Printable version of thread

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 12:46 PM

This thread will be used to cover exactly what the title suggests. I will be recounting my top songs each week from the year 1960 to today. Now since I wasn't born in 1960 (and not for another 30 years after that) these are for the most part retroactively added number one songs. I have currently finished doing so for 1960, 1975 - 1986 and 1997 - 2018. From late 2018 onwards I have been making a chart each week in present time so those are the most accurate number ones while everything else is estimated.

I have given myself some creative liberties as to what song is eligible for #1 each week and it's not only singles here as album tracks are also available. These are the fictional chart toppers in my BJSC country Mosquetania so songs that may not have been given the single treatment IRL may still very well have done so here and all of this is mainly just done for my entertainment.

I initially only planned on going from 1980 onwards but as my current coverage map shows I've gone further back numerous times until finally I settled on the starting year being 1960. It was easier than I thought finding #1 worthy songs here but for the 60s in general expect the biggest hits to be longgg running #1s because there's really a few songs that are far superior to other songs but I suppose that's the case for most decades outside of the 2010s where the longest running hit is IIRC 4 or 5 weeks while we have one song that is 10 weeks in the 1970s which is currently the longest running #1 to date.

Now since I am Icelandic expect a fair few Icelandic number ones but they are only a small portion of the #1 songs and honestly on average an Icelander only seems to claim the top spot once every 2 years or so lol.

After every year I will compile a top 20/40/100 songs of the year (later years will feature more songs but for the 60s at least there will only be 20 in the end) and then at the end of every decade I will compile a similar list of the top 100 songs of the decade and yes there will also be songs that failed to hit the top spot on those recaps.

Now if anyone is actually interested in this I will be posting the first song/s later today, starting of course with 1960.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 12:46 PM

ARCHIVE

...1960

......
.........* a star denotes that the #1 run was not consecutive.

...1961

......

Posted by: Suedehead2 19th August 2020, 01:05 PM

1960 is an excellent year to choose

Posted by: King Rollo 19th August 2020, 01:30 PM

This will be interesting. It's good to see several retro music threads are in progress at the moment,both here and in the Countdowns section.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 03:29 PM

• It's the year that John F. Kennedy is elected president of the United States.
• A whopping seventeen African nations (including DR Congo, South Africa and Niger) declare independence in what has since been labeled the "Year of Africa".
• The first anime is broadcast on NHK (titled "Three Tales").
• Joanne Woodward receives the very first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• The Winter Olympics take place in Squaw Valley, California.
• Elvis Presley returns home from Germany to the United States, after being away on military duty for 2 years.
• "Tom Pillibi" by Jacqueline Boyer wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 for France.
• The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.
• At the 32nd Academy Awards Ceremony, Ben-Hur wins a record number of Oscars, including Best Picture.
• Harper Lee publishes her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which later wins the Pulitzer Prize for the best American novel of 1960.
• The newly named Beatles begin a 48-night residency at the Indra Club in Hamburg, West Germany.
• The 1960 Summer Olympic Games begin in Rome, Italy.
• The Flintstones aired its series premiere on the ABC network.
• The classic British TV soap opera Coronation Street premieres.
• Alfred Hitchcock's horror classic Psycho was released. It has since become known as the first "slasher movie".
• The world population was less than half of what it is today.
• Among famous people born this year are Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, Bono, Jane Lynch and Sean Penn.
• Clark Gable is perhaps the most famous person who died this year at the age of 59 after having had a fourth coronary thrombosis.

Posted by: Jade 19th August 2020, 03:32 PM

Loving the effort The Beatles are my favourite group of all-time so I'm most intrigued to see if they pop up at all for you in this decade!

Posted by: dandy* 19th August 2020, 03:40 PM

This could be an interesting idea, it's something I've often thought about doing to settle my own curiosity. Did you listen to everything in the charts in those decades before you were born or are you going for ones you already know?

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 03:42 PM

0001



NEIL SEDAKA
Oh! Carol!



No. 1 Run: January 1, 1960 - January 29, 1960 (5 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #3 (31 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #9 (19 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 1959 on RCA Victor (re-issued in 1972)
.........Sales: 235k (est.)

This is a cute little song that is supposedly about Carole King, who Neil had dated previously. It's a catchy song, very reminiscent of another #1 hit which will be featured in 1961. The song spent a while at #1 for me because it was a shallow pool to pick from but also because I just enjoyed the song. I admittedly had never heard of this singer before starting this project and the same goes for the song but it's very 60's and I love the type of doo-wop style that often pops up in those songs. The song held off competition from a few noteworthy songs but I won't name any of them as they all wound up on top in the end.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 03:48 PM

QUOTE(Suedehead2 @ Aug 19 2020, 01:05 PM)

1960 is an excellent year to choose

QUOTE(King Rollo @ Aug 19 2020, 01:30 PM)

QUOTE(Jade @ Aug 19 2020, 03:32 PM)

Loving the effort The Beatles are my favourite group of all-time so I'm most intrigued to see if they pop up at all for you in this decade!

QUOTE(dandy* @ Aug 19 2020, 03:40 PM)

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 04:16 PM

0002



PERCY FAITH
Theme from "A Summer Place"



No. 1 Run: February 5, 1960 - February 19, 1960 (3 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #2 (31 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (22 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: November 18, 1959 on Columbia Records
.........Sales: 205k (est.)

Yup the second song to top my chart was an instrumental theme to a 1959 film called "A Summer Place" starring Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. Not only that but it's not even the main title theme, it's a secondary love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue lol. There are no vocals on this and it's honestly quite "lift music"-ey but in a nice way. The genre is listed as "easy listening" and I do agree, this is very easy to listen to. The song also managed to charm the heck out the US audience as they kept it at the top spot for nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. Percy would later re-record the song with female vocals in 1969 and again in 1976 as a disco version titled "Summer Place '76", neither of which managed to replicate the success of the original even though I definitely prefer them to the OG but both 1969 and 1976 had much better output musically than 1960 so there's that.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 05:14 PM

0003



THE ISLEY BROTHERS
Shout!



No. 1 Run: February 26, 1960 - April 15, 1960 (6 weeks, non-consecutive)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (14 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: August 1959 on RCA Victor
.........Sales: 305k (est.)

Finally a song I actually knew prior to starting this. "Shout!" is easily one of the biggest hits of 1959-1960 and it's tied with another song for having spent the most weeks at number one here. However, unlike most multi-week #1 smashes in the coming years "Shout!" has not sold a whole lot in Mosquetania. Sales were quite low in this period but additionally the song has failed to sell consistently in the digital era and is largely overshadowed by its successor, the originality-laden "Twist & Shout", which The Isley Brothers released a few years later. "Shout" still managed to overcome some obstacles and beat another big song to the top as Neil Sedaka's "One Way Ticket" stalled at number two while the Isley Brothers kept the top spot. While Neil had to settle for second this time you can bet you'll see "One Way Ticket" on the Year-End chart.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 19th August 2020, 06:11 PM

well no complaints from me on your choices, Oh Carol topped my actual chart in 1972 when it was a hit again in the UK, A Summer Place in the noughties as an oldie, and Shout topped for Lulu as a reissued hit in 1986.

I've retroactively compiled my number one records from 1960 through to 1968 - but not what I like now, what I liked at the time based on what I remember being mad on during the 60's, so from being 2 to 10 years old. From 1968 I started compiling charts at the time, on and off, and then filled in the gaps a few years later for completeness. I may run it when you've done the 60's, though mine would be VERY different at times as what a 6-year-old loves isn't necessarily what a 30 or 60-year-old loves

That said, I did love A Summer Place's tune as a kid during the 60's (without knowing anything about it) so it is also a 1960 chart-topper for me, either at the time or now.

Posted by: King Rollo 19th August 2020, 06:44 PM

I didn't know Theme From A Summer Place from the title but now that I've played it,I recognise it as it's used a lot on TV programmes as background music whenever people are engaged in summer activities. I know Lulu's version of Shout much more than the Isley Brothers' original.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 06:45 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 19 2020, 06:11 PM)

well no complaints from me on your choices, Oh Carol topped my actual chart in 1972 when it was a hit again in the UK, A Summer Place in the noughties as an oldie, and Shout topped for Lulu as a reissued hit in 1986.

I've retroactively compiled my number one records from 1960 through to 1968 - but not what I like now, what I liked at the time based on what I remember being mad on during the 60's, so from being 2 to 10 years old. From 1968 I started compiling charts at the time, on and off, and then filled in the gaps a few years later for completeness. I may run it when you've done the 60's, though mine would be VERY different at times as what a 6-year-old loves isn't necessarily what a 30 or 60-year-old loves

That said, I did love A Summer Place's tune as a kid during the 60's (without knowing anything about it) so it is also a 1960 chart-topper for me, either at the time or now.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 06:57 PM

0004



BOBBY RYDELL
Wild One



No. 1 Run: March 25, 1960 - April 1, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #7 (14 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: January 18 on Cameo
.........Sales: 140k (est.)

