Booms and Boomers

1955 was an extraordinary year.  It wasn't historic like 1492 or 1776 or haunting like 1941 or 2001, but it was momentous and eventful.  It was a year of booms and boomers and showcased a culture of consumerism.  Economist Victor Lebow expressed the vibe of the times when he said,

    "Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption

     our  way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals,  

   that we seek our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in consumption.

We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded

at an ever-increasing rate." 

 

True to his point, a record 8.3 million cars were produced in 1955, more than any other year in the decade.  Americans were on a buying spree that included everything from toasters to televisions.  A record 7.4 million "sets" were sold in 1955.   Amazingly, homes with televisions increased from 9% in 1950 to over 65% in 1955.  The societal effects were enormous.

America was awakening and 1955 was a formative year for the civil rights movement.  It was the year that desegregation of schools began as ordered by the supreme court in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.  It's also the year Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus.  Her arrest led to the Montgomery Bus boycott which lasted over a year and gave national attention, as well as momentum to the fledgling movement.

1955 also saw the birth of Rock and Roll.  Some will argue that the birth was in an earlier year, but '55 was the year rock and roll music hit the mainstream with the first #1 chart topper, "Rock Around the Clock," by Bill Haley and the Comets.  The new music genre with its often suggestive lyrics and unconventional performers gave identity to a new generation of youth.

As for me, the year marked my beginning.  I was born a boomer in 1955.

 

Swell Times

The middle nineteen fifties saw American culture continue a transition from the post war era to a new social age driven by technology and consumerism.  America was at peace, jobs were plentiful and the appetite for  consumer products grew ever stronger. It was a time of exuberance marked by opportunity, optimism and the pursuit of the American dream.

The Happy Family published in 1955     

For most people, the American Dream was about home and family.  The combination was the basis for success in America. The idealized nuclear family consisted of Dad with a secure, good-paying job, mom, a  happy homemaker and children, active, well behaved students. The home was new and located in the suburbs.  It was surrounded by a manicured lawn and outfitted with all the modern conveniences; a range, refrigerator, automatic washer and dryer.  A television set sat in the corner of the den and a new car in the driveway.  It was a dream of living the "good life," a world away from the old, gritty city.


As the 1950's was one of the most prosperous economic times in American history, for many folks the American Dream became reality. 






The 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

TV Happiness

1955 was during the golden age of television when sales of TV sets like babies were booming. Homes with TV's reached 38 million and adult viewership was almost five hours per person, per day.  In just a few years, the seductive medium had become America's most popular leisure activity.

The top rated programs of 1955 were comedy and variety shows.  Viewers wanted to laugh and couldn't get enough of entertainers like of Bob Hope and Jack Benny. The year saw the premiere of classic TV shows including:

"The Honeymooners" (1955-1956), "Gunsmoke" (1955-1975) and "The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955 -1982).  For the kiddies, "Captain Kangaroo" (1955-1984) and "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959) debuted weekday afternoons.

"I Love Lucy" was the number #1 TV program in 1955. The sitcom is one of TV's most beloved shows of all time. The misadventures of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and their well-meaning neighbors Fred and Ethel Mertz confused, complicated, and twisted everyday situations and brought laughter into homes across America.

Middle class families embraced situation comedies and they were highly profitable for the networks. Sitcoms could be "rerun" over and over again, and often they were.  Popular sitcoms like "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952), "Make Room for Daddy" (1953) and "Father Knows Best" (1954), projected their version of modern family life.  Mostly, it was a lily white-collared suburban world that continued to evolve with shows like "Leave it to Beaver" (1957) and "Dennis the Menace" (1959). I vividly remember watching these wholesome programs that portrayed the almost perfect family with a successful, respected father figure, a saintly domesticated mother and kids whose misadventures were mere harmless lessons of life.  It's no wonder families like mine chased the American dream to the suburbs.



               Lucy in Hollywood.  She's a comic genius.

                   The Nelson's, "America's Favorite Family."                      "Make Room for Daddy," featuring Danny Thomas.
                   "Ozzie & Harriet" aired from 1952 - 1966.                          The award winning sitcom aired from 1953- 1965.
               It's TV's longest running sitcom (non animated). 
     

