Little Richard: Long Tall Sally

The song was originally titled "The Thing."  As "Long Tall Sally", Little Richard's classic has been covered hundreds of times. It's a 12 bar blues tune done to a rock n roll beat. It's one of the greatest songs of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxNSvFMkag

Fats Domino: Blueberry Hill (1956)

"Blueberry Hill" dates to 1940 and Gene Autry. Louis Armstrong scored a Top 30 hit with it in 1949. Fats Domino made it a classic in 1956. Richie Cunningham adopted it on Happy Days. Vladimir Putin made it his own in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mix3gmzPa0

Elvis Presley: Blue Suede Shows (1956)

This is one of the greatest rock songs ever. Carl Perkins recorded the defining version. It had been covered several times most notably by Elvis. Scotty Moore claimed the band just went along with what Elvis felt as they recorded.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm5HKlQ6nGM

1956 in music

The first rock era began in earnest in 1955. The genre exploded dramatically the following year as Elvis Presley became the biggest artist since Frank Sinatra. Elvis was omnipresent in 1956. His talent, youth, and good looks helped expand rock’s appeal to America’s teens. Presley had four #1 singles that year and three of 1956’s top 5 hits. His appearance on Ed Sullivan was a key milestone for that generation.

#1 song of the year:

Que Sera Sera by Doris Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc

 

Elvis on Ed Sullivan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGZm7EOamWk

 

Other hits of 1956:

Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mix3gmzPa0

Hound Dog by Elvis Presley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQ8GDBA8Is

Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71fuhzYDeT4

Don’t Be Cruel by Elvis Presley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUWMSVDPdGQ

Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76We6yBnIKE

I Want You, I Need You, I Love You by Elvis Presley:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Obxq3kvnc

Be-Bop-A-Lula by Gene Vincent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDU9FP5_B2M

I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yqGujr2-Jw

Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAa8BW_sR_c

I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEV58ztuihs

Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT3kCVFFLNg

Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel (1956)

Elvis scored his first million seller and the biggest hit of 1956 with "Heartbreak Hotel." The song is based on a man's suicide. Apparently, the poor soul jumped out a hotel window after his woman left him. The song spent seven weeks at #1 on the pop charts and also hit #1 on the Country charts. Both Keith Richards and George Harrison credit "Heartbreak Hotel" with motivating their entry into rock n roll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efL17ekQZ5k

911. I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra (1956)

Cole Porter wrote "I've Got You Under My Skin" in 1936. It appeared in the musical Born to Dance that year. Sinatra adapted the song for himself in 1946, but it did not become fully Sinatra-ized until he recorded it a decade later with a band. Since '56, the song has been associated with Sinatra and is considered one of his signature works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab4VD_ll3h0

The Four Seasons scored a top 10 hit covering it in 1966.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnaeZTE7Pdo

The song re-emerged in the nineties as a duet between Sinatra and Bono from U2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL_EKEVtmSU

951. I Put A Spell On You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1956)

Hawkins wanted to write a blues ballad. Instead, he got drunk and wrote this awesomely bizarre song. He did not remember recording it, but the experience taught him he could do more by screaming than being  serious. Hawkins refined an act to go along with the song. In it, he appears as a cannibal complete with tusks and a smoking skull. The song has been covered many times. The most famous versions come from Nina Simone and Creedence Clearwater Revival. It has also been covered by Jeff Beck, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Bryan Ferry, Buddy Guy, Queen Latifah, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, and Pete Townsend with David Gilmour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orNpH6iyokI