Bobby Rydell was a teen idol in the sixties, with this being one of his most famous songs (the other one being a cover of a certain Eurovision song) and I get it. He was a cutie back then. The dude is still alive and kicking actually, 78 years young, but "Wild One" somehow managed to snatch a few ways on top away from The Isley Brothers in the middle of their run. "Wild One", not to be confused with the Flo Rida song, is a fun song that I had never heard before but it's not all that memorable tbh. I think the funniest thing about it is that it's labeled as a "rock & roll" tune but that just goes to show how much the genre has evolved since the sixties. It's cute but ultimately gives me "I don't want to be labeled as a troublemaker" vibes lmao so it's funny that The Beatles apparently wrote "She Loves You" with this in mind because they liked the "yeah yeah" answering style the backup singers deliver here. Fun fact: Rydell High in Grease is named after Bobby Rydell. TIL!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 08:52 PM

0005



BARRETT STRONG
Money (That's What I Want)



No. 1 Run: 22 April, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #23 (17 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: August 1959 on Tamla / Anna
.........Sales: 90k (est.)

Another song I have never heard before and another name I've never heard of. Barrett joins the club of singers that are still alive which is very nice to see as I was a bit pessimistic going into this expecting all these singers to have died a while back but yup he's still here! This song is fun but I grew tired of it rather quickly so this will probably remain one of my lowest selling number ones ever once every year is tallied together lmao but I had to fit it in somewhere because I'd put it on my shortlist earlier. Not a whole lot I can say here but in pure 60s fashion this song was obviously covered a few more times including once by The Beatles in 1963. None of the covers do any damage on my chart and Barrett Long Strong never makes an appearance on it again.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 08:54 PM

Ok 5 is enough for today. I'll post a few more tomorrow

Posted by: dandy* 19th August 2020, 08:59 PM

I think a lot of the 60s would be a struggle for me. I can appreciate how influential the decade was but I’m not actually enjoying much so far... I’m hopeful it will change at some point though!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 19th August 2020, 09:41 PM

QUOTE(dandy* @ Aug 19 2020, 08:59 PM)

Posted by: diva thin muffin 20th August 2020, 11:01 AM

0006



PAUL ANKA
Puppy Love



No. 1 Run: 29 April, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #37 (5 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (15 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: February 13, 1960 on ABC Paramount
.........Sales: 145k (est.)

Another one-week number one hit comes from the legendary Paul Anka (who is also still alive today, really goes to show that pop musicians really live the longest) and it's a cute pop ballad. I'd heard this one before but only vaguely remember it. Like Barrett, Paul takes advantage of a slow season just before a bigger song takes the top spot next week. It's probably Paul's only number one on the chart, although I haven't covered a big chunk of the 60s yet, so I'm pleased to see that I like it a little bit more today than I did yesterday.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th August 2020, 11:19 AM

QUOTE(diva thin muffin @ Aug 19 2020, 07:45 PM)

Ooohhh so you're born in 1958? That's the same year as my mom. My dad is born in 1957 and they definitely influence a LOT of the songs that take the top spot for me, especially from 1970-1999 as there's a bunch of songs they showed me as a kid (I'm born in 1990) and I'll point those out as we get there. Will be interesting to see if any of those are some of your favorites too

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th August 2020, 11:24 AM

Barrett Strong's Money is a goodie, and Puppy Love is Donny Osmond for me (though some might think S Club Juniors) but Paul Anka is top of my personal chart this week for the first time ever (Doja Cat's Freak uses Put Your Head On My Shoulders, which she finally got permission to release, and Paul sings the fade out - so yes still very much going!)

1961 is a big improvement, 1960 was still 50's leftover, and by 1964 the charts get genius.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 20th August 2020, 11:34 AM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 20 2020, 11:24 AM)

Posted by: diva thin muffin 20th August 2020, 12:16 PM

0007



THE DRIFTERS
This Magic Moment



No. 1 Run: 6 May, 1960 - 20 May, 1960 (3 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #16 (12 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: January 28, 1960 on Atlantic
.........Sales: 170k (est.)

The Drifters are the next to take the top slot, featuring singer Ben E King here who would leave the band a few months after they released this song to go solo. We'll be seeing some of his solo material on here, particularly one huge well-known song but that's for another year. "This Magic Moment" is a R&B ditty, one of the first of its kind to top my chart but certainly not the last as black musicians were a strong asset to the musical genius of the 1960s and the R&B genre owes its brilliance to those musicians still to this day. Like with many of the other 1960 tracks "This Magic Moment" is nice enough to hit number one for three weeks but its sales are still pretty low. We'll see this trend continue for a while but I'll try to speed through 1960 as fast as I can so we can start getting to the really good songs!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 20th August 2020, 12:26 PM

0008



JOHNNY PRESTON
Cradle of Love



No. 1 Run: 27 May, 1960 - 3 June, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #2 (15 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #7 (17 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 1960 on Mercury
.........Sales: 150k (est.)

Johnny Preston is sadly not with us anymore, having passed away in 2011, but he delivers this rock 'n roll tune that is very akin to Elvis' earlier stuff. It's a fun song, and without knowing too much how the genre works I'd say it's what I imagine rockabilly to be like? I may be way wrong here so don't quote me on that. Anyway, the song is fun and manages to become the eighth number one on my chart. As with many of the previous songs it's not really fighting off competition from any real contenders so while in any other year this song would be lucky to get to number one here it manages not one week, but two weeks on top! Fun fact: this song quotes several well known nursery rhymes including the obvious Rock-a-bye Baby (from the chorus), Jack Be Nimble, Jack and Jill and finally Hey Diddle Diddle. I don't know most of these but maybe they're more familiar to those of you who grew up in English speaking households.

Posted by: King Rollo 20th August 2020, 01:09 PM

Of the versions of 'Money' I know,my favourite would certainly be the Flying Lizards cover from 1979 which reached the top 5 in the UK.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 21st August 2020, 02:28 PM

0009



SAM COOKE
(What A) Wonderful World



No. 1 Run: 10 June, 1960 - 24 June, 1960 (3 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #2 (16 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #12 (15 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: April 14, 1960 on Keen Records
.........Sales: 135k (est.)

I admittedly was expecting a cover of a certain Louis Armstrong song when I saw the title of this but was surprised to find that while it wasn't that song I still actually knew it lol. It's a cute song but it doesn't really keep my focus for the entirety of its duration. Sam Cooke was an interesting bloke however and unlike most of the singers already covered here he died a while back. Sam died in 1964, only a mere 4 years after this song came out, and his death is a mysterious one. Apparently he was killed in self defence by a woman called Bertha Franklin and while his death was ruled justifiable homicide at the time since it's been called into question whether it was or not due to inconsistencies in Bertha's retelling of events and such. Etta James was a close friend of Cooke's and one of the people who thought something didn't add up regarding his death. "Wonderful World" would later be re-issued in the UK in the 80s and reach #2 after initially only peaking at #27 in 1960. You will be seeing more of Cooke on this chart in the years leading up to his death.

Posted by: King Rollo 21st August 2020, 04:58 PM

I like the fact that the writer thought of including the word trigonometry in a love song.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st August 2020, 07:46 PM

The Drifters track is great, written by Shuman and Pomus, they wrote some crackers! Can't go wrong with Sam Cooke! That one was a big hit (finally) in 1986 thanks to an advert.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 21st August 2020, 07:54 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 21 2020, 07:46 PM)

Posted by: diva thin muffin 21st August 2020, 08:03 PM

0010



STEVE LAWRENCE
Footsteps



No. 1 Run: 1 July, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #4 (12 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #7 (14 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: February 1960 on ABC-Paramount (US) and HMV (UK)
.........Sales: 185k (est.)

Steve is another one that's still with us and his short stint at number one completes the first half of the year as well as the first ten entries of the year as a total sausage party. Footsteps is fun and very much what I think of when I think of a typical 60's track. It's cute and I enjoyed listening to it more than I anticipated given how similar a lot of these songs sound but I guess it helps that the youtube clip was in HQ lol. Despite spending only one week at number one it still sold well enough to become the year's fourth biggest number one song so far although one song that failed to grab the top spot has also outsold it leaving it in fifth place at the halfway point.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 21st August 2020, 09:03 PM

0011



NEIL SEDAKA
Stairway To Heaven



No. 1 Run: 8 July, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #8 (14 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #9 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 1960 on RCA Victor
.........Sales: 150k (est.)

Neil Sedaka is back again for the second time in the top spot but the third time in the top two (as "One Way Ticket" stalled at No. 2 earlier in the year) but this wound up being his lowest selling song yet as both "One Way Ticket" and "Oh! Carol" have sold more pretend copies on the chart in my land of make-believe. "Stairway to Heaven", definitely not to be confused with the far superior Led Zeppelin song (which it obviously does for a lot of people since Neil's song's Wikipedia page even has info on the LZ song lol), is quite obviously Neil-by-the-numbers at this point and he takes his formula and just copies it but since they had awful technology in the 60s this is the best he could do. Since everything else was rather 'meh' this still managed one week on the top. Neil will be back though, no worries.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 21st August 2020, 09:12 PM

0012



CONNIE FRANCIS
Everybody Is Somebody's Fool



No. 1 Run: 15 July, 1960 - 22 July, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #5 (13 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (19 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: April 7, 1960 on MGM
.........Sales: 190k (est.)

