Yes, Mitt and I are two aging "baby boomers" lost in the 1950's !
When my kids were very young I would sing the "Ballad of Davy Crockett" to them at bed time because other than "The Star Spangled Banner" it was the only song to which I knew all the words. My Kids, now that they are grown, claim I made up my own version but I tell them there is more than one version ie Fess Parker version vs Bill Hayes
According to Wikipedia:
During the Davy Crockett craze in 1955, three recorded versions of the Ballad of Davy Crockett were in the top 30. Hayes' version was the most popular, and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.
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The first recording of the song was made by Fess Parker, quickly followed by versions by Bill Hayes and Tennessee Ernie Ford (recorded February 7, 1955). All three versions made the Billboard charts: Hayes' version made #1 on the weekly chart (from March 26 through April 23, 1955) and #7 for the year, Parker's reached #6 on the weekly charts and #31 for the year, while Ford's peaked at #4 on the weekly country chart and #5 on the weekly pop chart and charted at #37 for the year.
The 1950's "Davy Crockett fad" was one of the first fads to be enthusiastically embraced by the post war "baby boomers". More would come, such as hula hoops, Rock N'Roll, Elvis, the Beatles, and Woodstock, but first there was Davy Crockett. I had my coon skin cap and there was a whole counter at our local department store with Davy Crockett paraphernalia. I awaited each week to see if the Disneyland TV show, on ABC TV, had a new episode of "Davy Crockett." I could not believe he would be killed at the Alamo ! It was the first time I had heard of the story of the Alamo and it would be a story that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
It was the first time I had thought of men dying for freedom and that there are some things worth dying for !
Thanks, Walt Disney!
