The Ye Ye Scenesters of Ye-steryear (Episode 51)

In 1959, a new radio show hit the Parisian airwaves called Salut les Copains, which translates to "Oh, Hi!" The show couldn’t have been more popular with teenagers. And on that program, there was a feature called “Sweetheart of the week” which featured one female pop singer. Because of the popularity of the show, those singers were all nearly instant hits, however fleetingly it was for most. In 1963, Salut held a concert to celebrate the launch of its magazine. That concert drew nearly 200,000 people and caused lecherous drooling riots in the streets of Paris. Journalist Edgar Morin dubbed the singers and attendees the Ye Ye Generation immediately following the concert and the name stuck. Most of the ‘sweethearts’ were lolita like figures, rarely over 20 years old and looking sweet and innocent. Most of the songs were French versions of American rock and roll hits, as long as the hits were trite and vacuous. The competition to become a ‘sweetheart’ was fierce and because most of these girls were stylized to look nearly identical, it ended up being those singers who had a niche, or a personality, that made a memorable mark. Among the masses of one-hit wonders, there were several stars that transcended the scene. Much of the research for this episode was found here: Ready Steady Girls! Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google Play  Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

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