It finally happened! To finish up today's batch of songs and round us up to a nice 12 songs it's finally the first female fronted number one hit on my chart! Connie Francis, who is certainly still alive despite having taken some hits in her life (more on that later), has the honor of being the artist behind the first of many many female-led number one hits on my chart and "Everybody Is Somebody's Fool" is quite cute even if it's not all that memorable but don't worry she's got some tricks up her sleeves in the coming years so I'm sure she'll show up again sooner than later. Reading up on Connie has been interesting to say the least. Poor Connie was raped while appearing at a music festival in 1974 and then a few years later her brother was murdered by the Mafia so it's safe to say she's been through some hardships in her life but she's still standing at age 82!

Posted by: Steve201 22nd August 2020, 12:18 AM

That Sam Cooke song is absolutely fantastic such a classic. As is Puppy Love, some great tracks in here, this countdown is a good idea. I know some of the melodies are simplistic but that's going to happen with the technology of he Day and tastes developing.

It really highlights how The Beatles really changed everything I mean can you imagine listening to Pick of the Pops in 1960 with these tracks and then all of a sudden 'She Loves Me' coming on or 'Satisfaction' by The Rolling Stones or 'My Generation' by The Who a few short years later, it really was a revolution when you think about it.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd August 2020, 11:06 AM

Steve Lawrence was a big fave for me later on with his missus, I Just Want To Stay Here, but I didn;t know Footsteps until Showaddywaddy covered it Connie Francis is sweet, musically, and Neil Sedaka is a great songwriter (seen him in concert a couple of times too), Stairway To heaven is decent enough.

This is the ad that made the Sam Cooke track a hit. I can't speak for others but I certainly bought some 501's at the time, one of the few occasions when an advert worked on me

Posted by: diva thin muffin 23rd August 2020, 06:09 PM

0013



CHUBBY CHECKER
The Twist



No. 1 Run: 29 July, 1960 - 9 September, 1960 (6 weeks*)

.........UK Chart Peak: #14 (12 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (40 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: June 1960 on Parkway 811
.........Sales: 365k (est.)

And now what is quite possibly the biggest song of 1960, in the very least the biggest selling number one yet as well as being tied for the most weeks at number one this year: it's catchy ear-worm "The Twist" by the awkwardly named artist Chubby Checker. This song is interesting in the fact that it peaked at number one in 1960, only to resurface two years later in 1962 and take the top spot again. Chubby would prove to be something of a one-trick-pony as most of his songs that actually managed to chart in the higher echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 featured the word "twist" so I think in a way he may have been afraid to change the formula out of fear that it won't work anymore lol. In 1961 he'd come back with a sequel to this song called "Lets Twist Again" and personally I think it's fantastic and you may very well see it featured here after we reach the new year. "The Twist" would once again resurface in 1988 as a minor hit thanks to a remix from a similarly BMI-themed artist called Fat Boy.

* "The Twist" spent 6 non-consecutive weeks at number one in the time span of 7 weeks.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th August 2020, 07:42 AM

Oddly, The Twist never got the mass audience in the UK that Let's Twist Again did - I didn;t know this track until it featured on the other side of the airplay side hit double A side reissue in 1975, but Let's Twist Again was huge and I was aware from a very early age. Mum used to Twist to it (she would have been about 23 or 24), and so did I (about 4 or 5)

Posted by: diva thin muffin 25th August 2020, 10:11 PM

0014



SAM COOKE
Chain Gang



No. 1 Run: 26 August, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #9 (11 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: July 26, 1960
.........Sales: 95k (est.)

Next up we have the second number one hit from Sam Cooke after spending three weeks at the top spot in June he did it again just two months later, however this time it was just a short stop. "Chain Gang" is a strange song and while I think there's a certain charm to it I think it benefitted massively from the low amount of good songs available at the time. To be honest the main reason why I put it at number one was because I felt "The Twist" had spent enough time on top but after seeing the options didn't get any better I went right back to it in the following week lmao. This isn't necessarily a song I'll be revisiting anytime later and it'll remain one of the lowest selling number ones but this managed to outsell Bobby Rydell's "Swinging School" to the top spot.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 25th August 2020, 10:23 PM

0015



BRENDA LEE
That's All You Gotta Do



No. 1 Run: 16 September, 1960 - 23 September, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #6 (14 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 30 May, 1960
.........Sales: 320k (est.)

Finally we have christmas queen Brenda Lee with her first number one hit on my chart after failing to top the chart in May with "Sweet Nuthins". Brenda did however manage to reign supreme with "That's All You Gotta Do" which I'll be honest is quite an entertaining tune for a song I've never heard before from this period. There's some kind of familiarity to it that I can't quite put my finger on, and I definitely like something about her voice. Admittedly I have never knowingly listened to any of her stuff other than "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" but I'm expecting her to surprise me a bit on this journey as she's obviously quite a bigger name than I ever realised. Brenda shoots directly into the top two in terms of sales for the number one songs but it'll be interesting to see where she places once the year is over.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th August 2020, 07:15 AM

Chain Gang isn;t one of my favest Sam Cooke tracks, but it is one I knew as a kid and liked. It's quite a clever track soundwise. That Brenda Lee track isnt one I know, and I like it! Very young Brenda, it's somewhere between rockin' Brenda and ballad Brenda and does it's own thing.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 26th August 2020, 06:20 PM

0016



CONNIE FRANCIS
My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own



No. 1 Run: 30 September, 1960 - 7 October, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #3 (14 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (17 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 25 July, 1960 on MGM
.........Sales: 150k (est.)

From one female top hit to another for the first time in the chart and it's the lady who took the top spot first out of all ladies. Connie Francis graces the top spot for the second time with this beautiful ballad (something you'll come to see won't be happening all too often on this countdown). While I do prefer her first hit ("Everybody's Somebody's Fool") over this one this is very charming and Connie manages to convey the heartbreak quite well here. I will say though that her two chart toppers are rather similar so unless she changes things up a notch I don't think we'll be seeing a whole lot more of Connie in the future. At least not in the top spot.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 26th August 2020, 06:32 PM

0017



ROY ORBISON
Only the Lonely



No. 1 Run: 14 October, 1960 - 21 October, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #1 (23 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (21 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: May 1960 on Monument 45-421
.........Sales: 180k (est.)

Roy Orbison really was quite different from other standard pop artists of the time and it does feel like this song easily stands out from a lot of the other songs of this year in that it feels a bit ahead of its time. That's not to say that it's necessarily my favorite song of the year - its sales show that this isn't the case - but it's just interesting for this matter. Roy Orbison is obviously best known for his massive song "Oh, Pretty Woman" but I've never really explored his discography beyond that so I was surprised to find a few songs that I like outside of that. Orbison unfortunately does not join the roster of still living artists to top my chart as he tragically died of a heart attack in 1988 at only 52 years old. Roy had an iconic look that utilised the famous saying that "less is more" quite well. Usually dressed in a cardigan or suit with his sunglasses on it was easy to spot the shy superstar whenever he was in the spotlight. It's quite morbidly interesting to note that he and both of his parents all died within a span of ten years with his father, Orbie Lee Orbison dying in 1984 and his mother, Nadine Vesta Shults, dying in 1992. Just an odd observation I noticed on his Wikipedia page.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 26th August 2020, 06:44 PM

0018



ELVIS PRESLEY
It's Now or Never



No. 1 Run: 28 October, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #1 (24 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (20 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: July 5, 1960 on RCA Studio B
.........Sales: 175k (est.)

And now for the final song of the day it's finally happened: The king has arrived at the top spot! I'll admit I have never really been a huge Elvis fan but some of his songs are still definitely worthy of gracing the top spot and as much as I'd like this to be the only one there will undoubtedly be more but you won't see Elvis replicate his IRL success here with 50 number ones or whatever lol. They will be few but picked for reason. "It's Now or Never" is one of the few Presley ballads that I actually like. Listening to it I can see the similarities between Coco and Presley quite clearly (although Ernesto isn't based on Elvis according to Disney, which makes sense given that it's a Mexican film) and it's very much peak Elvis. This song obviously was huge in 1960 though and is one of Elvis' songs that got re-released in 2005 and nabbed the top spot in the UK again that year (ugh what an annoying year for number ones lol) and for some reason even managed to place 7th in the R&B chart which is very weird even for 1960. This is Elvis' biggest international single ever but it's definitely not my biggest Elvis single ever, that's still to come .. in a while.

