If only the band wasn’t a bunch of reefer addicts…
The Nest has worked hard to bring wonderful tunes into your new week each and every Monday for over five years… whether it be shopping tunes, lost hits, cover songs and even novelty songs. We’re throwing out all the rules for our current countdown, though, and playing some of my favorite songs that didn’t fit into any of those other niches. it’s time for the next song in The Top 30 Songs We Just Feel Like Playing countdown! For our 23rd ranked song, we’re going back in time. No, further back than that. WAY back! Yes, to the very dawn of the rock and roll era! With a song so wholesome, it’d make Mitzi want to join a nunnery…
#23. “Sh-Boom” – The Crew Cuts
Sixty-five years ago back in early 1954, an early R&B vocal group named The Chords wrote and recorded a song that some official credit as the very first rock and roll Top 10 hit in the history of the pop charts. Their recording isn’t bad…. it just wasn’t the version of the song that became the biggest hit.
Those crew cuts wouldn’t pass muster in the Marines. Now drop and give me twenty!
That same summer, a Canadian doo wop quartet named The Crew Cuts gave “Sh-Boom” the whitebread treatment that Americans preferred at the time… and they topped The Chords’ results by getting their version of “Sh-Boom” up to #1. While we can feel sorry for The Chords, who never found chart success again after “Sh-Boom,” and who were even forced to change their name shortly thereafter due to another group called The Chords existing…. it’s The Crew Cuts version that seems to be better remembered today, and was even a part of one of my favorite movies ever… which is also why I even know the song exists.
Oh, and thanks to this classic 50’s compilation album commercial that aired all the time in the late 80’s.
So without further ado…. let’s roll out the oldest song to ever make The Nest’s Monday Muzak playlist!
I don’t think I could stand listening to big band music for too long, but a little orchestral manoeuvres in the dark can be a good thing from time to time…
Hell, it definitely beats Bieber music…
I’ll have Song #22 served up to you next week before you’ve even finished all of the Thanksgiving leftovers…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I love this song… and I have it on my playlist… for the day I will cruise along rue chambon in Paris to shop till the card glows…( for the waiting time the radio plays Dream On by Aerosmith LOL)
And then you will need to download TLC’s “Bills, Bills, Bills”…
Oops, that was Destiny’s Child. Sorry, Beyonce…
Love that song…………! Oh and by the way – “Mitzi” and “nunnery” are two words that absolutely do not belong in the same sentence.
Pam
Well, I’m sure if Mitzi were joining up it would be one of those naughty nunneries that might appear in films of a certain triple letter rating. I’m sure she’d be the most popular nun at the boys school…
I’m with spoiled cat, Mitzy and nunnery don’t go together, like cilantro and salsa. I love this song, the Under the Sea dance picture, love it! I wonder if Marty McFly thought it was neato? lol
Marty McFly would undoubtedly think that song was “heavy,” and nobody would know what he was talking about and just make fun of his life preserver some more…
I consider this homogenized version to be a vile criminal act. The original by The Chords is a plate full of nachos with jalapeno slices and Louisiana Hot Sauce, while this version is a slice of white bread soaked in milk. But unfortunately that was the order of the day, when superior R & B recordings were covered and made hits by “safe” (in other words, white) artists. Pat Boone alone was a serial destroyer of great tunes. Even Dion’s version of “Ruby Baby”, which IS pretty good, can’t compare to the original by The Drifters, which should be recommended listening for anyone interested in the early days of rock ‘n roll. Rant over.
I guess I am guilty of felony aiding and abetting then. I did take a listen to The chords’ version (I knew I’d heard it before, but couldn’t recall what it sounded like). It’s OK. But this, I like. I apologize for my crappy musical taste…
Love the horns in this song! I’m swaying back and forth singing the lyrics just like back in the 50’s. Luckily no photo or link are available to confirm. You’re welcome. 🎷
I have it on good authority the photos of said swaying are already all over Instasquirrel and Nutbook. Never underestimate the sneakiness of the squirrelazzi….
Oh dear…I’m doomed. 😳
I actually know that song. And like it! How about that, then. Never thought you’d see the day, huh?