Davy Crockett and Disney's Dream

The Davy Crockett craze was a phenomena created by Walt Disney Productions and ABC Television.   It began in late 1954 with the premiere of Disney's first TV series, aptly named Disneyland.  The show included five episodes featuring the American hero, Davy Crockett.  Fess Parker played the famed frontiersman and Buddy Ebsen costarred as his friend and sidekick George Russel.  The second installment, "Davy Crockett Goes To Washington" was broadcast  two days after my birth.  It scored a 50% audience share and Davy's popularity exploded. 

Davy Crockett captivated America and was the first TV inspired fad.  People couldn't get enough of Davy.  By spring, three versions of the theme song, The Ballad of Davy Crockett reached the billboard magazine music charts.  The popular song was a hit for Fess Parker, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Bill Hayes. All three versions finished in the top 30 songs for the year with Hayes at #6.  Over four million records were sold.  You might remember the chorus.....Daa--vee, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier.   

The TV series and record sales fueled demand for Crockett themed merchandise.  Production couldn't keep pace; from lamps to lunchboxes, thousands of frontier themed products were sold.  The most popular item was the faux coonskin cap.  Just about every boy in America had one, including me. To this day I am thankful that my parents didn't call me Davy, as I associate the name with a fad long passed.  

All the Davy Crockett hoopla created awareness for the summer 1955 grand opening of Disneyland, in Anaheim California.  The theme park was brain child of Walt Disney who envisioned a "happy place" for children and parents to have fun together.  The park was created on 160 acres of former orange groves near the Santa Ana Freeway.  It was financed in part by ABC Television and took just one year to build.  Disneyland featured five theme lands and 18 attractions.  Admission was $1. 

By most accounts, Disneyland's historic grand opening on July 17, 1955 didn't go smoothly. Some blame the sale of counterfeit event tickets, others say it was just too easy to sneak in. Whatever the reason, the 6,000 invited guests, mostly reporters, dignitaries, celebrities and their families were joined by 22,000 other folks.  Walt called the day "Black Sunday," as it was a day marked by traffic jams, food shortages and numerous near disasters. But, for most patrons, especially the children, it was an exciting day of discovery. 

Disneyland's grand opening was broadcast live during prime-time on ABC Television.  The  ambitious 90 minute production utilized 29 camera's and featured three hosts; Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings and Ron Reagan.  The festivities included Disneyland's first parade and saw Walt Disney on horseback accompanied by who else, but Davy Crockett.     

                                                 

Over a million people visited Disneyland during its first year of operation and it became a cornerstone of the Disney empire.   
                                                                                                                                



Hey Kids!

In the early 1950's network television aired predominately during evening hours leaving local affiliates a lot of time to fill.  So, it wasn't long before puppeteers, clowns and other assorted entertainers convinced TV program executives to give them a morning or afternoon slot.  Chief Halftown played Philadelphia, Captain Penny, Cleveland and it was Happy's Party in Pittsburgh. Kids programs were inexpensive to produce and provided local stations goodwill, personality and additional revenue. 

  

In Cincinnati, Uncle Al ruled the kidos weekday mornings.  Al Lewis premiered in 1950 with his trademark bow tie and accordion.  He quickly became a hit with the small fry and their mothers. Tickets to his show were a hot commodity. He was so popular that CBS considered him as host for a network kids show to premiere in the fall of 1955. However, it wasn't meant to be as WCPO-TV, the local ABC affiliate, wouldn't release Al from his contract.

CBS ultimately selected Bob Keechan to host their new program.  His resume included playing the popular Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show.  In October of 1955 Keechan premiered nationally on the CBS network as Captain Kangaroo.

Amazingly, the Captain hopped through four decades, all the way to 1984. Do you remember Mr. Greenjeans? Mr. Bunny Rabbit?  I do.   But it was Uncle Al who had the last laugh.  Uncle ended his 35 year play in Cincinnati in 1985.

