Well the talk on the show was about the value of the sweet
pop music of the 50's and early 60's before the advent of
the Elvis style rock n roll. Was it just something to be forgotten
due to embarrassment or did it have a kind of value of it's own?

I have a different take on it. As an avid Trek and science fiction fan I think that I am a victim of living out an alternate time
line.

In the timeline that should have happened, Bobby Rydell would have
led a big band like Brian Setzer does today-- Setzer who plays
much of the same music but particularly that of Gene Vincent
and a lot of dynamite originals would have jacked up the r&b
sound but maintained the big band swing format.

Well, what we got instead was "How Much is That Doggie in The Window?"
and on a good day "26 Miles".

The name of the book is "Great Pretenders" Prob'ly worth a
read but I'm not sure I can trust the author who is
under 30.

• On Point

Big bands had a long run and the history of the period
says that economics drove the big bands out of the spotlight
in favor of small combos like Nat king Cole. The Jump Jive and
Wail music of R&B was just buried in the racism of the time.

According to the author, the CW craze could have started up
at that time with the popularity of Frankie Lane and "Mule Train".
Franky Lane is one of the featured artists in the book.
The book talks about all these novelty songs like they were
from another planet. Then a caller came in and referred
to those records produced by radio disk jockeys of reports
of aliens landing and clips from other pop tunes of the
day. I can't think of the guy who made those.

I think it's just the notion on the part of the author of
the incomprehensibility of that much different _stuff_
on the radio. Anyone under thirty has been brainwashed
into the playlisting of formatted radio.

Elvis and the rest of the crop were likely the result of
enough small record players in the hands of kids playing
45's that cost less than a dollar playing music that their
parents hated.

It was odd that during the report, no mention was made of the
current musical "Hairspray" for instance, or the John Waters
film itself, or Crybaby or a whole ream of films about
songwriters, gangs and groups of the period.

On the band thing, there's always been a big question in my
mind about that. If GI's were returning to the land of wealth
and prosperity then there should have been a base for
supporting bands and orchestras.

Wait. TV.

It's called "When Affirmative Action was White"

• link to the book