Talk:Sh-Boom

First hit rock song or first rock song?
In my middle school music class in Des Moines, Iowa the music teacher taught us that this song was the very first rock in roll song? Too bad there isn't anything else on the internet that can back this up... Yet again, maybe the teacher is wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Crysis-singer (talk • contribs) 22:00, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

I was 15 when the Chords version first came out. It wasn't the first R&B song by any stretch, but it was the first R&B song to break into White-dominated radio, at least in Los Angeles where I was living. That's what made the song significant, the first racial cross-over in media. Up to then, R&B songs were performed primarily on Black radio stations. The Chords later appeared on Ed Sullivan's show as well, also a breakthrough in race relations. It is my impression that the Crewcuts version was a reaction to this by having a White group perform the song after the Chords version became popular. It's a difficult subject to bring up, but there was a big racial divide in the 1950s in promoting popular music.N. Levine, July 3, 2017.

First Rock 'n Roll song
Although Sh-Boom has been credited as the first Rock 'n Roll song, I disagree. First of all, the singing style is more akin to the four man groups of the 40's and early 50's such as the Four Freshmen, the Four Preps and the Mills Brothers which is to say, Barbershop harmonies rather than the do-wop group singing such as The Platters, The Coasters, the Del-Vikings, the Skyliners and the Penguins just to name a few (namely a lead singer, a bass singer and at least two back-up or rhythm singers vs the group singing the melody line in four part harmony.) Too, the beat is just not a rock 'n roll beat. Compare Sh-Boom to, say The Del-Vikings - Come Go With Me and one can hear the difference. Although the subject matter is rock 'n roll (life could be a dream if I had you) it isn't presented in a rock 'n roll way. Compare this song with "Only You" and one can hear the difference in emotion. 72.130.78.29 (talk) 20:57, 4 August 2009 (UTC)M. Keyser


 * Which I guess proves that no one will ever agree with anyone else about what was the first rock'n'roll record. It's way too subjective. --Deke42 (talk) 17:46, 15 October 2016 (UTC)

500 greatest songs
"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.[citation needed]". Could I suggest that 'Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time' is the citation? Deke42 (talk) 17:46, 15 October 2016 (UTC)

Dog Food
The Wikipedian Batternut has removed my add in that this song was featured in the recent TV commercial for Nexguard Chewables for Dogs on the grounds that it "isn't encyclopedic". I see this commercial broadcast on several major cable stations, and the song is easy to notice. It is therefore a part of our popular culture, because it is accessible to TV viewing audiences. Sincerely - CharlieBrown25 (talk) 03:12, 26 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Ja. 165.234.101.97 (talk) 19:37, 28 March 2023 (UTC)