By Randi Bjornstad

We sometimes think of the Fifties as having been a carefree, simpler time compared with now, when our lives have been orchestrated and severely constricted for more than a year by the covid-19 pandemic. And many of those who were there back then still have a powerful nostalgia for the music of that era, dominated by an explosion of musical expression that built on swing, blues, and country to evolve into pop, soul, and rock.

Of course, life wasn’t really carefree or simple then. The world had just come through a devastating global conflict which took an estimated 75 million military and civilian lives worldwide, about 405,000 from the United States. By comparison, so far the worldwide number of cases of covid-19 so far, according to the World Health Organization, is 170 million, with 3.5 million deaths.

Even before that, the world had endured the Great Depression of the 1930s, characterized by joblessness, poverty, and for many, an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.

All of these times and events — and don’t forget the even-earlier catastrophe of World War I — naturally combined to influence the musical outpouring of emotion aimed leaving behind the worry and pain of the past and looking forward to a brighter, happier future.

Lynnea Barry is artistic director for Be-Bop-A-Lula at The Shedd

All that is reflected in The Shedd’s new show, Be-Bop-A-Lula: Rockin’ Through the ’50s, which moves hopefully through some of the era’s most iconic songs, with their emphasis on the amalgamation of older musical forms into a new style that spelled excitement and freedom and progress to the young at the same time that it often filled their elders with fear that the next generation indeed was “going to the dogs.”

Under the artistic direction of Lynnea Barry, Be-Bop-A-Lula includes a few earlier and later songs that help give context to the 1950s era of vocal healing, feeling and reeling, as interpreted by singers that include Barry as well as Siri Vik, Tracy Williams-Tooze, and Bill Hulings.

The vocalists are joined by a band consisting of Keri Davis (band leader and piano), Don Elkington (drums), Nathan Waddell (electric bass), Steve Arriola (guitar), Jonathan Corona (reeds) and Della Davies (violin).

The program is chock full of songs (and performers) that most people of a certain age probably will remember instantly:

  • BABY LOVE (1964)
  • DO YOU WANT TO DANCE (1958)
  • A CHANGE IS GONNA COME (1964)
  • THE TWIST (1958)
  • SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME (1960)
  • BE MY BABY (1963)
  • MY GUY (1964)
  • ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK (1954)
  • ROCKIN’ ROBIN (1958)
  • STAND BY ME (1961)
  • STAY (1960)
  • WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE (1955)
  • LAST KISS (1961)
  • WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW (1960)
  • BE-BOP A LULA (1956)
  • BYE BYE LOVE (1957)
  • ONLY YOU (AND YOU ALONE)
  • PEOPLE GET READY (1965)
  • PLEASE MR. POSTMAN (1961)
  • PEGGY SUE (1957)
  • BLUE SUEDE SHOES (1956)
  • LOVE ME TENDER (1956)
  • TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM (1958)
  • Rock And Roll Waltz (1956)
  • I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU (1964)
  • TENNESSEE WALTZ (1948)
  • WHEN MY DREAM BOAT COMES HOME (1936)
  • WHO’S SORRY NOW? (1923)
  • I WILL FOLLOW HIM (1962)
  • YOU DON’T OWN ME (1963)

Be-Bop-A-Lula: Rockin’ Through the ’50s

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12; 3 p.m. Sunday, June 13

Where: Jaqua Concert Hall, The Shedd Institute for the Arts, 868 High St., Eugene

Tickets: $22, $26, $30, available at the ticket office, 541-434-7000, or online at theshedd.org

Pre/post-concert meals: 6 p.m.; set menu by reservation-only includes salad, rolls, entrée (vegetarian option available) and dessert with tea or coffee. Wine, soft drinks, and other beverages are extra; $23.75 for adults, $18.75 for children 9 years and younger. Call 541-434-7000 for menus and reservations.

Details: State guidelines regarding indoor venues and restaurants will be strictly enforced.

Information: 541-687-6526 or theshedd.org