Flashback! Stagger Lee

Imagine you had a little radio that you use everyday (Maybe you actually do!) and then suddenly, it began tuning in frequencies from 55 years ago. Perhaps these frequencies bounced back from outer space after reaching 61 Virginis, (you know! that distant solar system that scientists say is just like ours). Come to think of it, this sounds like a good starter for that Sci-fi novel I've been meaning to write...Anyhow, these frequencies have taken you back to March 28 1959. You scroll through the stations.

 WCBS Newsradio 880, You're Listening to your host Jack Sterling and this is the Jack Sterling Show! Today in the news: China dissolves Tibet! and will Hawaii actually become the 50th state? It's a Maybe so far, more on this coming in the next hour...

While kids these day would probably have a hard time distinguishing this broadcast from a regular 2014 News report if they came across it, the natural response should be: Whoa, Am I tripping...Tibet? Hawaii? Wh't in the world!?

You then Scroll to the upper bandwidth and what do you hear? 1959's #1 hit billboard, and a personal favorite, Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price.

Oh and what a treat you've caught! Stagger Lee is a song that talks about the fate of Billy Lyons who was murdered in a ballroom over a gambling debt by his acquaintance [you guessed it] Stagger Lee. The song's narration is based on a true story and its up-beat is irreverent at best. This tune was deemed too brutal and over the top in 1959. It quickly got censored and an alternative 'less violent version' began appearing on the radio. However censored it was, The Original Stagger Lee still managed to become a #1 hit making it the first censored single to reach the top of the charts.

Modern Rappers and underground musicians owe Mr. Price's Stagger Lee a huge debt for daring to push the limits of conventionality. Anybody can be a rebel nowadays, but back in the 50's it was some dangerous ground to be standing on, to put it mildly. Now, turn off your little radios, cats and chicks and tune in for my next post!

What your $1 could buy you in 1951

 Inflation sometimes makes us wish we had a time machine. While today one dollar may only seem good for a small convenience at a dollar store, not including the sales tax; back in the early 50's it was enough to have a nice time.

Hungry?

No they did not need value menus in the 50's. When it came to satisfying your hunger $1 could afford you:

McDonald's
5 pure beef hamburgers, 1 soft drink and 1 side of fries.

Kansas Supermarket
10 Pounds of Potatoes,  1 pound of Apples, 1 pound of Bananas, 2 pounds of cabbage, and 2 cans of Campbells Tomato Soup.

Daily needs

What can you get at your local shops for $1? 2 packs of chewing gum, if you're lucky? Think (50's) again...

Pharmacy
1 bottle of dish washing soap, a giant pack of powder detergent, 5 rolls of toilet tissue.

Gas Station
5 gallons of Gas.

Post office
50 stamped envelopes, and 16 post stamps.

As a kid of the 90's, there are many things I wish I had experienced about this decade, and these prices are some I wouldn't mind having now. 

Then and Now: Mr. Potato Head

Most things change; it is a fact of life. For this series of topics 'Then and Now' I will present you all with an icon of modern times contrasted to its 1950's era counterpart. You be the judge of which era did it better.

Today's Icon

Today's icon is a widely acclaimed and beloved symbol of childhood, Mr. Potato Head. It bears the distinction of being the first toy product ever advertised on Television. It came out in 1952 and it was a hit.

In the 50's 

1952's Mr. Potato Head

 You might be surprised to learn that the original Mr. Potato kit, did not include a potato. Children were expected to supply a real potato to which they could stick the variety of body parts. The toy did however include a body with a torso. The charm of this toy was that you could design a human with a potato head.

Nowadays

2014's Mr. Potato Head

 Mr. Potato head has come a long way, but the way has not been long enough that it let him unrecognizable. The main concept has remained; it's still a potato to which you attach things. Today though, it is no longer a real potato, but a plastic one and Mr. Potato Head is no longer necessarily  meant to represent a man with a potato head, but rather a human-like potato. Most people younger than 20 would not even think that this toy existed before the Toy Story movies came out.


Some things change for better, others change for worse. Which did this one?

Rebellion, Television, & Equality

John Lennon once said: ''Before Elvis, there was nothing.'', Though there is some truth to that in a musical sense, I find it more suitable to apply this quote to a bigger picture and take Elvis as a metaphor for the pop culture of the 1950s, (I'm sure Mr. Lennon would allow the deviation.) For before 1950's, there was pretty much nothing. Okay, Boogie Woogie and R&B were before the 50's and yes, a few social changes took place in the 20's, but nobody would argue that these pale compared to Rock and Roll and the birth of modern civil rights. A lot of things went down during this decade, hence I like to call it: The grandfather decade of rebellion.

The question is: What triggered this ''rebellion'' during the '50s? Was it in fact Elvis Presley? Rock and Roll? was it the roaring birth rates? or was it Television? ...maybe the hairstyles? The answer is indeed all of the above...right, maybe not so much the hairstyles; though they were really cool.

All American Girl Lucy and her Cuban husband Ricky, From 'I love lucy'

There were a few things that made the 1950's exciting. A big one was that it introduced most of the nation to household Television, a device that caught on faster than any novelty since the light bulb. To put it in perspective, in 1949 around 7% of US Households owned a TV set; By 1959 the number had soared to 90%. National television news coverage of the civil rights movement helped transform its viewers by showing Americans the evils and violence of racism and by presenting the dignity of the African American people in the quest for equality. Popular Television sitcoms like 'I love Lucy' ignited controversy by presenting an interracial couple in a way that everybody could relate to and enjoy. TV forced producers to fire white actors who played black characters on radio.

A very different worldview was absorbed by the primary regular viewers of television, the baby boomers.

The Grandfather Decade of Rebellion.

Enjoy it now, It'll get crazy in 30 years

The early 1900's profiled similar to other periods in the American journey, a big war set the scene, but the government told us to 'keep cool'. Soda, Radio and Freedom were in demand and the thriving entertainment, lights and flappers later became the definition of 'classy' and 'chic'.

We had some rough times in the 30's, but Americans provided for their have nots and empty stomachs with big bands, theater and baseball. In the 1940's, a united country saw the impact of war and the might of industry. Then there was the 60's, by now the nation was divided like congress on a budget session. A liberal youth was at war against the establishment, integrationists against segregationists, anti-war vs pro-war...Whoa. not so fast! perhaps you think. When did 'it' hit the fan?, and what about the 1950's?, you know! the point of this blog! Well my friends, The 1950's was the Point of no return. During the following series of posts, We'll venture on what made the the 50's rock!