JUKEBOX MEMORIES by Tony Stewart

The book is divided into several sections:

By SONG TITLE (in alphabetical sequence):

By ARTIST in alphabetical sequence:

Trivia:   Cross referenced to song or artist

Listing of Australian singers from the fifties through the sixties:   Alphabetical sequence:

And a special listing of most of the bigger stars of the day by song listing.

There is also special mention of songs considered to be a rock'n'roll dance number (or have the potential to be adapted to one) which includes songs that have already been changed on the rock'n'roll dance circuit.

And a sugestion to songs that are prime candidates for bands who wish to adapt to Showbands in their gigs.   Showbands are where the band does around three dance brackets and in the middle they do a special bracket where they perform a mini tribute show or a series of party tricks like juggling.

The Song List

and how to use it

Although I am basing the major content of this book on my recollection of hits in Brisbane I also realise that in a lot of cases songs that were hits in Brisbane that were not hits in other states or countries and vice versa.   There were no national hit parades in Australia until late into the sixties and as a result each radio station throughout Australia played what they saw fit.

In some cases, such as the original release of Tobacco Road  by the song's U.S.A. writer, John D Loudermilk, later a world wide hit for the Swinging Blue Jeans, was a hit in Brisbane, Australia ... and nowhere else in the world.

In another example;   The Ugly's, from Ireleand, had a song released in the U.K. called 'Wake Up My Mind'  which flopped upon release, but was, never-the-less, released in Australia and flew up the charts.  On the strength of its performance in Australia it was re-released in the U.K. ... AND FLOPPED AGAIN.   Ces't la vie

And I realise that over the years many people from many towns and countries have moved to Brisbane and the  memories for many would be different than if the world had stood still for the past sixty years or so and every body had remained where they were.

But to list every song that made the charts just in Australia, The U.K. and the United  States would be a nightmare, so I have no intention of doing so.   And there is no real reason to anyway, because when you are chasing up songs on Youtube you can find a lot of your memories by inputting the name of the singer or the correct name of the song.   And the same goes when attempting to buy the song, thoughit is best if you can hear it first.

Even if the song by a particular artist does not appear against the book's listing, if you recognize the song you can google or wikipedia it to see who else recorded the song.   And if you come across the artist in the book that you recognise, but not a song you can do the same thing.

This has been a three year trek so far (I lost the entire catalogue twice in crashes and this is my third effort, but it is a labour of love so I persevere with it) and all going well I hope to have it ready by Christmas.