To clutch the coveted top spot in its one week on top, "It's Now or Never" had to fight off some tough competition from The Everly Brothers. Their single "When Will I Be Loved" peaked at #3 this week and sold upwards of 115k in its 8 weeks on the chart.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 27th August 2020, 09:23 AM

QUOTE(Steve201 @ Aug 22 2020, 12:18 AM)

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 22 2020, 11:06 AM)

Steve Lawrence was a big fave for me later on with his missus, I Just Want To Stay Here, but I didn;t know Footsteps until Showaddywaddy covered it Connie Francis is sweet, musically, and Neil Sedaka is a great songwriter (seen him in concert a couple of times too), Stairway To heaven is decent enough.

This is the ad that made the Sam Cooke track a hit. I can't speak for others but I certainly bought some 501's at the time, one of the few occasions when an advert worked on me

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 24 2020, 07:42 AM)

Oddly, The Twist never got the mass audience in the UK that Let's Twist Again did - I didn;t know this track until it featured on the other side of the airplay side hit double A side reissue in 1975, but Let's Twist Again was huge and I was aware from a very early age. Mum used to Twist to it (she would have been about 23 or 24), and so did I (about 4 or 5)

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 26 2020, 07:15 AM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 27th August 2020, 04:07 PM

I didn't know that Connie Francis track either, nice enough I think.

Poor ol' Roy had a generally tragic life, his wife dying, shortly after his boys dying in a house fire in the late 60's, all very sad. You're in for a Roy Orbison treat, this is a very great song, but his classics are still to come

Elvis is a goodie, very Italian-ballad, he did better but he did much much worse too

I grew up with Roy & Elvis in the house loved by mum & dad - played them today for my mum in fact, she has advanced alzheimers, can't talk or do anything for herself, but they still make her happy and want to dance and happy emotional. The power of music lasts!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 27th August 2020, 10:42 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Aug 27 2020, 04:07 PM)

I didn't know that Connie Francis track either, nice enough I think.

Poor ol' Roy had a generally tragic life, his wife dying, shortly after his boys dying in a house fire in the late 60's, all very sad. You're in for a Roy Orbison treat, this is a very great song, but his classics are still to come

Elvis is a goodie, very Italian-ballad, he did better but he did much much worse too

I grew up with Roy & Elvis in the house loved by mum & dad - played them today for my mum in fact, she has advanced alzheimers, can't talk or do anything for herself, but they still make her happy and want to dance and happy emotional. The power of music lasts!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th August 2020, 07:27 AM

QUOTE(diva thin muffin @ Aug 27 2020, 11:42 PM)

Thank you so much for this! I'm intrigued about the info about Roy, sure sounds like his life was tragic from start to finish but what I am most thankful to read here is your story about your mom. I'm touched by what you wrote and it's definitely clear that music has immense power that we may never fully understand. I'm sorry to hear about the state she's in but I'm happy to hear that music can seemingly bring her to a happy place in the moment

Posted by: diva thin muffin 28th August 2020, 08:09 PM

0019



BOBBY RYDELL
Sway



No. 1 Run: 4 November, 1960 - 17 November, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #12 (12 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #14 (12 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: October 1960
.........Sales: 165k (est.)

We've reached November 1960 and it's Bobby Rydell's third time showing up on the chart this year, although it's only his second time on top. This time he shows up with a cover of Dean Martin's iconic "Sway" and since Dean's version was released in the 50s I've decided to allow this to take the top spot even though it's not the version I'm most familiar with. I feel Bobby puts a cool spin on it although I kind of hate the backing vocals here lmao. It's a cool song and Bobby's version of it no doubt left a large number of swooning ladies in his wake after playing it as it's definitely quite flirtatious, especially for its time.

Onto a new feature.. While "Sway" stayed on top of my chart the US presidential elections took place where John F. Kennedy was elected president over Richard Nixon, Belgium threatens to leave the United Nations over criticism of its policy concerning the Republic of the Congo, a head-on train collision in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia kills 118 people and a Polaris missile is test-launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 28th August 2020, 08:25 PM

0020



THE DRIFTERS
Save the Last Dance For Me



No. 1 Run: 18 November, 1960 - 1 December, 1960 (2 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #2 (19 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (18 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: August 1960 on Atlantic
.........Sales: 240k (est.)

Next up is a song that has been covered quite a few times in the past 60 years including country queen Dolly Parton, christmas king Michael Bublé (who's also covered the #1 before this, "Sway") and once by none other than Bruce Willis in 1989 lmao. Was certainly not expecting that! The Drifters continue the trend of recycled artists taking the top spot as they get their second number one of the year. It's a cute song and while it's been covered by so many different artists I admittedly don't recognise the song and don't think I have heard it before. Ben E. King was still on lead vocals here which works in The Drifters' favor because his voice is really great and it certainly worked since 'Save' managed to go top two in the UK and took the top spot in the US! No small feat. Interestingly Ben had already left The Drifters when this song was released but still his vocals were used in the single release.

While "Save the Last Dance For Me" was on top for two weeks a few things happened. On November 18, English singer Kim Wilde was born. On November 22, the United Nations supported the government led by president Joseph Kasavubu over the one led by Patrice Lumumba in the Republic of the Congo. Lumumba would be arrested and killed two months later. On November 24, National Basketball Association player Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers gets 55 rebounds in a game versus the Boston Celtics.. whatever that means. On November 28, Mauritania becomes independent of France and on December 1, dogs Pcholka and Musha are launched into orbit in a Soviet satellite. Due to a malfunction the satellite sadly burns up during re-entry.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 28th August 2020, 08:41 PM

0021



BOB LUMAN
Let's Think About Living



No. 1 Run: 2 December, 1960 - 8 December, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #6 (17 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #7 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: August 15, 1960
.........Sales: 155k (est.)

For the final song of the day and as we enter the last month of the year 1960 we have a newbie! It's rockabilly singer Bob Luman who pops up here with this somewhat humorous take on life and the teenage tragedy songs of the time. Bob manages to snatch one week on top with this song that I have indeed heard before going over this list and am actually quite surprised it's Wikipedia page is only one paragraph. Bob talks about how, if singers that sang about dying, a lot of famous singers would be dead and gives examples with Patti Page, Marty Robbins and the Everly Brothers. Bob Luman is sadly no longer with us, having died of pneumonia in 1978 at the young age of forty-one. I don't think he will show up on here again but you never know. This is definitely something of a surprise hit.

While "Let's Think About Living" was on top for one whole week a few things happened. On December 2, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the use of $1.0 million for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees, who had been arriving in Florida at the rate of about 1,000 per week. On December 4, The admission of Mauritania to the United Nations is vetoed by the Soviet Union. On December 5, in Boynton v. Virginia: The Supreme Court of the United States declares that segregation in public transportation is illegal in the United States. On December 7, the original Village of the Damned is released in theatres in the UK.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th August 2020, 04:36 PM

Sway is a great song, though I don't know this version

Talking about Kim Wilde, I had tickets to her 60th birthday tour gig which has now been postponed to be her 61st birthday tour due to Covid!

Save The Last Dance For Me and Think About Living were both tracks I knew in the 60's, and liked, and in the years since I like them even more - but did I like them enough to top in my Kiddie chart rundown for 1960? Answer soon

Posted by: diva thin muffin 1st September 2020, 12:05 AM

0022



JOHNNY TILLOTSON
Poetry In Motion



No. 1 Run: 9 December, 1960 - 15 December, 1960 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #1 (16 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (15 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 1960 on Cadence
.........Sales: 165k (est.)

The second-to-last song of the year is from a new artist in the top spot but one that joins the group of artists that are still living thankfully. Johnny Tillotson is an American singer but he managed to snatch the UK top spot with this song while he failed to do so in the US. "Poetry in Motion" is a fun song and Johnny does a nice delivery of it despite it being a bit similar to a few number ones I've gotten already in 1960 lol (namely the ones by Bobby Rydell and Neil Sedaka) which I guess isn't all that surprising since they all seem to have been teen idols at the time. Fun fact: Johnny Tillotson appeared in the 1966 movie "The Fat Spy" which was later featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Johnny managed to claw his way to the top and fight off competition from Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" which looked likely to take the top spot initially. Brian's comedy track only spent 6 weeks on the chart which listed some 20 songs at the time.

While "Poetry in Motion" was on top for one whole week a few things happened.

• On December 9, French President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is bloodied by European and Muslim rioters, in Algeria's largest cities. These riots cause 127 deaths.
• Also on December 9, the classic British TV soap opera Coronation Street premieres. Planned as a 13-part drama, it becomes such a success among viewers it will continue past its 10,000th episode in its 60th anniversary year, being shown six times a week.
• On December 12, the Supreme Court of the United States upholds a lower Federal Court ruling that the State of Louisiana's racial segregation laws are unconstitutional, and overturns them.
• On December 13, while Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Kebur Zabagna (Imperial Bodyguard) leads a military coup against his rule, proclaiming that the emperor's son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen Taffari, is the new emperor.
• On December 14, Antoine Gizenga proclaims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that he has taken over as the country's premier.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 1st September 2020, 12:28 AM

0023



MAURICE WILLIAMS AND THE ZODIACS
Stay



No. 1 Run: 16 December, 1960 - 19 January, 1961 (5 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #14 (9 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (20 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: August 1960 on Herald
.........Sales: 430k (est.)

