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 My record of the week 60 years ago |
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 23rd June 2021, 03:48 PM
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#21
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 Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,316 User: 54 
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I love the concept of this thread, I just wish it was a different decade as I always find myself struggling to maintain interest in music from the 60s - the obvious classics aside.
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23rd June 2021, 04:41 PM
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#22
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 BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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Thanks.
 The music from the 70s would be more to my liking as well but I wanted to go back to a decade I wasn't very familiar with.
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29th June 2021, 10:39 PM
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#23
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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29th June - 5th July 1961
I have the week off. There are two re-entries this week but no new entries! |
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30th June 2021, 03:18 PM
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#24
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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I'd be interested in new views of old familiar faves too, but I like that you are doing stuff I've never heard of. I've never delved deep into any charts before 1967, so I expect there be to quite a lot that's obscure to me until 1964/65 when I should start to know all the big hits and most of the middling hits, but still not know the minor hits.
There's a Scottish guy living in Hong Kong who's been reviewing every UK number one since 1952 (currently up to 1978) and it makes for fascinating & enjoyable reading someone's views who is often hearing stuff for the first time through 90's ears... link here if anyone is interested... https://number1sblog.wordpress.com |
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30th June 2021, 05:58 PM
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#25
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 April 2007
Posts: 36,679 User: 3,272
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QUOTE(King Rollo @ Jun 16 2021, 02:22 PM)  I was only assuming everyone on here would know the Magnificent Seven music. I might be wrong. You could try entering it, I think it might qualify from a semi-final. I was reading up on that accident yesterday and saw that one of the policemen later became a pop star. I hope you do get round to entering his group into the contest. There's something I don't recall knowing about before! |
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30th June 2021, 06:41 PM
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#26
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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QUOTE(Suedehead2 @ Jun 30 2021, 06:58 PM) There's something I don't recall knowing about before! said pop star's group was a fave of mine as a boy, and when I turned 10 I got my oldest Top Of The Pops performance memory of him dressed in tight leather pants cracking a whip. I'm not sure why that has stayed with me and the rest of the show didn't..... 
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30th June 2021, 07:07 PM
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#27
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 13 April 2007
Posts: 36,679 User: 3,272
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QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Jun 30 2021, 07:41 PM) said pop star's group was a fave of mine as a boy, and when I turned 10 I got my oldest Top Of The Pops performance memory of him dressed in tight leather pants cracking a whip. I'm not sure why that has stayed with me and the rest of the show didn't..... Who could forget that whip? |
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6th July 2021, 06:25 PM
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#28
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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6th July - 12th July 1961
23. Wheels Cha Cha - Joe Loss And His Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKxk-h6C7X4 I didn't know what this was going to be but playing it now, it's very familiar to me. This would often be played on TV variety shows in the 70s (and presumably the 60s) to accompany someone who was doing something that was supposed to be funny. Even though it's an instrumental, it has that comedic sound to it. 25. Time - Craig Douglas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmaajbTXf04 A pleasant enough string infused pop song. 35. Moody River - Pat Boone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COkOmvr9c3c An American number 1 that will only reach number 18 here. The highlight was the piano playing that runs throughout the song. 37. Baby I Don't Care / Valley Of Tears - Buddy Holly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MNMG_5flWc / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdBoFm2SihI The first track was a standard rock'n'roll song but I prefer the slower flip side which has a really effective use of the electric organ. 40. Don't Jump Off The Roof Dad - Tommy Cooper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGdI7CXZUXc Tommy's only hit single and it will get no higher than number 40. The story here is that dad wants to end it all by jumping off the roof of his house. His children ask him not to jump, not because they will miss him, but because their mother has been planting flowers in the garden and he will make a mess. They tell him to go to the park and jump in the lake instead.  Record of the week : 27. You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro I chose this as my record of the week before I found out it went all the way to number 1 and so it should. Her vocal on this is wonderful, especially as she has to reach some really low notes and she's only fourteen years old! She became the youngest female singer to top the chart. I'm sure I would have heard this song before but not for a while. It's the follow-up to her first single which reached number 3 earlier in the year. It sold more than a million copies. |
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13th July 2021, 05:37 PM
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#29
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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13th July - 19th July 1961
