| Gee released in June 1953 by The Crows, is a song which has been credited as the first Rock n’ Roll hit by a rock and roll group written by William Davis and Viola Watkins, and recorded by the The Crows on the independent label, in New York City in February 1953. It charted in April 1954, one year later. It took a year to get recognized on Your Hit Parade and landed No.2 on the rhythm and blues chart. It was the first 1950s doo- wop record to sell over one million records. The Crows were one of the first doo wop groups, ( the first so-called bird groups), and one of the first acts of any kind to score a bona fide rock & roll hit record. The Crows were among the more important one- shot artists in rock & roll history. Discovered at New York's Apollo Theater in 1952, the Crows were one of the many groups pioneering doo wop with their infectious, cheerful vocals and harmonies, use of nonsense syllables, and modified jump blues instrumental backing. Cut in 1953, "Gee," with its irresistible melody, naively enthusiastic street-corner singing, and Charlie Christian-like guitar solo, was far and away their best single. It was also their only successful one, although it needed almost a year to take off, reaching number 14 on the pop charts (and number two on the R&B charts) in early 1954. |
| comments from people aattura - Gee, my oh gee -- How I love this song!! GREAT Hot Rod Cruzin music!!! - Ace basha417 I remember my older sister having this record on a 45, and it was red plastic (or something similar) with a blue label musicmixerism Actually, this was not the first rock 'n' roll song because the beginning of rock 'n' roll can't really be traced to a single song or record. However, this was the first doo wop record to make it from the rhythm and blues charts to the pop charts (aka: Top 40). |