Sh-Boom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" |
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| Single by The Chords | |
| B-side | "Little Maiden" |
| Released | 1954 |
| Recorded | 1954 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:33 |
| Label | Cat Records |
| Songwriter(s) | James Keyes, Claude Feaster & Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards |
"Sh-Boom" (sometimes referred to as "Life Could Be a Dream") is an early doo-wop song by the R&B vocal group The Chords. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards, members of The Chords, and published in 1954. It was a U.S. top-10 hit that year for both the Chords (who first recorded the song) and The Crew-Cuts.
Other recordings
Stan Freberg recorded a combined spoof of "Sh-boom" and Marlon Brando because he felt that they both mumbled, in 1954. It reached No. 14 in the US and 15 in the UK. The Billy Williams Quartet released a version in 1954 on Coral Records that reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, with orchestra directed by Jack Pleis. A recording by Ken Mackintosh and His Orchestra (vocalists: the Mackpies) was made in London on April 7, 1954. It was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10698.
The record for most recordings of "Sh-Boom" by a single group probably belongs to the Harvard Din & Tonics, an a cappella men's singing group that has featured the song on 12 of their 13 albums. Their 1979 Crew-Cuts-style arrangement was so popular that the group began performing "Sh-Boom" as their signature song at all their concerts, bringing all their alumni onstage to perform it across the United States and through 10 world tours.
The British Doo-Wop revivalists, Darts, recorded "Sh-Boom" in the late 1970s, this time at a slower tempo. It was released as the B-side of the band's last charting single, reaching No. 48 in the UK charts in 1980.
The reggae crooner Alton Ellis recorded a cover entitled "She Boom" for Studio One some time in the 1970s; the EP has been pressed at various times by various distributors.
In the 1980s a parody of the song entitled "Dubuque" was featured in the Dubuque ham TV commercial, a midwestern-based meat packing company.
German rock-and-roll band Spider Murphy Gang adapted the song into a Bavarian version, "Leben is wiar a Traum", which they released as a single in 1985.
The Fleetwoods released a cover version of the song. Canadian children's entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram covered the song on their 1995 album release titled Let's Dance!. Watkin Tudor Jones covered the song on his 2001 album, Memoirs Of A Clone. British doo-wop act the Overtones covered the song on their 2010 album Good Ol' Fashioned Love. The song was covered in 1955 by Enoch Light And His Light Brigade Orchestra, released in the UK on His Master's Voice, and appears on their album Little Things Mean A Lot from Jasmine Records.
