Modern music has certainly come a long way and much of what we hear today came from the seeds planted in the 1950s and 1960s. Before grunge, house, and disco, there was rock n roll!
There were pioneers everywhere from Elvis Presley to the Beatles and thankfully their peers took their lead and made people all around the world dance to a new sound. In the fifties, people Bopped, Hand Jived, Cha-Chaed and performed the Swing and we still do thanks to the people here (we have split this up a bit to cover a few subgenres).
Rock & Roll
| Artist | Song | Year |
| Rolling Stones | (I can’t get no) Satisfaction | 1965 |
| Elvis Presley | (Let’s have a) Party | 1957 |
| The Beatles | A Hard Day’s Night | 1964 |
| The Kinks | All-day and All of the Night | 1964 |
| Beach Boys | Barbara Ann | 1965 |
| Everly Brothers | Bird Dog | 1958 |
| Elvis Presley | Blue Suede Shoes | 1956 |
| Everly Brothers | Bye Bye Love | 1957 |
| Neil Sedaka | Calendar Girl | 1960 |
| Beach Boys | California Girls | 1965 |
| The Beatles | Can’t Buy Me love | 1964 |
| The Big Bopper | Chantilly Lace | 1958 |
| Ritchie Valens | C’mon Let’s Go | 1959 |
| Elvis Presley | Don’t Be Cruel | 1957 |
| The Coasters | Down in Mexico | 1956 |
| Roy Orbison | Dream Baby | 1962 |
| Bobby Darin | Dream Lover | 1959 |
| The Beatles | Drive My Car | 1965 |
| Beach Boys | Fun Fun Fun | 1964 |
| Rolling Stones | Get Off of My Cloud | 1965 |
| Little Richard | Good Golly Miss Molly | 1956 |
| Beach Boys | Good Vibrations | 1966 |
| Jerry Lee Lewis | Great Balls of Fire | 1957 |
| Jim Lowe | Green Door | 1956 |
| Beach Boys | Help me Rhonda | 1965 |
| Elvis Presley | Hound Dog | 1956 |
| Beach Boys | I Get Around | 1964 |
| The Beatles | I Want to Hold Your hand | 1963 |
| Rolling Stones | It’s All Over Now | 1964 |
| Buddy Holly | It’s So Easy! | 1958 |
| Elvis Presley | Jailhouse Rock | 1957 |
| Chuck Berry | Johnny B Goode | 1958 |
| Ritchie Valens | La Bamba | 1958 |
| The Shangri-las | Leader of the Pack | 1964 |
| Chubby Checker | Let’s Twist Again | 1961 |
| Beach Boys | Little Deuce Coupe | 1963 |
| Cliff Richard | Livin’ Doll | 1959 |
| Little Richard | Long Tall Sally | 1956 |
| Richard Berry | Louie Louie | 1955 |
| The Clovers/The searchers | Love Potion No.9 | 1959/1964 |
| Buddy Holly | Maybe Baby | 1957 |
| Roy Orbison | Mean Woman Blues | 1963 |
| The Beatles | Money (that’s what I want) | 1963 |
| Tommy James & The Shondells | Mony Mony | 1968 |
| Cliff Richard | Move It | 1958 |
| Bobby Darin | Multiplication | 1961 |
| Buddy Holly | Oh Boy! | 1957 |
| The Coasters | Poison Ivy | 1959 |
| Buddy Holly | Rave On | 1958 |
| Bill Haley | Rip It Up | 1956 |
| Chuck Berry | Rock and Roll Music | 1957 |
| Bill Haley | Rock Around the Clock | 1955 |
| Bobby Day | Rockin’ Robin | 1958 |
| Chuck Berry | Roll Over Beethoven | 1956 |
| Rolling Stones | Route 66 | 1964 |
| Dion | Runaround Sue | 1961 |
| Del Shannon | Runaway | 1961 |
| The Beatles | Saw Her Standing there | 1963 |
| Bill Haley | See You later, Alligator | 1956 |
| Bill Haley | Shake Rattle and Roll | 1954 |
