The Ye Ye Scenesters of Ye-steryear (Episode 51)

In 1959, a new radio show hit the Parisian airwaves called Salut
les Copains, which translates to "Oh, Hi!" The show couldn’t have
been more popular with teenagers. And on that program, there was a
feature called “Sweetheart of the week” which featured one female
pop singer. Because of the popularity of the show, those singers
were all nearly instant hits, however fleetingly it was for most.
In 1963, Salut held a concert to celebrate the launch of its
magazine. That concert drew nearly 200,000 people and caused
lecherous drooling riots in the streets of Paris. Journalist Edgar
Morin dubbed the singers and attendees the Ye Ye Generation
immediately following the concert and the name stuck. Most of the
‘sweethearts’ were lolita like figures, rarely over 20 years old
and looking sweet and innocent. Most of the songs were French
versions of American rock and roll hits, as long as the hits were
trite and vacuous. The competition to become a ‘sweetheart’ was
fierce and because most of these girls were stylized to look nearly
identical, it ended up being those singers who had a niche, or a
personality, that made a memorable mark. Among the masses of
one-hit wonders, there were several stars that transcended the
scene. Much of the research for this episode was found here: Ready
Steady Girls! Subscribe to Highway Hi-Fi:
iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | PocketCasts | Overcast | Google
Play  Twitter | Facebook | Spotify Learn
more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices