Remembering 1956

Americans in 1956 were treated to an ever-increasing standard of living. Parents may have begun to fear for the younger generation as Rock and Roll music began to sweep the nation, but news from overseas held subtle and not so subtle reminders that the world was becoming a dangerous place to be. Technology continued its march, generally making the world a better place for everyone.

Sun Records released Carl Perkins' seminal hit "Blue Suede Shoes" on January 1, and the song quickly rose on the Country and the Rhythm and Blues charts, topping a million records by April. Perkins told that the song was inspired by a story told by Johnny Cash while Perkins, Cash , and Elvis Presley were touring with the Louisiana Hayride program, as well as an incident at a dance Perkins played in December 1955. At the dance, he heard a gentleman raise his voice to his date to be more careful, relating later, "Good gracious, a pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes". On March 17, Perkins performed his hit on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, and the same night his friend Elvis Presley covered the song on CBS-TV's Stage Show. Presley's contract with Sun Records had been sold to RCA back in November, and his new label insisted that he put "Blue Suede Shoes" on his new album with "Heartbreak Hotel". Elvis reluctantly agreed on the condition that RCA would not release his version as a single while his friend Perkins' record was still popular.

In other Rock and Roll News, Buddy Holly begins recording for Decca and Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records in late January. Alan Freed's Rock and Roll Dance Party begins broadcasting on CBS Radio on March 24. Elvis formally takes Colonel Tom Parker as his manager and signs a three-picture deal with Paramount. At the beginning of May, "Blue Suede Shoes", "Heartbreak Hotel", Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally", the Platter's "Magic Touch", and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" are all in the Top Ten charts for both pop and R&B, Perkins' and Presley's songs also top the Country charts. Dick Clark hosts American Bandstand for the first time on July 9, and Nat King Cole becomes the first black artist to a national TV variety program on November 5. A month later, Perkins, Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis hold an impromptu jam session at the Sun Records Studio, the recording will be released as "The Million Dollar Quartet".

The Soviet Union participates in their first Olympic Winter Games, the VII Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from January 26 to February 5, and leads the medal count in a Festival little marred by politics. The same could not be said for the Summer Games in Melbourne, Australia, from November 22 to December 8, the first time the Games are held in the Southern Hemisphere. With the Soviet participation in those games, Netherlands, Cambodia, Spain, and Switzerland chose to withdraw to protest the crushing on the Hungarian revolution. Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon withdrew in response to the Suez Crisis, and the People's Republic of China chose not to participate because the Republic of China (Taiwan) was allowed to send a team.

President Eisenhower signs the National Interstate and Defense Highway Acts on June 29. The Defense designation signifies the importance of seamless internal military transport in time of crisis, the fact that funding was partially redirected from the Defense budget for the project, and that most US Air Force bases were to be served by the system. Gamel Abdel Nasser, having recently assumed office as the second President of Egypt, called for the nationalization of the Suez Canal. On July 26, Nasser announced the seizure of the British and French-owned Suez Canal Company and deployed troops to enforce nationalization of the Canal. He also closed the Canal to Israeli shipping.

The ensuing Suez crisis would become a test of Eisenhower's statesmanship and leadership in the International arena, as well as a swansong for the colonial might of France and Great Britain. America had been engaged in negotiations with several Arab nations, hoping to bring stability to the Middle East while mitigating Soviet influence in the region. The European powers saw freedom of navigation through the canal as vital given the importance of Middle East oil to their economies, not to mention the fact that the canal was built by the French during the previous century and the canal zone and operations had been administered and protected by the British for nearly 100 years. To the surprise of American diplomats, the Arab world saw Zionism as a greater danger than Communism. Nasser was expert at playing the interests of the two Superpowers off one another, gaining American economic support for the Aswan Dam while purchasing huge amounts of arms from the Soviets.

