Rock and Roll
Part of the fun of this first era of rock n roll involves how songs and dances went to together. In 1957 “The Stroll” was being danced in America’s major cities and became one of the favorite 1950s dances. The R&B singer/songwriter Chuck Willis performed the stroll to his hit song “C.C. Rider” on American Bandstand. Dick Clark noted that there was no specific song for the dance. Clark suggested to writers Clyde Otis and Nancy Lee that they write one. They did, and The Diamonds, a Canadian vocal group, recorded and released the “The Stroll” early in 1958. It went to #4 on the Billboard Pop Chart.
The Diamonds formed in Toronto, Canada, in the early 1950s. They had one of their biggest charting singles with “Little Darlin’,” which peaked at #2 and stayed there for 8 weeks on the U.S. Pop chart in 1957. The original members were Dave Somerville, Ted Kowalski, Phil Levitt, and Bill Reed. The group had many TV appearances, including the shows of Arthur Godfrey, Steve Allen, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Tony Bennett, Eddy Arnold, and Paul Winchell, as well as American Bandstand. The Diamonds were instrumental in bringing doo wop and rock n roll to a mainstream audience. If you would like to read about The Diamonds’ hit “Little Darlin'” and its beginnings, please click here.