Three other ground breaking kid's shows premiered in 1955. The Mickey Mouse Club with its troupe of Merry Mouseketeers launched on the ABC network, Wonderama originated on WNEW-TV, New York City and Sam and Friends, a live action puppet show debuted on WRC-TV in Washington, DC.  Created by Jim and Jane Henson, Sam and Friends featured a cast of characters that included a lizard named Kermit. Over time the lizard evolved and eventually became the most famous frog in the world. 



The Mousketeers

Sam and Friends

Most kids shows in the 50's weren't shy on advertising. Sure they had to make money, but some programs ended up as a string of sponsor endorsements and commercials.   However, they were effective and sold everything from Keds to Kool-Aid.  Sales of cookies, candy and cereal soared.  And breakfast would never be the same after the introduction of Sugar Pops (1951), Frosted Flakes (1952), Sugar Smacks (1953), Tricks (1954) and Coco Puffs (1956).  

Advertisments in the 50's were sometimes funny, creepy or down right annoying as seen by the videos below. 

  

About Pinky Lee:
Pinky Lee was a slapstick entertainer who's style was straight out of the burlesque era.  He was easily recognized by his trademark lisp, his high-energy antics and his signature costume, a loud plaid suit coat and baggy checkered pants.  In 1954 NBC unleashed Pinky with a weekday afternoon children's program that preceded the popular 'Howdy Doody Show.'  He opened each show with his trademark theme song, "Yoo Hoo, It's Me!"  Pinky was ultimately undone by his  energetic schtick when he collapsed on camera due to a weakened condition caused by an infection.  His audience cheered when he fell, believing it was part of his act.  Out of commission for quite a while, Pinky eventually recovered, but in 1956 his show was cancelled.   

A Rock and Roll Revolution

Although "rock and roll" was a phrase commonly used in the black community to describe a sex act, it was Alan Freed, a Cleveland radio Disc Jockey in the early 50's who began regularly using the phrase in reference to the rhythm and blues tunes he played on his late night radio show. Freed played songs originated by black artists rather than the cover versions by white artists that were most often heard on popular radio stations.  Freed's audience preferred Fats Domino's 'Ain't That a Shame' to the the cover made famous by Pat Boone.  And they liked the raw sound of 'Wallflower' (Roll with Me Henry) by Etta James instead of the "whitewashed" version 'Dance with me Henry' popularized by Georgia Gibbs. 

With the help of Freed and others, a generation of teenagers found an identity through the music of rock and roll. They listened to those wild, controversial sounds as they cruised around town in their automobiles.  And they bought the 45rpm records and danced the jitterbug to a frenzy at ballrooms and hops.  Adolescents were infatuated with the music of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley and 1955 was the year Rock and Roll became a national phenomena.  

In January, Freed put on the first "Rock N Roll Ball" at St. Nicholas Arena in Harlem.  The two night event featured Joe Turner, Fats Domino, The Moonglows and a number of other R&B and doo-wop groups. It made a lot of money and caught the attention of promoters and media executives.  It was a sign of the changes to come to mainstream music.   

In March, Bo Diddley released his first single, self titled, 'Bo Diddley.'  The song had a certain rhythm that became known as the Bo Diddley beat. It became an R &B hit and in November Bo performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show, one of television's most popular and influential programs. 'Bo Diddley' was the first rock and roll song to play on network television and made a huge impact on Ed Sullivan's thirteen million viewers. 

Also, in March, the movie Blackboard Jungle premiered in theaters nationwide.  The film starring Glenn Ford as a teacher at an inner city public school is a social commentary, a story of youth rebellion.  It's  highly emotional, raw, and angry and gives warning to the dangers of juvenile delinquency and was banned by some communities.  The film opens with the song 'Rock Around The Clock' performed by Bill Haley and the Comets. The upbeat music plays though the beginning credits and makes for a memorable opening scene.  Blackboard Jungle introduced rock and roll music to the American public and advanced the genre's reputation as anti establishment and fashionable.  Rock around the Clock became a huge hit.  It was the first rock and roll single to reach number one on the billboard charts and held the top spot for eight weeks in the summer of 1955.

"The colored folks been singing it and playing it just like I’m doin' now....nobody paid it no mind 'til I goosed it up. I got it from them," said a young Elvis Presley.

