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 1950s Hits: Song by Song, the biggest hits of the 1950s, one by one |
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 13th September 2021, 07:10 PM
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#21
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 BuzzJack Enthusiast
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And so we play catch up.
#12 - Frankie Laine - High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) Debut: 14 November 1952 Peak: #7 WoC: 7 Run: 7-7-11-11-9-12-12 Theme song from the 1952 film High Noon. Although Tex Ritter did the version actually in the film |
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16th September 2021, 12:42 PM
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#22
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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#13 - Nat King Cole - Somewhere Along the Way
Debut: 14 November 1952 Peak: #3 WoC: 7 Run: 3-6-8-12-7-6-6 Cat No: Capital 2069 The first of 31 UK Top 40 hits for Nat King Cole. A timeless classic that still stands up today as well as it ever has. It was featured on '8 Top Pops' - alongside Walking My Baby Back Home, Because You're Mine and Faith Can Move Mountains. It was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Gallop - the latter of whom wrote the wedding song 'Wake The Town and Tell the People'. This post has been edited by chartfridays: 16th September 2021, 12:43 PM |
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16th September 2021, 02:25 PM
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#23
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
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I quite like Sugarbush, it's got Doris Day on it which is enough for me!
 Doris was fab, but best on her total crooners like Secret Love, Black Hills Of Dakota and Move Over Darling or showtune stormers like Deadwood Stage. Calamity Jane is one of the greatest musicals of all-time. High Noon is better for Frankie though, bit of a Country & Western anthem that one, more Western than Country.Nat 'King' Cole is never less than listenable, and frequently meltingly smooth & gorgeous. I don't know Somewhere Along The Way but it seems quite pleasant on one hearing. |
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16th September 2021, 05:23 PM
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#24
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 20 April 2009
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Nearly 70 years to cover and we've almost finished Week 1.
It's a great idea though and loving the extensive commentaries.Love the next song to be revealed...and she had such a warm voice. Great that it eventually made #1 after being stuck as the runner up for so long. |
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16th September 2021, 08:10 PM
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#25
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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QUOTE(JulianT @ Sep 16 2021, 06:23 PM)  Nearly 70 years to cover and we've almost finished Week 1. It's a great idea though and loving the extensive commentaries.Love the next song to be revealed...and she had such a warm voice. Great that it eventually made #1 after being stuck as the runner up for so long. Thanks - although sometimes their just isn't all that much to write. Don't joke about, I was sitting working out how long this was going to take the other day, got to the end of the 60s and gave up!! It's a long term project And yes, I think I actually prefer the next song to the one that got to No 1. |
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16th September 2021, 08:44 PM
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#26
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 With Kristina in heart
Joined: 28 March 2017
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From the first chart my favourites are "You Belong To Me", "Half As Much" and "Sugarbush".
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19th September 2021, 03:19 PM
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#27
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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14 Jo Stafford - You Belong To Me
Debut: 14 November 1952 Peak: #1 WoC: 19 Run: 2-5-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-1-2-5-5-6-9-11-8-11-12 A song that suffered the misfortune of being really big at the same time as Here in My Heart - although thankfully as discussed here it was able to finally climb into the record books after 9 weeks - 8 of which were at No 2 directly behind Al Martino's song. At 19 weeks it actually managed a week longer on the chart as well! The song was written by Chilton Price, with Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart credited as song-writers as they helped get the song promoted - an old minefield we'll no doubt climb into sometime far in to the future especially as the favours system moves out of song writing straight into features in later years. The song was first record by Joni James, then by numerous other artists including Patti Page, Alma Cogan, Dickie Valentine, Ted Heath and His Music and Jimmy Young - all of whom will get their entry in this list soon enough though. In later years, the song would be covered by an eclectic mix of artists including Rick Astley, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and Tori Amos. The last notable thing about this track is it's prominent use in the 1953 film Forbidden, however this came out long after it had dropped off the hit parade, so unlike some other songs on this list was not one of the factor's driving it's success. |
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21st September 2021, 10:28 PM
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#28
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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#15 Al Martino - Here in My Heart
Debut: 14 November 1952 Peak: #1 WoC: 18 Weeks Run: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-6-3-6-6-5-8-9-12-11 So we reach the first of in excess of 94 number one songs from the 1950s to cover. Al Martino - Here in My Heart which spent 9 weeks at Number 1 - a record which only stood for just under two years, when Cara Mia by David Whitfield grabbed 10 weeks. The song was written by Pat Genevison, Lou Lorrelli and Bill Borrelli, it was published on BBS in the US - and Capitol in the UK. It would be the first of eight Top 40 hits for Al Martino - however it would be his only entry to climb to the summit. As discussed above the track denied Jo Stafford what could have been a substantial run at No 1. The song had also spent eight weeks atop the sheet music charts prior to topping the official singles chart. This post has been edited by chartfridays: 21st September 2021, 10:29 PM |
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23rd September 2021, 04:42 PM
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#29
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BuzzJack Legend
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I'm not a fan of Here In My Heart, but I'm happy to play Al's signature toon Spanish Eyes. Now there's a proper croon
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28th September 2021, 05:05 PM
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#30
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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Sorry for the slacking off on this over the weekend. Been busy. I haven't forgotten about it. Might make this Mon-Fri soon, will see how we go.
