RAMBLIN ROUND: Watching and waiting: Will 2022 be a great musical year?

Jan. 7—While going through the first full week of the New Year, I've been wondering what new musical surprises await us in 2022.

Most of the innovations or trends that lead to some of our greatest music are not even thought of when a given year begins. Many of the best new artists were not widely known to the music public on January 1 of their breakout year — which can make the musical prospects of any year exciting.

Go back to 1955, for example. It turned out to be a nondescript year, overall as far as the best selling charts were concerned, with the top-selling record of the year being "Cerezo Rosa (Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White) by Perez Prado. Other songs in the top 10 for the year included "The Yellow Rose of Texas" by Mitch Miller, "Autumn Leaves" by Roger Williams and "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" By Bill Hayes.

But what's this. The #2 song of 1955 was "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets. It wasn't the first rock 'n' roll record, but it was certainly the first to chart that high. Some year-end charts for the period also put Chuck Berry's Maybelline at #5 on the pop charts for that year as the rock 'n' roll phenomenon started to shift into high gear, just like the V-8 Ford and Cadillac in Berry's song.

By 1956, the rock 'n' roll revolution had arrived at a level probably not suspected when that year began. Best-selling charts for that year show Elvis Presley had the #1 song of the year with "Don't Be Cruel," with the flip side, "Hound Dog," notching in at #8. The Platters also made the year-end charts with "My Prayer," but mainstream pop still held a hold on the charts with artists such as Doris Day with "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" and Dean Martin, with "Memories are Made of This" also in the top 10 that year.

Rock 'n' roll, of course, took hold,, but by 1963 it had fallen on hard times. Elvis Presley's 1958 induction into the U.S. Army, Jerry Lee Lewis' fall from grace for marrying his teenaged cousin, ChucK Berry's 1962 conviction of violating the Mann Act, the infamous 1959 plane crash which took the lives of Buddy Holly, Jimmy Valens and the Big Bopper, and a car wreck which severely injured Carl Perkins are given as reasons for the scattering of many of the original rock 'n' rollers.

They'd been replaced by a series of so-called teen idols, such as Frankie Avalon and Fabian, designed to be a lot "safer" for teenaged mass consumption than many who were in that first wave.

But as the sun rose on Jan. 1, 1964, something entirely unexpected by most music lovers was about to happen. Most of America, especially its youth, were still in a national funk, devastated over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. However, something big was about to happen to give then something to get excited about.

Capitol released a record titled "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by a new group called The Beatles. Although they had a few earlier records released on smaller, independent labels in America, few people had heard them. This time Capitol launched a major promotional push.

The song had been released in the U.S. on Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, and by Jan. 18, the song entered the U.S. Charts at #45, shooting all the way to #1 on Feb. 1 1964. Right as the record hit the top spot, The Beatles caught a flight from England to New York, arriving for a series of performances on the "The Ed Sullivan Show."

With 73 millions Americans tuning in to watch the first show, The Beatles' performances not only marked the start of Beatlemania, but launched the rest of the so-called musical British Invasion, with groups such as the Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Who, The Zombies and others following in their wake.

Think of it! On Jan. 1, 1964, much of America had never heard of The Beatles — and by Feb. 1 they not only had hit the top of the charts, they launched an entire musical movement.

When Jan. 1, 1965, dawned, few could have expected the musical riches that year would bring. It would also bring another musical movement, one that had its beginnings in several places at once.

A Los Angeles-based group of folk singers turned who turned into rockers took a song written by Bob Dylan, changed the time signature, added a rock beat and three-part harmonies. The Byrds took Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" all the way to #1. They followed it up with another Dylan song, "All I Really Want to Do," also recorded and released almost simultaneously by that husband and wife duo, Sonny and Cher.

Meanwhile, Dylan himself wrote and recorded the song that would elevate him from an acoustic-based folk artist to a full-blown rock star. "Like a Rolling Stone" still heads many lists at the greatest rock song ever. With all of that activity, A new genre dubbed at the time as folk-rock was born.

That year the Rolling Stones recorded the song that would launch them into superstardom, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," featuring the fuzz-toned riff that Keith Richards said came to him in a dream.

Speaking of dreams, The Beatles released "Yesterday" in 1965, with a melody that Paul McCartney said he heard during a dream. It not only hit #1 in 1965, it's now considered the most-recorded song of all time. Also in 1965, The Beatles released their single "Help!" — along with an album and a movie with the same title, as well as "Ticket to Ride," considered another move forward in the group's style.

In 1965, the Yardbirds had their first hit with "For Your Love." The band's influence is still with us today, since at various times The Yardbird's lead guitarists included virtuosos Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Also, 1965 saw the American debut of a Welsh singer who is still recording and releasing albums to critical acclaim. Tom Jones' recording of "It's Not Unusual" made it all the way to #10 — quite an achievement when facing competition from The Beatles, the Stones, Dylan and Motown.

As January 1, 1966 dawned, most music lovers had no idea that summer would see the release of what are now considered three of the greatest albums ever.

In May, The Beach Boys released "Pet Sounds," still recognized as a landmark work of art, largely written by the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson in collaboration with lyricist, Tony Asher. Containing songs such as "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Caroline No," it's deservedly near the top on numerous lists of the top alums ever recorded.

In June, Dylan released "Blonde of Blonde," recognized as one his seminal works, as well as the first double album in rock history. It includes a number of Dylan's landmark songs, recorded with ace Nashville studio musicians. Filled with songs that became Dylan standards, it included "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35," "Just Like a Woman," "Visions of Johanna," "I Want You" and "Stuck Inside of Memphis With the Memphis Blues Again," to name a few.

It consisted of what Dylan called "that thin, wild mercury sound. "Blonde on Blonde" helped move rock 'n' roll into what's now simply called rock and stretched the boundaries of what it could accomplish.

Speaking of stretching boundaries, The Beatles released "Revolver" that August — an album which now vies with the following year's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" as the foursome's greatest album on many "best of" lists. It marked a major move in The Beatles' sound, from George Harrison's Eastern influenced songs such as "Love You Too" and the rocker "Taxman" to the backward-rolled tapes on John Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows."

It also includes two of Pauly McCartney's best ballads, "Here, there and Everywhere" and "For No One" as well as his amped-up Motown tribute, "Got to Get You Into My Life." Even Ringo Starr gets into the act, taking lead vocals on "Yellow Submarine."

It also includes McCartney's haunting "Eleanor Rigby," accompanied by a string quartet, all of which raised the band to even greater stylistic heights.

Just think, the music public had no idea of the riches that awaited them in the above-mentioned seminal years. Let's hope 2022 is filled with musical surprises as rich as those.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.