Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with oldies

The Birth of Rock and Roll

netbros — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:03 -0800

What was the really good music of the fifties and sixties? Even though I am a child of the fifties, I didn't really start paying attention to music until I was in high school in the late sixties. I know... my head was somewhere else.

So what did I miss? Who were the really good groups, bands, singers, musicians and songwriters of the fifties and sixties? It's never too late to learn and enjoy.

Name that oldie-but-goodie

DandyRandy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:41:42 -0800

Dodie Stevens was a one-hit wonder in '59 with 'Tan Shoes And Pink Shoelaces'. But my folks had a 45 rpm record of a song by some kind of doo-wop or similar black vocal group that I want to date earlier than that - the song also referred to tan shoes and pink shoelaces. Who sang it? I don't know the title for sure, nor do I know the name of the group - but I remember the first verse and the chorus:

Found a lantern that looked so weird,
I rubbed it hard and a genie appeared,
I said to the genie 'I'll set you free,
But first you have to tell me what you got for me.'

(spoken by the bass)
'I've got diamonds, rubies, em'ralds and pearls,
A great big harem filled with girls,
(something) car, a two-tone yacht,
But that ain't the only thing I got'

(sung by the bass)
'I got tan shoes and pink shoelaces
An LP record that'll never stop,
And if that ain't enough for you
I gotta permanent supply of she-bop she-bop.'

There was a nasty sax very prominent in the recording.

Does this ring a bell with any hardcore oldies/doowop fans? It's a silly little song, but it was a favorite of us kids in the family...if it belonged to my mom or dad as teens, that would have been in the early to mid '50s (they don't remember it). I wouldn't be surprise if the title was simple 'The Genie' but I'd really like the name of the group as well.

Low Budge "Under the Sea" Dance?

cgs — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:31:07 -0800

Planning an oldies dance for my parents' wedding anniversary. Advice? Hey AskMeFi - my sisters and I are planning a dinner for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I want to up the ante and incorporate an oldies dance into the celebration. Think "Under the Sea" in Back to the Future. Questions:
- despite the theme, is this just classic wedding-planning territory?
- aside from finding a good dj, can you think of any nice touches that would make it more fun + authentic?
- if we fore-go the DJ and I just make a playlist, do you know some definitive late-60s music lists?

Any general regular dinner + dancing organizing advice is welcome as well. Thanks for your help!

There's a Kind of Hush...

wafaa — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:19:26 -0800

Can anyone recommend a streaming "oldies" radio station? Specifics inside. I usually listen to Radio Paradise, but sometimes I and my friends want to hear some Creedence, Beatles, even schlock from the 60's like Herman's Hermits, (omg my friend LUVS them) Peter and Gordon....

I've done an AskMe search, Googled, and I have come across some, but it's either Live 365 or do-wop, cruisin' stuff, which I am not looking for.

Why do people prefer music from their teenage years?

desjardins — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:30:30 -0800

Why do people tend to gravitate more strongly towards music that was popular in their teen years? I was a teenager from 1987-1994, and the music from those years just sounds "right" to me, especially at the tail end of that era (think Offspring, Green Day, Counting Crows, etc.). Music before that time seems dated, and music created after that time, while sometimes likable, never holds my interest the same way.

Mr. desjardins is 4 years older than me, and he tends to like stuff from the early 80s.

When I was growing up, my mother listened to stuff that had to be popular when she was a teenager. I used to make fun of my parents for listening to "oldies," but now I'm the one listening to music from 15-20 years ago. Yet it still sounds current to me.

Is there something in the adolescent brain that imprints music more strongly?

Large Volume Radio Compilations

adipocere — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:15:15 -0800

I'm looking to find out more about the very large, compiled sets of music that oldies (and presumably other formats as well) stations use. When I was younger, a visit to a radio station, one which also trained high school DJs, had a long series of CDs on its CD rack. These CDs went A - Beatles, Brown through Credence, and so forth. Just this one set consisted of fifty CDs.

This made a lot of sense to me, because many of the oldies stations are playing songs from one hit wonders, and it wouldn't make sense to have a whole bunch of CDs where you only needed one track from the band.

1) What are these kinds of compilations called? Clearly, I'm not using the right search terms.

2) Where can I find listings of these compilations? Do they in fact have them for other formats besides oldies?

3) How can I, as a human being and not a radio station, purchase these items?

Mexican & Hawaiian music!

The Wig — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:58:33 -0800

Looking for artist recommendations for Mexican and Hawaiian music. I am a big fan of instrumental surf music, and this has led to an interest in Mexican and Hawaiian music. I have two comps of ukulele based Hawaiian music from the 60s and I am looking for more stuff of that genre, as well as Mexican music that I would guess is stereotypical 'mariachi' or 'spanish guitar' type music.. you know, that high energy instrumental based stuff you might hear in a touristy mexican restaurant?

I'm looking for stuff that is preferably instrumental (or at least not centered on the vocals) and has a genuine soulful sound; so older grainier energenic live recordings are better than new slick high tech studio type stuff.

Give me some artists names that are essential to these neglected genres.

"I Love You" Oldies Song Identification

abbyladybug — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 14:31:53 -0800

Name That Old Film

Shane — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 05:35:57 -0800

Name That Film: Black-n-white, I think, maybe set in Prohibition era (U.S.), a comedy about a big, good-natured (but not so bright) fellow who finds work as a loan collector and then somehow gets involved with polticians, finally ending up as a puppet mayor or somesuch (which of course doesn't last long.) Good fun and very cynical (especially for its time.) T'anks!