#16 Doris Day - My Love and Devotion Debut: 21 November 1952 Peak: #10 WoC: 2 Chart Run: 10-10 A tune based on Violin Concerto No 2 by Henryk Wieniawski from 1862 this was a minor hit for Doris Day in 1952, scraping a two week stint at No 10 on the UK Singles Chart. It would later be covered by Matt Monro in 1962, which we'll get to at some point as that version ascended to No 29 on this very chart. The old tradition of pseudonymous writers pops up again here - with the song credited to Milton Carson - a name collective used by Howard Barnes, Harold Fields and Joe Roncoroni who would also write Nat King Cole's A Blossom Fell - they'd also write a number of other UK Top ten hits throughout the early 1950s. |
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1st October 2021, 02:20 AM
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#31
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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#17 Al Martino - Take My Heart
Debut: 21 November 1952 Peak: #9 WoC: 1 Chart Run: 9 This one week wonder for Al Martino was definitely not the success of his song that still sat at No 1 when this popped up for it's week in the spotlight. The song managed a significantly better eight week chart run in the US with a peak of #12. It's a really nice if slightly soppy to modern ears love song that just didn't capture the imagination of the early 1950s record buying public. This post has been edited by chartfridays: 1st October 2021, 02:21 AM |
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2nd October 2021, 10:58 AM
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#32
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BuzzJack Legend
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Not one of Doris' classics, but it's OK thanks to her voice, but the lyrics are a bit of their time...
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4th October 2021, 02:43 PM
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#33
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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[u]#18 Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman - Zing A Little Zong[u]
Debut: 5 December 1952 Peak: 2 WoC: 2 Chart Run: 10-12 A tune written for Just For You, a 1952 film based on the book Famous by Stephen Vincent Benet - who had won the Putilizer Prize previously for his narrative poem John Brown's Body. The script was reportedly sent to Judy Garland with Jane Wyman instead taking the role after she declined it. Bing Crosby recorded many great songs over the course of his long and distinguished career - even if White Christmas stands above most of them, unfortunately in my humble opinion this pile of corny crap does not sit amongst them at all. Harry Warren and Leo Robbins are the song writing team criminally responsible for this rubbish and Decca responsible for unleashing it on the planet. The song managed a measly, if flattering 2 weeks on the UK Charts and 6 weeks on the US Charts. |
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4th October 2021, 03:31 PM
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#34
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
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Zing a Little Zong is terrrible
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7th October 2021, 03:20 AM
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#35
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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QUOTE(JulianT @ Oct 4 2021, 04:31 PM) Zing a Little Zong is terrrible It is truly awful though. |
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7th October 2021, 03:47 AM
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#36
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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#19 - Kay Starr - Comes A-Long A Love
Debut: 5 December 1952 Peak: #1 Woc: 16 Chart Run: 9-6-3-3-3-3-2-1-2-2-3-4-8-11-12 Thankfully improves with the second of the two new entries from the Week of 5 December 1952. An upbeat song about the perils of the early stages of a new love. It had a lengthy spell in the Top 12 at 16 weeks, peaking with a solitary week at Number 1 sandwiched between fellow one week No 1's You Belong To Me and Outside of Heaven, the latter of which we'll get too fairly soon and the former of which we've already covered. Kay Starr's career would remain fairly low-key for the next few years with her achieving a couple of UK Top 10s, she'd fair rather better in the US where the charts already extended to the top 40 and thus many less popular but still popular songs of hers charted. She'd finally achieve her second UK No 1 in 1956 with The Rock & Roll Waltz. It's also noticeable for being the last hit song written by Al Sherman, before he handing over to his sons The Sherman Brothers - who are famous for their work on musicals down the years. This post has been edited by chartfridays: 7th October 2021, 03:48 AM |
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7th October 2021, 02:14 PM
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#37
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 20 April 2009
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Comes a-long a love is really good and sounds ahead of its time. Who spells “along” with a hyphen though?
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8th October 2021, 02:35 AM
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#38
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BuzzJack Enthusiast
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#20 Winifred Atwell - Britannia Rag
Debut: 12 December 1952 Peak: #5 WoC: 6 Chart Run: 11 (B) 12-8-5-8-12 Honestly not much to say about this one. One of a large number of hits throughout the 1950s for the extremely popular Trinidian pianist who would go on to have two No 1 singles in the coming years with Let's Have Another Party (1954) and The Poor People of Paris (1956). History has been slightly less kind to her than some of the other artists of her era but the record books stand to her extraordinary contemporary popularity. This post has been edited by chartfridays: 20th October 2021, 09:14 PM |
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9th October 2021, 10:31 AM
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#39
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
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Winifred Atwell was a pioneer in the early days of the charts. I like her two number 1s and this one and she's also responsible for the wonderful theme tune to Pot Black.
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12th October 2021, 04:51 PM
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#40
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,833 User: 17,376
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I'd also go Winifred over Kay, though neither of these tracks are especially good or bad, and both are not ones I know...
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