This is the year that Elvis Presley got inducted into the U.S. Army. Pvt. Presley served with the 3rd (Spearhead) Armored Division in West Germany from March of 1958 to March of 1960. He could have opted for a softer, USO type of duty, but Col. Parker, his manager, and he felt that the critics would be harsh if he received preferential treatment. Not that getting drafted kept him off the charts. Don't and its flip side I Beg Of You made the year's Top Ten.  

This is the year that Jerry Lee Lewis got married, nearly sending his career up in Great Balls of Fire, the title of his big hit for 1958. See, Jerry Lee married his 13 year old distant, but very obviously, kissin' cousin. (Jerry Lee has lots of cousins, including Jimmy Swaggert and Mickey Gilley.) Branded a "baby snatcher", he was forced to cancel a concert tour in England when news of his child bride became public. Worse, there was some question as to the status of one of his two previous marriages. Goodness, gracious. Many years would pass before "The Killer", as Jerry Lee is known, would regain his popularity.      

Danny and the Juniors had a song written for them called Do the Bop. According to legend, Dick Clark, who by now was turning many young performers into stars by featuring them on American Bandstand, heard a demo of Do the Bop. Suggesting that the dance the Bop was already out, he recommended renaming the song At The Hop.    

For a happy, modern day ending, look to Little Anthony and The Imperials. Anthony Gourdine came from the Ft. Greene projects of Brooklyn. He first heard "Little" Anthony used by legendary D.J. Alan Freed to introduce him on the radio. The name stuck. In 1958 with Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright and Clarence Collins, as The Imperials, Little Anthony enjoyed his biggest hit, Tears on My Pillow. Recently in 1992, Little Anthony and the Imperials held a reunion which proved so popular with the fans that they are again touring together.    

Chantilly Lace was the one big hit of Texas D.J. Jiles P. Richardson, better known as the Big Bopper. With Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, he would be killed the following year in a plane crash.    

Connie Francis became the leading female vocalist of her day, amassing records sales to equal and surpass those of many of her male contemporaries. Early Rock and Roll is strikingly devoid of women artists. A rare few, such as Zola Taylor of the Platters, were successful, but only as part of predominently male groups. Connie Francis paved the way for all the other female solo artists to come. Who's Sorry Now her hit for 1958 demonstrated her unique style that's part Country and part Rock. She endeared herself to the people where I grew up when in 1961 she recorded Where The Boys Are, from the movie by the same name - a movie about spring break in Ft. Lauderdale, my hometown.