29. Nature Boy - Bobby Darin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_eaWX2nM7s There's a lot to like here with the brass and string section, the big drum sound and those female backing vocals. The song goes back to 1947 and was also a top 30 single in the 70s for George Benson and in the 80s for Central Line which explains how I recognised the melody. I don't think I've heard this version before. 34. Old Smokie / High Voltage - Johnny and the Hurricanes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOMnjmolsFM / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDbJh5IjH0s This group is an instrumental quintet. Old Smokie is an energetic number which sounds like something Madness or Bad Manners would have had a go at in the early 80s. High Voltage is another foot tapper with the saxophone interacting with the electric organ. This is the last of their seven top 40 hits which is a shame as I would have liked to have heard more from them. 37. Romeo - Petula Clark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQIX8aJmXo4 The lyrics are a mixture of English and French language which helped the single get to number 1 in France. This is OK but not as good as the other new entries this week. 40. The Boll Weevil Song - Brook Benton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5H6iwQGWl4 An update of a traditional blues song. A boll weevil is a beetle and the lyrics are a conversation between the boll weevil and a farmer. Record of the week : 36. Stand By Me - Ben E King The Johnny and the Hurricanes double A side would have made a great record of the week but I have to go for this classic. It's a mystery why the British record buyers didn't take to this in 1961 with the song spending just four weeks in the top 40 and peaking at number 27. It reached number 4 in the US. It would take a movie and a TV ad for jeans to propel the single to the top of the UK chart in 1987. |
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13th July 2021, 06:34 PM
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#30
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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6th July charts I adore that Helen Shapiro record and I was mad on her when I was pre-school age. Great voice for a 14-year-old. I wish she'd record again.
Of the others, Wheels Cha Cha as you say was all over variety TV in the 60's and 70's, I swear I associate with a muscle-man on Opportunity Knocks, he kept winning for weeks and the odd-looking muscle-movements were puzzlingly bizarre and oddly unforgettable. Pat Boone, Craig Douglas hmm yes, moving on. Elvis recorded Baby I Don't Care first for Jailhouse Rock movie, ironically since it sounds exactly like Teddy Bear, Holly's was more of a knock-off. Tommy Cooper was an amusing one, popping up on Junior's Choice in the 70's, and frankly right up to the death of Ed Stewart a few years back on his annual Xmas shows for older folk with fond memories of childhood days. Just Like That! |
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13th July 2021, 06:49 PM
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#31
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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Bobby Darin's version of Nature Boy has all the charm taken out of it with those la la la's in the background! For iconic Nat 'King' Cole's original is just gorgeous, and the George Benson version is also classy.
Don't know the Johnny & The Hurricane's tracks, but On Top Of Old Smokie, I'm sorry, will never better the Abba version which was cheesetastic in a B side medley. Yes Abba covered an old blues song. Though I can see the Bad Manners influences a la Can Can. High Voltage is a bit nondescript. Romeo wasn't one of Pet's classics, though it's a nice enough tune, she was very fond of the French-language songs at this stage of her career, pre-Tony Hatch swinging 60's pop. Brook Benton had some good stuff, my fave is the mash-up with Caro Emerald "You're All I Want For Christmas". I'm sure the Boll Weevil Song was hilarious to farm workers back in the day, or kids. Not for me though. Stand By Me is of course a timeless major classic of 1961, if not the best record of the year. It seemed really old, but classy, when it topped in 1987 when it was 26 years old. The equivalent would be something from 1995 topping the charts now....and Stand By Me is longer ago as a chart-topper than it was from release in '87 
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13th July 2021, 07:15 PM
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#32
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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Yes, I thought I remembered the muscle man on Opportunity Knocks using that music. I have a vague memory of him painting a face on his tummy and moving it in and out with the rest of his body hidden in darkness.
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20th July 2021, 10:04 PM
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#33
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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20th - 26th July 1961
29. That's My Home - Mr Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3j_dn9r-jw I thought this was going to be an instrumental but, like that Temperance Seven song five weeks ago, a man starts singing quite a long way into it. I'm assuming it's Acker Bilk himself as he's listed as a singer. I thought he was just a musician and band leader. This was alright, it's in the style of 1920s/30s jazz. 39. I'll Step Down - Gary Mills https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgo2kF6BXrg An unremarkable guitar based pop song. The lyrical theme is similar to the Adam Wade song from six weeks ago. The character in the song has lost the woman he wants to someone else so he's stepping off the ladder of love. This is the last of Gary Mills' three top 40 hits. Record of the week : 22. You Always Hurt The One You Love - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry Just three new entries this week and this is the best one. His vocal has plenty of personality to it and I liked the jazzy piano interlude. The song goes back to 1944 and has been recorded by many well known singers. This is the second of just two top 40 singles for Clarence, both of them reaching the top 10. He's 84 now and still performing. |
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21st July 2021, 04:28 PM
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#34
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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Oh dear, I awas never a fan of that ragtime jazz stuff like Kenny Ball used to do, and anything that sounded like it might have come from the godawful Black & White Minstrel Show which I hated. The vocals taken out of the record and given a new backdrop would work though, def the best bit of it.
