In the latter Fifties, the teenage tragedy was very much the calling card of American International Pictures (AIP), films liked Dragstrip Riot (1959) culminated in a free-for-all between two warring gangs of hard-scrabbled youths. There was of course a more saccharine side, In 1958's Summer Love which starred Jill St. John and Rod McKuen, the Daley Combo make a guest appearance at a summer camp with their contemporaneous hit song 'To Know You Is to Love You.' The same formula also lingered on in similar blends of rock and romance, as seen in Juvenile Jungle (1958).
Eventually television would be the main supplier of the movies with fresh-faced teenage idols, Ed 'Kookie' Byrnes would appear in Sam Katzman's turkey - Life Begins at 17 (1958). Cliff Richard was the British hipster in 1959's Expresso Bongo and the music industry continued to provide performers for films like Go Johnny Go (1959) which starred Richie Valens, Eddie Cochran, The Flamingos, The Cadillacs and Chuck Berry. The appearance in 1959 of Gidget would make way for the latest teen queen - Sandra Dee.