Chuck Berry 1959 – Little Queenie
The sound of it hits you like a sudden flash of light in a dim, crowded gymnasium: a three-count drum…
Eddie Cochran 1959 – C’mon Everybody
There is a moment in the first few seconds of Eddie Cochran’s 1959 single, “C’mon Everybody,” that feels less like…
Lonnie Donegan 1957 – Putting On The Style
The needle drops, and suddenly, the room shrinks. The cavernous sound of the London Palladium, an echo of a thousand…
The Swinging Blue Jeans 1964 – You’re No Good
The scene is almost cinematic. A smoky cellar club, decades before air conditioning was a given, in a town like…
Dionne Warwick 1963 – Don’t Make Me Over
I remember the first time this song truly hit me. It wasn’t on a crackling vinyl record or a classic-hits…
The Equals 1967 – I Won’t Be There
The air in the room is thick and grainy, the kind of texture only genuine 1960s tape hiss can provide.…
Dusty Springfield 1964 – I Only Want To Be With You
The year is 1963. The British airwaves were a swirling mix of skiffle’s remnants and the first, urgent drumbeats of…
The Beatles 1964 – I Should Have Known Better
The needle drops, and before the drums or the rush of the first electric chord, there is the sound of…
Cat Stevens 1970 – Lady d’Arbanville
It is a curious thing, the way certain records demand to be heard at night. Not just as background, but…
Connie Francis 1961 – Someone Else’s Boy
The year is 1961. The airwaves are a crowded, glittering landscape of teen idols, emergent girl groups, and the last…