TV presented Johnny Yuma, “The Rebel” (in direct contrast to the Cartwrights) to demonstrate the futility of rebellion. This young idiot rode around the Old West in his faded Confederate uniform, long after the end of the Civil War, constantly getting into fights defending the honor of the South. What Boomer kid in his right mind could idolize this retarded drifter, loner without a home, family or friends, fighting a battle that had been lost ages ago? If the connection between futility and the title of the show wasn’t clear enough to want-to-be Rebel Teens, TV cast Nick Adams, one of the kids in Rebel Without a Cause, as terminal loser, Johnny Yuma.
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With the First Golden Age of Rock & Roll now officially dead, America plunged headfirst into the Plastic Age of Teen Idols. War Babies became a lost, defeated and forgotten generation, as Boomers established a permanent hold on all mass media. But, we were a vastly different breed than our immediate predecessors. The most mature of our generation struggled with adolescence… too young to appreciate the excitement of backbeat, and the underlying sexual tone of “rocking, rolling and reeling”… completely inexperienced; naïve virgins, idealistic dreamers… and the Media Establishment seemed determined to keep things status quo forever. As the first generation to rely on television as the exclusive source of news and opinions (rather than wasting time digging deeper into a subject with reading), Boomers have always preferred sound bites to substance. We have purchasing power. The Entertainment Industry always aims at the largest possible market. Nothing else matters in America.
Kids do grow up. The original Mouseketeers looked silly in their Mickey ears. Annette had developed as a young lady to the point that the letters on her T-shirt read “NNTT”. Disney could have replaced the over-the-hill kids with younger ones on “The Mickey Mouse Club”, but instead cancelled the program and created Vista Records. Annette immediately morphed into the role of Teen Idolette, with eight big hits in 1959-60. Other Mouseketeers also scored minor hits on the label. This impressed Warner Brothers, who started their own label to cash in on the fad. The Bros figured that the singing ability of their network stars couldn’t be any worse than their acting. Connie Stevens, Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, Roger Smith (“Hawaiian Eye” and “77 Sunset Strip”), Shelly Fabares and Paul Petersen (“Donna Reed Show”), Vince Edwards (“Ben Casey”), Johnny Crawford (“The Rifleman”) and James Darren (Gidget movies), all scored hits on the new WB label.
On the East Coast, Al Nevins and Don Kirshner formed Aldon Music, in an attempt to “bridge the gap between Tin Pan Alley and Rock & Roll”. This Teen-Dream, factory sound became known as “Brill Building Pop” (although the studio was actually located across the street from Brill). Kirshner gathered together the best of NYC’s young composers, including Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Bobby Darrin, Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka, and cranked out about 200 hits per year (1959-64) for major labels like RCA, Columbia and Atlantic. Everything had been mass-produced for Boomers during their childhood. Now, as adolescents, even their music flowed off an assembly line. As usual, the result was mediocrity… the total elimination of anything exciting, unique or special.
Detroit had Motown… homogenized pop by Black artists, and Philly had Bandstand. But, whether it be Mickey Mouse Rock, Brill Building Pop, Bandstand or Motown, this music wasn’t Rock & Roll and these songs remain Golden Oldies only by default. Black Rhythm & Blues retreated back onto its own chart and close the door behind. White artists recorded half of the hits on the R & B chart in 1958, but in 1959, that number decreased dramatically, and WASP adults called it “race music” again.
A couple of rebellious tunes did manage to make the pop charts in 1959, but both reflected the feeling of War Baby teens, fighting a losing battle. In “Charlie Brown” (like “Dennis the Menace”, from the funny pages… the only literature that Boomers read at the time), the Coasters warned, “You’re going to get caught, just you wait and see, (Charlie) Why is everybody always picking on me?” In “Summertime Blues”, Eddie Cochrane pleaded the teens’ case, and got the typical adult response, “I’m going to take my problem to the United Nation/ Well, I called my Congressman, but he said ‘Quote: I’d like to help you, Son, but, you’re too young to vote’”… and, Boomers, too young to care.
The oldest Boomer remained a preteen (12) in 1958, and bought “novelty records” aimed at that market: “The Chipmunk Song”, “Lollipop”, “The Purple People Eater”, “Beep, Beep” and “The Witch Doctor” (“Oo-ee-oo-ah-ah, ting-tang-walla-walla-bing-bang). Sudden, in 1959, that same kid entered teenagedom, and was thrust into the angst of adolescence. The market shifted sharply with us, and soon Pimple Pop filled the charts. Paul Anka sang (“I’m just a”) “Lonely Boy”, and Dion and the Belmonts moaned, “Why Must I Be a Teenager In Love?”
The concept of love reflected through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old teeniebopper: pure and forever, and at the same time, safe and sexless. Little Boomer girls rushed out to buy the latest 45s by the newest boy-next-door teen idol, as well as every teen magazine on the rack for research on what “His” favorite color was and what He was looking for in “His” dream girl. This puberty pulp overflowed with articles on “How to Catch That Special Boy”, what to wear, advice on hairstyles, makeup, what to say (“Build him up”), and what not to say (“Play dumb”)… a thousand and one ways to lure and trap a guy, and not one single suggestion on what to do with your hormone-crazed prize after you land him. The term “cock-teaser” became a permanent part of Boomer Boy slang.
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