Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots
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"Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" is a song by
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...
. Recorded by
The Cheers The Cheers were an American vocal group, that had a string of novelty hits for Capitol Records in the mid-1950s starting with "(Bazoom) I Need Your Lovin'" which hit number fifteen on the U.S. chart in 1954. This was the first hit written by Jerry ...
, it went to #6 on the ''Billboard'' Best Selling singles chart in the fall of 1955, becoming Leiber and Stoller's first top ten pop hit. Veteran performer
Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...
covered the record, going to #38 on the Billboard charts; the song also rose to a top-10 chart appearance on the ''Cash Box'' chart (which counted songs, not records, and thus counted all
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of a song as one). In 1956, French chanteuse
Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...
recorded a French translation of the song titled "L'Homme à la moto," which became one of her biggest selling singles. The song tells the story of a motorcycle rider, described as "the terror of Highway 101," and his loyal but oft-neglected girlfriend Mary Lou. In the song she pleads with him not to ride one night: "I've got a feeling if you ride tonight I'll grieve" she tells him, but he ignores her and "hit a screamin' diesel that was California bound." When investigators arrive at the scene of the collision, they find no trace of the motorcycle or rider except for his clothes. Featuring a catchy tune and the chorus of "He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back," the song was the second big hit for the Cheers, after "Bazoom (I Need Your Lovin')." It was also the first song to chart about motorcycles and the "new" motorcyclists, earning it the reputation as the first biker song. Its popularity coincided with the death of
teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...
James Dean in an automobile crash in the week following the record's release, and the disappearance and presumed death of the song's subject made the song an important forerunner of the
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 sobriquet ...
phenomenon that emerged in the early 1960s. Tom Armstrong, "Long Live the Teenage Tragedy Song", ''Sabotage Times'', October 8, 2014
Retrieved 19 September 2016
The sound of a bell warning of an oncoming train at a railroad crossing can be heard in the song's middle and end. This song is excerpted in the Buchanan and Goodman novelty single "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial" (1956). This song was also recorded by Canadian group
The Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...
for the
Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head of ...
label; the Diamonds later achieved fame later with "
Little Darlin' "Little Darlin'" is a popular Top 40 song, made famous by the Diamonds. The Gladiolas' version It was written by Maurice Williams with both melody and doo-wop accompaniment strongly emphasizing the clave rhythm. It was first recorded by ...
." In 1994,
Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
recorded a new version of the song. It has also been recorded by
Joan Morris Joan Morris (born February 10, 1943) is an American mezzo-sopranoProfile
, bolcomandmorris. ...
and
William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
, and has become a staple of their concert repertoire. In 1959,
Dodie Stevens Dodie Stevens (born Geraldine Ann Pasquale, February 17, 1946) is an American rock and pop singer. She is best known for her 1959 song " Pink Shoe Laces." It debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 when Stevens was one day short of 13 yea ...
became famous with her parody of "Black Denim Trousers," "
Pink Shoelaces "Pink Shoe Laces" (or "Pink Shoelaces") is a song composed by Mickie Grant that was recorded by Dodie Stevens, accompanied by Bobby Hammack and his Orchestra, and released as a single in 1959 on Crystalette Records, a record label distributed by ...
", which uses a different, less tragic storyline.


References and further reading

* Stan Cuesta. ''L'homme à la Moto: Le Chef-d'Œuvre d'Edith Piaf.'' (Paris: Scali, 2007).


Sources

1955 singles Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller The Cheers songs The Diamonds songs Teenage tragedy songs 1955 songs {{1950s-single-stub