The cast was changed in 1957, and temporarily canceled in 1958, and then revived again under new management with Dorothy Collins and Johnny Desmond. Rock music' s first major star, the brooding, sensuous Elvis Presley, was in sharp contrast to the sedate styles of Snooky Lanson and Dorothy Collins.Īs Rock (and Elvis) gained in popularity, the ratings plummeted for the Hit Parade. Rock music was clearly targeted to a younger generation, and much of the popularity of the faster paced rock hits was dependent on complex instrumental arrangements and the unique styling of a particular artist or group. The earlier music had a multi-generational appeal and catered to the family audience. Rock ' N' Roll was taking over the syrupy ballads that had been the mainstay of popular music during the 1930' s, 1940' s and early- to mid-50' s. At the beginning of the TV show, a girl would come dancing onto the stage with a costume of a pack of cigarettes.Īn even worse problem for the show was the changing face of American popular music. It was never revealed just how the survey came about, but most of the audience members were willing to accept the tabulations without question.īoth the radio and TV versions were sponsored by the American Tobacco Company' s Lucky Strike Cigarettes. It was a weekly show that featured popular songs of the day that were determined by a national 'survey' of record and sheet music sales. The show started on the radio in the mid 1930' s and ran for 15 years before airing on television in 1950. Of course this brought back memories of the golden age of popular music, when we used to tune in to the Lucky Strike Hit Parade on television in the fifties. I used to listen to the big band station as I drove, and lo and behold, who was the disk jockey? None other than Snooky Lanson. ![]() ![]() Somewhere back in the early 70' s, I don' t remember just when, I drove a milk truck up in Nashville, Tenn.
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