Sh-Boom
| "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Chords | |
| Released | 1954 |
| Recorded | 1954 |
| Genre | Vocal pop, doo-wop, R&B, traditional pop music |
| Length | 2:33 |
| Label | Cat Records |
| Writer(s) | James Keyes, Claude Feaster & Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and James Edwards |
"Sh-Boom" (sometimes referred to as "Life Could Be a Dream") 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. top ten hit that year for both the Chords (who first recorded the song) and the Crew-Cuts.
The song was first recorded on Atlantic Records' subsidiary label Cat Records by the Chords on March 15, 1954 and would be their only hit song. "Sh-Boom" reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts and peaked at #9 on the pop charts. It is sometimes considered to be the first doo-wop or rock 'n' roll record to reach the top ten on the pop charts (as opposed to the R&B charts). This version was ranked #215 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is the group's only song on the list.
A more traditional version was made by a Canadian group, the Crew-Cuts (with the David Carroll Orchestra), for Mercury Records and was #1 on the Billboard charts for nine weeks during August and September 1954. The single first entered the charts on July 30, 1954 and stayed for 20 weeks. The Crew-Cuts performed the song on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town on December 12, 1954. On the Cash Box magazine best-selling record charts, where both versions were combined, the song reached #1.
Stan Freberg recorded a combined spoof of 'Sh-boom' and Marlon Brando because he felt that they both mumbled, in 1954. It reached number 14 in the US and 15 in the UK. The Billy Williams Quartet released a version in 1954 on Coral Records which reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100, with orchestra directed by Jack Pleis. A recording by Ken Mackintosh and His Orchestra (vocalists: the Mackpies) was made in London on April 7, 1954. It was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10698.
...
Wikipedia