Casey Kasem's "Top 40 Rock & Roll Acts of the 1950s"

[Dean F.]

In October 1975, AMERICAN TOP 40 with Casey Kasem aired a special countdown of the Top 40 Rock & Roll Acts of the '50s. Here's what was played:

#40: BILL DOGGETT (Honky Tonk, Part 2)
#39: THE CRESTS: (16 Candles)
#38: CHUCK WILLIS (C.C. Rider)
#37: THE FLEETWOODS (Come Softly to Me)
#36: FRANKIE LYMON & THE TEENAGERS (Why Do Fools Fall in Love)
#35: DION & THE BELMONTS (A Teenager in Love)
#34. THE DEL VIKINGS (Come Go With Me)
#33: JIMMY CLANTON (Just a Dream)
#32: CONWAY TWITTY (It's Only Make Believe)
#31: JIM LOWE (The Green Door)
#30: JACK SCOTT (My True Love)
#29: JACKIE WILSON (To Be Loved, Lonely Teardrops)
#28: FABIAN (Tiger)
#27: BUDDY KNOX (Party Doll)
#26: JERRY LEE LEWIS (Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On)
#25: LaVERN BAKER (Jim Dandy, I Cried a Tear)
#24: DUANE EDDY (40 Miles of Bad Road)
#23: CLYDE McPHATTER (A Lover's Question)
#22: GEORGIA GIBBS (Dance With Me Henry)
#21: THE CREW CUTS (Sh-Boom, Earth Angel)
#20: THE CHORDETTES (Lollipop)
#19: LLOYD PRICE (Personality)
#18: BUDDY HOLLY (That'll Be the Day, Peggy Sue)
#17: SAM COOKE (You Send Me, Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha)
#16: BOBBY DARIN (Splish Splash, Dream Lover)
#15: THE FONTANE SISTERS (Hearts of Stone)
#14: CHUCK BERRY (Maybellene, Sweet Little Sixteen)
#13: THE COASTERS (Yakety Yak)
#12: LITTLE RICHARD (Long Tall Sally)
#11: CONNIE FRANCIS (Who's Sorry Now)
#10: THE DIAMONDS (Little Darlin')
#9: FRANKIE AVALON (Venus)
#8: PAUL ANKA (Diana)
#7: BILL HALEY & THE COMETS (Rock Around the Clock)
#6: THE EVERLY BROTHERS (Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do Is Dream)
#5: RICKY NELSON (Be-Bop Baby, Poor Little Fool)
#4: FATS DOMINO (I'm in Love Again)
#3: THE PLATTERS (The Great Pretender)
#2: PAT BOONE (Ain't That a Shame, I Almost Lost My Mind)
#1: ELVIS PRESLEY (Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel)

[Bruce]

Casey had his head up his ass with some of these "Rock And Roll acts.

[Dean F.]

On Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 3:35:36 AM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:

> Casey had his head up his ass with some of these "Rock And Roll acts.

I don't think it was Casey so much as his statistician, but your point is well taken.

[Bruce]

Statisticians are only supposed to add up numbers......not decide who counts as "rock and roll" and who doesn't.

[Dean F.]

On Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 2:03:41 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:

> Statisticians are only supposed to add up numbers......not decide who counts as "rock and roll" and who doesn't.

In that case, you can blame Don Bustany, the show's writer and producer.

[Bruce]

Okay, Don and Casey, take these and stick them up your ass.

#31: JIM LOWE (The Green Door)

#22: GEORGIA GIBBS (Dance With Me Henry)
#21: THE CREW CUTS (Sh-Boom, Earth Angel)
#20: THE CHORDETTES (Lollipop)

#15: THE FONTANE SISTERS (Hearts of Stone)

[Dean F.]

On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 12:06:16 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:

> #15: THE FONTANE SISTERS (Hearts of Stone)

Give their inclusion, I'm surprised the McGuire Sisters didn't also make it on.

[Dean F.]

On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 12:06:16 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:

> Okay, Don and Casey, take these and stick them up your ass.

> #31: JIM LOWE (The Green Door)
> #22: GEORGIA GIBBS (Dance With Me Henry)
> #21: THE CREW CUTS (Sh-Boom, Earth Angel)
> #20: THE CHORDETTES (Lollipop)
> #15: THE FONTANE SISTERS (Hearts of Stone)
> #2: PAT BOONE (Ain't That a Shame, I Almost Lost My Mind)

So, which acts do you think would replace those six? The Champs? Danny & The Juniors? Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps? Larry Williams?

[Bruce]

Well first off, they actually are only talking about 1955-1959. If it was a REAL 1950s list there would be the Clovers, the Dominoes, Ruth Brown, and some other acts who were huge in the 1950-1954 time frame. Even just 1955-1959 should include Ray Charles and the Drifters. These schmucks only looked at the pop charts from 1955-1959.