Teenagers had been taking themselves out in automobile accidents for at least 30 years when the 50s rolled around. But they rarely sang about it.
Prof Mikey here, welcome to a grim but thoughtful edition of Old School.
Most of these gruesome goldies have arrived from a very different era. Back whey they were recorded, car accidents were the number one reason for death among teens aged 13-19. Today car crashes rank as the number 2 killer of youth. What could be number one?
Cars were different in the 50s, just before they were declared “unsafe at any speed.” The windshields weren’t as unbreakable, there were no airbags, no excess safety padding. Just lots of metal and chrome. No pesky seat belts to sit on either.
And coming semi-regularly from the push button AM radio scattered among the Top 40 classics were eerie little ballads about joy tides gone bad. Love was in the air, but rain and heartbreak were on the road.
We are about to happen upon some love affair snuffed in tragic instances. When these songs were new they clogged the request lines. Fasten you seatbelt, its going to be a bumpy night. The is Professor Mikey’s Old School #68, “Teen Tragedies: Accidents Will Happen.”
TEEN ANGEL 🪽Mark Dinning
LAST KISS 💋J Frank Wilson
THE PROM👗Del Shannon
I WANT MY BABY BACK 😢Jimmy Cross
NIGHTMARE #5 🧟♀️Al Kooper
TERRY ✨Twinkle
HELLO THIS IS JOANNIE ☎️Paul Evans
ENDLESS SLEEP 😴Jody Reynolds
TELL LAURA I LOVE HER ❤️Ray Peterson
TELL TOMMY I MISS HIM 💔Laura Lee
LEADER OF THE PACK 🏍️The Shangri Las
TRAGEDY 🎭The Fleetwoods
What made these songs so crazy popular was much more than a class ring clutched in tight feminine fingers. As odd as these tales of blood and gore on the highway could get, they represented something new in this still very young genre.
Where so much of rock and roll was about dancing, having whole lot of shakin going on parties, and falling in love with contemporary babes like Peggy Sue, Venus, Boney Maronie, and Be Bop a Lula, the violent highway tear jerkers offered kernels of blunt truth.
Sure listeners were drawn to the audio equivalent of watching a car wreck. But these sick sidetrips to the dark side revealed a facet of story telling that was controversial and raw. Records so shocking they were banned from radio were definitely on to a new and dangerous path. There was something truly appealing about songs so controversial they horrified the older generation.
We will close the lid on this coffin by burying a charismatic character who was not buried with his motorcycle, because there wasn’t much of it, or him, left. The Shangri Las roar off into the sunset with their arms around the leather jacket of the leader of the pack. Stick around for a sweet coda offered by The Fleetwoods.
I’m Professor Mikey, this has been Old School #68 “Teen Tragedies: Accidents Will Happen.” Join us next time, keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your device tuned to Old School!
“The past is a blast.”
OS#68 TEEN TRAGEDIES: Accidents Will Happen