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Be My Baby

Episode 3 of 3

In the years bookended by Buddy Holly's death in 1959 and The Beatles landing at JFK in 1964, rock 'n' roll calmed down, went uptown and got spun into teen pop.

In the years bookended by Buddy Holly's death in early 1959 and The Beatles landing at JFK in spring 1964, rock 'n' roll calmed down, went uptown and got spun into teen pop in a number of America's biggest cities. Philadelphia produced 'teen idols' like Fabian who were beamed around the country by the daily TV show Bandstand. Young Jewish songwriters in New York's Brill Building drove girl groups on the east coast who gave a female voice to teenage romance. Rock 'n' roll even fuelled the Motown sound in Detroit and soundtracked the sunshiny west coast dream from guitar instrumental groups like The Ventures to LA's emerging Beach Boys.

In the early 60s, rock 'n' roll was birthing increasingly polished pop sounds across the States, but American teens seemed to have settled back into sensible young adulthood. Enter the long-haired boys from Liverpool, Newcastle and London.

Featuring exclusive interviews with Jerry Lee Lewis, Ben E King, Chubby Checker, Ronnie Spector, Barrett Strong, Eric Burdon and Pat Boone.

59 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 May 202001:00
BBC Four

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Clip

Music Played

  • Jerry Lee Lewis

    Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

  • Dion

    Runaround Sue

  • Chubby Checker

    Let's Twist Again

  • The Teenagers

    Why Do Fools Fall In Love

  • The Teenagers

    Why Do Fools Fall In Love

  • The Crystals

    He's A Rebel

  • The Shangri‐Las

    Leader Of The Pack

  • The Marvelettes

    Please Mr. Postman

  • The Marvelettes

    Please Mr. Postman

  • The Ventures

    Perfidia

  • Dick Dale and His Del‐Tones

    Misirlou

  • The Beatles

    Twist and Shout

  • The Animals

    The House Of The Rising Sun

Credits

ProducerJohn Williams
DirectorJohn Williams
Executive ProducerMark Cooper

Broadcasts

Featured in...

  • Born in the USA

    Celebrating classic American rock.

  • My Generation

    Charting the history of pop music across the decades starting with the mid-50s to mid-60s

Chart the history of pop music across the decades

Chart the history of pop music across the decades

Visit the BBC Music My Generation site.

Rock 'n' Roll America season

Rock 'n' Roll America season

BBC Music celebrates the birth of rock ‘n’ roll on Radio 2, 6 Music and BBC Four.