Sh-Boom

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"Sh-Boom" (sometimes referred to as "Life Could Be a Dream") is widely considered to be the first popular Doo-Wop song. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster & Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and James Edwards and published in 1954.

[edit] History

It was first recorded on Atlantic Records' subsidiary label Cat Records by a rhythm and blues group, The Chords, and would be their only hit song. Placed on the B-Side of a cover of "Cross over the Bridge" a Patti Page hit, Sh-Boom reached number 3 on the R&B charts, and topped at number 9 on the Pop charts, making it the first doo-wop or rock 'n' roll record to reach the Top Ten on the mainstream pop charts (as opposed to the R&B charts). This version was ranked #215 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is the group's only song on the list.

A more traditional style version was made by The Crew-Cuts for Mercury Records, and this version reached #1 on the Billboard charts in for seven weeks during August and September 1954.

On the Cash Box magazine best-selling record charts, where both versions were combined, the song reached #1.

British Doo-Wop revivalists Darts recorded Sh-Boom in the late 1970s, this time at a slower tempo. It was released as the B-side of the band's last charting single, reaching number 48 in the UK charts in 1980.

The song has appeared in the movie Clue, Pixar's Cars, Liberty Heights (1999), Cry-Baby featuring Johnny Depp (1990), and the mini-series "Lipstick on Your Collar" (1993), the last of writer Dennis Potter's works to be produced in his lifetime. It was briefly featured in the HBO mini-series "From the Earth To The Moon" (1998), More recently, The Trevor Horn Orchestra covered the song for the Mona Lisa Smile (2003) soundtrack.

A remixed version is featured in the video game Destroy All Humans!.

The Crew Cuts appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and performed Sh-Boom.

Sh-Boom was parodied by Stan Freberg. Another parody, as a singing cigarette commercial by the Sportsmen Quartet, appeared on the October 31, 1954 Jack Benny television show. More recently, comic Ronnie Golden wrote a parody, "Shoe Bomb", on the subject of the British terrorist Richard Reid.

Preceded by Little Things Mean a Lot	Cash Box magazine best selling record chart #1 record August 7, 1954–September 18, 1954	Succeeded by Hey There