BARRY LEVINE: Emotions separate modern rock from classics

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of a two-part series on the differences between early rock ‘n’ roll and today’s music. The first part appeared in The Albany Herald on Nov. 23.

One of the differences from the early years of the modern rock ‘n’ roll era to current-day music is emotions. It was common for early songs to grab a listener’s heartstrings with words like “crying,” “lonely” and “tears.” Those words in today’s music have been replaced by “hate,” “violence” and “negativity.”

Here are some of the songs from the initial phase of the modern rock era with the word “tears” or a derivative of the word in the title.

Lee Andrews & The Hearts, an R&B quartet from Philadelphia, had one of the early “tears” hits during the modern rock ‘n’ roll era when “Tear Drops” rose to No. 20 on the Pop chart and No. 4 on the R&B chart in 1957. This was the group‘s biggest hit.

Little Anthony & The Imperials experienced immediate success when their first release. “Tears on My Pillow” in 1958 reached No. 4 and No. 2 on the Pop and R&B charts, respectively, and sold more than 1 million copies. Among their other big hits were “Goin’ out of My Head” and “Hurt So Bad” in 1964. The quartet was one of the few Doo-Wop groups to maintain success on the R&B and Pop charts during the 1960s.

After a brief stint with Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Jackie Wilson went solo in 1957 and became one of the greatest singers and performers of that generation. Nicknamed “Mr. Excitement,” he had his first Top 10 hit in 1959 when “Lonely Teardrops” climbed to No. 7 on the Pop chart No. 1 on the R&B chart. The song, one of his 20 Top 40 hits, turned Wilson into an R&B superstar. “Lonely Teardrops” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked the tune 315th on its list of the “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Formed in 1953 to serve as a backup group for Clyde McPhatter of Billy Ward and his Dominoes, The Drifters amassed 18 Top 40 hits. One of those was “I Count the Tears” in 1960. Although not one of the group’s biggest hits, “I Count the Tears” reached No. 17 and No. 6 on the Pop and R&B charts, respectively. Ben E. King served as the Drifters’ lead singer on this tune.

Notching 27 Top 40 hits after “Who’s Sorry Now,” her first major smash, reached No. 4 in 1957, Connie Francis had 12 more Top 10 hits including “Many Tears Ago,” which rose to No. 7 in 1960. Francis and Georgia’s Brenda Lee were the biggest female solo artists before the British Invasion.

Co-written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, “As Tears Go By” was released as a single by London native Marianne Faithfull in 1964 and it peaked at No. 22. She had a few other hit songs, but none charted higher than “As Tears Go By.” The Rolling Stones later covered the song in 1965. The tune failed to chart.

The Smokey Robinson-led Miracles had two hit with tears in the title.

“Tears of a Clown” hit No. 1 on the Pop and R&B charts in 1970, the group’s only chart topper. The Miracles began recording in 1958, and it took until 1970 to notch their first No. 1. In 1965, the Motown group had a Top 20 hit on the Pop chart with “Tracks of My Tears.” The tune rose to No. 2 on the R&B chart.

One of the 1960s’ most successful R&B groups, the Miracles had 26 Top 40 hits, seven of which climbed into the Top 10.

? & The Mysterians had only one major hit, but “96 Tears” was a smash, jumping to No. 1 in 1966. The group leader’s real name is Rudy Martinez. The Garage Rock Band could not duplicate its initial success and had only one other Top 40 hit, “I Need Somebody,” which reached No. 22 in 1966.

This week in rock history

“Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford topped the charts on Nov. 26, 1955, becoming the fastest selling single in recording industry history to that juncture.

Patsy’ Cline’s rendition of Willie Nelson’s tune “Crazy” peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100 on Nov. 27, 1961. It would be the biggest of her four records to cross over to the Pop charts from the Country charts, where it reached No. 2.

The Shangri-Las’ teen-trouble classic “Leader of the Pack” topped the Hot 100 on Nov. 28, 1964.

The Beatles had their 18th chart topper with the double-sided hit “Come Together/Something” on Nov. 29, 1969.

The Beach Boys’ “In My Room” cracked the Top 40 on Nov. 30, 1963. Although the song would climb only to No. 23, it would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

“The Ed Sullivan Show” was rockin’ on Dec. 1, 1957, when it featured appearances by three of the hottest young acts. Buddy Holly & The Crickets played “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” Sam Cooke sang his No. 1 smash, “You Send Me,” and The Rays performed what would prove to be their biggest hit, “Silhouettes.”

Barry “The Old Rocker” Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].