Fittingly enough the final song of the year is also the best selling one. Maurice Williams, a singer I have absolutely never heard of and seemingly a one-or-two-hit-wonder in the UK and US, managed to bring in this classic just before the year's end! While this is probably not my favourite version of the song it's heaps and bound above anything else released in this year and easily becomes the year's top track, even managing more than half a month on top in the new year too. Now there isn't a lot of info on Maurice or The Zodiacs on Wikipedia but their legacy has lived quite well in this song as it's since been covered by a number of artists including The Hollies and The Four Seasons. Personally this song reminds me of my childhood for some reason even though it was released 30 years before I was born lol. I always used to hear some cover of it on the TV so when I heard this song while looking at potential number ones it was a no-brainer that it took the lead for a few weeks. The lack of competition helped but this was always going to take at least a week on top no matter what. While Maurice & The Zodiacs stayed on top a contender tried and failed to overthrow the doo-wop band: Bobby Vee with his song "Rubber Ball" which wound up having to settle for peaking at No. 3.

While "Stay" was on top for five weeks a few things happened.

• On December 16, a United Airlines DC-8 collides in mid-air with a TWA Lockheed Constellation over Staten Island in New York City. All 128 passengers and crewmembers on the two airliners, and six people on the ground, are killed.
• On December 17, troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia overcome the coup that began on December 13, returning the reins to the Emperor upon his return from a trip to Brazil. The Emperor absolves his own son of any guilt.
• On December 19, fire sweeps through the USS Constellation, to become the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carrier, while she is under construction at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; killing 50 workers and injuring 150.
• On December 27, France sets off its third A-bomb test at its nuclear weapons testing range near Reggane, Algeria.
• On December 31, last day on which the farthing, a coin first minted in England in the 13th century, is legal tender in the United Kingdom.
• On January 3, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.
• Also on January 3, on approach to Vaasa Airport in Finland a Finnish airline Aero crashes near Kvevlax killing all 25 on board, due to pilot error: an investigation finds that the captain and first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had taken excessive alcohol at the time of the crash. It remains the deadliest air disaster to occur in the country.
• On January 5, Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti marches into the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• On January 7, following a four-day conference in Casablanca, five African chiefs of state announce plans for a NATO-type African organization to ensure common defense. The Charter of Casablanca involves the Casablanca Group: Morocco, the United Arab Republic, Ghana, Guinea, and Mali.
• On January 9, British authorities announce they have uncovered a large Soviet spy ring, the Portland Spy Ring, in London.
• On January 15, Motown Records signs American female singing group The Supremes.
• On January 17, Patrice Lumumba of the Republic of Congo is assassinated.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 1st September 2020, 07:22 AM

Poetry In Motion is still a fun pop song, I always enjoy that one. Stay is a good song too - I wish I knew the original more than I do! I was aware of The Hollies version in the 70's, but it was Jackson browne's 1978 hit version that I associate most with it, and bought. You're right though, it kind of just turns up in the background of your musical consciousness and has that 50's feel to it

The most important event was 3rd January. I turned 3 and was living in Germany

Posted by: diva thin muffin 1st September 2020, 06:40 PM

1960 in Review



Now that the year's been covered we can look over which songs were most popular and sold most and it was quite an easy victory for Maurice Williams here who takes the Year-End top spot over Chubby Checker. Take note that these "sales" are a) fictional and b) based on YTD sales and not just within the physical year of 1960. If that were the case then Chubby Checker would have topped the chart as "Stay" only topped the chart in the final month of the year.

There's five songs here that failed to top the chart with the highest one being Neil Sedaka's "One Way Ticket" which is interesting to say the least as the song it stalled behind on the chart is directly above it so really had it been entering my chart in the same week as any of the number ones that aren't above it here it definitely would have topped the chart. Also interesting to note about this is the fact that both of Neil's number ones are below it lol. "One Way Ticket" will resurface in the 70s when it was covered by a British disco band but and it'll be interesting to see if it suffers the same fate as Neil's version or if it manages to top the chart. Another notable non-number one here is Brook Benton and Dinah Washington's R&B bop "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" which stalled behind Bobby Rydell's "Wild One" for two weeks but still somehow managed to outsell it (Bobby didn't even manage to place in the top 20 and places No. 26 in the year-end chart). Jimmy Jones and The Shadows also chart here despite never even going top 2 and Brenda Lee adds a second song in the Year-End top 20 but fails to do so with one of her two number ones, "I'm Sorry" which is at No. 30.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 1st September 2020, 06:45 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Sep 1 2020, 07:22 AM)

Poetry In Motion is still a fun pop song, I always enjoy that one. Stay is a good song too - I wish I knew the original more than I do! I was aware of The Hollies version in the 70's, but it was Jackson browne's 1978 hit version that I associate most with it, and bought. You're right though, it kind of just turns up in the background of your musical consciousness and has that 50's feel to it

The most important event was 3rd January. I turned 3 and was living in Germany

Posted by: Popchartfreak 2nd September 2020, 07:12 AM

Pretty fine top 20 there, I think!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 2nd September 2020, 09:38 AM

• John F. Kennedy's is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States.
• Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, orbiting the Earth once before parachuting to the ground.
• Sierra Leone becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
• The Fantastic Four make their comic book debut.
• Construction of the Berlin Wall begins, restricting movement between East Berlin and West Berlin, and forming a clear boundary between West Germany and East Germany, as well as Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
• American involvement in the Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon, along with 400 U.S. personnel.
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins on April 17; it fails by April 19.
• The Soviet Union detonates a 58-megaton yield hydrogen bomb known as Tsar Bomba, over Novaya Zemlya (it remains the largest ever man-made explosion).
• West Side Story is adapted for the big screen, and will go on to win Oscars for Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, and Directing.
• Audrey Hepburn delights as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but Henry Mancini emerges as the real star. He won two Oscars and four Grammy Awards for the score, which included the hit "Moon River."
• Among others Eddie Murphy, George Clooney, Princess Diana, Barack Obama, Ricky Gervais, Susan Boyle and Meg Ryan are born this year.
• Carl Jung and Ernest Hemingway are among the most famous people who passed away this year. Carl Jung died from a short disease at an old age while Hemingway took his own life.

Posted by: AH Gold 2nd September 2020, 02:52 PM

QUOTE(diva thin muffin @ Sep 1 2020, 07:40 PM)

1960 in Review



Now that the year's been covered we can look over which songs were most popular and sold most and it was quite an easy victory for Maurice Williams here who takes the Year-End top spot over Chubby Checker. Take note that these "sales" are a) fictional and b) based on YTD sales and not just within the physical year of 1960. If that were the case then Chubby Checker would have topped the chart as "Stay" only topped the chart in the final month of the year.

There's five songs here that failed to top the chart with the highest one being Neil Sedaka's "One Way Ticket" which is interesting to say the least as the song it stalled behind on the chart is directly above it so really had it been entering my chart in the same week as any of the number ones that aren't above it here it definitely would have topped the chart. Also interesting to note about this is the fact that both of Neil's number ones are below it lol. "One Way Ticket" will resurface in the 70s when it was covered by a British disco band but and it'll be interesting to see if it suffers the same fate as Neil's version or if it manages to top the chart. Another notable non-number one here is Brook Benton and Dinah Washington's R&B bop "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" which stalled behind Bobby Rydell's "Wild One" for two weeks but still somehow managed to outsell it (Bobby didn't even manage to place in the top 20 and places No. 26 in the year-end chart). Jimmy Jones and The Shadows also chart here despite never even going top 2 and Brenda Lee adds a second song in the Year-End top 20 but fails to do so with one of her two number ones, "I'm Sorry" which is at No. 30.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 2nd September 2020, 05:45 PM

QUOTE(AH Gold @ Sep 2 2020, 02:52 PM)

Some fantastic stuff here, particularly Summer Place, your No.1 Stay and Poetry In Motion. Love that you've included sales in your EOY list. Fascinating to read. Looking forward to the rest!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 3rd September 2020, 08:13 PM

0024 | 01



ROSIE AND THE ORIGINALS
Angel Baby



No. 1 Run: 20 January, 1961 - 26 January, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #5 (13 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: December 1960 on Highland Records
.........Sales: 320k (est.)

