only You	2:39
E5	–The Platters	Twilight Time	2:46
E6	–The Platters	You'll Never Never Know	2:36
E7	–The Platters	I'm Sorry	2:54
E8	–The Platters	(You've Got) The Magic Touch	2:38
F1	–Fats Domino	Blueberry Hill	2:21
F2	–Fats Domino	Ain't That Shame	2:22
F3	–Fats Domino	I'm In Love Again	1:58
F4	–Fats Domino	Whole Lotta Lovin'	1:40
F5	–Fats Domino	Blue Monday	2:20
F6	–Fats Domino	I'm Walkin'	2:06
F7	–Fats Domino	Be My Guest	2:15
F8	–Fats Domino	Walkin' To New Orleans	2:17

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – Bellevue Entertainment

Notes

Fifties America was a golden age characterized by the rock and roll revolution, the coming of the television age and a new postwar affluence. The music industry expanded rapidly at this time, new independent record labels sprang up countrywide intent on delivering the sounds of the new era to the pop-hungry teen masses. Before 1953, many products were either unavailable or were difficult or expensive to acquire. However, as the American economy recovered from World War II, there was a surge of pent up consumer demand for items once considered luxuries. Coupled with the post war baby boom between 1945 and 1964, it is easy to see how America, as the world’s default example of consumer culture, began to flourish. All these new products needed to find all these new consumers and the advertising industry helped to connect them. Advertising experienced a golden age in the fifties, with ad spend increasing at staggering rates throughout the decade. In 1950, the gross annual ad spend amounted to $1.3 billion in the US. By 1960, annual gross ad spend had increased to $6 billion.
The increase can in large part be attributed to the rise of television as the number one platform for selling products and popular music became an increasingly important product with which to target the newly constructed teenage market. Television, with its mass appeal, mass audience and mass market needed stars to promote products – either through direct advertising, or appearing on their own advertiser sponsored TV show. The increasing power of television throughout the decade saw stars such as Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como get their own variety shows providing a new platform for artists to showcase their music and for labels to get their offerings out in front of the kids. Como was the ‘King of TV’ in this regard. An early adopter of the medium, he started out in 1948 with a televised version of his radio show, the Chesterfield Supper Club. He had his own TV shows right up until 1994 and his Christmas Specials became a festive family-viewing highlight year after year.
It was a tough time, though for the Hollywood studios. Television was a major threat, box office receipts were down and they were reeling from the Paramount Decree of 1948 forcing them to dispose of their movie theatres. Artists like Doris Day who starred in 39 films over a twenty year period, tempted audiences back to movie theatres and were pivotal in keeping up production levels at such a precarious time for the industry. This collection demonstrates that tectonic cultural shifts take time for their effects to be realized, remnants of the old styles live alongside those of the new and the fifties were certainly no exception. Crooners like Nat King Cole and Perry Como co-existed in the Billboard Top 40 with the new rock and rollers like Fats Domino and the emerging Doo Wop style of The Platters.
At one vibrant, smooth, raucous and challenging, with one foot in the past but staring straight ahead, the music scene in the fifties showed the first signs of long-tail marketing with so many niches and so much product. Enjoy this unique flavor of the Fifties.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Barcode: 5711053020178