It was the mid-1950s, the early days of Rock and Roll, Bill Haley & the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis were exploding on the charts. The Fontane Sisters, backed by a skilled combo of rock musicians led by Billy Vaughn, was one of the few acts to transition successfully into the new energy-charged medium. First singing backup with Perry Como on a number of popular hits, were offered their own contract with RCA based on that success. In the early 50s they recorded some novelty songs like "If I knew you were comin' I'd've Baked A Cake," and country songs like "The Tennessee Waltz," "Walkin' The Floor Over You," "Cold, Cold Heart" and "Handsome Stranger" with the Sons of the Pioneers. "Till Then" in 1954 was their last recording for RCA, and they really hit their stride on Dot Records, with a cover of The Charms' "Hearts of Stone," which was #1 on the charts for 3 weeks. A succession of major hit records, many of them covers from the rhythm and blues charts dominated the airwaves and jukeboxes throughout the remainder of the 50s, the Sisters fading from view in the new decade. Some more favorites are "Mexican Joe," "Mississippi Mud," "Makin' Like a Train," "the Popcorn Song" (featuring Howdy Doody), "Alabama Jubilee," "The Cinderella Work Song," "The Fortune Teller Song," "The Bumpity Bus," "Down Home Rag," "The Turtle Song" "I Get the Blues When It Rains," and "Rhumba Boogie," but we could go on. There are 60, all band-accompanied songs on this 2 CD set, silly, schmaltzy, country, rock, pop, blues-it all adds up to tremendous fun stuff from the crazy 1950s! Extensive, interesting liner notes with pix and history. |