Starting off 1961 was Rosie & The Originals who stayed on top for only one week but already managed to outsell all but the top 3 of the previous year! "Angel Baby" is definitely a grower and while it was pushed off the top spot quickly it had some serious staying power as it stayed in my top 20 for 14 weeks! This is a sweet ballad that feels eerily familiar for some reason. Rosie and the Originals, fronted by lead singer Rosie Hamlin, were an American doo-wop group and this song is perhaps their biggest and best known hit to date and I just gotta say I like it. While the sound quality isn't great I can imagine it was quite fitting for the time and this is surely the type of music I can appreciate even though it's far from what I normally listen to. Rosie unfortunately joins the club of artists that are no longer with us after she passed away in 2017 at the young age of 71. The cause of her death has never been disclosed. While Rosie Hamlin has absolutely no relation to actor Harry Hamlin (perhaps better known as Lisa Rinna's husband as she will gladly tell you), Rosie's father was interestingly enough also named Harry. Do what you want with that info.

While "Angel Baby" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On January 20, John F. Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States.
• On January 24, a B-52 Stratofortress, with two nuclear bombs, crashes near Goldsboro, North Carolina.
• On January 25, the Soviet Union frees the two surviving crewmen of a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance plane, shot down by Soviet flyers over the Barents Sea on July 1, 1960.
• Also on January 25, Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians is released in cinemas.
• On January 26, president John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician, the first woman to hold this appointment.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 3rd September 2020, 08:33 PM

0025 | 02



ELVIS PRESLEY
Are You Lonesome Tonight?



No. 1 Run: 27 January, 1961 - 2 February, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #1 (15 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: 1 November, 1960 on RCA Victor
.........Sales: 185k (est.)

Aaaaand the king is back! Elvis did indeed manage to snatch another top spot from me but again just like with "It's Now Or Never" back in October '60 this one only lasts a week and doesn't sell a whole lot in the long run. Despite being successful in pushing Rosie off the throne "Are You Lonesome" manages to sell only barely more than half of what "Angel Baby" did once their chart runs were over. 'Lonesome' is a beautiful ballad but ultimately it's a bit boring for me so not as strong of a number one as the previous few. Elvis will definitely be back later with much better songs but I still think this may very well be the first song to top my chart that also managed to top both the US and UK chart IRL? Elvis still, despite the overall floppage of this song, fought off hard competition from another previous number one title holder: Chubby Checker. Chubby challenged the king with his awkwardly titled song "Pony Time" but ultimately settled for a peak at No. 4 and sales at around 160k.

While "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On January 28, Supercar, the first family sci-fi TV series filmed in Supermarionation, debuts on ATV.
• Also on January 28, Arnaldur Indriðason is born. He is one of the most popular Icelandic writers and a two time winner of the best Nordic crime novel award. (I recommend reading his novel Mýrin, or Jar City)
• On January 30, American civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King have a baby boy who they later name Dexter King.
• On January 31, Ham the Chimp, a 37-pound (17-kg) male, is rocketed into space aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, in a test of the Project Mercury spacecraft, designed to carry United States astronauts into space.
• On February 1, the United States tests its first Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile.
• On February 2, actress Anna May Wong died of a heart attack at the age of 56. She is considered to be the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 4th September 2020, 09:41 AM

0026 | 03



THE MIRACLES
Shop Around



No. 1 Run: 3 February, 1961 - 9 February, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (16 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: October 15, 1960 on Tamla/Motown
.........Sales: 210k (est.)

"Shop Around" was the first million-selling hit for Motown Records and for good reason. It provides a new and fresh sound to the previous hits for the Record Company (then known as Tamla Records) and really paved the way for some of the most famous Motown records we know and love today. The Miracles were fronted by lead singer Smokey Robinson who is of course a very famous name on his own but this seems to have been a popular stepping stone for the biggest names of the time, especially when it came to black singers. They'd start off in a band (The Drifters, The Supremes, The Miracles), later become the main attraction (Ben E. King and The Drifters, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles) before finally venturing out on their own and becoming successful solo singers. "Shop Around" is cute and as I said earlier, it's worthy of the title but there are far superior Motown records to come in the next few years so hold on to your socks! "Shop Around" marks the longest run of 1-week number ones yet but there will be much longer runs later!

While "Shop Around" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On February 3, Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 542 and its 26 occupants disappeared while flying from Surabaya on the island of Java, to Balikpapan on the island of Borneo. The Douglas DC-3 plane plunged into the Java Sea after having last been seen over Madura Island.
• On February 4, The Portuguese Colonial War began in Angola with a co-ordinated attack by 180 MPLA guerillas in Luanda. In a morning raid, armed groups attacked the prison, the police barracks, a police patrol and the radio station. The attacks failed, and armed white Angolan residents exacted revenge on Luanda's black neighborhoods, but the battle inspired a 14-year-long campaign to liberate Portugal's colonies.
• On February 5, movie actress Marilyn Monroe voluntarily checked herself into the Cornell University Medical Center (under the pseudonym "Faye Miller") after being driven there by her psychiatrist, Dr. Marianne Kris. Admitted on the premise that she would be treated for exhaustion, Monroe was instead taken to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic and found "the worst fear of her life come true", being locked inside a padded cell. After three days, she was permitted to make a phone call and reached her ex-husband, baseball star Joe DiMaggio, who flew to New York City and effected her release.
• On February 6, Olin Library at Cornell University in New York, designed by Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde, opens.
• Also on February 6, in the Congo, President Joseph Kasavubu named Joseph Ileo as the Prime Minister in an interim government. Ileo was unable to persuade major secessionist leaders to join his cabinet and would resign on August 1.
• On February 8, at a press conference to announce that Prime Minister John Diefenbaker of Canada would be coming to the United States on February 20, President Kennedy mispronounced the Canadian leader's name multiple times. Kennedy had asked Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who in turn had asked Assistant for European Affairs Foy D. Kohler, who suggested the German pronunciation "Dee-fen-bawk-er"; Diefenbaker's name was misspelled by various news sources as "Diffenbaker", "Diefenbacker", "Diefenbacon" and even (by UPI) "Fifenbaker". Privately, the Prime Minister, whose name was pronounced "Dee-fen-bay-ker", was enraged at what he viewed as being mocked by the American president.
• On February 9, The Beatles perform for the very first time at The Cavern Club.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th September 2020, 02:52 PM

I've never heard that Angel Baby record! I like it, though it's exactly how you'd expect a girl doo-wop song to sound. It's very rough n ready, you're right about that, sounds like it was an amateur breakthrough track rather than a big studio big production.

Lonesome isn't one of my fave Presley tracks, there was an awful laughing version Elvis recorded live that became a hit in the 80's and that was the final nail in the coffin of my regard for the song, oops!

Shop Around is a decent track, Smokey has had an amazing career purely as a songwriter, sheer quality is on the way!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 7th September 2020, 07:43 PM

0027 | 04



FERRANTE AND TEICHER
Exodus



No. 1 Run: 10 February, 1961 - 9 March, 1961 (4 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #6 (17 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #2 (22 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: November 7, 1960 on DME
.........Sales: 710k (est.)

And with that the previous biggest hit record has been absolutely smashed into smithereens. "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs sold 428,000 copies during its run but Ferrante & Teicher's piano epic did it one better and sold almost twice as many copies. This is also the first song featured here that has been certified platinum. This song is an absolute masterpiece even though admittedly I have never heard it before going over the songs for 1961. It absolutely captivated all of my attention and I felt all kinds of feelings I was certainly not expecting to feel for a song from this time period but wow this is just so beautiful. While the movie the song was featured in may not have aged very well I'm happy they brought us this amazing tune. During the time that 'Exodus' was on top it was only really faced by one major competition from chart alum Neil Sedaka whose song "Calendar Girl" peaked at No. 2 behind Ferrante & Teicher. Neil's sound, or moreover the subject of his songs, is getting a bit old at this point so he's gonna need a musical reform soon if he wants to top the chart again soon.

While "Exodus" was on top for 4 weeks a few things happened.

• On February 12, The USSR launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
• Also on February 12, The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single.
• On February 13, Frank Sinatra forms his own record label, Reprise Records, which will later release recordings by The Beach Boys, Ella Fitzgerald, The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix.
• On February 14, Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized in Berkeley, California.
• Also on February 14, The Platters file a lawsuit against Mercury Records for breach of contract after the record company refuses to accept recordings on which Tony Williams does not sing lead. The group's lawsuit contends that their contract does not require Williams to sing lead.
• On February 15, Sabena Flight 548 crashes near Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.
• On February 25, The last public trams in Sydney, Australia cease operation, bringing to an end the Southern Hemisphere's largest tramway network.
• On March 1, United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
• On March 8, Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth in 8 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, setting a new world record.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 7th September 2020, 09:25 PM

0028 | 05



RICKY NELSON
Travelin' Man



No. 1 Run: 10 March, 1961 - 16 March, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: (did not chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (17 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: November 7, 1960 on DME
.........Sales: 110k (est.)

