Lost 50's Rockers From Florida

Here we have a collection of singers and musicians from a TV show called "The Velda Show" on WFGA-TV of Jacksonville Florida circa 1958. The names are unknown aside from one exception. It's assumed they were aall local amateurs, most of them are clearly young again with the same exception. The teens are reportedly from Paxon High School. It is possible some of them might have recorded for a small local label as singer Johnny Tillotson who would have a few minor hits appeared on the same show.

UNKNOWN GIRL SINGER ~ "I AIN'T GONNA WORRY";


This girl is doing a number in a Rockabilly hiccup style. While she seems a little nervous she does a good solid job here. If she is indeed a student she's clearly senior but it's eqaully possible she's a bit older and not a student at all and may actually be a semi-professional singer and she's good enough that some label might have recorded her. The song is a cover of a Gale Storm hit from a few years earlier. There is also a Mississippi Fred McDowell song with the same title from around the same time that would be covered by contemporary Skiffle bands but it's a different song.

GALE STORM ~ "I AIN'T GONNA WORRY";



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNKNOWN BAND ~ "STEEL GUITAR BOOGIE";


The band here is almost certainly Johnny Tillotson's backing band judging by the "Johnny" logo on the bass drum. They are obviously not students. They are clearly an experienced band and they have no less than three solos. The song is basically riffing on Arthur Guitar Boogie Smith's 1949 insturmental hit "Guitar Boogie". Steel guitar player Bill Echols (1930-2001) would go on to a successful career as a session musician. The other players are unknown but the studio records from Johnny Tillotson's recording session for Cadence Records that year would probably name them assuming those records survive and he used them on the session. In fact as of this writing Johnny is still alive so he might know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNKNOWN DOO WOP GROUP ~ "THE BOOK OF LOVE";

We can safely assume these guys were students. They're doing a version of the 1957 hit by the Black Doo-Wop group the Montones but it's pretty obvious their roots are not Black Doo-Wop but White vocal groups like the Four Freshmen and Four Lads and Country vocal groups like the Jordinaires and the Blackwood Brothers with their stiff four part harmonies showing no actual R&B influences and this song is probably outside their normal comfort zone. By 1958 a many of these White Vocal groups hwere trying their luck with Doo-Wop after the success the Crewcuts had had in doing so. While the older White style of harmonizing was still popular of the campuses of White schools and colleges for a little while yet however it's days as a Pop hit genre were over so it's unlikey these guys went anywhere. Note the sound cuts out halfway through.

THE MONOTONES ~ "THE BOOK OF LOVE";


Note the dramatic differences in the vocal styles between the original Montones version and the cover. It's not just that the Monotones is better, which is clearly is, but their vocal influences are completely different. One is classic R&B Doo-Wop the other is basically Barbershop Quartet. Note also that the top ten hits chart shown at the start of this video shows that not only "The Book Of Love" but also "Lollipop" and "Who's Sorry Now" were all on the charts and would also be covered on this show. These sort of opportunistic covers were not unusual at the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNKNOWN GIRL GROUP ~ "LOLLIPOP";


UNKNOWN GIRL GROUP ~ "ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM";


This group do a cover of the Chordettes 1958 Pop hit "Lollipop" and the Everly Brothers hit "All I Have To Do Is Dream" although the melody being used on the latter is also taken from an early 50's pop piano instrumental hit I can't remember the name of. Once again their influences are more from the pre-R&R era white Pop acts like the Chordettes and McQuire Sisters than R&B girl groups like the Chantells.

THE EVERLY BROS ~ "ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM";


THE CHORDETTES ~ "LOLLIOP";


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNKNOWN GIRL SINGER ~ "WHO'S SORRY NOW";


This girl looks a bit older than the others and she sings this Connie Francis hit in the style of a 1940's torch singer where the original was done in a more smooth crooning style. Mind you it would have been hard to croon this one with that out of tune piano honky tonk piano backing. The Francis version was a hit in

CONNIE FRANCIS ~ "WHO'S SORRY NOW";


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The main guest for this show was Johnny Tillotson who the same year would be signed to Cadence Records and would go on to hae some minor Pop hits into the early 1960's

JOHNNY TILLOTSON ~ "BLUE BLUE DAY";


JOHNNY TILLOTSON ~ "I'M GONNA WALK & TALK WITH MY LORD";


JOHNNY TILLOTSON ~ "SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON";


JOHNNY TILLOTSON & UNKNOWN GIRL SINGER ~ "GIVE ME A LITTLE KISS";


The material here ranges from a R&R ballad, a C&W ballad, a Country Gospel song and a Pop duo. He's using the teens from the previous numbers as backing vocal groups but the girl he's doing the duet is not from the earlier songs and seems to be a professional who is used to working with him. Maybe he remembers her name. Tillotson would have hits into the R&R era but he was always more of a Pop Teen Idol than a Rockabilly singer.

JOHNNY TILLOTSON ~ "TALK BACK TEMBLING LIPS";


JOHNNY TILLOTSON ~ "EARTH ANGEL";