Rock Instrumentals 1956 - 1960 Quiz

Answer: Johnny & The Hurricanes

The first big hit for Johnny and the Hurricanes, "Crossfire" made number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1959. The recording did not chart in the UK but made it to number 26 on the Australian charts in 1959.

Answer: Duane Eddy

"Forty Miles of Bad Road" was Duane Eddy's seventh chart hit of the fifties. Duane had eleven chart entries from March 1958 through December 1959.
"Forty Miles of Bad Road" was a top ten hit for Duane rising to number five on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK it reached number eleven and made the top twenty in Australia.

Answer: Bill Justis - Ernie Freeman

"Raunchy" hit number two (Justis) and number four (Freeman) on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957 (number one on the Cashbox chart), for both Ernie Freeman and Bill Justis.

Ernie Freeman was a pianist, arranger and producer who worked on many recordings from the early fifties. Ernie played piano on the Platters' "Great Pretender" in 1956. He was instrumental (pardon the pun) in getting drummer Earl Palmer and Sax man Plas Johnson to come to the west coast where they became integral members of the studio musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew". Ernie won Grammys for his arranging on Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Waters".

Bill Justis was a saxophonist, composer and arranger/conductor, working at Sun Records in Memphis where he arranged songs for Johnny Cash, Jerry lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. In 1957 he wrote and recorded "Raunchy" which is credited with being the first top ten Rock instrumental. In 1963 his recording of a tune called "Tamoure" hit number one on the Australian charts.

"Raunchy" also hit the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957 for Billy Vaughn.
In the UK Bill Justis hit the number eleven spot. In Australia only the Ernie Freeman version charted making it to number ten.

Answer: Johnny & The Hurricanes

Johnny and The Hurricanes' second chart hit of 1959, "Red River Rock" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The group's success continued overseas making number five on the British charts and number four on the Australian charts.
Johnny and the Hurricanes' success was cemented in Australia in 1960 when they toured with Tommy Sands, Neil Sedaka, Dion and the Belmonts, Dick Caruso, Jerry lee Lewis, Rod Lauren, Freddy Cannon, Marv Johnson, Mark Dinning, Chan Romero and Johnny Preston. As a thirteen year old I remember the show well; each act came on and sang or played one or two songs. Tommy Sands was the headliner so came on last, the promoters stupidly put Jerry Lee on just before him so when the Killer finished his set he stood and pushed the upright piano over. It took half an hour to clean up the stage so Tommy could perform.
And I digress, Johnny and the Hurricanes stood out for me as I had visions of being a rock 'n roll guitarist and I liked their guitarist Dave Yorko. The group continued to have some chart success in the early sixties then hit the oldies circuit.

Answer: Dave "Baby" Cortez

Dave "Baby" Cortez topped the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1959 with "The Happy Organ". The song charted well around the world, making the top ten in Germany Sweden and The Netherlands, it did not chart in the UK. The record was a top ten hit in Australia and New Zealand. Cortez hit the top ten again in 1962 with "Rinky Dink". "The Happy Organ" has the distinction of being the first 'Rock' instrumental to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: The Champs

The Champs had a string of hits in the late 1950s through the mid 1960s. "Tequila" was by far their biggest hit and their signature tune. The record hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-March 1958, holding that spot for five weeks. In Australia and the UK "Tequila" was a top ten hit. The Champs had two other top ten hits in Australia where we loved instrumentals, "Too Much Tequila", 1960, and "Limbo Rock" in 1962.

Interestingly The Champs originally recorded "Limbo Rock" but the song, written by session guitarist Billy Strange, received a new life and became a million seller for Chubby Checker (and started another dance craze) with updated lyrics by Karl Mann in the latter part of 1962.

Answer: Link Wray

Link Wray was a Rock 'n' Roll pioneer guitarist. After serving in the US army in Korea Link started playing in country style groups but quickly crossed over to the burgeoning sound of rock n roll. His 1958 hit "Rumble" was the first use of 'power chords' which became a staple in bands from the mid sixties onward. Link Wray released numerous singles and over 40 albums during his long career.