From the biggest selling number one of the year so far to the lowest selling number one. While I enjoy the melody of the song I admittedly am not a big fan of the lyrics. It's honestly quite surprising I allowed this to take the top spot from 'Exodus' when it's very bland even by 1961 standards. Ricky sings about his million and one girlfriends in all these different places and it's got some lyrics that haven't aged quite well but I guess it's a product of its time so not much to do about that. I guess what made me like this enough to put it at #1 was the melody. The piano in the background is cool. Ricky Nelson was a handsome guy and his sons actually managed to follow in his footsteps and reach number one in the US with a song in 1990. This makes them the only family to have reached #1 in three generations as Ricky's parents, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, did it as well. The family was a popular family as they starred on a hit sitcom in the 50's and 60's. However their story is quite tragic as Ricky's father died from cancer in 1975, Ricky died in a plane crash on the last day of 1985 and finally Harriet passed away at the age of 85 in 1994. Some say she died of a broken heart after never really recovering from Ricky's death. Quite heartbreaking really.

While "Travelin' Man" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On March 11, "Barbie" gets a boyfriend, when the "Ken" doll is introduced in the United States.
• On March 12, english actress Belinda Lee died in a car accident near San Bernardino, California at the young age of 25.
• On March 13, Black and white £5 notes cease to be legal tender in the UK.
• Also on March 13, a mudslide occurs in Kurenivka, Ukraine. The official death toll is 145, however a later study estimates that the number of victims was closer to 1,500.
• Also on March 13, Cyprus joins the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming the first small country in the Commonwealth.
• And finally on March 13, A second B-52 crashes near Yuba City, California, after cabin pressure is lost and the fuel runs out. Two nuclear weapons are found unexploded.
• On March 15, The Union of Peoples of Angola, led by Holden Roberto, attacks strategic locations in the north of Angola. These events result in the beginning of the colonial war with Portugal.

Posted by: Crazy Chris 8th September 2020, 07:11 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Sep 4 2020, 03:52 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th September 2020, 08:23 PM

Exodus is one of those instrumentals i know but didnt know i knew!

Its actually pretty good, i enjoy a dramatic theme tune. Ricky Nelson ive always liked, the better side of tv star cum pop star pop, and i like this one too. In terms of the lyrics, bragging about how many girls you get off with is thematically what a million and one rap songs are based on just not as much concerned with the details back in those days Ricks finest moment was still 11 years in the future at this stage - the wonderful Garden Party.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 12th September 2020, 06:59 PM

0029 | 06



ETTA JAMES
At Last



No. 1 Run: 17 March, 1961 - 6 April, 1961 (3 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #39 (11 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #47 (8 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: November 15, 1960 on Argo
.........Sales: 775k (est.)

And now onto another huge track it's the legendary Etta James claiming the top spot for the very first time and just like that 'Exodus' has been dethroned as the biggest track of the year, although not be a whole lot. Etta was a magnificent voice and 'At Last' being such a well known song today sort of makes up for the absolute floppage it presented to us upon its' release. Etta's raspy vocals were unique and so so beautiful and there is just something so incredible about this woman. It's of course thanks to her that we have one of my favourite hits of 2011, Avicii's 'Levels' and alternatively Flo Rida's best 'Good Feeling' although both of those sample another one of her tracks yet to come. 'At Last' is a song I sort of relate to coffee ads today as it was featured in ads for, I wanna say Merrild Coffee, for a while in the 90's and early 2000's here in Iceland so it's hard for me not to think about that when I hear it but the song is absolutely stunning to say the least. While Etta didn't face a lot of worthy opponents during her three week stint on top she did manage to fend off Linda Scott's "I've Told Every Little Star" (No. 4) when it debuted but other than a little scare there Etta was firm on top.

While "At Last" was on top for a week a lot of things happened.

• On March 17, Susanna M. Salter, first woman mayor in the United States, died at the age of 101; in 1887, she was elected to a two-year term as mayor of the small town of Argonia, Kansas, after being placed on the ballot as a prank.
• Also on March 18, "Nous les amoureux" by Jean-Claude Pascal wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 for Luxembourg.
• On March 19, Tornadoes swept through four districts of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing more than 250 people. The dead included 32 people who had taken refuge in a Catholic church in Dacca after attending Sunday mass.
• On March 23, An American C-47 transport plane with eight men aboard disappeared over the war-torn nation of Laos after taking off from Vientiane toward Saigon. The U.S. Air Force did not announce the incident until two days later. The sole survivor, Major Lawrence R. Bailey, Jr., was captured and became the first American POW of the Vietnam Era. He would be released on August 15, 1962.+
• Also on March 23, Valentin Bondarenko, 24, Russian cosmonaut, was burned to death in a training accident. His death would be concealed by the Soviet government for more than 25 years, finally being revealed in 1986 in an article in the daily newspaper Izvestia.
• On March 25, The day after the U.S. launch of a test dummy into space, the Soviets made one final launch of their own Ivan Ivanovich dummy into space, along with the last dog in space, Zvezdochka. Both went up on Sputnik 10, which made one orbit and safely returned to Earth.
• On March 27, Nine African-American students from Mississippi's Tougaloo College made the first effort of passive resistance to end segregation in the state capital, Jackson, by walking into the whites-only main branch of the municipal public library. After beginning the "read-in", the students declined to leave and were arrested by police. The next day, black students at Jackson State College marched to the city jail to protest the arrest of the "Tougaloo Nine", and more demonstrations followed.
• Also on March 29, American actress Amy Sedaris was born. Her breakout role came as Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series Strangers with Candy (1999–2000) and the prequel film Strangers with Candy (2005), which she also wrote.
• On March 30, Actor Ronald Reagan gave a speech entitled 'Encroaching Control' to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. This speech was considered by some historians to be his finest and the moment his political career truly began.
• Also on April 1, Susan Boyle, Scottish singer who became a worldwide sensation after singing "I Dreamed a Dream" on the TV show Britain's Got Talent, was born in Blackburn, West Lothian.
• On April 2, Christopher Meloni, American TV actor, was born in Washington, D.C. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for its first twelve seasons and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.
• On April 3, Country music star Spade Cooley, nicknamed "The King of Western Swing", murdered his wife Ella Mae after she admitted to having an affair. Cooley remained in prison until 1969, and died on November 23 of that year after performing a concert while on furlough.
• Also on April 3, The Soviet government approved sending a man into space on the April 12 launch of a rocket, and made a choice between the two remaining candidates for first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov.
• Also on April 3, Eddie Murphy, American comedian and actor, was born in Brooklyn, New York. While Murphy hardly needs an introduction he's best known for his performances in 48 Hrs., the Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, The Nutty Professor, Shrek, and Dolemite Is My Name.
• On April 4, At 6:00 pm in a conference room at the office of U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy convened a meeting to discuss final plans for the invasion of Cuba. U.S. Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas, who argued against the operation, was invited to participate at the meeting, which also included Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, CIA Director Allen Dulles, and three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The meeting ended at 8:18 pm with Kennedy approving the mission.
• Also on April 5, Singer Barbra Streisand made her national television debut, as a guest on Tonight Starring Jack Paar. In TV listings, both of her names were misspelled, as "Barbara Strysand".
• On April 6, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed the bill authorizing the construction of the World Trade Center and a rehabilitation of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (H & M RR). The original plan for the WTC called for construction of several buildings in the east side of Manhattan, near the Brooklyn Bridge, the two tallest being 72 stories and 30 stories. New Jersey, which shared the Port Authority with New York, protested the location and the site was relocated to Manhattan's west side, where the H & M's office buildings stood.

Posted by: dandy* 12th September 2020, 09:25 PM

I can’t say I overly care for much so far but I do have to mention that I’m loving the presentation of all of this, the effort is great!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 12th September 2020, 10:16 PM

QUOTE(dandy* @ Sep 12 2020, 09:25 PM)

I can’t say I overly care for much so far but I do have to mention that I’m loving the presentation of all of this, the effort is great!

Posted by: diva thin muffin 12th September 2020, 11:23 PM

0030 | 07



THE SHIRELLES
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow



No. 1 Run: 7 April, 1961 - 4 May, 1961 (4 weeks)

.........UK Chart Peak: #4 (15 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (19 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: November 1960 on Scepter
.........Sales: 840k (est.)

The trend of big selling number ones continues as we see another platinum selling song outsell the current leader and spend a few weeks at the top, the third one of the year as we slide into the start of summer 1961. The Shirelles released this absolute classic gem in late 1960 and it managed to reach number one in the US in 1961 and I can understand why. While it's very much in line with what was popular at the time, this song still manages to stand out of the crowd like a sore thumb. The Carole King penned song (which was released as a single by King herself some 10 years later) and its heartbreaking lyrics were introduced to us by The Shirelles which consisted of four girls who were schoolmates in Passaic, New Jersey. This was additionally the first song ever to reach number one in the US that was performed by a black all-girl group. This is just splendid.

While "Will You Still Love Me" was on top for a few weeks a lot of things happened.

