0001 – In the Wee Small Hours – Frank Sinatra (1955)
In the Wee Small Hours is an album by Frank Sinatra with arrangements by Nelson Riddle, released in 1955. It is with this album that Sinatra perfected the concept album, fully realizing the ideas he had been grappling with in record presentation going all the way back to The Voice from 1946. It remains one of the most celebrated and enduring concept albums that Sinatra put out during the 1950’s.
0002 – Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley (1956)
Elvis Presley was the name of Elvis Presley’s debut LP, consisting entirely of covers. It was released on RCA Victor, in mono, catalogue number LPM 1254, in March 1956. The recording sessions took place on January 10 and January 11 at RCA recording studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and on January 30 and January 31 at RCA studios in New York. Additional material originated from sessions at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, August 19 and September 10 of 1954, and on July 11, 1955.
The album spent ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in 1956, the first rock ‘n’ roll album ever to make it to the top of the charts. It also has the distinction of being the first million-selling rock ‘n’ roll album. In 2003, it was ranked number 55 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
0003 – Tragic Songs of Life – The Louvin Brothers (1956)
The Louvin Brothers were an American country music duo composed of brothers Ira Lonnie Loudermilk (1924–1965) and Charlie Elzer Loudermilk (b. 1927), better known as Ira and Charlie Louvin. They helped popularize close harmony, a genre of country music.
0004 – The Wildest! – Louis Prima (1957)
The Wildest! is an album by Louis Prima, first released in 1957. It features singer Keely Smith with saxophonist Sam Butera and the Witnesses. It is considered an innovative mixture of early rock and roll, jump blues and jazz as well as eccentric humor.
0005 – This is Fats Domino – Fats Domino (1957)
2008 reissue of this classic album from the Rock ‘N’ Roll/R&B star, originally issued in 1957. ‘Blueberry Hill’ had been written in 1940 but it was not until Fats Domino turned it into a more up-tempo R&B number in 1956 that it became a major hit, selling over five million copies worldwide in the space of a little over a year. Immediately following its success, interest in Fats Domino swelled, and much beyond his traditional R&B market. His label Imperial were quick to capitalize on this success, releasing a number of albums in short succession. This Is Fats Domino was released in February 1957 and quickly made the Top 20 of the Billboard charts, propelled by the inclusion of ‘Blueberry Hill’ and ‘Blue Monday’. Hallmark.
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