Teenage Crush, Vol. 2

by N/A

Overview

Twenty-eight more of what Ace refers to as "rockaballads" from the late '50s and early '60s -- that is, the very poppiest and most ballad-oriented shade of early rock & roll, or tracks that are essentially pop songs but had enough rock or teen idol influence to appeal to a teen audience. It's a bit hard to figure which fans might want to pick this up. The best and most famous tracks -- Eddie Cochran's "Sittin' in the Balcony," Ritchie Valens' "Donna," Jimmie Rodgers' "Honeycomb," and Skeeter Davis' "The End of the World" -- have been easily available on reissues for decades. So have hits like Frankie Avalon's "Venus," George Hamilton IV's "A Rose and a Baby Ruth," the Fleetwoods' "Come Softly to Me," and others. Almost half of these are lesser-known cuts, several of which only charted in the 20s or so, and are hard to find on reissues (and indeed rarely played even on oldies radio). The problem is, these cuts have been neglected for a reason; they're often facile teen pop songs that aren't very good, like Tony Bellus' "Robbin' the Cradle," Bobby Curtola's "Fortune Teller," Dale Ward's abominable "Letter from Sherry," and Garry Miles' "Look for a Star." About the most interesting off-the-beaten-path item is Jimmy Elledge's version of Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away," which hit number 22 in 1961. This isn't that bad a listen, and points go to Ace for including a wide spectrum of light early ballad rock -- including black artists like Brook Benton and one-shots like singer Ed Townsend, who made the Top 20 in 1958 with "For Your Love" -- but it's no great shakes either. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	02/12/1999
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667170123
Rank:	106870

Tracks

1. Sittin' in the Balcony  - Eddie Cochran  - Johnny Dee  - John D. Loudermilk
2. Come Softly to Me  - Gretchen Christopher  - Barbara Ellis  -  Fleetwoods  - Gary Troxel
3. Donna  - Ritchie Valens
4. Fortune Teller  -  Curtola
5. Venus in Blue Jeans  - Jimmy Clanton  - Howard Greenfield  - Jack Keller
6. Endlessly  - Brook Benton  - Clyde Otis
7. A Teenager's Romance  - David Gillam  - Rick Nelson
8. I've Come of Age  - Sid Jacobson  - Lou Stallman  - Billy Storm
9. Robbin' the Cradle  - Tony Bellus
10. Sandy  - Terry Fell  - Larry Hall
11. For Your Love  - Ed Townsend
12. You're Sixteen  - Johnny Burnette  - Richard M. Sherman
13. I Only Have Eyes for You  - Al Dubin  -  Flamingos  - Harry Warren
14. Dear One  - Larry Finnegan  - Vince Finneran
15. The Three Bells  -  Browns  - Bert Reisfeld  - Jean Villard
16. Funny How Time Slips Away  - Jimmy Elledge  - Willie Nelson
17. Honeycomb  - Bob Merrill  - Jimmie F. Rodgers
18. A Rose and a Baby Ruth  - George IV Hamilton  - John D. Loudermilk
19. The End of the World  - Skeeter Davis  - Sylvia Dee  - Arthur Kent
20. Look for a Star  - Tony Hatch  - Garry Mills
21. Letter from Sherry  - Noel Ball  - Dale Ward
22. Venus  - Frankie Avalon  - Ed Marshall  - Ed Marshall
23. Let Me Belong to You  - Gary Geld  - Brian Hyland  - Peter Udell
24. Dream Lover  - Bobby Darin
25. Since I Met You Baby  - Ivory Joe Hunter
26. Sixteen Reasons  - Bill Post  - Doree Post  - Connie Stevens
27. So This Is Love  -  Castells  - Steve Howard  - Herb Newman
28. The Theme from "A Summer Place"  - Percy Faith  - Max Steiner

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dale Ward   Primary Artist
Bobby Curtola   Primary Artist
Skeeter Davis   Primary Artist
The Fleetwoods   Primary Artist
Ivory Joe Hunter   Primary Artist
Tony Bellus   Primary Artist
The Castells   Primary Artist
The Flamingos   Primary Artist
Bobby Darin   Primary Artist
Billy Storm   Primary Artist
Eddie Cochran   Primary Artist
George Hamilton IV   Primary Artist
Larry Hall   Primary Artist
Garry Mills   Primary Artist
Connie Stevens   Primary Artist
Larry Finnegan   Primary Artist
Ed Townsend   Primary Artist
Frankie Avalon   Primary Artist
Johnny Burnette   Primary Artist
Ritchie Valens   Primary Artist
Percy Faith   Primary Artist
Jimmy Clanton   Primary Artist
Jimmy Elledge   Primary Artist
Rick Nelson   Primary Artist
Brian Hyland   Primary Artist
Brook Benton   Primary Artist
The Browns   Primary Artist
Jimmie F. Rodgers   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Brook Benton   Performer,Composer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
Willie Nelson   Composer
Arthur Kent   Composer
The Browns   Performer
Jimmie F. Rodgers   Performer
Dale Ward   Performer
Herb Newman   Composer
Max Steiner   Composer
Bobby Curtola   Performer
Gary Geld   Composer
Skeeter Davis   Performer
Terry Fell   Composer
Sylvia Dee   Composer
The Fleetwoods   Performer
Bob Merrill   Composer
Bill Post   Composer
Al Dubin   Composer
Ivory Joe Hunter   Composer,Performer
Jack Keller   Composer
Tony Hatch   Composer
Tony Bellus   Performer
Trevor Churchill   Research
Steve Howard   Composer
Bert Reisfeld   Composer
The Castells   Performer
The Flamingos   Performer
Bobby Darin   Composer,Performer
Billy Storm   Performer
Connie Stevens   Performer
Eddie Cochran   Performer
Jean Villard   Composer
Johnny Dee   Composer
Howard Greenfield   Composer
George Hamilton IV   Performer
Harry Warren   Composer
Chris Popham   Package Design
David Gillam   Composer
Brian Burrows   Cover Design
Noel Ball   Composer
Vince Finneran   Composer
Larry Hall   Performer
Sid Jacobson   Composer
Garry Mills   Performer
Ed Marshall   Composer,Composer
Clyde Otis   Composer
Larry Finnegan   Performer
Barbara Ellis   Composer
Gary Troxel   Composer
Gretchen Christopher   Composer
Ed Townsend   Composer,Performer
Frankie Avalon   Performer
Doree Post   Composer
John D. Loudermilk   Composer
Johnny Burnette   Performer
Peter Udell   Composer
Rob Finnis   Liner Notes
Ritchie Valens   Composer,Performer
Lou Stallman   Composer
Percy Faith   Performer
Jimmy Clanton   Performer
Richard M. Sherman   Composer
Jimmy Elledge   Performer
Rick Nelson   Performer
Brian Hyland   Performer