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I recently saw a posting made by @TimeFlipper about an interesting fact about "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals being the first no. 1 pop hit to exceed a duration of 3 minutes. That song was released in 1964. However, this stuff in history is about to change with Elvis Presley recording a no. 1 hit exceeding 3 minutes back further, in 1958 to be exact. After all, Elvis is the King of Rock. The #1 hits that are about to be inserted into history currently have no set name, it will all be a surprise.
As some of you may recall from this post, Elvis Presley and John Lennon: Still Alive, Elvis does not get enrolled in the U.S. Army in 1958, due to family ties from a very early marriage with two kids, and especially, a hotly contested rivalry with Engelbert Humperdinck beginning in the summer of 1957. Engelbert drops two #1 hits in the second half of 1957, one in the summer, and another in the fall. This hit streak (also including top 5 hits that don't reach #1) continues with a #1 hit in the first half of 1958.
With Elvis staying focused on his musical career, instead of going for the Army, he follows up 10 #1 hits dropped prior to 1958 with three in that year alone. The first #1 Elvis hit of 1958 is "Hard Headed Woman". After that song, Elvis's music becomes more rebellious than before starting with a second #1 hit of 1958 featuring heavier guitar and more raucous drumming, forward-looking onto more modern rock. This is not the first #1 to exceed 3 minutes, but the next one is. This third #1 Elvis hit of 1958 easily exceeds 3 minutes (roughly around 3 and a half minutes), and becomes notorious for that as well as continuously forward-looking and rebellious rock and roll.
Elvis scores three chart-toppers in 1959 as well, the first of which is recorded and released after the fatal plane crash of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. The first chart-topper of that year serves as a distraction from that tragic plane crash. It is even more raucous than any previous Elvis material (and lasts around four minutes long), so much so that it is often cited as the song that started the classic rock format. On many classic rock stations, this is the oldest song in their library that is played regularly, although on many other stations, it is 1954's "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & The Comets.
1959 concludes with "Big Hunk o' Love" (a version which, compared with the one pre-change of history, is much heavier and lasts a bit over four minutes) and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in the fall. (The latter is unchanged, and is led by a cover by Engelbert Humperdinck in the summer of 1959; note: the Elvis Presley version pre-change was recorded and released in 1960 instead of 1959.)
Elvis's further rebelliousness inspires the rise of future rock singers and rock bands. Some of those rock bands include The Mockingbirds from Memphis, TN and The Silver Sharks from New York City in 1959, and The Four Seasons (scoring their first hit (reaches #4) in the spring of 1960, though not scoring their first #1 until 1962 with "Sherry") and The Beach Boys (unchanged with scoring their first charted hit, "Surfin' Safari", in the summer of 1962). The Mockingbirds and The Silver Sharks are my creation I will insert into history, and in comparison with their pre-change of history counterparts, songs by The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys are much harder-edged and quite a bit longer in duration.
As some of you may recall from this post, Elvis Presley and John Lennon: Still Alive, Elvis does not get enrolled in the U.S. Army in 1958, due to family ties from a very early marriage with two kids, and especially, a hotly contested rivalry with Engelbert Humperdinck beginning in the summer of 1957. Engelbert drops two #1 hits in the second half of 1957, one in the summer, and another in the fall. This hit streak (also including top 5 hits that don't reach #1) continues with a #1 hit in the first half of 1958.
With Elvis staying focused on his musical career, instead of going for the Army, he follows up 10 #1 hits dropped prior to 1958 with three in that year alone. The first #1 Elvis hit of 1958 is "Hard Headed Woman". After that song, Elvis's music becomes more rebellious than before starting with a second #1 hit of 1958 featuring heavier guitar and more raucous drumming, forward-looking onto more modern rock. This is not the first #1 to exceed 3 minutes, but the next one is. This third #1 Elvis hit of 1958 easily exceeds 3 minutes (roughly around 3 and a half minutes), and becomes notorious for that as well as continuously forward-looking and rebellious rock and roll.
Elvis scores three chart-toppers in 1959 as well, the first of which is recorded and released after the fatal plane crash of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper. The first chart-topper of that year serves as a distraction from that tragic plane crash. It is even more raucous than any previous Elvis material (and lasts around four minutes long), so much so that it is often cited as the song that started the classic rock format. On many classic rock stations, this is the oldest song in their library that is played regularly, although on many other stations, it is 1954's "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & The Comets.
1959 concludes with "Big Hunk o' Love" (a version which, compared with the one pre-change of history, is much heavier and lasts a bit over four minutes) and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in the fall. (The latter is unchanged, and is led by a cover by Engelbert Humperdinck in the summer of 1959; note: the Elvis Presley version pre-change was recorded and released in 1960 instead of 1959.)
Elvis's further rebelliousness inspires the rise of future rock singers and rock bands. Some of those rock bands include The Mockingbirds from Memphis, TN and The Silver Sharks from New York City in 1959, and The Four Seasons (scoring their first hit (reaches #4) in the spring of 1960, though not scoring their first #1 until 1962 with "Sherry") and The Beach Boys (unchanged with scoring their first charted hit, "Surfin' Safari", in the summer of 1962). The Mockingbirds and The Silver Sharks are my creation I will insert into history, and in comparison with their pre-change of history counterparts, songs by The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys are much harder-edged and quite a bit longer in duration.
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