In 1954, Elvis Presley brought a different spin to the song that Bill Monroe performed as a waltz in 1946. The version Elvis performed was put onto the B side of one of his records. The A side of the record had Elvis singing "That's All Right". Country stations played Elvis' version of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" while R&B stations played "That's All Right".
The Grand Ole Opry invited Elvis to perform "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the show in 1954. It was the first and last time Elvis was invited to the Grand Ole Opry.
2. "Hey, Porter"
Answer: Johnny Cash
"Hey, Porter" was a poem Johnny wrote while on a train coming home from his Air Force deployment in Germany. He used the words of the poem as song lyrics and turned "Hey, Porter" into a 1955 song. Cash performed the song with the Tennessee Two's for Sun Records after the gospel song he wanted to record was turned down by the label for being too slow.
3. "Maybellene"
Answer: Chuck Berry
"Maybellene" was Chuck Berry's first big hit. He took the song from a tune by Bob Wills called "Ida Red". Chess Records recorded the song because they were intrigued by a black man singing hillbilly music.
4. "Blue Suede Shoes" (original rendition)
Answer: Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins wrote the song after hearing a story Johnny Cash told about a man he met in the Air Force who wore stylish clothes and blue suede shoes. The song was Carl Perkins' first hit of 1955.
5. "Crazy Arms"
Answer: Ray Price
With the introduction of "Crazy Arms", Ray Price also introduced the Ray Price Shuffle also known as the Texas Shuffle. "Crazy Arms" became Ray's first Number One hit in 1956.
6. "Bye, Bye Love"
Answer: Everly Brothers
The 1957 hit song "Bye, Bye Love" was not only the Everly Brothers' first song, but their first Number One hit. The brothers were trying to establish themselves in Nashville when country music songwriter Boudleaux Bryant gave the brothers this song that he and his wife wrote for two part harmony.
7. "El Paso"
Answer: Marty Robbins
In 1959, Marty Robbins wrote the lyrics to the song in a car while on his way from Tennessee to Arizona on Christmas. The cantina girl in the song was named after a girl Marty knew in fifth grade. A Spanish guitar was included in the song to give it a distinct sound. Marty wrote two sequels for the song. Grateful Dead added "El Paso" to their playlist.
8. "Walkin' After Midnight"
Answer: Patsy Cline
The song that was initially written for Kay Starr was given to Patsy Cline in 1957. She turned it into a Number Two hit after winning the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts on CBS.
9. "Tom Dooley"
Answer: Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio re-issued the song that was first performed in the 1920s. The song tells the story of a condemned man in 1866. It won the 1959 Grammy Award for Best Country Western performance the first year the award show aired on TV.
10. "White Lightning"
Answer: George Jones
George Jones made "White Lightning" his first Number One hit in 1959. The song was written by J.P. Richardson who passed away in a plane crash one week before Jones made the song a hit. Rumor has it that George was drunk during the recording of the song and took over eighty times before getting a version that could be used on a record. The song became known as George's theme song.
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