As I mentioned in a recent post, Jukebox Musical by Danny and the Darlings is a soundtrack album for Bobby Campbell's Tales of Illuminatus No. 2. It is available as a free digital download at Bandcamp.
The album consists of ten covers of 1950s era rock and roll tunes. As this sort of music was considered "old" even when I listened to it in high school in the 1970s (I was a weirdo because I would play Elvis Presley songs on the jukebox), it seems to me that for many listeners today, the songs on the album might seem rather obscure, although I recognized many of the song titles.
Here is the track listing for the album, with brief explanations and links for more information. (These are rather punk rock versions of the song and the resemblance to the originals varies somewhat, although I commend the attempt to bring these tunes into the present. But try some of the originals.)
1. That's All Right. The tune dates to 1946, but is remembered as Elvis Presley's first single in 1954.
2. Rip It Up. A 1956 hit for Little Richard.
3. You Can't Catch Me. A 1956 single for Chuck Berry.
4. Breathless. A 1958 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis.
5. Pretty Thing. A 1955 Bo Diddley single.
6. Oh, Boy! A particularly great song by a particularly great band, The Crickets (i.e., Buddy Holly and his band). Holly's 1959 plane crash death may be rock music's greatest tragedy ever.
7. I'm Walkin'. A 1957 single issued by Fats Domino.
8. Nervous Breakdown. An Eddie Cochran tune. (He is probably most famous for other songs such as "Summertime Blues." Cochran died age 21 in a 1960 car crash in Britain.
9. Be-Bop-A-Lula. 1956 Gene Vincent tune.
10. Rock Around the Clock. This 1954 hit by Bill Haley & His Comets helped launch rock and roll. The song is mentioned in Illuminatus!
I don't have detailed music credits for the album, but "Danny" is Dan Robinson of Wilmington, Delaware. I will try to find out more.
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