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Teenage Tragedies
''Teenage Tragedies'' (aka ''Teenage Tragedy'') is a compilation album of teen tragedy songs released on Rhino Entertainment, Rhino Records in 1984. Release data The album was conceived and compiled by Rhino Records co-founder Richard Foos. Boasting some "of the bossest splatter platters ever recorded," the album collects 10 examples of the teenage tragedy song including parodies of the genre. Most are from the late 1950s and early 1960s, with one track from the MTV era. Chart positions for each song, noted next to the track listing on the back cover, list eight of the selections as Top 10 hits (two of which went to No. 1) at the time of their original release. The grisly "I Want My Baby Back" (also included on ''The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records'' in 1983) made the lower reaches of the ''Billboard magazine, Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965. The last song on the album, Julie Brown's "Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun," was first independently released as a B-side in late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teenage Tragedy Song
A teenage tragedy song is a style of ballad in popular music that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Examples of the style are also known as "tear jerkers", "death discs" or "splatter platters", among other colorful sobriquets coined by DJs that then passed into vernacular as the songs became popular. Often lamenting teenage death scenarios in melodramatic fashion, these songs were usually sung from the viewpoint of the dead person's sweetheart, as in "Last Kiss" (1961), or another witness to the tragedy, or the dead (or dying) person. Other examples include " Teen Angel" by Mark Dinning (1959), "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson (1960), " Ebony Eyes" by the Everly Brothers (1961), "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean (1964), and "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las (1964). The genre's popularity faded around 1965 (as a mostly American phenomenon, it was one of many musical formats that were drowned out by the British Invasion), but inspired a host of sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the sixth-highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017. In the 1850s, under Joseph Medill, the ''Chicago Tribune'' became closely associated with the Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln, and the Republican Party's progressive wing. In the 20th century under Medill's grandson, Robert R. McCormick, it achieved a reputation as a crusading paper with a decidedly more American-conservative anti-New Deal outlook, and its writing reached other markets through family and corporate relationships at the ''New York Daily News'' and the ''Washington Times-Herald.'' The 1960s saw its corporate parent owner, Tribune Company, rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Kiss
"Last Kiss" is a song released by Wayne Cochran in 1961 on the Gala label. It failed to do well on the charts. Cochran subsequently re-recorded his song for the King label in 1963. It was revived by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, who took it to number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts. Wednesday, Pearl Jam, and several international artists also covered the song, with varying degrees of success. The song was one of several teen tragedy songs from that period. The song's opening lyrics mirror the opening lyrics of Septimus Winner's "Der Deitcher's Dog". Background The song was supposedly based on the true story of Jeanette Clark and J.L. Hancock, who were both 16 years old when their car hit a tractor-trailer on a road in rural Barnesville, Georgia. The problem is that the song was recorded more than a year before the accident supposedly happened. Clark and Hancock were on a date a few days before Christmas in 1962. A local gas station attendant helping with the reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dickey Lee
Royden Dickey Lipscomb (born September 21, 1936), known professionally as Dickey Lee (sometimes misspelled Dickie or Dicky), is an American pop/country singer and songwriter, best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs " Patches" and "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)". He also has a number of hit songs on the country charts in the 1970s, including "Rocky" and " 9,999,999 Tears", and has written or co-written songs recorded by other singers, such as "She Thinks I Still Care", "The Door Is Always Open" and "The Keeper of the Stars". Career Lee formed a country trio while he was still at school at the age of 16, performing at his school and local functions. In 1957–58, Lee made his first two recordings, "Dream Boy" and "Stay True Baby", in his hometown of Memphis for Tampa Records, later released two songs for Sun Records in, although the song were only regional hits. He moved to Texas, and achieved his first chart success in 1962, when his composition "She Thinks I Still Care" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patches (Dickey Lee Song)
"Patches" is a song written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber and performed by Dickey Lee. The song was produced by Bill Hall and Jack Clement. It was featured on his 1962 album ''The Tale of Patches''. It reached No. 6 on the U.S. pop chart and No. 10 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1962. The song ranked No. 74 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1962. Background Dickey Lee recorded "Patches" in a studio built by Jack Clement in Beaumont, Texas. Clement had come across the song written by Mann and Kolber while he was working for Chet Atkins at RCA, and he and Bill Hall produced the song for Lee. The song was initially released in the fall of 1961, however, the song was met with resistance from radio stations who refused to play the song as it dealt with teen suicide, and it failed to enter any chart for four months. Hall persisted to try to get a small radio station in Beaumont, Texas, to play the song. When it did, the song was received enthusiastically by the audience, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Great Big Kiss", and in particular, "Leader of the Pack" which went to #1 in the US in late 1964. Early career The group was formed at Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, a neighborhood in Queens, New York City, in 1963. The group was two pairs of sisters: Mary Weiss (lead singer) (born December 28, 1948) and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss (born November 27, 1946), and identical twins Marguerite "Marge"/"Margie" Ganser (February 4, 1948 – July 28, 1996) and Mary Ann Ganser (February 4, 1948 – March 14, 1970). They began playing school shows, talent shows, and teen hops; Artie Ripp heard about them and arranged the group's first record deal with Kama Sutra. Their first recording in December 1963 was "Simon Says", later issued ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leader Of The Pack
"Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as a popular cultural example of a "teenage tragedy song". The song was covered in 1985 by the heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who had a more modest hit with their version (no. 57 in the US). Background and composition The tune of "Leader of the Pack" is credited to pop impresario George "Shadow" Morton together with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. According to Morton, he wrote the song for the Goodies (also known as the Bunnies), but instead it was needed as a follow-up to the Shangri-Las hit "Remember (Walking in the Sand)". Lyrical content The song is about a girl named Betty, who is asked by friends to confirm that she is dating Jimmy, the leader of a motorcycle gang, whose ring they see on Betty's finger. After singing of love at firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Peterson
Ray Peterson (April 23, 1935 – January 25, 2005) was an American pop singer who is best remembered for singing "Tell Laura I Love Her". He also scored numerous other hits, including "Corrine, Corrina" which was composed especially for Corina Strimbanu from Edineț, Republic of Moldova, and "The Wonder of You." Career Ray T. Peterson was born in Denton, Texas on April 23, 1935. At the time of his death, sources gave 1939 as his year of birth. As a boy he had polio. Having a four-octave singing voice, Peterson moved to Los Angeles, California, where he was signed to a recording contract with RCA Victor in 1958. He recorded several songs that were minor hits until "The Wonder of You" made it into the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on June 15, 1959. The song also did well in Australia, stopping at #9 on its chart. The song would later be recorded by Elvis Presley, with whom Peterson became friends. Peterson scored a Top 10 hit with the teenage tragedy song, "Tell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tell Laura I Love Her
"Tell Laura I Love Her" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Later that same year, it was recorded and released by Ricky Valance in the United Kingdom, where it went to the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart. The song has been a hit in 14 countries, and has sold over seven million copies. Content The song tells the tragic story from a witness' perspective of a young man named Tommy who is in love with Laura and wants to marry her, so he enters a stock car race, despite being the youngest and most inexperienced driver, hoping to win and use the prize money to buy Laura a wedding ring. The second verse tells how his car overturns and bursts into flames. Tommy is fatally injured and his last words are "Tell Laura I love her... My love for her will never die". In the final verse, Laura prays inside the chapel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Dinning
Max Edward Dinning (August 17, 1933 — March 22, 1986), known by his stage name Mark Dinning was an American pop music singer. In February 1960, the song " Teen Angel", written by his sister Jean (Eugenia) and her husband Red Surrey, reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. Jean and two of her sisters, Virginia and Lucille, comprised The Dinning Sisters, a popular singing trio in the 1940s. Additionally, Dinning is the uncle of Dean Dinning, bass guitarist for alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket. Biography Dinning was born in Manchester, Oklahoma, the youngest of nine children, and was raised on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee, after his family relocated from Kansas. He followed his sisters and pursued a career in country music and, in 1957, record producer Wesley Rose signed him to a recording contract as Mark Dinning. His recording efforts met with limited success until 1959, when "Teen Angel" became a hit. The lyrics, which told of the death ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teen Angel (song)
"Teen Angel" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jean Dinning and her husband, Red Surrey. It was performed by Jean's brother, Mark Dinning, and released in October 1959. The record was not an instant success, with some radio stations in the U.S. banning the song, considering it too sad. Nevertheless, despite the reluctance of radio stations, the song continued to climb the charts. In the last week of 1959, the single jumped from #100 to #50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It went on to reach #1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (February 1960) and #37 in the UK Singles Chart (even though it was banned from being played by the BBC). ''Billboard'' ranked it as the #5 song of 1960. Storyline The song is about a girl and her boyfriend (the song's narrator) who go out for a ride together. He pulls her to safety when their car is stalled on a railroad track in the path of an oncoming train. But then she runs back to the car, and is killed in the collision. When her body ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jody Reynolds
Ralph Joseph "Jody" Reynolds (December 3, 1932 – November 7, 2008) was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose song "Endless Sleep" was a major U.S. top-ten hit in the summer of 1958. His follow-up single, "Fire of Love", peaked at only No. 66 on the Billboard chart, but the song went on to become a blues-punk classic after being covered by the MC5 and the Gun Club. Reynolds was a regular on the "oldies" circuit and a successful businessman in the U.S. Southwest. Beginning in the 1980s several compilations of his music were issued in the U.S. and Europe, and he enjoyed modest acclaim as a pioneer of rockabilly music. In 1999, Reynolds was honored with both a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California, and induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Life and career Ralph Joseph Reynolds was born in Denver, Colorado, United States, and was raised in the small town of Shady Grove, Oklahoma. Inspired by Western Swing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
