Crew Cuts, The

The song Sh-Boom was originally recorded early in 1954 by The Chords. But it was the version by Canadian quartet The Crew Cuts (released later the same year) which attracted the attention of the record-buying public.

The recording has often been viewed as the first notable move away from the middle-of-the-road sound to something resembling rock ‘n’ roll.

In the US, it is also generally considered the first rock ‘n’ roll record ever to hit #1. And it didn’t just hit the top – it stayed there for over two months.

It was Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle who discovered the Crew Cuts (who had previously been known as The Canadaires) and took the group to Mercury Records in 1954.

They debuted on the charts with their self-composed Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby.

They followed their success with Sh-Boom with a long string of cover versions of R&B hits, including Oop Shoop and Earth Angel. In total, they notched up 11 Top Twenty hits in two years.

John Perkins
Lead vocals
Pat Barrett
Tenor vocals
Rudy Maugeri
Baritone vocals
Ray Perkins 
Bass vocals