HARLEM: Week of 3/27/06

Evolution Of A Song
"Sixty Minute Man"
The Dominoes - 1951

This week HARLEM traces the history of one of the most important songs in not only rhythm & blues history, but also in rock n' roll history; the Dominoes 1951 hit, "Sixty Minute Man". This song was so significant, because in all of its sexually risqué glory, it somehow managed to crossover and hit #17 on the pop charts. That meant that both blacks and whites were gettin' down to the Dominoes' raunchy sound. This record would set the stage for more R&B crossovers over the next few years, leading up to the Rock n' Roll Explosion of the mid-1950s. But where did this song come from? Believe it or not, but "good rockin' Dan", the main character in the song can be traced back to 1922. He also appeared a few times during the 1930s and after "Sixty Minute Man" became a hit, Dan would appear in many sequels. You'll get the entire story behind the story of the evolution of "Sixty Minute Man" this week on Harlem with Matt The Cat.

Harlem Airs on The 50s on 5:

Monday 3/27 @ 1pm EST
Tuesday 3/28 @ 9pm over LA and Midnight over NYC
Friday 3/31 @ 6pm EST
Sunday 4/2 @ 11am EST