| Jonny Kid and the Pirates | Shakin All Over | 1960 |
| The Beatles | She loves you | 1963 |
| Little Richard | Slippin and Slidin | 1956 |
| Bobby Darin | Splish Splash | 1958 |
| Beach Boys | Surfin’ Safari | 1962 |
| Beach Boys | Surfin’ USA | 1963 |
| Buddy Holly | That’ll Be the Day | 1957 |
| Elvis Presley | That’s Alright Mama | 1954 |
| Chubby Checker | The Twist | 1958 |
| Dion | The Wanderer | 1961 |
| Nancy Sinatra | These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ | 1966 |
| Little Richard | Tutti Frutti | 1955 |
| The Beatles | Twist and Shout | 1964 |
| Sam Cooke | Twistin’ the night away | 1962 |
| Everly Brothers | Wake Up Little Susie | 1957 |
| The Animals | We Gotta Get Out of This Place | 1965 |
| Jerry Lee Lewis | Whole Lotta Shakin Goin’ On | 1957 |
| Roy Orbison | Working for the Man | 1962 |
| Beach Boys | Wouldn’t it be Nice | 1966 |
| Chuck Berry | You Never Can Tell | 1964 |
| The Kinks | You Really Got Me | 1964 |
Australian Rock & Roll
| Artist | Song | Year |
| Lonni Lee | Ain’t it So | 1959 |
| Easybeats | Friday on My Mind | 1967 |
| Easybeats | Good Times | 1968 |
| Col Joye and the Joy Boys | Oh Yeah, Uh Huh | 1959 |
| Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs | Poison Ivy | 1964 |
| Normie Rowe | Shakin All Over | 1965 |
| Johnny O’Keefe | She’s My Baby | 1959 |
| Easybeats | She’s So Fine | 1965 |
| Johnny O’Keefe | Shout! | 1959 |
| Johnny O’Keefe | Sing (and tell the blues so long) | 1962 |
| Johnny O’Keefe | The Wild One | 1958 |
Surf & Instrumental
| Artist | Song | Year |
| The Atlantics | Bombora | 1962 |
| Link Wray | Rumble | 1958 |
| Dick Dale | Misirlou | 1962 |
| The Tornadoes | Telstar | 1962 |
| Champs | Tequila | 1958 |
| The Chantays | Pipeline | 1962 |
| The Shadows | Apache | 1960 |
| The Ventures | Hawaii Five-0 | 1968 |
| The Ventures | Wipeout | 1963 |
Blues, Soul & Funk
| Artist | Song | Year |
| Fats Domino | Ain’t That a Shame | 1955 |
| Fats Domino | Blueberry Hill | 1956 |
| Bo Diddley | Bo Diddley | 1958 |
| John lee Hooker | Boom Boom | 1962 |
| Martha and the Vandellas | Dancing in the Street | 1965 |
| Solomon Burke | Everybody Needs Somebody to Love | 1964 |
| Ray Charles | Hit the Road Jack | 1961 |
| Ray Charles | I Got a Woman | 1954 |
| James Brown | I Got you/I feel Good | 1965 |
| Fats Domino | I’m Walkin’ | 1957 |
| Wilson Picket | In the Midnight Hour | 1965 |
| Louis Prima | Just a Gigolo | 1956 |
| Fats Domino | Kansas City | 1963 |
| The Supremes | Keep me Hanging on | 1966 |
| Lloyd Price | Lawdy Miss Clawdy | 1952 |
| Bo Diddley | Mona | 1957 |
| Wilson Picket | Mustang Sally | 1967 |
| James Brown | Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag | 1965 |
| Lloyd Price | Personality | 1959 |
| Aretha Franklin | Respect | 1967 |
| The Supremes | Stop! In the Name of Love | 1965 |
| Ray Charles | What’d I Say | 1959 |
| Bo Diddley | Who do You Love? | 1956 |
| The Supremes | You Can’t Hurry Love | 1966 |
More of a modern rock & roll lover? Enjoy these 50 rock & roll gems. You can enjoy the playlist on Spotify below at your next wedding function:
