FALSETTO SONGS THAT MANAGED TO HIT THE CHARTS AFTER ROCK BECAME DOMINANT

 

In the years between 1959 and 1963, popular music for teenagers struggled to find its identity. Rock had died, it was said, after Elvis was inducted into the Army (1958) and Buddy Holly died (1959). In its place, sappy pop songs sung by Frankie Avalon, Bobby Vinton, and the like ruled "American Bandstand;" Instrumental surf music came along (and largely went); sassy Girl Groups, R&B, and Motown broke color barriers with White teens; and Doo Wop gained a toe-hold on the charts. 

 

And, interestingly, during that period of Rock's dormancy, male singers with high falsetto voices became a THING. Of course, once The Beatles and other British bands smashed through America's doors in 1963 and 1964, giving way to a rebirth of Rock, most of the artists and groups featuring falsetto singing pretty much died out -- with only The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys continuing to thrive in the post-British Invasion world of pop music.

 

But every once in awhile, there were exceptions -- times when a falsetto-voiced record became a hit song. 

 

Despite their square pre-Beatles appearance and reputation as a "sappy pop" duo, Dick & Dee Dee had a 1965 hit with the lively "Thou Shalt Not Steal," a record that broke free of the duo's "sappy pop" origins by embracing a tougher-sounding approach that embraced the influence of Rock's re-emergence.

DICK & DEE DEE - "Thou Shalt Not Steal" 

 

A year later, in 1966, Lou Christie, another former sappy pop singer had a couple major hit records. "Rhapsody in the Rain" was particularly striking because in addition to its great production values, it embraced a frank sexuality that would have been hard to find in the pre-Beatles era, certainly on Top Forty radio. (The song's topic is making love and "going too far" in the back seat of the singer's car during a thunderstorm.) The record is produced by former Four Seasons producer Charles Calello, who gives the record its aural drama by punctuating his "Wall of Sound" production with the sounds of thunder and rain and gritty guitar licks. All of it in service to Lou Christie's lustful vocals, highlighted by his falsetto in the irresistibly hooky refrain.

LOU CHRISTIE - "Rhapsody in the Rain"