The '59 Sound (song)
| "The '59 Sound" | ||||
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2008 single
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| Single by The Gaslight Anthem | ||||
| from the album The '59 Sound | ||||
| Released | July 22, 2008 June 15, 2009 (UK re-release) |
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| Format | 7" single, digital download, CD | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | SideOneDummy Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, Benny Horowitz | |||
| Producer(s) | Ted Hutt | |||
| The Gaslight Anthem singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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"The '59 Sound" is a 2008 song by American rock band The Gaslight Anthem. Written by the band and produced by Ted Hutt, it is the title track of the band's second full-length album. Released as the album's lead single, the song reached the U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in early 2009. The song, which received mostly favorable reviews from critics, was performed live by the band with Bruce Springsteen at the Glastonbury and Hard Rock Calling festivals in June 2009.
"The '59 Sound" was the first song written by singer-songwriter-guitarist Brian Fallon for the band's 2008 album, also titled The '59 Sound. Fallon recalled, "I never wrote a song like that before. And I thought it was better than anything else I ever wrote. I showed it to the guys [in the band] and they thought it was awesome. Then the next one was "Great Expectations" and we definitely knew where we were going with [the album]." Fallon said the band had tried to emulate the sound of soul music from the late 1950s, because "back then it seemed like there was a genuine feeling of excitement going on that I don’t think is necessarily happening right now. It seems like when you look back on that era a lot of it is embodied in that Memphis sound, so it’s just a giant celebratory thing."Bassist Alex Levine noted that in addition to being inspired by soul music, he used to use a 1959 Fender Bassman. Lyrically, the song is an elegy for a friend who died while the band was elsewhere performing a gig.
Released as a physical single in July 2008, "The '59 Sound" was released to U.S. modern rock radio stations in September. The song entered the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in January 2009, peaked at number 35 in February, and spent 10 weeks on the chart. The song's music video, directed by Kevin James Custer, premiered in July 2008. An alternate version, also directed by Custer and featuring the band's full performance of the song, debuted the following June. Also that month, "The '59 Sound" was re-released in the UK as a physical single, backed with a live cover version of Pearl Jam's "State of Love and Trust", as well as a live performance of "We Came to Dance", a song from the Gaslight Anthem's first album, Sink or Swim. The single reached number 115 on the UK Singles Chart in July.
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