Tag: 1958

Aug292017 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Club 99: Teresa Brewer, “Pickle Up A Doodle”

Club 99: Teresa Brewer, “Pickle Up A Doodle”

Music
In Club 99, I look at songs that peaked at position #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and help to put them into context. Together we can decide if the song deserved more success or got too much. The Song: “Pickle Up A Doodle” The Artist: Teresa Brewer #99 Chart Date: September 1, 1958 I don't know that this entry necessarily counts as a novelty song, but it sure sounds like one upon first listen. The problem with making that determination is that at this point in American music history, the definition of pop music was much broader and more inclusive than it is today. So I'll let you listen and make that call yourself: Any idea? Pop? Novelty? Traditional? A little of each? It's fun no matter what you call it, albeit somewhat inconsequential. I tracked down a liv
Read More
Oct132016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Club 99: Nat King Cole, “Nothing in the World”

Club 99: Nat King Cole, “Nothing in the World”

Music
In Club 99, I look at songs that peaked at position #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and help to put them into context. Together we can decide if the song deserved more success or got too much. The Song: “Nothing in the World" The Artist: Nat King Cole #99 Chart Date: August 11, 1958 Just one week after our last entry peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100, one of the 20th century's greatest crooners grabbed the spot. And my friends, this is about as smooth and sumptuous a recording as we're likely to come across during this project. As far as I can tell, this song was actually the B-side to "Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)", released on Capitol Records F4004, which itself peaked at #41 in September 1958. In addition to Cole's smoother-than-butter vocals,
Read More
Nov142013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Top 40 Radio Killed the Radio Star?

Top 40 Radio Killed the Radio Star?

TV & Radio
It's a well-worn cliche by this point, but "the more things change, the more they stay the same" is just so appropriate for what I'm sharing with you today. It's an article called "Program Monotony -- Top 40 Menace to Industry, Says D.J.," and it's from the October 27, 1958 issue of Billboard magazine (known then as The Billboard). Click on the article for a larger version if you want to read the whole thing. In the piece, a popular DJ based out of Hartford, CT named George "Hound Dog" Lorenz laments the rise of the Top 40 radio format, with its lack of variety and its potential to harm record sales and squash new artists. One of his first complaints was probably valid then -- I wouldn't know -- and is certainly valid now. "A lot of the stations are programming 24 hours a day wit...
Read More
Aug212012 by Chris Holmes4 Comments
Retrotisements — 1958 Plymouth New Car Lineup

Retrotisements — 1958 Plymouth New Car Lineup

Featured Posts, Retrotisements
Print advertisements, brochures, and TV commercials help give us a glimpse into the automotive past. Today’s ad collection shines a spotlight on the 1958 Plymouth domestic American car lineup, which featured three main models — the Plaza, Savoy, Fury, and Belvedere -- as well as the Suburban station wagon. The full-size Belvedere, introduced in 1954, was in its third generation for '58, and was available as a 2-door hardtop, 4-door sedan, 2-door Club Sedan, and convertible. It was demoted from the top of the Plymouth line in 1956 to make room for the Fury. The Savoy, also in its fifth year of production, was Plymouth's mid-line priced vehicle. Three trims were available in 1958 -- 2-door and 4-door hardtop, and a 4-door sedan. And then there's the Plaza, which was the entry-level mod
Read More
Aug32012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
On This Date, Jehovah’s Witnesses Made Yankee Stadium History

On This Date, Jehovah’s Witnesses Made Yankee Stadium History

Ephemera, History
Here's some baseball-related trivia for you -- on August 3, 1958, the largest one-day crowd in history filled Yankee Stadium. But they weren't Yankees fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, or Whitey Ford. They were Jehovah's Witnesses attending their religion's yearly Divine Will International Assembly. Here's a vintage postcard commemorating the event. The 1958 convention was split between Yankee Stadium and the nearby Polo Grounds in Manhattan. The August 3 crowd at the House That Ruth Built numbered 123,707, a record that stood throughout the rest of the stadium's history.
Read More
Apr252012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment
Sears Catalog Highlights: Spring/Summer 1958

Sears Catalog Highlights: Spring/Summer 1958

Capsules, Ephemera, Featured Posts
I hope you enjoyed the gallery of Sears catalog covers I posted recently, because we're really going to get into it now. I've been combing through some classic catalogs of yesteryear to bring you the most interesting images of how people looked and lived back in the day. So here's some galleries from the Spring/Summer 1958 Sears catalog, arranged by area of interest. Images may take a few seconds to load. To see the full collection -- including full-size pictures -- from 1958 and other years, check out my Sears Catalog Museum. (Sorry fellas, no bras or panties in this gallery.) Women's Fashion Children's Fashion Men's Fashion Electronics & Appliances Sports & Games Home Decor Everything Else Random Neat Images
Read More