Why was it, in 1957, you could put a 15 year old CHILD in a flash Zoot-like suit and pile his long Brylcreemed hair up high and have him end up looking like he was 36?!?
Why was it, in 1957, you could put a 15 year old CHILD in a flash Zoot-like suit and pile his long Brylcreemed hair up high and have him end up looking like he was 36?!?

Rock-a-billy guitar picker Joe Bennett died this last Saturday, June 27. He was 75. His group, Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones, formed in 1956 in Spartenburg, South Carolina. They were discovered after winning a state-wide talent contest set up by CBS A&R man, Bob Cox. Oh, at the time, the four members of the Sparkletones were ALL 16 or younger! Their youthful energy probably accounts for their run of swinging teen-jump scorchers.

Anyway, Cox was so sure of their potential he immediately quit CBS, became their manager, and got them signed to ABC-Paramount. They got a hit straight away their first side, "Black Slacks." The song eventually crept up to number 17 and stayed there for the next FOUR months! For a minute, they HUGE; they were constantly on tour and played all the big syndicated teen TV shows like American Bandstand. They were on Ed Sullivan TWICE.

In 1958, they had one more side hit the charts, "Penny Loafers and Bobby Sox." It almost made the Top 40, but peaked on Billboard Hot 100 in the 42nd spot. The Sparkletones made a few more singles, but as pop music taste changed, and the boys got older, the group ran out of steam and split in October, 1960. Bennett returned to Spartenburg, South Carolina after a stint in the air force. He became an air traffic controller, and a local guitar teacher.