The Fifties: Highways, space travel and new statehoods issued. 1956 to 1959

Federal Aid Highway Act

June, 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the highway system in the United States.

Frank Sinatra

This singer, actor, and producer who was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. Sinatra’s professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career would be reborn with the success of movies such as from Here to Eternity, In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers, Come Fly with Me, and Only the Lonely..
Wham-O

Sputnik 1

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial earth satellite. This satellite was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. This satellite triggered the space race, a part of the larger Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments.

Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by the Governor of Arkansas named Orval Faubus. The group was allowed to attend after President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened.

Statehood of Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska became the 49th state to enter the Union on Jan 3, 1959. Later that year,Hawaii would become the 50th state on August 21. Both states were signed intostatehood by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Bobby Darin

Was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actor of film and television. He performed in a range of musical genres, including j azz, pop, rock’n’roll, folk, swing and country. He started as a songwriter for Connie Francis and recorded his own first million-seller “Splish Splash” in 1958.

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government is responsible for the space program including research and development. It was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958.

Mercury Seven

This group of astronauts was announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. These seven original American astronauts were

Barbie

This fashion doll was manufactured by Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

Connie Francis

Francis was a pop singer and the top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s.

Frankie Avalon

Frankie Avalon was a singer and actor, best known of Venus in the late 1950’s.

John Wayne

John Wayne, was an American actor, director, and producer.

Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was a guitarist, singer and songwriter and is one of the pioneers of rock and roll. His songs included Maybellene (1955), Roll Over Beethoven (1956) Rock and Roll Music (1957) and Johnny B. Goode (1958). Berry traveled to Chicago in May 1955 and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. It was with Chess that he recorded “Maybellene” that would reach number one on Billboard magazine’s rhythm and blues chart. By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records and film appearances and a lucrative touring career. He had also established his own St. Louis nightclub, Berry’s Club Bandstand.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was a musician and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He is often referred to as either, “The King” or “The King of Rock and Roll”. Presley’s first RCA single, “Heartbreak Hotel”, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines that coincided with the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, made him enormously popular—and controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service.

Bill Haley and His Comets

This American rock and roll band was founded in 1952. It was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of America and the rest of the world. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group placed nine singles in the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.

Buddy Holly

Born Charles Hardin Holley, Buddy Holly was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group “Buddy and Bob” with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band’s style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In September 1957, as the band toured, “That’ll Be the Day” topped the US Best Seller chart. It was followed in October by “Peggy Sue”. He made a second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in January of 1958. In early 1959, Holly assembled a new ban consisting of Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch. After a tour of the Midwest and a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered an airplane to travel to his next show. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly.

American Bandstand

August 5, 1957, American Bandstand premiered on ABC Television. This show was a local dance program and was filmed in Philadelphia.

Leave It to Beaver

Leave it to Beave was a situational comedy about a very curious boy named Theodore “The Beaver” Cleaver. It aired on October 4, 1957 on CBS. The show covers his adventures at home, at school and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont and Tony Dow.

Perry Mason

This legal drama was broadcast on CBS on September 21, 1957. It starred Raymond Burr. It is based on stories written by Erle Stanley Gardner.

The Music Man

This musical was based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. It was released in 1957 and became an instant Broadway hit.

The King and I

The King and I was a 1956 musical film, made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl Zanuck. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

The Ten Commandments

This film was a religious epic film, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and shot in Vista Vision. It was released by Paramount Pictures. It starred Charlton Heston, Yul Brenner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne DeCarlo and Debra Paget. It was released on November 8, 1956 and was the most expensive film ever made up to that date.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

This film was a World War II epic film that was directed by David Lean and starred William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, and Sessue Hayakawa. It is widely considered one of the greatest films in history.

Jailhouse Rock film

Jailhouse Rock was a musical drama film and starred Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler and Mickey Shaughnessy. The movie began being filmed in May of 1957 and was released in 1958. The film is about a young man sentenced to prison for manslaughter who is mentored in music by his prison cellmate who realizes his musical abilities. After his release from jail, while looking for a job as a club singer, the young man meets a musical promoter who helps him launch his career. As he develops his musical abilities and becomes a star, his self-centered personality begins to affect his relationships.

Gigi

Gigi is a 1958 American musical comedy. It starred Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan.

Ben-Hur

Ben Hur was a 1959 epic historical drama. It starred Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith and Haya Harareet. It was a remake of the 1925 silent film of the same name. Ben-Hur had the largest budget ($15.175 million) as well as the largest sets built of any film produced at the time.

Profiles of Courage

This 1957 Pulitzer Prize winning volume of short biographies described acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators throughout the Senate’s history. Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox and John F. Kennedy are all featured as well as John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster and Sam Houston.

On the Road

September, 1957, the first edition of Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road went on sale in the United States. It is based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across America. It is considered a defining work of the post war Beat and Counterculture generations.