Ray Edward Cochran was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody" and "Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Cochran experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques, and overdubbing, even on his earliest singles. Cochran played the guitar, piano, bass, and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and attractive young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker, and in death, Cochran achieved iconic status.
Eric Hilliard Nelson was an American musician and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1957, he began a long and successful career as a popular recording artist.
Earl Cyril Palmer was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Vincent Eugene Craddock, known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. His chart career was brief, especially in his home country of the US, where he notched three top 40 hits in 1956 and 1957, and never charted in the top 100 again. In the UK, he was a somewhat bigger star, racking up eight top 40 hits from 1956 to 1961.
Gene Francis Alan Pitney was an American singer, songwriter and musician.
John Joseph Burnette was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became known as the Rock and Roll Trio. His career was cut short on August 14, 1964, when he drowned following a boat accident, aged 30.
The Champs are an American Rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by studio executives at Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-side for the Dave Burgess single, "Train to Nowhere". The intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-side, as "Tequila" went to No. 1 in just three weeks, and the band became the first group to go to the top spot with an instrumental that was their first release. The song was recorded at Gold Star Studios in fall 1957, and in 1959 won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.
Charles Nicholas Hodges was an English musician and singer who was the lead vocalist of musical duo Chas & Dave.
"Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and by Ricky Nelson at United Western Recorders Studios on March 22, 1961.
"Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)" is a popular rock novelty song written in late 1954 by the rhythm and blues partnership of Forest Gene Wilson and Eunice Levy, and also credited to Jake Porter. One of the earliest rock and roll songs, it was probably "the most extensively recorded rock 'n' roll song of that time".
Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sax as well as various flutes and clarinets.
"Be-Bop-a-Lula" is a rockabilly song first recorded in 1956 by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps.
Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry and former Columbia Records A&R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short-lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958.
Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer-songwriter, bassist, performer, and recording artist. He was a member of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
"Travelin' Man" is an American popular song, best known as a 1961 hit single sung by Ricky Nelson. Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller wrote it with Sam Cooke in mind, but Cooke's manager was unimpressed and did not keep the demo, which eventually wound up being passed along to Nelson. His version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released as a double A-side with "Hello Mary Lou", which reached No. 9 on the same chart. In the United Kingdom, "Travelin' Man", coupled with "Hello Mary Lou", reached No. 2, becoming Nelson's biggest UK hit. Nelson is accompanied on the recording by the vocal quartet, The Jordanaires. Fans of the Seattle Supersonics probably remember the song being played at their team's home games whenever a player from the visiting team committed a traveling violation, thus turning the ball back over to the Supersonics.
Windfall is a 1974 country rock album by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, Nelson's twenty-second studio album. The album peaked at No. 190 on the Billboard albums chart.
James Intveld is an American rockabilly musician, singer, songwriter, performer, actor, and film director from Los Angeles, California, United States.
The History of Rock and Roll is a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969, and again in 1978 and 1981. It is currently distributed as both a 2+1⁄2-minute short feature on internet networks, and a two-hour weekly series hosted by Wink Martindale, distributed to radio stations nationwide. This list below reflects the contents of the more widely heard 1978 version of The History of Rock & Roll.
Rick Is 21 is the sixth album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson, and was released in 1961. The album was almost entirely recorded in Los Angeles, California, United States at the famous United Western Recorders studios from February to April, 1961. Only one song was recorded at Master Recorders studios in Hollywood, California, United States. That song was: Do You Know What it Means To Miss New Orleans recorded in February, 1960. The album was the first to credit his first name as "Rick"; previous albums were credited to Ricky Nelson. Jimmie Haskell was the arranger and Charles "Bud" Dant was the producer.
"Everlovin'" is a song written by Dave Burgess and first recorded by the Australian vocal trio, The Crescents, who released the song in 1959.
