On This Day 16/05/1957 Mitchell Torok

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On this day, 16 May 1957, American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist and author Mitchell Torok played Cardiff’s New Theatre as part of abill that included Cardiff born singer Shirley Bassey. He is best known for his 1953 hit record "Caribbean". He also wrote "Mexican Joe", which catapulted Jim Reeves to stardom.

Torok became a member of Louisiana Hayride on KWKH-AM in Shreveport. In 1954, his song "My Arabian Baby" appeared as the B-side of Snow's hit "I Don't Hurt Anymore". Torok gained a No. 8 country hit with "Hootchy Kootchy Henry (From Hawaii)" and in 1956, after joining Decca Records in Nashville, he had top ten success on the UK Singles Chart with his and wife Gail Reed’s song, "When Mexico Gave Up The Rhumba" and "Red Light, Green Light".

This success led to a four-month tour of the United Kingdom in 1957, headlining at the London Palladium. His shows included English comedian Dickie Henderson and Shirley Bassey. It marked the only time Torok has performed with a full pit orchestra with written arrangements on all the songs, led by Torok's own conductor, Maurice " Tex" Bromley, at the on-stage piano with him.

On This Day 26/04/1958 Johnnie Ray

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On this day 26 April 1958, American singer, songwriter, and pianist Johnnie Ray played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre.

Born and raised in Dallas, Oregon, Ray, who was partially deaf, began singing professionally at age 15 on Portland radio stations. He gained a local following singing at small, predominantly African-American nightclubs in Detroit, where he was discovered in 1949.

In 1951, he signed a contract with Okeh Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. On the Billboard charts, he rose quickly from obscurity with the release of his debut album Johnnie Ray (1952), as well as with a 78 rpm single, both of whose sides reached the Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 chart, "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried".

In the 1950s, after both sides of the single "Cry"/"The Little White Cloud That Cried" ran their course, more hit songs followed. They included "Please, Mr. Sun", "Such a Night", "Walkin' My Baby Back Home", "A Sinner Am I", and "Yes Tonight Josephine". He scored a number-one hit in the United Kingdom with "Just Walkin' in the Rain" (which he initially disliked) during the Christmas season in 1956. He hit again in 1957 with "You Don't Owe Me a Thing", which reached number 10 on the Billboard charts in the United States.

Though his American popularity was declining in 1957, he remained popular in the United Kingdom, breaking the attendance record at the London Palladium formerly set by fellow Columbia Records artist Frankie Laine. In later years, he retained a loyal fan base overseas, particularly in Australia.

On This Day 21/04/1958 Lonnie Donegan

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On this day, 21 April 1958, skiffle legend Lonnie Donegan played Cardiff’s Gaumont Theatre, the first of a week of shows, playing twice nightly. Also on the bill was Welsh comedian Ossie Morris, Paul and Peta Page, Ballet Montmartre, The Terry Sisters, The Carlo Sisters and Grif Kendall.

Review - South Wales Argus

On This Day 27/09/1958 The Hi-Lo's

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On this day, 27 September 1958, American jazz/pop vocal group The Hi-Lo's played Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. Support was provided by Vic Lewis and his Orchestra, jazz harmonica player Max Geldray and Anglo-American comedian Alan Clive.

The Hi-Lo's were a close-harmony vocal quartet of the 1950's and early 1960's who brought the arrangement and harmonics of popular song to a standard which has seldom been equalled and never surpassed. In their time, only the Four Freshmen have acquired a comparable reputation.

They were Gene Puerling, bass-baritone, arranger and leader of the group: Bob Strasen, baritone: Bob Morse, baritone and occasional soloist and Clark Burroughs, tenor. The group was formed in April, 1953 and took their name from the incredible vocal range they covered between them. It was also true that, while Puerling and Burroughs were five feet seven and five feet five respectively, Morse and Strasen topped six feet.

They brought imagination, technical accomplishment, daring, determination and integrity to their artistry when the model for groups of their kind was a safe commercial blend. Their superiority in every department ofarranging, recording and performance was down to the genius of Gene Puerling who, in later years, went on to form Singers Unlimited with replacement Hi-Lo Don Shelton. After disbanding in the midst of the early-sixties British pop invasion of the United States and pursing their various projects, they reformed with great success in the late seventies to perform live and to produce two further outstanding albums.

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, the Gatlin Brothers, Manhattan Transfer and Take Six were all awakening to their own musical ambitions at this time and cite the Hi-Lo's as a major musical influence. The group's personal appearances at this time are well remembered. They opened for Judy Garland on tour, sang at Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

A critic who saw them at the Crescendo in Hollywood referred to their 'bright, well-scrubbed look and the highly humorous content of the act … accentuated by spokesman Puerling's comic patter, aided and abetted by cracks from the others' and to a routine in which the four Hi-Lo's wound up in a tangle of arms and legs on the floor. More seriously, they would find huge audiences breathless and captivated by their beguiling vocal performances.

On This Day 13/05/1957 Tommy Steele

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On this day, 13 May 1957, original British rocker Tommy Steele & The Steelmen played the first of a week of concerts at Cardiff’s Gaumont Theatre. Also included on the bill were Freddie Bell & The Bellboys, Paul & Peta Page (The puppeteers) and The Trio Raisner (Sensational French harmonica group). It was described as "Britain's First Ever Package Show" like the American Style Package Shows.

