Sings Hits of the Rockin' 50's

Sings Hits of the Rockin' 50's is the fourth studio album by American singer Bobby Vee[1] and released in October 1961 by Liberty Records.[1] Vee covers hits from the 1950s with this album including "Summertime Blues", "School Days", "Do You Want to Dance", "Lollipop", and "16 Candles".

Sings Hits of the Rockin' 50's
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1961
Genre
Length28:17
LabelLiberty
ProducerSnuff Garrett
Bobby Vee chronology
Bobby Vee with Strings and Things
(1961)
Sings Hits of the Rockin' 50's
(1961)
Take Good Care of My Baby
(1962)

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated October 30, 1961, remaining on the album chart for eight weeks and peaking at No. 85.[2] it debuted in the UK shortly thereafter, on March 31, 1962 and spent its only week on the album chart there at number 20."[3]

The album was released on compact disc for the first time by Beat Goes On on March 10, 1999 as tracks 13 through 24 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of the other album being Vee's Other Album from June 1961, Bobby Vee with Strings and Things.[4]

Reel To Reel labels included this CD in a box set entitled Eight Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles and was released on October 4, 2019.[5]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [6]
Billboard     [7]

At the time of the album's release, and Giving it four stars to indicate "strong sales potential",Billboard noted Vee "selected a flock of the biggest hits of the past decade and does them in his pleasant style",[7] while Cash Box thought "Youngsters will appreciate [Vee's] strict adherence to the original sounds" of past rock and roll hits.[8]

Retrospectively, Bruce Eder of AllMusic believes that "the album wears thin after a few spins" and "even though Vee's performances are good, the album is too calculated and workmanlike to transcend its humble origins."[1]

Track listing

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Side one

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Side two

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"Margo Sylvia, Gilbert Lopez2:20
2."Lavender's Blue"Traditional2:19
3."Donna"Ritchie Valens2:32
4."Earth Angel"Curtis Williams, Jesse Belvin, Gaynel Hodge2:45
5."The Wisdom of a Fool"Roy Alfred, Abner Silver2:03
6."16 Candles"Luther Dixon, Allyson R. Khent2:50

Charts

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Chart (1961) Peak
position
US Billboard Top LPs[9] 85
UK Albums Chart"[3] 20

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Eder, Bruce. Bobby Vee Sings Hits of the Rockin' 50's: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums: 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 814. ISBN 978-0-8982-0117-8.
  3. ^ a b "BOBBY VEE". Official Charts. 1962-03-31. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  4. ^ "Bobby Vee with Strings and Things/Sings Hits of the Rockin' '50's". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Eight Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles". allmusic.com. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1446. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Spotlight Albums of the Week: Pop LP's". Billboard. Vol. 73, no. 31. August 7, 1961. p. 28.
  8. ^ "Album Reviews". Cash Box. Vol. 22, no. 22. August 12, 1961. p. 16.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top R&B singles, 1942-1995. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 183. ISBN 0-8982-0115-2.