rock n roll history Archives

In 2019 I was Djing at a vintage Rock n Roll night and during 1 of my 2 sets I played a special group of songs around a particular Rock N Roll Show that happened on April 30th, 1956 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This tour is going to be the subject of my blog post today.

It was a 45 date tour and labelled the “Biggest Rock N Roll Show of ‘1956” featuring:

Bill Haley & Comets (Headliner)
Platters
Bo Diddley
Drifters
LaVern Baker
Clyde McPhatter
Big Joe Turner
Red Prysock
Shirley & Lee
Roy Hamilton
Five Keys
The Turbans
Frankie Lymon & Teenagers

1956 Rock and roll show program of performers- 1950s music.

Source: WorthPoint

What was different from other shows like this? It was the ONLY one that featured all African American acts with the exception of the headliner Bill Haley.

1950s Music 1956 Rock n Roll Party Poster for Bill Haley and his Comets -May 6th.

However…..the blog, ‘A Rock n’ Roll Historian‘ shares: “As racial tensions are peaking throughout the country, the potential for trouble exists at every tour stop. Several shows are cancelled because of racial troubles including bomb threats, protests, pickets, and violence.”

AND add in parents and religious leaders across the country who were up and arms over this new “craze”sending their kids into hysteria.

“1 have met a lot of young people, and older people too. who have learned the three Rs—Rock. Roll and Regret . . . Have you ever felt that way after a session of rock ‘n roll? When you tried to get to sleep, you couldn’t because deep down in your heart you felt that the whole business of pleasure-seeking and self-indulgence was a mockery and a sham . . . Sorry, young reader. I can’t promise you that there is any easy way out of this situation.”
– Jane Scott, a Toronto Telegram religious columnist-

But among all of this, the tour is a resounding SUCCESS! and winds up with two dates being added, making it a 47-date tour.

1950s Vintage Photo of Bill Haley and the Comets performing on stage in 1956.

Source-Shorpy: Performance by Bill Haley and the Comets and LaVern Baker at the Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.” From photos by Ed Feingersh for the Look magazine article “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Controversy

The tours rolls into Cincinnati, OH. “By the third quarter of the show, they were in the aisles, all over the floor and unaware of anything but the music.” -Cincinnati Post 5/10/1956

1956 Newspaper clip of a group of people who attended a 1950s Rock n Roll show in Cincinnati featuring Bill Haley

Source: Bill Haley Official

THE TOUR COMES TO TORONTO AT MAPLE LEAF GARDENS

A record setting crowd of 13,000 for a single show. The press and TV are pressing Haley about whether rock and roll is dangerous (Source).

1950s vintage photo of Bill Haley and the Comets, 1956 Maple Leaf Gardens

Bill Haley and the Comets perform at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto

Clyde McPhatter, on stage.

(Note: this image at the Toronto Archives says it’s from 1960 at the Rock n Roll Show but I don’t think this is right unless the show came back. Anyone know?)

Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine (Barbara Moon to be exact), attended the concert in Toronto and went on to write a review of what she saw in the below article entitled “What you don’t need to know about Rock n Roll“.

1950s Vintage Magazine Article: Canada's Maclean's Magazine (Barbara Moon to be exact), attended the concert in Toronto and went on to write a review of what she saw in the below article entitled "What you don't need to know about Rock n Roll".

Source: Maclean’s Magazine

It is an EXTREMELY interesting read (this woman is very very against the music) and I recommend taking the time to do so. Here are some “snippets” of what was printed:

NOT LONG AGO a Toronto eighteen-year old was fined fifty dollars for riding his motorcycle with his hands in the air. “A car radio was playing a real gone rock ‘n roll song,” he defended himself, ‘i just had to keep time to that sound.”

“That sound” is the latest teen-age craze. And in the two years since it became epidemic rock ‘n roll has been responsible for more than mere careless driving. It has, for example:

–Packed the biggest available arenas in the biggest cities of the continent for some ol the biggest gross revenues in entertainment history.

–Pitchforked a raucous-voiced hillbilly named Elvis Presley into overnight stardom.

-Stimulated snake dances, cop-baiting and outbursts of vandalism and mayhem in many centres. (Teen-agers in Brooklyn tore up a subway car after a rock ‘n roll jamboree; in Minneapolis they pelted police with empty beer tins.)

–Caused Variety to call it “the most explosive show biz phenomenon of the decade.” I he trade journal of the entertainment world added ponderously, “It may be getting too hot to handle.”

–Induced amnesia in many adults: their alarm is such that they forget all inconvenient earlier parallels for the fad.

-Saturated the continent with songs whose hit parade ratings vary according to their decibel ratings. One deafening litany, called Blue Suede Shoes, invites the hearer to knock the singer down, step in his face, slander his name, burn his house, steal his car and drink his liquor as long as he, the hearer, stays off his, the singer’s, blue suede shoes. Ten thousand copies of Shoes were sold in one month in Ontario alone.

For such reasons as these I was assigned recently to investigate the phenomenon for Maclean’s. “What is it and why is it?” the editors wanted to know……..

Source-Vancouver Sun. Fans watch Bill Haley and the Comets in concert at Vancouver’s Kerrisdale Arena on June 27, 1956.

“There were twelve acts, twenty extra policemen on duty and 12.764 young people in attendance. They seemed to be a cross-section, everything from blackleather windbreakers to Harris tweeds and from tight jeans to tulle frocks. Proceedings began at 8.30 and took two and a half hours with a truce at halftime to remove the wounded. The smattering of adults included a skinny grey-mustached man sitting beside me with a young girl.”
-Barbara Moon-

Young people dancing — despite police efforts to stop them — at Bill Haley and the Comets’ concert at Vancouver’s Kerrisdale Arena on June 27, 1956.

