Record of the Year Revisited: 1954

Original Record of the Year: Crew Cuts - Sh-Boom

It's not the original version of "Sh-Boom" but it was the best version to chart with the other version being a comedy one.

For the first time I'd picked a record I properly liked. I've looked through the list of other hits from 1954 and listened to a few to see if there was anything better.

There wasn't, this is easily the best record of 1954 and I'm sure I won't change my mind in 10 years time either.

Record of the Year 1955: Crew Cuts - Earth Angel

Originally I decided that as a rule when picking my record of the year, I would not pick the same artist twice. However, there isn't another record I know from 1955 that's anywhere near as good as "Earth Angel" and at the same time, I can't think of a record anywhere near as good as "Sh Boom" in 1954.

I first heard "Earth Angel" when I watched the Temptations movie. It was early on in the film when it was covering Otis Williams and a singing group in his school days, who were singing it a cappella in the street.

The original was by the Penguins, but this was the only version which charted in the UK. It reached number 4 and remained in the charts for 20 weeks.

So both of the Crew Cuts hit singles make my record of the year. Not bad.

Record of the Year 1954: Crew Cuts - Sh Boom

My record of the year for 1954 is the Crew Cuts - Sh Boom. This was originally recorded by the Chords the same year but did not chart in the UK. There was another cover of this song which charted in 1954 but Stan Freberg, but this was a comedy version so this is why I've picked the Crew Cuts version.

This is the sort of song I would imagine appealing to a younger audience much more than the traditional pop music which had dominated the charts to date. Generally speaking the music of the early 50s isn't really my cup of tea but this is a record I can definitely say is good.

It was a number one in both the USA and Australia but in the UK it reached number 12, but this was when the charts had expanded to the top 20. It also charted higher than the Stan Freberg version which got to number 15.

The Crew Cuts would carry on as a group until 1964, but they only had one further hit in the UK with Earth Angel the following year.