VF Live: Scarlett O'Malley #4

A ’50s special with – soul, rockabilly, doo wop, and rock’n’roll records.

In VF Live, DJs take you inside their homes, record stores, and studios for intimate selects and mixes.

London DJ Scarlett O’Malley returns for her monthly VF Live residency with a ’50s special.

“Today, I took the chance to really dust off the first part of my record collection I owned – music from the ’50s. The inspiration behind these selections in a nutshell is: my childhood. I grew up listening almost exclusively to ’50s music.

My dad was also in a rock’n’roll band, so I didn’t have a ‘normal’ childhood. A lot of it was spent in dance halls at sound checks, where I thought the vibrations from the double bass would nearly split me in two. Many of the tunes I have played in today’s VF Live are ones that I remember watching people jive to, songs we sang around the house, and tracks we’d listen to in the car.

I’m always unsure if this music is underrated, or just not talked about as much because it isn’t deemed ‘cool’, but a lot of these sounds were part of the birth of youth culture. Match that with great composition and stunning harmonies I think we’re onto a winner!

After my first few years of DJing where they were my bread and butter, I never play them out, so it’s nice for them to have a spotlight on them too.”

Watch and listen to the set above, check out the tracklist below.

Tracklist:

1. The Spaniels – People Will Say We’re In Love
2. Wynonie Harris – Bloodshot Eyes
3. Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters – Fools Fall In Love
4. The Videos – Trickle Trickle
5. Big Danny Oliver – Sapphire
6. Big Mama Thornton – Hound Dog
7. The Gaylords – Ma Ma Ma Marie
8. Billy Fury – Gonna Type A Letter
9. Warren Smith – Sweet, Sweet Girl
10. Elvis Presley – Big Hunk O’ Love
11. The Five Keys – She’s The Most
12. Dolly Cooper – My Man
13. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers – Goody Goody
14. Clyde McPhatter – Lover Please
15. Louis Prima – Whistle Stop
16. Charles Sheffield – Your Voodoo’s Working
17. The Five Keys – It’s A Crying Shame
18. The Duprees – You Belong To Me
19. Jackie Wilson – Doggin’ Around
20. The Platters – Only You
21. Etta James – Sunday Kind Of Love
22. The Skyliners – Since I Don’t Have You