Best remembered for his 1968 chart-topper, "Honey," singer/songwriter Bobby Goldsboro was born January 18, 1941 in Marianna, FL. After relocating to Dothan, AL, while in his teens, he went on to study at Auburn University, quitting school after his sophomore year to pursue music full-time. During the early 1960s, Goldsboro played guitar in Roy... [+] Read More

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Former Stray Cat Brian Setzer was born in New York City and raised in Long Island. His first instrument, at age eight, was the euphonium, and he played the tuba-like instrument for ten years. He began having dreams of leading a big band with horns as a teen, but got sidetracked by punk. Initially, as a guitarist and songwriter, he took his... [+] Read More

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Bridging the era between late-'50s rock and the British Invasion, Dion DiMucci (b. July 18, 1939) was one of the top white rock singers of his time, blending the best elements of doo wop, teen idol, and R&B styles. Some revisionists have tried to cast him as a sort of early blue-eyed soul figure, although he was probably more aligned with... [+] Read More

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Chicago singer Frank D'Rone recorded four LPs for Mercury during the late '50s and early '60s, one of them (After the Ball) with name arranger Billy May. A swinging vocalist having much in common with Bobby Darin, D'Rone was originally a band guitarist before making his debut on Mercury in 1957 with a trio of short sessions. His first LP, Frank... [+] Read More

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Frank Sinatra was arguably the most important popular music figure of the 20th century, his only real rivals for the title being Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. In a professional career that lasted 60 years, he demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain his appeal and pursue his musical goals despite often countervailing trends.... [+] Read More

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Pop/rock singer and songwriter Johnny Tillotson enjoyed his greatest success in the early '60s when he scored a series of Top Ten hits including "Poetry in Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin'." In total, he placed 30 singles and LPs in the Billboard charts between 1958 and 1984, most of them in the pop charts, though he also... [+] Read More

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Little Eva Narcissus Boyd was a babysitter for Carole King and Gerry Goffin when the songwriting team was inspired to write "Locomotion," a song based on a dance that Eva would do around the house. Eva also got to sing on their demo, which impressed Don Kirshner enough to release it as it was. One of the greatest girl group hits, "Locomotion,"... [+] Read More

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Songwriter, pianis, and singer Matt Dennis composed hit pop songs for Tommy Dorsey's band and Frank Sinatra during the 1940s and 1950s. Born into a vaudeville family in Seattle, in 1914, Dennis learned how to play the piano at a young age, leading to a job with Horace Heidt while Dennis was still in his teens. He eventually moved to Hollywood,... [+] Read More

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Singer, songwriter, and pianist Neil Sedaka enjoyed two distinct periods of commercial success in two slightly different styles of pop music: first, as a teen pop star in the late '50s and early '60s, then as a singer of more mature pop/rock in the 1970s. In both phases, Sedaka, a classically trained pianist, composed the music for his hits,... [+] Read More

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One of the biggest teen idols of the late '50s, Paul Anka moved to the adult sphere several years later and became a successful performer, songwriter, music businessman, and recording artist, remaining so well into the new millennium. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1941 to parents of Lebanese Christian descent who owned a local restaurant, Anka... [+] Read More

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Rick Nelson was one of the very biggest of the '50s teen idols, so it took awhile for him to attain the same level of critical respectability as other early rock greats. Yet now the consensus is that he made some of the finest pop/rock recordings of his era. Sure, he had more promotional push than any other rock musician of the '50s; no, he... [+] Read More

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