British, French, and Israeli representatives met secretly in October to formulate a response. On October 29, Israeli forces invade Sinai and push the Egyptians nearly to the Canal, days later British and French airstrikes on Egypt support the Israelis. The Tripartite forces nearly succeeded militarily, but the United Nations sent a Peacekeeping Force to ensure the safety of navigation through the canal and Eisenhower brought diplomatic pressure on the French and British to stand down. British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden was forced to step down in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis.

Closer to home, on February 23, Marilyn Monroe officially changes her name from Norma Jean Mortensen. Now owning her own production company, the press begins to see her as a savvy business woman, and after her divorce from Joe DiMaggio was finalized in October 1955, she became more public with her relationship with playwright Arthur Miller. Monroe and Miller are married on June 29, 1956, a little more than a week after he had been called before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee to answer allegations of Communist Sympathies and to "name names" (which he refused to do and was found in contempt of Congress).

The Guiding Light had been broadcast on both radio and TV for the past four years with the actors recording their parts twice a day for each medium, but the radio broadcast comes to an end on June 30. With a 19-year run on radio and another 5 years on TV, Guiding Light is the fifth longest-running program in broadcast history. CBS Radio Workshop premiered in January as a revival of the popular Columbia Workshop, and CBS takes advantage of the growing popularity of Westerns by debuting Fort Laramie starring Raymond Burr.

• Cal Perkins' hit Blue Suede Shoe is released on January
• Elvis Presley's Heart Break Hotel hits the charts in February and will be his first million-selling record. Ed Sullivan signs Elvis for three appearances on his show for an unprecedented $50,000. Legend states that Elvis was only shown from the waist up. Members of the KKK rush the stage at a Nat King Cole concert in Alabama in April.
• President Eisenhower signs the National Interstate and Defense Highway Acts on June 29. The Defense designation signifies the importance of seamless internal military tranport in time of crisis, the fact that funding was partially redirected from the Defense budget for the project, and that most US Air Force bases were to be served by the system.
• Playwright Arthur Miller is called before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee on June 21. On the 29th, he marries Marilyn Monroe.
• In late July, Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal and freezes the assets of the British and French controlled Suez Canal Company. The Canal is closed to Israeli shipping. Israel invades Egyptian Sinai on October 29. Britain and France jointly call for a cease-fire, but land paratroopers on the banks of the Suez Canal on November 5. Political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nation will eventually force the invaders to withdraw. the episode is seen as the end of Great Britain's status as an international power.
• The Soviet Union sees the nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian Peoples Republic as the first threat to its rule since Soviet troops drove the Nazis from the territory at the end of WWII. The Hungarian Uprising began with a student protest and resulted in a government formed by the Hungarian Working People's Party, which declared intentions to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Politburo decided the revolt must be crushed, and 2,500 Hungarians were kills and 200,000 became refugees.
• Thirty-two nations participate in the VII Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Amperzzo, Italy. In their first Winter Olympic appearance, the Soviet Team leads the medal count. The Summer Olympics in Melbourne are the first held in the Southern Hemisphere, but the Games are marred by boycotts due to the Suez Crisis and the Soviet response to the Hungarian Revolution.
• A team at IBM invents the Hard Disk Drive data storage. The device occupies 68 cubic feet, weighs 2,000 pounds, and will hold 3.75 megabytes of data. A device of similar design in 2017 is less than two cubic inches, weighs just over two ounces, and holds up to 10 terabytes of data.
• Ford's Lincoln division launches the Continental Mark II as the most luxurious and elegant American car available, surpassing even Cadillac or anything from Europe. Plymouth introduces the full-sized Fury with a 303 cubic inch V8 and twin four-barrel carburetors. American Motors Corporation declare that "a new era in motoring has begun" with the launch of the intermediate-sized Rambler Six (considered a "compact car" at the time). Volvo announces the Amazon line which it will import to the US market.
• Movie star Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco on April 18.
• Fort Laramie debuts on CBS, but The Guiding Light ends its 19 year run on radio, continuing on television until 2009. America's Town Meeting of the Air closes after being on the Blue Network and ABC Radio since 1935. Gene Autry's Melody Ranch goes off the air.