Steele's first single, "Rock with the Caveman", was one of the first British rock and roll hits, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1956. He promoted the single with his first television appearance, on bandleader Jack Payne's BBC series Off the Record, and quickly became a national teen idol.

Steele's success saw him dubbed "Britain's Elvis", though his appeal has been characterised as less provocative than Presley's. A 1957 concert review by Trevor Philpott of Picture Post described Steele's act as possessing "not a trace of sex, real or implied", whilst Stephen Glynn has written that Steele's voice "was genial before threatening, his stage demeanour more playground skip than bedroom thrust".

Steele's live performances were marked by frenzy from the teenage audience. His first album, Tommy Steele Stage Show, was recorded at a London concert the night before his twentieth birthday and issued in March 1957.

"Doomsday Rock", Steele's second single, failed to chart after its apocalyptic theme drew controversy. His third, "Singing the Blues", reached number 1 in January 1957, staving off a recording by Guy Mitchell for one week.

Steele was among the first British pop stars to be heavily merchandised, with tie-in sweaters, shoes and toy guitars. Only a few months after his first chart presence, the singer was filming his life story; The Tommy Steele Story (1957) featured twelve new songs, written hastily by Steele, Bart and Pratt, that expanded the singer's repertoire to incorporate ballads and calypso music.

The film's soundtrack was the first UK number one album by a British act, and the hit single "A Handful of Songs" received the 1958 Ivor Novello Award for Most Outstanding Song of the Year, Musically and Lyrically. By the end of 1957, Steele had bought a four-bedroomed house in South London for his parents and was reported to be earning more than British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

REVIEW - Western Mail - 12th May 1957

On This Day 22/09/1958 Terry Dene

On this day, 22 September 1958, rock music singer Terry Dene played Cardiff’s New Theatre. Providing support for Terry Dene and his Dene-Aces was provided by, Edna Savage, Margo & June, Chas. McDevitt with Shirley Douglas, Dave Gray, Barry Anthony, Earl & Elgar and Eva May Wong.

In 1957, his first single, "A White Sport Coat", sold in excess of 350,000 copies in the first seven weeks and together with his own version of "Start Movin'" at number 14, put his records in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart twice in the same year, securing his name in the Guinness Book of Records.

His recording of "Stairway of Love" in 1958 remained in the chart for eight weeks. He toured Britain, was one of the first to appear in the BBC Television's first pop show, Six-Five Special in April 1957, and appeared in a film, The Golden Disc (1958).

After being arrested for public drunkenness and breaking a shop window in 1958, and ripping out a telephone box from the wall whilst claiming his passionate love for Edna Savage, Dene was branded as a 'bad apple' and the exemplifier of the 'evil of rock and roll' by the press, and was then conscripted into the Army for national service.

He was originally expected to report to Winchester Barracks, where he was due to join the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 7 July 1958, but his call-up was initially deferred until contractual commitments had been completed. When he finally did go in, it was so badly handled by the press (who filmed and publicised his arrival at the barracks) that after two months Dene had to be discharged on psychological grounds as his mental health had deteriorated considerably. By that time the press had almost ruined his career, and the Army offered him a pension as a form of compensation which Dene refused.

Dene later joined the Larry Parnes' stable of stars and toured with them around Britain.

ON THIS DAY 01/09/1958 Jackie Dennis

On this day, 1 September 1958, Scottish singer Jackie Dennis, The Kilted Choirboy, played Cardiff’s New Theatre.

He was discovered by the comedians Mike and Bernie Winters in 1958. The brothers brought him to the attention of the show business agent Eve Taylor, and he appeared on the television programme, Six-Five Special, at the age of 15, and in a subsequent film spin-off.

The kilt-wearing, spiky-haired pop singer enjoyed seven successful years in the show business and toured the world. "La Dee Dah" was his biggest UK hit, reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1958, whilst his cover of Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" was his second and final UK hit, peaking at number 29.

Dennis appeared on Perry Como's US television show, where he was introduced as 'Britain's Ricky Nelson' performing the song "Linton Addie".

He latterly worked as a nursing home carer, before retiring and living in Pilton, Edinburgh, with wife Irene, to whom he was married for over 30 years.

He died in September 2020 at the age of 77.

On This Day 20/07/1958 Shirley Bassey..."washed up." ?

Shirley Bassey pictured sitting at the piano as she tries one of her numbers with Cliff Lewis, (pianist), and New theatre manager Reg Phillips - 1958 - Wales Online Copyright

On this day, 20 July 1958, it was reported in the music press that Cardiff singing legend Shirley Bassey’s latest appearance more than confirmed the singer was still a hit and far from being “washed up’”.

The review.

Shirley Bassey’s return to Variety at the Leeds Empire last Monday proved that she was far from being “washed up.”

The plaintive appeal, physical attraction and slick sophistication are still there.

her act, altered for the better to include blues and standards, is still linked with her old eye-catching, ear-bending numbers.

Although publisher Cliff Lewis (replacing Colin Beaton on piano) was making his debut on Monday, the act was polished and brilliant.

The supporting bill was strong, too - Howard Jones and Reggie Arnold are top entertainers, Des O’Connor scores with songs and comedy, and the Metronotes vocal group is worth the top spot in any show.