The Chords (US)
Encyclopedia
The Chords are a 1950s American
doo wop group, whose lone hit
was "Sh-Boom
".
), Jimmy Keyes (first tenor
), Floyd "Buddy" McRae (second tenor) and Ricky Edwards (bass) - formed in 1951 in the Bronx, New York
, but were not discovered until three years later, when they were spotted singing in a subway station, a performance that ultimately landed them a recording contract
with Atlantic Records
' Cat Records
label
.
, Atlantic's
A&R
man, had the Chords cover
a Patti Page
hit, "Cross Over the Bridge" (it was also covered by The Flamingos
for the Chance Records label), but it was the B-side
, "Sh-Boom," a vocal
tune with an a cappella
catchy introduction that caught the imagination. After "Sh-Boom" became a hit, the "A" side was replaced by the song "Little Maiden." A cover version later done by a white group called The Crew-Cuts
, attempted to add their own spin on the song
by seemingly adding nonsensical syllables ("shh-boom, shh-boom, yadda da da yadda da da da da da") that caused considerably more commotion. However the words ("Yadda da da yadda da da da da da") were never sung in the original version by the Chords.
nationwide, charting on both the R&B (number three) and pop (number nine) lists, a nearly unprecedented feat for its time. For all practical purposes - along with The Crows
' 1954 hit "Gee" (another upbeat B-side hit that DJs
flipped over) - "Sh-Boom" introduced the white
audience to black
R&B music
for the first time.
[NOTE: The Crows "Gee" first appeared on the Billboard charts in March, 1954. While both versions of "Sh-Boom" were influential, better candidates for the first, or most influential song, by a black act to cross-over from the R&B charts to the pop charts, are The Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man
" which made it to #17 of the pop charts in 1951, and The Orioles
' "Crying in the Chapel
", #11 in 1953].
Not everyone thought the song was a precursor of good things to come. Peter Potter, host of TV's
popular "Juke Box Jury
", was seemingly aghast at the state of this then-new trend in pop music
and attacked "Sh-Boom" asking if anyone would remember the admittedly demented ditty in five, let alone 20 years time and whether any record label would even think to re-release it in the future.
In 2004, Sh-Boom ranked #215 on Rolling Stone
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
s were deluged by music publishing companies wanting to buy the rights to "Sh-Boom" in order to reap huge potential earnings (the group quickly came to an agreement with Hill & Range). Soon there were cover versions hitting radio station
s across the country simultaneously with the Chords' original single
. Some were memorable and some otherwise, including a countrified take by the Billy Williams
Quartet for Coral
, and more notably the Crew-Cuts' version for Mercury
.
homes.) The band was knocked when it learned there was a more-obscure group already using the name The Chords. They were forced to change their name to the Chordcats. Subsequent Atlantic Record advertisements noted that their group was the creators and originators of "Sh-Boom," even though the Canadian
Crew-Cuts' paler pop version by then had knocked the Chords' R&B-styled version off the charts.
for Vik Records in 1957, and eventually returned to Atlantic in 1960 for one last recording
before slipping away into the ether of time.
a remix
version of the song was used in the outro credits of the game, and in a special feature gallery titled Pathetic Humans!.
In 2006 in the Disney/Pixar
film
, Cars
, "Sh-Boom" is included on the film as neon lights return to an old Route 66
town that has been neglected over the years. The song Sh-Boom is included on the movie's soundtrack
compact disc
.
In 1989 the Crew Cuts version of Sh-Boom is used in the movie Road House, when Ben Gazzara
almost runs Dalton (Patrick Swayze
) off the road.
s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
doo wop group, whose lone hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
was "Sh-Boom
Sh-Boom
"Sh-Boom" is an early doo-wop song. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and James Edwards, members of the R&B vocal group The Chords and published in 1954. It was a U.S...
".
Line-up
The Chords, a 1950s US doo-wop group - Carl (lead) and Claude Feaster (baritoneBaritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
), Jimmy Keyes (first tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
), Floyd "Buddy" McRae (second tenor) and Ricky Edwards (bass) - formed in 1951 in the Bronx, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but were not discovered until three years later, when they were spotted singing in a subway station, a performance that ultimately landed them a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
' Cat Records
Cat Records
Cat Records was a short-lived subsidiary of Atlantic Records, specializing in rhythm and blues music.It was founded in 1954 and issued 18 singles, issued on both 78 r.p.m. and 45 r.p.m. records, over nearly two years before the label was discontinued. Its biggest hit was "Sh-Boom" by The Chords....
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Atlantic Records
Jerry WexlerJerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
, Atlantic's
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man, had the Chords cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
a Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
hit, "Cross Over the Bridge" (it was also covered by The Flamingos
The Flamingos
The Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
for the Chance Records label), but it was the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, "Sh-Boom," a vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
tune with an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
catchy introduction that caught the imagination. After "Sh-Boom" became a hit, the "A" side was replaced by the song "Little Maiden." A cover version later done by a white group called The Crew-Cuts
The Crew-Cuts
The Crew-Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop music and hairstyle...
