The Rock'n'Roll 1959 CD album soundtrack features all the songs performed live in Lee Gordon's era defining film, plus a rare Leedon label release of the 1950s hit 'Teen Beat', which plays as the opening credits roll. This feature length documentary was shot at 4 live concerts held at The Sydney Stadium during October, 1959. Also produced by

The Rock'n'Roll 1959 CD album soundtrack features all the songs performed live in Lee Gordon's era defining film, plus a rare Leedon label release of the 1950s hit 'Teen Beat', which plays as the opening credits roll. This feature length documentary was shot at 4 live concerts held at The Sydney Stadium during October, 1959. Also produced by Gordon, these shows were promoted as 'Lee Gordon's 'Rock'n'Roll Spectacular', touring various venues across Australia.

The artists in the film by and large represent the cream of early Rock'n'Roll talent from Australia and New Zealand in a heady, yet short lived era prior to the British 'Beat' invasion in the 1960s lead by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. While the 60s 'Beat' sound overtook all that came before it, it was the artists from the earliest days of Rock'n'Roll that donated the wheels and an engine.

Of particular note in these recordings are those of Johnny O'Keefe's performance, whose energy somehow eclipses the stellar performances of Devlin and Joye. O'Keefe simply takes the energy to a higher spiritual level, where Australian Rock'n'Roll had never been before and never thought it would go. The 'Shout' performance of O'Keefe in the film is regarded as a watershed moment in Australian rock history. Engineered with the brash, confident, rough and ready shake of his hips and tireless presence, O'Keefe cleared a path that day for many Australian acts to follow. For this reason, O'Keefe will always be referred to as 'The King' of Australian Rock'n'Roll.

All of the live recordings on this album are in stereo format and have never been released to the public for sale. The first 4 tracks of O'Keefe's set have not been heard by any member of the public until now, other than those lucky few who have seen the film. While the audio from O'keefe's 'Shout' and 'What'd I say' performances had been salvaged from video transfers originating from the original film stock (see the start of ABC's Rage program), the audio and visual transfer quality was quite poor. Using modern digital technology, we were able to achieve a much better retrieval of audio from the film stock that surfaced in 2020, after being lost for over half a century. In addition, the songs have also been digitally mastered to ensure you are more than satisfied with the listening experience of a live recording originally made with vintage technology. While you will notice some audio in the recording has been affected through the ageing process of the film stock, there is simply nothing comparable in quality from a live 1950s Rock'n'Roll concert like this one, anywhere on the planet!

The CD album is provided with a Jewel CD case with an inner folded insert containing a summary of the soundtrack. The 35mm film reel image printed on the front of the inner fold and on the CD itself, is one of the four reels that the film was originally found on. Track listings are included at the rear of the case. You can preview all the tracks using the MP3 preview player below. Audio on the CD is in 44.1 Khz / 16 Bit format.