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THE BIRTH OF THE TEEN IDOL The first era of Teel Idols began in the late 1950s, as Rock and Roll became a viable form of entertainment. Although many young television and movie stars captured the hearts of the youth of America, singers always were at the center of the Idol storm. Frank Sinatra and Johnnie Ray poineered the genre, building the first bridge between teen consumers and the music business in the 1940s, though it was the explosive combination of the birth of Rock and Roll and the all around prosperity of the 1950s that made teenagers the key market. Rock and Roll grew out of Rhythm and Blues music, which was almost entirely an art form reserved for the black community. When Bill Haley became the first white artist to record a Rock and Roll song, ("Rocket 88"), a whole new genre was born. Haley had Billboard's first #1 Rock and Roll hit, "Rock Around the Clock," in July of 1955, and within a year, Elvis Presley would take over the airwaves as the first true teen sensation. As the first era where young people had money of their own, the ’50s was a decade of tremendous growth, leading to a huge cultural shift. The mid ’50s saw the birth of several national publications aimed at teenage girls and boys, dubbed "teen magazines" reflected in the most poular titles of the genere; Teen, Seventeen and 16. Focussing on a new crop of popular singing sensations and fresh faced performers, these magazine were as important in spotting the trends as record sales charts and televison ratings. The cover boys were a crop of smooth crooners including Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Vee, Bobby Darren, James Darren and Fabian. Songs like "Puppy Love," "Turn Me Loose" and "Venus" drove teens wild with their angst-ridden themes. There were female idols too, like Annette Funacello, Connie Francis, though the genre lent itself to fawning females, who were far more interested in seeing these well-groomed young men pressed between the pages. | ||||||
The marriage between music and television was explosive, and became the key to huge record sales. The most stunning early example of the power of the tube came when Ricky Nelson debuted his single "Im Walkin'" on the television show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." The record became a solid smash overnight, and made Ricky Nelson a superstar. Soon other young television actors like Paul Peterson and Shelley Fabares were getting recording deals and singing songs on previously musicless sitcoms. The first batch of Teen Idols left an indelible mark on both the recording industry and televison, and established a creative path that is still well traveled today. Happily, most of the original Idols are still with us, and many of our musical faves of the past still performing today. | ||||||
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