, attempted to add their own spin on the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by seemingly adding nonsensical syllables ("shh-boom, shh-boom, yadda da da yadda da da da da da") that caused considerably more commotion. However the words ("Yadda da da yadda da da da da da") were never sung in the original version by the Chords.
"Sh-Boom"
By the end of June 1954, "Sh-Boom" had climbed up the chartsRecord chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
nationwide, charting on both the R&B (number three) and pop (number nine) lists, a nearly unprecedented feat for its time. For all practical purposes - along with The Crows
The Crows
The Crows were an American R & B singing group who achieved commercial success in the 1950s. The group's first single and only major hit, "Gee", released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first Rock n’ Roll hit by a rock and roll group...
' 1954 hit "Gee" (another upbeat B-side hit that DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
flipped over) - "Sh-Boom" introduced the white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
audience to black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
R&B music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
for the first time.
[NOTE: The Crows "Gee" first appeared on the Billboard charts in March, 1954. While both versions of "Sh-Boom" were influential, better candidates for the first, or most influential song, by a black act to cross-over from the R&B charts to the pop charts, are The Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man
Sixty Minute Man
"Sixty Minute Man" is a rhythm and blues record released in 1951 by The Dominoes. It was written by Billy Ward and Rose Marks and was one of the first R&B hit records to cross over to become a pop hit on the pop charts...
" which made it to #17 of the pop charts in 1951, and The Orioles
The Orioles
The Orioles were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal bands who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound....
' "Crying in the Chapel
Crying in the Chapel
"Crying in the Chapel" is a song written by Artie Glenn for his son Darrell to sing. Darrell recorded it while still in high school in 1953, along with Artie's band the Rhythm Riders. It became a local hit and publishers got a hold of it and it went nationwide. He released the original version as...
", #11 in 1953].
Not everyone thought the song was a precursor of good things to come. Peter Potter, host of TV's
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
popular "Juke Box Jury
Juke Box Jury
Juke Box Jury was a musical panel show which originally ran on BBC Television from 1 June 1959 until December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series....
", was seemingly aghast at the state of this then-new trend in pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and attacked "Sh-Boom" asking if anyone would remember the admittedly demented ditty in five, let alone 20 years time and whether any record label would even think to re-release it in the future.
In 2004, Sh-Boom ranked #215 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
Cover versions
The songwriterSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s were deluged by music publishing companies wanting to buy the rights to "Sh-Boom" in order to reap huge potential earnings (the group quickly came to an agreement with Hill & Range). Soon there were cover versions hitting radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s across the country simultaneously with the Chords' original single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Some were memorable and some otherwise, including a countrified take by the Billy Williams
Billy Williams (singer)
Billy Williams was an African-American singer, who had a successful cover recording of Fats Waller's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" in 1957. The record sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc...
Quartet for Coral
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
, and more notably the Crew-Cuts' version for Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
.
Chordcats
The Chords soon appeared on TV shows. (Televisions were still uncommon in U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
homes.) The band was knocked when it learned there was a more-obscure group already using the name The Chords. They were forced to change their name to the Chordcats. Subsequent Atlantic Record advertisements noted that their group was the creators and originators of "Sh-Boom," even though the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Crew-Cuts' paler pop version by then had knocked the Chords' R&B-styled version off the charts.
Sh-Booms
Atlantic released numerous additional singles which mostly failed to chart. A last gasp attempt to resurrect the act came in mid 1955 when the group renamed themselves the Sh-Booms after their one big hit. The Chords/Chordcats/Sh-Booms went through several personnel changes during the late 1950s, recording a handful of forgettable recordsGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
for Vik Records in 1957, and eventually returned to Atlantic in 1960 for one last recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
before slipping away into the ether of time.
Later versions of Sh-Boom
In 2005 in the video game Destroy All Humans!Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 on June 21, 2005. The game is set in the late 1950s in the U.S. and parodies the lifestyles, pop culture, and politics of this time period...
a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
version of the song was used in the outro credits of the game, and in a special feature gallery titled Pathetic Humans!.
In 2006 in the Disney/Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Cars
Cars (film)
Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
, "Sh-Boom" is included on the film as neon lights return to an old Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
town that has been neglected over the years. The song Sh-Boom is included on the movie's soundtrack
Cars (soundtrack)
Cars is the original soundtrack album of the animated Pixar feature film of the same name. Nine songs from the soundtrack are from popular and contemporary artists. The styles of these songs vary between pop, blues, country and rock...
compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
In 1989 the Crew Cuts version of Sh-Boom is used in the movie Road House, when Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara
-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
almost runs Dalton (Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
) off the road.
One-hit wonders
Despite all their collective efforts, The Chords remain archetypal one-hit wonderOne-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
s.