Gee (The Crows song)

"Gee"
Single by The Crows
B-side"I Love You So"
ReleasedMarch 1953
RecordedFebruary 1953
GenreDoo-wop, rock and roll
Length2:14
LabelRama
Songwriter(s)William Davis, Viola Watkins
Producer(s)George Goldner
The Crows singles chronology
"Gee"
(1953) 		"Heartbreaker"
(1953)

"Gee" is a song by American R&B and doo-wop group the Crows, released in June 1953. The song has been credited as the first rock and roll hit by a rock and roll group.[1] It is a doo-wop song, written by William Davis and Viola Watkins, and recorded by the Crows on the independent label, Rama Records, at Beltone Studios in New York City in February 1953. It charted in April 1954, one year later. It took a year to get recognized on Your Hit Parade. It landed No. 2 on the rhythm and blues chart and No. 14 on the pop chart. It was the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records. Recorded on an independent label, it was one of the first such R&B records to crossover to the wider pop market.[2] Some,[who?] including Jay Warner,[who?] consider it as the first of the "rock and roll records".[3][4]

  1. ^ Warner, Jay, American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today (2006),Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 137
  2. ^ Steve Propes; Jim Dawson (1992). What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record. Boston & London: Faber & Faber. pp. 124–127. ISBN 0-571-12939-0.
  3. ^ "Daily Doo Wop is under construction". Dailydoowop.com.
  4. ^ Warner, Jay (July 18, 2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-634-09978-6.