Naming Girls and Boys
Barbara Ann
I Want to be Bobby’s Girl
Johnny Angel
Oh, Donna
Wake Up, Little Susie
Heartbreak Love Songs
Crying in the Chapel
Heartbreak Hotel
I Cried Over You
I Never Felt Like Singing the Blues
Lonely Teardrops
Foolish Love
Fool in Love
Fools Rush In
Poor Little Fool
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Angels and Devils
(nothing in between?)
Angels Listening
Devil in Blue Jeans
Devil or Angel
Earth Angel
Pretty Little Angel
Women as Babes, Goddesses,
and Perfection
Come on, Baby, Let the Good Times
Roll
Eighth Wonder of the World
Goddess From Above
Take Good Care of My Baby
Venus
Some songs were narratives—a story told like
“Tell Laura I Love Her” about a teen in a drag
race trying to win the prize to buy a ring for
Laura. He dies. In a different vein, a humorous
record involved a race between a Cadillac
and a Nash Rambler with a twist ending. Not
appropriate today would be the
story of “Running Bear.”
“El Paso” tells a story
of an ill-fated
cowboy who
dies on the
doorstep of a cantina as he tries to reach his
Mexican sweetheart.
Of course, we could never forget the background
chorus and absurd lyrics in many recordings
of the time. “Tutti Frutti, Oh Rudy” begins one
chorus “Bop bopa-a-lu a whop bam boo.”
“Only the Lonely” cries “dum-dumb-dummy
doo-wah” and “Ooh yay, yay, yay, yeah;” “My Girl
Lollipop” “makes my heart go giddy up;” “The
Lion Sleeps Tonight” with its “a-weema-weh,
a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh;”
and many more such pieces with their ya, ya, yas,
doo wop wops, and oh, oh, ohs.
I met my husband at a high school ‘hop’ and
with his recent passing, these songs have become
particularly poignant. We were married for fifty-
seven years and during those years shared many
humorous memories of the music that brought us
together in our teens. ●
news&views SPRING 2019 | 47