The ninetieth song: It's Only Make Believe - Conway Titty
Although Conway Twitty started his career in part through Elvis Presley, he sticks (in this song at least) to slower country tunes. Not as swinging, more barbershop, the song sounds good but won't get you going wild. Of course, the lyrics aren't conductive to this either, the story of a man in a relationship with a girlfriend who doesn't love him, seeming as painful as it sounds.
The ninety-first song: Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
So this song went into space, an indication of how much it got into the USA's concious. This song has the standard rock sound, the guitars and vocals are all there. It sounds good and engaging. Even outside teh socail implications, this song about a boy becoming a famous guitar player feels right.
The ninety-second song: Move It! - Cliff Richard & The Drifters
I suppose this shows how much more difficult it was for music to travel at the time. In isolation, this song does start off sounding as if we have an Elvis Presley rip-off - and indeed, part of the success in Great Britain came from Cliff Richard being British. It also takes from the musical elements as well, basically being a song saying it's going to introduce rock & roll to you (as derived from country).
The ninety-third song; La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
Here's an example of how rock & roll started to influence other genres. Sitting somewhere between rock and flamenco (and other Latin-American music styles). It sounds good and works well as a mix of the two, adding a welcome note of upbeatness to what can be a darker sounding genre.
The ninety-fourth song: Yakety Yak - The Coasters
Back to doo wop - a bit less rock now. This is mostly a comedy song of sorts - a parent admonishing their kids to do the chores, and the teen's dislike of it and passive defiance. It's basic, but fun to listen to, and the music is put together well to create the effect.
The ninety-fifth song: At the Hop - Danny & The Juniors
The piano here grabs you immediately. By now, this oddly feels like a slight step back again, with doo wop influences creeping back in and slightly less focus on instruments and (most notably) no noticeable guitar. It's also clearly part of a song aimed at a younger demographic and their dancing - singing about going to the record hop, basically a dance place. It's fair enough at that, and creates a cheerful refrain, but doesn't have a lot of substance to it, either musically or in its vocals.
The ninety-sixth song: Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price
A bit of a turn - not only no more rock, but also a story about a murder rather than going to a dance party. It sounds good, with a great arrangement behind it and finding something aggresively loud in it. It's dark, but simultaneously sounds a bit exuberant, an interesting contrast in the song.
The ninety-seventh song: Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
So we've had the sexual rock & roll from Elvis Presley and the party atmosphere of, say, Danny & the Juniors, but one other part of it that influenced a lot of people was the rebellious attitude. Eddie Cochran shows that, and it comes through in the song. It's happy on some level, but also has a more annoyed sound, at one time commenting about being too young to vote. It sounds good, raw as it should be, and I was annoyed there wasn't another verse at the end.
The ninety-eighth song: Dans mon ile - Henry Salvador
Moving on from rock for a while to some other genres. The chanson tradition is not one to be ignored (and we have some Sinatra to link to that later). It's slow, soft and relaxing. The music puts you in a mood (the word 'tranquile' popping up a few times, describing the feeling well). Sure, a lot fo the time this would be backgorund music, but it's good background music here. It's lovely.
The ninety-ninth song: Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson
While there's an element of Elvis wannabeness in Ricky Nelson's vocals, this is the first song where he went for a more mournful sound. The more I listen to it, the more it's there (and looking at the album cover, it seems like you could have gotten lost in his eyes listening to this). The story of a town where broken hearts go, he sweeps you along in the gentle trek there.
The one hundredth song: Fever - Peggy Lee
There's a simple arrangement to this song, mostly relying on Peggy Lee's amazing vocals instead. As a love song, it creates a slightly sultry, slightly attractive atmosphere whose comparisons work well to create a wonderful atmosphere. It's a lounge song, but one that works incredibly well here. The drums add to the arrangement - and effectively so - but it's an exercise in enchanting minimalism.
The one hundred and first song: One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) - Frank Sinatra
Setting Frank Sinatra down as the master of ballads, the sad song isn't just executed well on a musical level. Sinatra puts in a performance here, going quiet as the 'story' demands it, speaking up occasionally to put emphasis on sections of the song. Getting drunk to forget a former love is a well known and well worn theme, and one that Sinatra inhabitats (and, I guess, experienced). An amazing feat.
The one hundred and second song: Le poinconneur des Lilas - Serge Gainsbourg
Again somewhat different - closest to linking back to Yakety Yak, but a lot darker as Serge Gainsbourg talks of the boredom of a train conductor clipping tickets, to the point where it has him consider suicide. That doesn't sound like it would lead to an upbeat song, but it does. There's a certain edge to French that makes it work better here than it would do in other languages, creating an urgency that makes you push past all of it. It's moving, and sounds well as it does. Really good fun.
The one hundred and third song: Nel blu dipinto di blu - Domenico Modugno
Probably our first Eurovision song, this song is better known as Volare. It's a happy chanson, Modugno being the first Italian chansonnier and making an impact here. It's nicely catchy, but doesn't quite hit the right things for me, sounding a bit plain. Well done on a technical sense, with some nice touches, but feeling a bit dated now.
The one hundred and fourth song: All I Have to Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers
"So that's what that song is called!". Although apparently the Everly Brothers were more rock & roll focused, this is a bit slower than the standard rock song - setting the stage for these genres to almost be created. It sounds lovely, the harmonies working really well. It's sweet, but somehow the composition works well enough to make sure it doesn't go too far (although the "gee whiz" feels out of date now). A nice smooth song, early pop, that stands on its own quite well.
The one hundred and fifth song: To Know Him Is to Love Him - The Teddy Bears
A sweet and soft song, somewhat sad, sounds like a fairly straight forward love song. It doesn't do anything complicated, but is executed really well and sounds quite enjoyable. A nice, well crafted piece of music.