I’ve always loved songs from the fifties. I know all the words to songs such as Bobby Darin‘s 1959 hit “Mack the Knife“, Bill Haley‘s “Rock Around the Clock” (though admittedly, that’s thanks to “Happy Days” more than anything else – but hey! Check out Dick Clark in this clip!), and “That’ll Be the Day“, by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Who can forget “Come Go with Me” by the Del Vikings“, or “Lollipop“, by The Chordettes?

Slipped in among my “American Top 40” albums, once could always find a selection of oldies records, from Bobby Sherman to Buddy Holly, from fifties compilation albums to sixties compilation albums – I loved the oldies. To this day I can remember thinking that Mr. Reber had to be the coolest fourth grade teacher ever, because the kids in his class got to sing “Little Star” by The Elegants in their class play (couldn’t find a video clip for this, but you can check out the tune here). I can’t even remember my own fourth grade class play, which goes to show you how inspirational and memorable it was…

I loved the TV shows that depicted life in the fifties, like “Happy Days” and “Laverne and Shirley” (though admittedly less so once the ladies had moved from Milwaukee to Burbank). I love movies like “Grease” (and of course I know nearly all the words to all the songs). As a teenager, I loved reading books about young people growing up in the fifties (though sadly, the names and authors escape me now). What can I say? I was a big fan of anything from the fifties.

It should probably come as no surprise, then, that I love rockabilly music, one of the earliest styles of rock and roll to emerge in the fifties. And of course, one of the masters of this genre would have to be, without the doubt, the Stray Cats. They look like throwbacks to the fifties; they (mostly) sound like throwbacks to the fifties. They are, however, pure eighties. Loved ’em.

Rock this Town
Stray Cats

Well, my baby and me went out late Saturday night
I had my hair piled high and my baby just looked so right
Well, pick you up at ten, gotta have you home at two
Mama don’t know what I got in store for you
But that’s all right ’cause we’re looking as cool as can be

Well, we found a little place that really didn’t look half bad
I had a whiskey on the rocks and change of a dollar for the jukebox
Well, I put the quarter right into that can
But all they played was disco, man
Come on, baby, baby, let’s get outta here right away

We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town
Make ’em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock, man, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop
We’re gonna rock till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out

Well, we’re having a ball just a boppin’ on the big dance floor
Well, there’s a real square cat, he looks a 1974
Well, he looked at me once, he looked at me twice
Look at me again and there’s gonna be a fight
We’re gonna rock this town
We’re gonna rip this place apart

We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town
Make ’em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock, man, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop
We’re gonna rock till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town
Rock this place apart

We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town
Make ’em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock, man, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop
We’re gonna rock till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town
Rock it inside out

Whoo!

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