Post by Rob Durkee on Mar 19, 2013 22:43:07 GMT -5
Floyd "Buddy" McRae, the last surviving member of the legendary 1950's group the Chords, died Tuesday (March 19, 2013) at Montifiore Medical Center in the Bronx. The cause of death and McRae's age weren't known at presstime.
The Chords gave us one of early rock and roll's greatest doo-wop-type songs ever with "Sh-Boom," which sounded like this...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBgQezOF8kY
McRae, who sang second tenor, was one of the five members of the Chords to have written "Sh-Boom." Steve Allen would give the song huge exposure when he poked fun at the lyrics by reading them aloud on his TV show. Originally the B side of "Cross Over The Bridge," a remake of the Patti Page hit song, "Sh-Boom" climbed to #2 on the R&B chart in the summer of 1954. The song also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching #9. However, it was overshadowed by a cover version by the Crew Cuts, which went to #1 for seven weeks.
"Sh-Boom" has made it onto the soundtrack of many movies but the one which this writer vividly recalls the most was 1974's "Macon County Line."
According to Record Research, the Chords were formed in the Bronx in 1954. Their big break came when they sang "Say Hey Willie" with baseball star Willie Mays, the subject of the song, on the Colgate Comedy Hour TV show. A street intersection in the Bronx was renamed in honor of the Chords last year (2012) but McRae was unable to attend due to health reasons.
The Chords gave us one of early rock and roll's greatest doo-wop-type songs ever with "Sh-Boom," which sounded like this...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBgQezOF8kY
McRae, who sang second tenor, was one of the five members of the Chords to have written "Sh-Boom." Steve Allen would give the song huge exposure when he poked fun at the lyrics by reading them aloud on his TV show. Originally the B side of "Cross Over The Bridge," a remake of the Patti Page hit song, "Sh-Boom" climbed to #2 on the R&B chart in the summer of 1954. The song also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching #9. However, it was overshadowed by a cover version by the Crew Cuts, which went to #1 for seven weeks.
"Sh-Boom" has made it onto the soundtrack of many movies but the one which this writer vividly recalls the most was 1974's "Macon County Line."
According to Record Research, the Chords were formed in the Bronx in 1954. Their big break came when they sang "Say Hey Willie" with baseball star Willie Mays, the subject of the song, on the Colgate Comedy Hour TV show. A street intersection in the Bronx was renamed in honor of the Chords last year (2012) but McRae was unable to attend due to health reasons.
