| "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single bythe Chords | |
| A-side | "Cross Over the Bridge" |
| Released | April 1954[1] |
| Recorded | March 15, 1954 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:26 |
| Label | Cat Records |
| Songwriter | James Keyes, Claude & Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, William Edwards |
| Audio | |
| "Sh-Boom" onYouTube | |
"Sh-Boom" ("Life Could Be a Dream") is adoo-wop song by the R&B vocal groupthe Chords. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards, members of the Chords, and was released in 1954. It is sometimes considered the first doo-wop orrock and roll record to reach the top ten on the pop charts (as opposed to the R&B charts), as it was a top-10 hit that year for both the Chords (who first recorded the song) andthe Crew-Cuts.[2] In 2004, it was ranked No. 215 onRolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".[3]
The song was written and first recorded onAtlantic Records' subsidiary labelCat Records by the R&B groupthe Chords on March 15, 1954,[4] and would be their only hit song. The group reportedly auditioned the song for famed record producerBobby Robinson while he was sick in bed, but he rejected them, stating the song "wasn't commercial enough".[5] When the Chords recorded their debut single for Cat Records, a cover ofPatti Page's "Cross Over the Bridge", the label reluctantly allowed them to record "Sh-Boom" for the B-side[5] withSam "the Man" Taylor on saxophone.[6] "Sh-Boom" would eventually overshadow "Cross Over the Bridge", reaching No. 2 on theBillboard R&B charts and peaking at No. 9 on the pop charts.[7] It was later released by Cat as an A-side, coupled with another Chords original, "Little Maiden".[4]
A moretraditional pop version was made by an all-white Canadian group,the Crew-Cuts (with the David Carroll Orchestra), forMercury Records[8] and was No. 1 on theBillboard charts for nine weeks during August and September 1954. The single first entered the charts on July 30, 1954, and stayed for 20 weeks.[9] The Crew-Cuts performed the song onEd Sullivan'sToast of the Town on December 12, 1954.
Stan Freberg recorded a combined spoof of "Sh-Boom" andMarlon Brando because he felt that they both mumbled, in 1954. It reached No. 14 in the US and 15 in the UK. TheBilly Williams Quartet released a version in 1954 onCoral Records that reached No. 21 on theBillboard Hot 100,[10] with orchestra directed byJack Pleis.[11]Bloodstone recorded ana cappella cover of the song for their 1975 movieTrain Ride to Hollywood.
In the 1989 filmRoad House, Dalton (Patrick Swayze) first encounters the main antagonist Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) driving recklessly along a country road in his direction while singing along to the Crew-Cuts' version of the song,[12] and narrowly missing him.
The song is also featured in the 2006 Pixar animated sports comedy filmCars in a scene whereLightning McQueen and the citizens of Radiator Springs are cruising through the town.[13]
