tunesday – cut a rug to these mid-century tunes

We’re sure you’ve heard the phrase, “They just don’t make music like they used to,” by a grumpy parent or grandparent at least once before. Is it true? Debatable, but without old-timey tunes, none of the music we have today would probably exist. As a tribute to the yesterdays of classic pop and rock, Lacey has compiled some of her favourite past-era tracks, all from the ‘50s and ‘60s.

BLUEBERRY HILL – FATS DOMINO Soul crooner, Fats Domino, delivers a brilliantly reminiscent performance with his version of “Blueberry Hill”, a track that’s been covered by many musical minds over the years. Wherever and whenever the ‘Blueberry Hill’ is, I want to be there, waltzing across the grass in a flowy swing dress. The song tells the tale of two lovers separated by time and differences, but they’ll always look back fondly on their night atop this hill, so named for a small blue fruit. I was first introduced to “Blueberry Hill” by a high school pal, who said it was like a soundtrack for his dreams, and it’s been a staple in my vintage playlist ever since.

JUST OUT OF REACH – PATSY CLINE Long live Patsy, the original queen of country music! Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, it was extremely common for a bundle of varied artists to cover one single song, so – just like “Blueberry Hill” – this is a cover. It might not be original, but Patsy Cline’s vocals are truly unmatched, she was a gorgeous soul taken at far too young an age. Cline is widely regarded as one of the first-ever musicians to make the leap from country to pop, as well as blending both genres in a commercially successful way. “Just Out of Reach” is the perfect accompaniment for when you’re missing your partner, longing for a lost love or developing a crush over a new potential mate. To me, it sounds like freshly baked pie, gingham print tablecloths and unanswered letters.

LITTLE GREEN APPLES – ROGER MILLER A couple of years ago when I was visiting my parents, my mum pulled this out and played it on the record player. Sitting there in the kitchen of my childhood home with “Little Green Apples” playing all crackly around us was a heart-warming and comfortingly surreal experience and a moment I remember tenderly whenever I hear it. Miller’s version was the original and most popular, and his acoustic fatherly tone is something I want to capture in a jar and breathe in every time I’m homesick. He manages to make me nostalgic for Minneapolis and Indianapolis in the summertime, both places I’ve never been. One question though, if “God didn’t make the little green apples”, who did?

LIVING DOLL – CLIFF RICHARD I adore this track because it’s oh so cheery, but play it in a horror flick and the meaning is sinisterly flipped. Funnily enough, it was written for the soundtrack of the 1959 British drama film Serious Charge, despite it not being spooky at all. The tune originally had a fast-paced rock beat, but Cliff Richard and his backing band, The Drifters, mellowed down the tempo and recorded it to instead have a mild and country sound. The retro-rock vibe of the final track is delectable and makes me want to tap along on a straw-covered barn floor.

CARE OF CELL 44 – THE ZOMBIES You may notice all other songs in this list are just over two minutes, but “Care of Cell 44” almost passes the four-minute mark which is a length rare for this era. Vocalist Colin Blunstone adopts the fictional persona of a lover writing a letter to his incarcerated sweetheart. He is greatly looking forward to her release from prison, so much so he’s “counting the days until they set (her) free again”. I bet the person in cell 43 is jealous! It’s such a random topic for a '60s baroque psychedelic pop track, but I think it works. With a band name as awesome as The Zombies, it’s no surprise these guys pull off singing about jail inmates and can even get us to bop our heads along.

DREAM LOVER – BOBBY DARIN American pop rocker Bobby Darin just wants a girl to dream within this yesteryear tune. He croons through “Dream Lover” with passive desperation, seeking a perfect match to “call his own”. This is the first song in today’s list to be performed by the actual person who wrote it, which is something pretty rare for the time period. I thoroughly enjoy belting out Dream Lover in a dramatic fashion, and I find the backing vocals have just the right mix of “yeah-yeah-yeah” and “whoa whoa ohh”. It is a truly pleasant love track. Play it for your crush, I dare you!

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD – SAM THE SHAM AND THE PHARAOHS The menacing fairy tale whimsy of this track is greatly complimented by its simple guitar tabs and boom-tap drums. Texan singer Sam the Sham and his backing band The Pharaohs were known for their quirky on-stage costumes and even transported their equipment and instruments in a funeral hearse. This uniqueness is definitely heard in “Little Red Riding Hood”, and Sam is devious enough to remind us that “even bad wolves can be good”. Play this when you’re running full speed through a spooky forest, red coat wet from the drizzle and with wild dogs snapping at your heels.

IT’S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE – CONWAY TWITTY. Conway Twitty is beside himself that his love affair appears to all be “make believe” in this track, but nonetheless, he continues to pray she’ll one daycare for him. Australia’s own Cold Chisel has a live cover of this track with added saxophone from the ‘80s, which I actually knew before Twitty’s original version. Pub rock is super cool, but sometimes you just can’t beat a ‘50s heartache ballad such as this.

RUNAWAY – DEL SHANNON My mum had a homemade mixtape CD – complete with a sharpie-written title scrawled across the front – that she played a lot in the car when I was growing up. “Runaway” was track seven, and it was always my favourite. I later heard it in Children of the Corn, and again in Dexter: New Blood, and it remains one of my favourite songs of all time. Shannon lived his entire life unable to escape the dark cloud that was this one-hit wonder, and I think that heightens the unbridled despair of the song. Keyboardist Max Crook invented his own clavioline-based electric keyboard called a Musitron, which is the high-pitched sound we hear on the bridge.

JUST LET ME CRY – LESLEY GORE I don’t know about you, but there are definitely days I just want to cry and nothing else. Teenage superstar Lesley Gore is heartbroken over a boy leaving her in this track, which is slightly ironic as, in real life, in a long-term romantic relationship with LGBT+ rights activist Lois Sasson until her death. Judging by these lyrics, she did understand the mechanics of a breakup, as many of us do. Sobbing is not forever, it’s just for now.