Answer: Sandy Nelson

"Teen Beat" recorded by drummer Sandy Nelson in 1959 reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
The record made the top ten in the UK, peaking at number nine. In Australia the record failed to chart despite much airplay, this was compensated when his 1961 release "Let There Be Drums" topped the Aussie chart. The guitarist on "Teen Beat" was Richie Polodor who often collaborated with Sandy Nelson and later became producer for Three Dog Night.

Answer: Santo and Johnny

"Sleepwalk" or "Sleep Walk" was a number one hit for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. These New York born Italian Americans charted again in 1959 with "Tear Drop". "Sleep Walk" hit number two in Australia and number 21 in the UK charts.

Answer: Ernie Fields

Ernie Fields was a musician, arranger and record producer in the late fifties and early sixties in and around Los Angeles. in 1959 with some studio musicians he released a rock version of Glenn Miller's "In The Mood". Credited to The Ernie Fields Orchestra the record went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the UK the record reached number fifteen and in Australia it made the top ten peaking at number five. The song generated interest in the original recording by Glenn Miller so much that the tune was rereleased with "American Patrol" on the flipside and it made the top forty again twenty years after its original release.

Answer: Duane Eddy

"Rebel Rouser" was the first of many top forty chart entries for Duane Eddy and became his signature tune. "Rebel Rouser" made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 peaking at number six. The song made the UK chart peaking at nineteen and down under the record peaked at number nine.

"Rebel Rouser" was an accidental hit as Dick Clark as per the record company's wishes was promoting the flipside "Stalkin'" at a record hop. He ran out of songs so turned all the 45s over and played the flipsides. Legend has it that he was asked to play "Rebel Rouser" four more times that night and the rest is history.

The week that "Rebel Rouser" peaked at number six was August 4 1958; this was the week Billboard combined all their pop charts and created the Hot 100.
The top ten that week was, from one to ten:

1 "Poor Little Fool"- Ricky Nelson,
2 "Patricia" - Perez Prado,
3 "Splish Splash" - Bobby Darin,
4 "Hard Headed Woman" - Elvis Presley,
5 "When" - The Kalin Twins,
6 "Rebel Rouser" - Duane Eddy,
7 "Yakety Yak" - The Coasters,
8 "My True Love" - Jack Scott,
9 "Willie and the Hand Jive" - The Johnny Otis Show
10 "Fever" - Peggy Lee.

All of that top ten are now considered classics.

Answer: The Applejacks

"Mexican Hat Rock" was a rocking version of the "Mexican Hat Dance" by the Applejacks.
The record made it to number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made the top twenty in Australia; it had no chart success in the UK. The Applejacks were from Philadelphia and were studio musicians led by Dave Appel. Dave Appel was a musician, songwriter, producer and arranger, he worked with Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann and was heavily involved in the early careers of Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker.

Answer: The Virtues

"Guitar Boogie Shuffle" by The Virtues made it to number fiver on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. The tune is a reworking of the Arthur Smith-written "Guitar Boogie" from 1948 which was a top ten Country hit. The Virtues turned it into a rock instrumental and as such had top ten chart success.

The Virtues got to number twelve on the Australian chart. In the UK the record did not chart however local guitar hero of the fifties, Bert Weedon, recorded the song and had a top ten hit. "Guitar Boogie" or "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" has been recorded by numerous artists, including Roy Clark, Glen Campbell, Chuck Berry, The Shadows, Tommy Emanuel and The Ventures.

Answer: The Ramrods

"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" was recorded and released by Connecticut group The Ramrods in late 1960; it charted in early 1961 and rose to thirty on the Billboard Hot 100. The record went to number eight in the UK and number forty two in Australia. The song was written by park ranger Stan Jones and was originally recorded by Burl Ives, the million selling version followed as recorded by Vaughan Monroe in 1949.

The song has been recorded by many diverse artists, among them Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Duane Eddy, Peggy Lee, The Shadows, and Marty Robbins to name a few.

Answer: Bill Haley and His Comets

"Joey's Song" reached number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100; the song did make number one in Australia for eight weeks from December 1959 through the end of January 1960. Although the famous "Rock Around the Clock" was successfully re-released in 1964 and 1974, "Joey's Song" was the last of their hits.

The record did not chart in the UK. Oddly, for all of the group's pioneering records and being cited as the instigators of Rock 'n' Roll, Australia is the only country where Bill Haley and His Comets had two number one hits.