Source-Vancouver Sun. Young people dancing — despite police efforts to stop them — at Bill Haley and the Comets’ concert at Vancouver’s Kerrisdale Arena on June 27, 1956.

Curious on what would of been played at the concert that caused all this hysteria? Here are some of the songs that you would of heard.

Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers-Why Do Fools Fall in Love

The Platters – You’ve got the magic touch

LaVern Baker – Jim Dandy

The Five Keys – She’s The Most I LOVE THIS SONG!

SO GOOD!!!!!!

Friends, I hope you enjoyed a look back at this outstanding and historic musical tour of 1956. If any of my readers happened to of attended this concert, whether in Toronto or somewhere else please share in the comments below! And even if you were not, who would you have been excited to have seen at the show?

FURTHER READING:

Liz

Hi everyone and welcome to my first book review! I’m very excited about this because it’s for a book that is an area of subject that I enjoy..Rockabilly Music.

I was contacted by the author Sheree Homer to see if I would mind doing a read over and review of her book ‘Dig that Beat! Interviews with Musicians at the Root of Rock ‘n’ Roll‘. I quickly jumped at the chance and after a bit of slow start due to my work schedule I was finally able to sit down and read this fantastic book.

Dig That Beat!: Interviews with Musicians at the Root of Rock 'n' Roll

About the Author:

Sheree Homer was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin. During her formative years, her mother introduced her to rock and roll, thanks to her impressive 45 rpm record collection. Sheree became a fan of Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. She discovered rockabilly music and its artists in 2001. A year later, she attended her first rockabilly festivals, the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Rockin’ 50’s Fest in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After the spectacular Stomp and graduation from the University of Wisconsin- Parkside with a degree in writing, she decided to start her own rockabilly magazine. She desired to give recognition to the forgotten foot soldiers of rock and roll. Eight issues followed. In 2006, she began writing for the largest rockabilly/roots magazine in the country, Blue Suede News. Catch That Rockabilly Fever: Stories of Life on the Road and in the Studio is her first book (Source).

Dig that Beat Overview:

Disc jockey Alan Freed coined the term “rock and roll” in the 1950s. Rooted in rockabilly, rhythm and blues, country and western, gospel, and pop, the genre was popularized by performers like Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. Rock and roll’s originators and revivalists continue to entertain crowds at roots music festivals worldwide. This book presents stories about performers’ lives on the road and in the studio, along with the stories behind popular songs. Informative biographical profiles are provided.

Foreword written by Smilin’ Jay McDowell. Thirty-nine artists are profiled: Buck Owens and his Buckaroos, Rusty York, Bobby Crown, Sleepy LaBeef, Eddie Bond, Miss Mary Ann, Lil’ Esther, Mars Attacks, Dale Hawkins, James Intveld, Rosie Flores, Janis Martin, Conway Twitty, Billy Swan, Leroy Van Dyke, Vernon Taylor, Andy Anderson, Alton and Jimmy, Eddie Angel, The Paladins, Ronnie Mack, Ray Campi, Big Jay McNeely, The Orlons, Clyde Stacy, Al Ferrier, Don Woody, Alvis Wayne, Glenn Honeycutt, Ace Cannon, Dodie Stevens, Robin Luke, Carl Dobkins, Jr., Jimmy Sutton’s Four Charms, Jai Malano, Jerry King and the Rivertown Ramblers, Billy Hancock, Junior Marvel, and Jack Baymoore.

My Review:

As a blogger who enjoys a good piece of vintage history, you can’t get any better than this book, especially if you are interested in the roots of Rock n Roll. Each section is like a mini detailed biography of each artist featured in the book and you literally FEEL like you are living in the moment being described.

Some I knew and some I will be honest I never heard of till this book and now I’m richer in knowledge for reading it. It was also really cool to see how the rockabilly/rock n roll world seemed to become smaller and smaller as you read each bio and discovered that Buddy Holly was friends with Dale Hawkins and Dale was friends with Eddie Cochran etc etc. Cool tidbits like that.

Sheree also does a great job of bringing you bios of the artists from the early days right thru to musicians of today, so that you can get a real idea of how the music is evolving and growing. Some of the modern day artists featured were Jai Malano and Lil’ Esther ( to name a few).

I actually had the pleasure of hearing Jai Malano, at VIVA a little while back with her band at the time ‘The Royal Rhythmaires’. If you want to hear a powerful voice, then you need to listen to Jai..WOW! My friend and I were in the back of the room and could not see the band come on and then all of a sudden we heard this voice that was a mix of the Blues and Soul and it instantly captivated us. We never left the dance floor that night and that record with Jai on it, is on repeat in my car.

One of my favorite sections was on Janis Martin who I have been plugging away on a blog post for a while now (I just ADORE Her). The details on her career were just marvelous and made me appreciate her music even more than I already did. There is just something about getting an insight look into their lives/careers that really changes how you listen to the music.

In the end, I 100% recommend this book as it was engaging, informative and darn right interesting. If you love Rockabilly and Rock N Roll history (or just a lover of music) then pick this book up today. AND as a special bonus at the end of the book, Sheree has painstakingly put together a selected Discography of the artists featured, so you don’t have to try to figure out what music each artist played, it is already done for you. Fantastic!

Where to buy?

Amazon

Happy reading!

Liz 🙂

Tag: rock n roll history

The Biggest Rock n Roll Show of 1956 Performed at Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

It was a 45 date tour and labelled the “Biggest Rock N Roll Show of ‘1956” featuring:

THE TOUR COMES TO TORONTO AT MAPLE LEAF GARDENS

Book Review-‘Dig That Beat! Interviews with Musicians at the Root of Rock ‘n’ Roll’