The day I was born, 20 year old Elvis played a concert on the first stop on his 1955 east Texas tour.  He was near Hawkins, Texas, in the middle of oil fields at the Humble Oil Camp.  By all accounts a couple hundred people packed like sardines into the Humble Recreation Hall.  Elvis, a regular performer on the Louisiana Hayride was known for his rockabilly style, mostly by folks in the south.  That night the Presley's play list included his regional hit 'That's Alright' and it certainly was.  By May, the hard working, charismatic Elvis was causing great commotion.  His hip-shaking and high energy performances helped his popularity soar to the point of causing a near riot in Jacksonville, Florida when he told the girls in the audience of 14,000 that he would see them back stage after the show. His clothes were literally ripped from his body as he fled to a  police paddy wagon for protection.   By the close of 1955 Elvis had a signed a contract with RCA Records and recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" which would be his first national hit.   He was ready for prime time and on the road to becoming the King of Rock and Roll.

 

 

 

Listen to the different versions of three hit songs from 1955;

 'Sincerely', 'Ain't That a Shame' and 'Dance with Me Henry.' 

 

Watch closely at :49.    Best viewed Full Screen.   

 

 

Civil Wrongs and Civil Rights

In 1955 people of color were generally treated as second class citizens or worse.  And although the 14th amendment to the US constitution guarantees all citizens due process and equal protection under the law, state and local governments, especially in the South worked for decades to undermine the original intent of the legislation.  One result was establishment of the doctrine known as "separate but equal"; separate neighborhoods, separate modes of transportation, separate schools and even separate water fountains. In addition, throughout the south "Jim Crow" laws were enacted that served to keep African Americans poor and uneducated.  For most American's, including those in Cincinnati, Ohio, life in 1955 was separated by skin color.  However, 1955 was the year when events caused a tangible beginning to the long march toward equality and civil rights for all Americans.

Desegration of Schools
1955 was the year when desegregation of schools began as required by Brown v. Board of Education which asserted that segregated schools perpetuated inferior accommodations, services, and treatment for black Americans.  The Supreme court issued a decree that required the integration of educational facilities "with all deliberate speed"  The process began ever so slowly in most of the 17 states with separate schools. In the south, desegregation continued to be stonewalled by state and local governments. The issue drug on for years and ultimately took action by the Federal Government to enforce compliance.   

  

The Murder of Emitt Till

In August of 1955 Mamie Till Bradley put her 14 year old son Emmitt on a southbound train for a summer vacation with relatives in Money, Mississippi. The boy from the big city of Chicago arrived in what amounted to a foreign land, a land of cotton fields and sharecroppers, ruled by Jim Crow.  Time moved ever so slowly in this economically depressed area and the old southern plantation heritage hung-on, strong and tight.                 

Emmitt Till

Emmitt spent his days in Mississippi at work and play.  He picked cotton, shot off fireworks and went swimming in a local pond. He was a typically teen boy, immature, showy and anxious to impress his country cousins.  One afternoon when the boys visited the corner grocery store, Emmitt was quick to take a bet to ask the pretty store clerk for a date.  Emmitt's show-off approach was most aggressive and intimidating and his behavior scared the meek lady who was working alone in the store. In the South, this disrespectful  interaction was rare, especially between a white female and a black male. Later in the day when she informed her husband Roy of the incident, it set off a series of events that led to Emmitt's brutal beating and murder.

Roy Bryant- Left,        J.W. Millam - Center

The September trial of Roy Bryant and his brother J.W. received intense media attention nationally and internationally and when an all-white, all-male jury acquitted Bryant and Milam of kidnapping and murder, the verdict shocked observers around the world. The American justice system was further called to question when months later the two men openly admitted that they had murdered Till.  National outrage was so intense that according to Life Magazine, "it lit a spark that helped ignite the modern civil rights movement"

Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the city bus to a white man who had boarded after her. Local laws reserved the first three rows of city buses for "whites only." When those rows filled, blacks sitting in the fourth row were  required to move further back.  Ms. Parks refused to move and was arrested.  Her action prompted the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted 381 days. 

The boycott was very effective and ended when segregated transportation was outlawed.   The Montgomery Bus Boycott put the civil rights movement in the national spotlight and proved that  non violent protests worked.