Jailhouse Rock
1957
Leiber and Stoller wrote it as a goof; Scotty Moore's solo nearly derails the take and Presley never blinks.
★ 8.3
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1957
Showing 18 songs from 1957
That'll Be the DayBuddy Holly and the Crickets
That'll Be the Day
1957
Holly took the title from a John Wayne line and recut it in Clovis after Decca shelved the first version.
★ 8.2
You Send MeSam Cooke
You Send Me
1957 · From Sam Cooke
Cooke credited it to his brother L.C. to dodge his publisher, then carried it to number one on both charts.
★ 7.8
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
1957
One microphone, Roland Janes muted behind the boogie piano, and a July 1957 television debut that turned it national.
★ 7.7
Peggy SueBuddy Holly and the Crickets
Peggy Sue
1957
Cut in Clovis as "Cindy Lou" until Allison's girlfriend got the title, and his paradiddles never let up.
★ 7.7
Great Balls of Fire
1957
Lewis argued theology with Sam Phillips between takes at Sun, decided the devil could wait, and cut it anyway.
★ 7.7
Wake Up Little SusieThe Everly Brothers
Wake Up Little Susie
1957
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's plot is an alibi, Boston banned it as suggestive, and it still topped the pop chart.
★ 7.4
All Shook Up
1957
A shaken Pepsi bottle gave Blackwell the title, and Presley's version held number one for two solid months.
★ 7.3
Got My Mojo Working
1957 · From The Anthology: 1947-1972
Waters heard Ann Cole sing it on tour, cut a single that flopped, then made it his signature at Newport.
★ 7.3
Bye Bye Love
1957
Some thirty acts turned the Bryants' song down; Don Everly's intro, written for something else, took it to number two.
★ 7.1
Not Fade AwayBuddy Holly and the Crickets
Not Fade Away
1957
Jerry Allison pounded the beat out on a cardboard box, and a B-side that never charted outlived nearly everything.
★ 7.1
Everyday
1957
A celesta played by the producer's wife, Jerry Allison slapping his knees for drums, and two minutes of pure lift.
★ 6.9
Who Do You LoveBo Diddley
Who Do You Love
1957 · From Bo Diddley
Jerome Green's maracas, Jody Williams on lead guitar, graveyard imagery, and a shuffle that skips the Bo Diddley beat.
★ 6.9
Rock & Roll MusicChuck Berry
Rock & Roll Music
1957 · From One Dozen Berrys
Willie Dixon on bass, Lafayette Leake on piano, Chicago in May 1957, and Berry arguing the case for backbeat.
★ 6.7
Walkin' After Midnight
1957 · From Patsy Cline
Written for Kay Starr and shelved, resisted by Cline, then sung to victory on Arthur Godfrey's talent show.
★ 6.5
Keep A-Knockin'
1957 · From Little Richard
Charles Connor's drum intro opens it, and Bonham borrowed the same beat for Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll.
★ 6.2
Maybe
1957
A Manhattan church studio, Richard Barrett's piano figure, and a sixteen-year-old lead vocal that opened the girl-group era.
★ 5.5
Tonight Tonight (The Mello-Kings)
1957
Five Mount Vernon high schoolers, a Billy Myles song, and Bob Scholl's lead floating over the sweetest doo-wop changes.
★ 3.4