If you've followed this series from the beginning, it started with 1977, the year I began high school and a year when music changed with the arrival of punk rock. So why jump back to 1953? As I recorded the earlier chronological episodes, I found myself thinking, both for the music and the major news stories, how did we get here? What's the back story of each news event and what are the inspirations and ground-breakers that blazed a trail for music through to today?

Because, primarily, this is a series about music, I wanted to look back to just before rock n roll to get an understanding of the popular music before it was changed forever. I thought that would mean 1956, maybe 1955 when Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock first charted in the UK. But in keeping with the series theme of taking a view from both sides of the Atlantic, things started a little earlier in the US. There's still debate about what was the first rock n roll record or even which was the first rock n roll “hit”. But the one I went with was released in 1953. See if you can spot it and listen out for the other, less successful recordings that were clearly appropriated for what became known later as rock n roll.

A couple of foot-notes to explain things that were different back in the 1950s.

It was not uncommon for the same song to be released multiple times by different artists almost at the same time. One song in this episode charted 5 times in the same year all by different artists! So don't be surprised to hear songs in this episode recorded by unexpected artists.

In the 21st century, because of the nature of the internet and digital content, new music releases are usually a single, global event. But in the 1950s a record could be released a year or more apart in the US versus the UK versus other parts of the world. This certainly made determining what constitutes “music from 1953” a challenge. There will be disagreements.

World War II had only ended 8-years earlier but conflict continues in Korea. That will be an early order of business for new US president Dwight D Eisenhower and vice-president, Richard Nixon. In the UK, King George VI (sixth) has just died, resulting in his young daughter Elizabeth taking the thrown. She hadn't been formally crowned as the year begins and the impending coronation will be televised in the UK, seeing increased sales of TV sets. Televisions have only existed for 17 years and around a quarter of British households now own one.

Welcome to 1953.