• On April 8, Shortly after 4:00 am, the British passenger ship MV Dara exploded off Dubai. In the fire and in panic during the rescue, 238 passengers and crew died, while another 565 were rescued. The ship sank two days later while being towed. A British Admiralty court concluded a year later that an anti-tank mine, "deliberately placed by a person or persons unknown", had "almost certainly" caused the explosion.
• On April 9, Eight days before the scheduled invasion of Cuba, the CIA learned that the Soviet Union was aware that the attack would take place on the 17th. Even with the secret compromised, the CIA elected not to call off the operation nor to alert the participants. The information would not be made public until 39 years later, with the declassification of the Taylor Commission report.
• On April 11, The trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann began in Jerusalem. Eichmann, accused of more than six million murders, was found guilty on August 14, and hanged on May 31, 1962.
• On April 12, At 2:07 p.m. local time (9:07 a.m. Moscow, 0607 UTC and 1:07 a.m. in New York), Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched from Baikonur, in the Kazakh SSR on the Vostok 1 rocket, and became the first human being to go into outer space. Gagarin made one orbit of the Earth before re-entering, and landed at 10:55 a.m., 15 miles southwest of the city of Engels in Russia's Saratov Oblast.
• From April 15 to April 19, the Bay of Pigs invasion is set in motion, takes place and eventually fails. Fidel Castro announces on April 20 that the Bay of Pigs Invasion has been defeated.
• On April 17, At the 33rd Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope, the award for Best Picture went to The Apartment, for which Billy Wilder won Best Director. Burt Lancaster won Best Actor (for Elmer Gantry), Elizabeth Taylor Best Actress for Butterfield 8.
• On April 23, Judy Garland performed a legendary comeback concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City, receiving a standing ovation as she arrived on stage, and five minutes of cheering. Variety critic Gordon Cox Tom Moon described the event as "the greatest night in show business history". The live performance was recorded as a Grammy award-winning and bestselling album, Judy at Carnegie Hall.
• On April 29, Luciano Pavarotti, a 25-year-old tenor from Italy, made his operatic debut, as Rodolfo in a production of La bohème at Reggio Emilia.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th September 2020, 09:32 AM

Two top-notch all-time classics there. I didn't know At Last until the 90's but it topped my chart at the first opportunity, it's just brilliant. I knew The Shirelles song as a kid, and liked it, and love Carole King still. The version I knew best was by Melanie in 1974, but it's pretty much a song that is hard to ruin in any cover. The original has the period charm though.

Chris Meloni in prison-drama Oz, well-worth googling photos if anyone is partial to mature fit men great actor too, always good.

Posted by: King Rollo 13th September 2020, 10:34 AM

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is a classic.

I know At Last for Jeff Lynne's version from his Long Wave album which consisted of covers of songs he listened to on the radio when he was growing up.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 13th November 2020, 06:45 PM

0031 | 08



CONNIE FRANCIS
Where The Boys Are



No. 1 Run: 5 May, 1961 - 11 May, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #5 (14 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #4 (15 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: January 1961 on MGM Records
.........Sales: 325k (est.)

Connie manages to grab a third number one, giving her the lead as the artist with the most songs at the top of my chart so far. This song's melody is very reminiscent of "Blue Velvet" actually in a nice way. Her vocals are sweet and calming to listen to and this is just really beautiful. She only stuck around on top for one week though as there were a couple of worthy songs roaming around the higher echelons of the chart at the time but one song that Connie managed to keep from ever getting to #1 was Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" which peaked at #2. "Where The Boys Are" is a love song written by chart alum Neil Sedaka along with a man called Howard Greenfield, and was written as the title track for the 1960 movie of the same name in which Connie was co-starring. Sedaka later said that this is the only song out of over a 700 that he's written that he did not write with himself singing it in mind.

While "Where The Boys Are" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On May 5, at 9:34 am, Alan Shepard became the first American in space as Freedom 7 lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Shepard's rocket, first of the Mercury program, reached an altitude of 115 miles without achieving orbit, and was recovered 19 minutes later by the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.
• On May 6, Tottenham Hotspur F.C. defeated Leicester City 2-0 in the 1961 FA Cup Final before a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley, becoming the first team in the 20th century to win the English League and Cup double. As of 2020, this is the last time Tottenham have won the English League.
• Also on May 6, American actor George Clooney was born in Lexington, Kentucky. He rose to fame after starring in the medical drama series ER and later appeared in movies such as Ocean's Eleven, Syriana and Up in the Air among others.
• On May 7, China's Prime Minister Zhou Enlai telephoned Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong after a tour in Handan County, Hebei Province, of rural villages affected by malnutrition and famine during the "Great Leap Forward" campaign of 1958 and brought an end to the practice of feeding people through inefficiently-operated collective dining halls. Beginning in June, people were allowed to produce their own food rather than having all resources limited to the village "mess halls".
• Also on May 7, the Soviet Union restored capital punishment for embezzlement of public property. Legal execution had been abolished for all purposes on May 26, 1947, but was gradually introduced for various crimes starting in 1950. Females were exempt from the death penalty under any circumstances, as were men who had reached the age of 60 by the time of their sentencing.
• On May 8, Briton George Blake was sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying.
• On May 10, Air France Flight 406 crashed in the Sahara Desert while en route from Bangui to Marseilles. All 79 persons on board (69 passengers and the crew of 10) were killed when the Super Constellation crashed.

Posted by: diva thin muffin 13th November 2020, 07:03 PM

0032 | 09



DEL SHANNON
Runaway



No. 1 Run: 12 May, 1961 - 18 May, 1961 (1 week)

.........UK Chart Peak: #1 (22 weeks on chart)
.........US Chart Peak: #1 (17 weeks on chart)
.........Release Date: February 18, 1961 on BigTop Records
.........Sales: 290k (est.)

Del Shannon, born Charles Weedon Westover, was an American rock 'n roll country musician born in Michigan and "Runaway" was his debut hit and he managed to top not only the UK and US chart with this but obviously also my chart in what I think is the first so far song to top both the US and UK chart and also mine! This is a really fun track and especially the instrumental is quite unique. This was his only ever chart topper in both of those main territories but only time will tell if the same goes for my chart. Now as you may have noticed I am talking about Charles in the past tense as he sadly took his own life in 1990 after battling with depression for a while. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 9 years later. I admittedly had never heard of Del Shannon prior to making this list and I actually thought this was a band until reading up on the fella, but he seemed like an alright guy and I quite enjoyed this track even if I only had one week to spare for it to take the top spot.

While "Runaway" was on top for a week a few things happened.

• On May 12, a brush fire in Hollywood, California, destroyed 24 houses, including the home of author Aldous Huxley, who lost almost all of his unpublished manuscripts and works in progress.
• Also on May 12, Tony Bettenhausen, 44, American racecar driver and USAC driving champion for 1958, was killed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while testing the car to be driven by his friend Paul Russo in advance of the 1961 Indianapolis 500. "Failure of a 10-cent bolt led to the death of the full time farmer and part time race driver," a UPI report would note the next day. As Bettenhausen entered a turn, the bolt fell off of the car's front rod support and "permitted the front axle to twist, thereby misaligning the front wheels", according to the U.S. Auto Club's report. The vehicle veered into the outside retaining wall at 145 m.p.h., "climbed over it, upside down, and tore through an 8 foot high wire fence", bursting into flames on impact.
• On May 13, Gary Cooper, 60, American film star, died of colon cancer at his home in Bel Air in California. Cooper had won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice, for Sergeant York in 1942, and for High Noon in 1952.
• On May 16, a military coup in South Korea overthrew the government of Prime Minister Chang Myon (John M. Chang) and President Yung Po Sun. At 3:30 in the morning local time, Republic of Korea forces led by Lt. Gen. Chang Do Yung seized control of police barracks and government offices in Seoul and other cities, then announced the takeover at 6:00 a.m. General Park Chung Hee, Deputy Commander of the ROK Second Army, soon took over as the new President. General Carter B. Magruder, Commander of the U.S. 8th Army and highest ranking American officer in Korea, declared American support for the Chang regime, but U.S. forces did not intervene during the tumult.
• On May 17, the first fatality in the history of Little League Baseball occurred during an evening game in Temple City, California. Nine-year-old Barry Babcock was struck in the chest by a pitched ball, with impact above his heart, and collapsed and died from a cardiac dysrhythmia. One week later, the second fatality in Little League baseball took place when ten-year-old George McCormick, of Park Ridge, Illinois, was struck in the head by a batted ball during practice.
• Also on May 17, Irish singer and composer Eithne Pattricia Ní Bhraonáin, better known by her stage name Enya, was born in Gweedore, County Donegal.
• Also on May 17, calls for help from an unnamed, unrecognized Soviet spaceship were (supposedly) received at the Torre Bert listening station by the Judica-Cordiglia brothers.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th November 2020, 04:16 PM

Connie Francis is always sweetly wholesome, but Del Shannon was the bees-knees for a while, starting with the fab Runaway, another big advance in pop sound, still love it. Funny Rollo mentioning Jeff Lynne, Jeff produced his last album just before he died (it was released posthumously) and I bought the single he wrote with Del & Tom Petty, Walk Away, before he killed himself and which sadly wasn't a hit.