Epilogue

The year 1954 was pivotal in the nascent civil rights movement gaining momentum in the United States. The Supreme Court, in their unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, struck down school segregation as unconstitutional. Far from being universally and triumphantly heralded as a watershed moment for equal rights, racial fault lines were being exposed and racial tensions were rising.

The music industry was not immune from prejudicial attitudes or discriminatory practices. Most African-American recording artists were relegated to smaller and independent record labels with less marketing muscle and more modest production facilities than the big-name recording companies. Black groups found it hard to get airplay on mainstream media properties in a time when radio was the primary means of achieving national exposure, and disc jockeys were the gatekeepers and tastemakers of popular music. It was common for the big labels to repackage black music in ways which were perceived to be more palatable to white audiences. “Sh-Boom” shook up the status quo with its unstoppable crossover appeal, but The Chords would wind up becoming one-hit wonders and historical footnotes.

“Sh-Boom” was The Chords’s only hit song. When it was established that another band had already been using The Chords’s name, the group underwent a couple of reincarnations, firstly re-dubbed The Chordcats, and, finally, The Sh-Booms. By 1960, having switched record labels, and following some personnel changes, the group had disbanded. Buddy McCrae, the last surviving member of the original group, died in 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ymzM2ZqX4