Another film from 1955 fell into the new genre of teen rebellion, but cannot be considered a classic as the previous three. In some respects, however, this B-movie may have been more important in terms of Boomer history. Blackboard Jungle seemed like a typical classroom drama, but Hollywood teens had never had such a bad attitude before. The high school teacher in the film (Glen Ford) faced much more serious problems than Mr. Peepers or Miss Brooks on TV. Overall, Blackboard was just another, forgettable morality play… with the exception of the soundtrack, which makes it an immortal Boomer classic flick. “Rock Around the Clock” played loud and clear under the opening titles… the first time a Rock & Roll song ever received that distinction in a major Hollywood film. Parents viewed this horrible music as an evil and corrupting influence. Teens just thought that it was fun. In any case, Rock & Roll was about to become big business, Teens lined up around the block to see the film. Bill Haley’s song had only modest success when first released in 1954 (sold 75,000), but now opening a rebellious youth flick, the tune hit the charts again, and sky-rocketed to the top. “Rock Around the Clock” sold six million copies in 1955.
Bill Haley and the Comets struggled as just another smalltime Country and Western band until they decided to cover some R&B songs by Black artists. The group took hard rocking, but poor-selling classics, such as Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, and toned them down a bit, and whitened them up a lot to make the tunes more palatable to not-yet-enlightened WASP audience. Soon, other Caucasian crooners copied the Comets and commenced cranking out covers.
The music scene was ripe for Alan Freed. Things really started happening in 1954 when he made a triumphant return to New York City (no offense, Cleveland) and WINS, one of the big AM outlets that rejected Freed in years prior. Now the station had to offer Alan $75,000 a year, which turned out to be a bargain because Freed and Rock soon made WINS the number one market in America. The energetic DJ also began producing live Rock & Roll shows at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theatre, and kids of all races turned up in droves. To teens, The Blackboard Jungle was not a revelation but merely a confirmation.
If you listened to Freed’s show in 1955, you probably heard Turner’s original version of “Shake, Rattle and Roll” instead of Haley’s cover and Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” rather than Pat Boone’s. Alan received mounting pressure from sponsors to back off, but continued to play the originals. Freed believed that listening to White covers of Black music was like kissing your sister… a nice experience, but certainly nothing to get excited about. When the station manager forced Alan to play a cover, he usually followed it up immediately with the original. When heard back-to-back anyone could pick the superior version. White teens began buying “race music” by African American artists.
Up until 1955, the pop charts had been dominated by middle-of-the-road, white singers like Doris Day and Perry Como. On TV “Your Hit Parade” continued to be highly rated after five years, and “Grand Ole’ Opry” and “The Lawrence Welk Show” debuted. But on the AM radio dial, the sound suddenly seemed a lot less tranquil. Blacks crossed over from the Rhythm & Blues charts (where a sale of 10,000 was considered a hit record) to the much bigger, lily-white pop charts. Guys like Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry and Little Richard finally reached the ears of Middle America. “Tutti Fruitti” sold 500,000 copies.
1956
And then there was Elvis. About the time that Little Richard’s lovely image and voice shocked WASP parents across America, Presley auditioned for, and was rejected by “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.” Colonel Tom Parker entered the picture and managed to get the young singer signed with RCA Records (November 22, 1955). On January 10, 1956, Presley entered their Nashville studio and recorded “Heartbreak Hotel”. On January 28, Elvis performed a hip-churning version of “Blue Suede Shoes” during his network television debut on CBS’s “Stage Show” (ironically, playing opposite “The Perry Como Show” and “Grand Ole’ Opry” on Saturday night.) Elvis was on his way. During 1956 Presley had fourteen consecutive million-selling singles, a total of 17 songs on the pop charts, two number one albums (Ever since the first LP had been pressed in 1948, that distinction had usually been won by soundtracks from movie or stage musicals), plus, two starring movie roles. Few performers can claim an entire career as full as Elvis’s first year.
What magical powers did Elvis possess that enabled him to cause a drastic change in all three of America’s giant media image reflectors (Music, Television and Film Industries)? First of all, a vacuum caused by a large reflection-starved group (War Babies), just waiting for something like Presley to happen. Game shows occupied the grownups (our parents) as they searched for their fair slice of the American Dream. Mickey Mouse and friends dazzled Boomer children, as they tried to devise a plan to con their parents into a trip to the newly opened Disneyland. But, what about all those teenagers caught in the middle… too old for Mickey, but too young for the “$64,000 Question”?
War Babies didn’t have much to call their own before Elvis. They related to Black Rock & Roll, Brando, Dean, and now, Presley. (The King watched Rebel Without A Cause dozens of times. When he met the film’s director, Nicholas Ray, at a party, Elvis recited entire scenes of Dean’s dialogue.)