V - A - C - A - T - I - O - N

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N in the summer sun

Put away the books, we're out of school
The weather's warm but we'll play it cool
We're on vacation, havin' lots of fun
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N in the summer sun

We're gonna grab a bite at the pizza stand
Write love letters in the sand
We're on vacation and the world is ours
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N under summer stars

Yeah, we'll hop in a jalopy to a drive-in movie and never look at the show
We're gonna hug and kiss just like this and I can't wait to go, go, go

We're gonna mashed potato to a jukebox tune
Park your car 'neath an August moon
We're on vacation till the start of the fall

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, we're gonna have a ball, go!!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, gonna have a ball

Uh-huh, we'll hop in a jalopy to a drive-in movie and never look at the show
We're gonna hug and kiss just like this and I can't wait to go, go, go

We're gonna mashed potato to a jukebox tune
Park your car 'neath an August moon
We're on vacation till the start of the fall

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N, we're gonna have a ball, yeah

This morning, while listening to "AOL Radio with (((XM)))," (which you can hear streaming for free if you use WinAmp 5, btw) I heard the above song that I had not thought about for quite some time, V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N by Connie Francis.

It made me really want a vacation, first of all, but also realize just how much I love the music from the late '50s and early '60s: The very beginnings of Rock 'n' Roll.

Before all of the glam and hype, when artists made music, and that's just about it. Connie Francis made more than sixty albums! Back when Rock still knew its Jazz / Country / Folk roots and was still good, honest music that told a story with a beat you could dance to. No, the lyrics and subject matter was not revolutionary by any means, with all those "bum ba bum bum, do doo wop wop" interludes, but it was still good stuff. And even in the pre-civil rights era, racial lines were blurred through music.

But as with any music, some of it sucked really bad. Luckily most of the stuff that has survived the 50 years or so is the good stuff.