Also never heard the Gary Mills track, but it's an improvement on Acker. Neither good nor bad. Clarence is a goodie, though. I like that song, and this is prob the best version though the original 1945 version from The Mills Brothers is quite nice. I'm amazed Clarence is still going, and also that Ryan Gosling has recorded this...
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27th July 2021, 06:29 PM
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#35
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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27th July - 2nd August 1961
20. Don't You Know It? - Adam Faith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkAAHz3jefk I like the keyboard sound effect but the song was not good and I didn't like his vocal. Adam started his chart career with seven top 5 placings but this will be the second consecutive release to miss the top 10. 28. Dum Dum - Brenda Lee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK_T7uAb2E A good vocal performance here but it's wasted on this particular song. I liked the saxophone solo. 29. Quarter To Three - US Bonds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzyhogPKV54 This has a rough sound quality to it but that's how the producer wanted it to sound like. I like the rawness to this and the vivacity. It was a US number 1. I know him better as Gary U.S. Bonds which was what he was called when he had his 80s chart revival. Record of the week : 37. Reach For The Stars / Climb Ev'ry Mountain - Shirley Bassey Shirley Bassey is the first artist to make a second appearance since I started this thread and she gets the record of the week this time. These are both ballads with a dramatic orchestral backing and some powerful, soaring vocals. The single will get to number 1 in eight weeks time but I don't remember hearing either song before. Climb Ev'ry Mountain is from The Sound Of Music but I have never seen that film in full, at least not as an adult. I might have been subjected to it as a child one Christmas. I preferred Reach For The Stars. |
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3rd August 2021, 06:49 PM
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#36
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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3rd - 9th August 1961
28. Cupid - Sam Cooke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S28tILqie1o This would have comfortably been my record of the week most weeks but we have two strong contenders this week. Written by Sam Cooke himself, it will go on to reach number 7. This has a timeless quality to it with a great melody and the soothing trumpet playing in the background along with the strings. I'm more familiar with the Detroit Spinners' version which got to number 4 in 1980. 39. Quite A Party - The Fireballs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vBKpDsfG8 A guitar and drums based instrumental. It's a bit of a foot tapper. This will be the only UK top 40 hit for the American group who I'm pleased to see are still going, although now down to one original member. 40. How Many Tears - Bobby Vee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZsHe7RmWU A breezy pop song with the backing singers and musicians all sounding like they're having a great time. Record of the week : 26. Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton This edges ahead of 'Cupid' as there's so much to this record. A great lead vocal supported by the haunting backing vocal by Lissa Gray, the competent guitar work from The Outlaws and Joe Meek's production. The song was one of many 'death discs' banned by the BBC. It shot up to number 1 after being performed by John Leyton's rock star character 'Johnny Saint-Cyr' in the ITV drama series Harpers West One and spent three weeks there before returning for one more week at the top after being displaced by the Shirley Bassey song I featured last week. |
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10th August 2021, 05:28 PM
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#37
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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10th - 16th August 1961
36. San Antonio Rose - Floyd Cramer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnJe_qzj1ks I was expecting Floyd Cramer to be a singer but after about 30 seconds, I realised that this was going to be an instrumental. It's a run of the mill country influenced piano tune. I think the only reason it's a top 40 hit is because he's had a number 1 single in May with On The Rebound which I've listened to as well and I recognise that one. San Antonio Rose will go no higher than number 36 and he will have no more hits so he's close to being a one hit wonder. 38. What Kind Of Fool Am I? - Anthony Newley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Qnp3D0G1A A second appearance by Anthony Newley and this is no better than the first one. His nine singles so far all made the top 20 but this one will stall at 36. It seems he's on the wane now. Record of the week : 40. Girls - Johnny Burnette By process of elimination, I'm left with this one. It's an upbeat pop song with a nifty string arrangement and some lyrics that are definitely of their time. It will only get to number 37. He's best known for You're Sixteen which was a top 3 hit earlier in the year. This post has been edited by King Rollo: 10th August 2021, 05:29 PM |
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17th August 2021, 07:21 PM
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#38
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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17th - 23rd August 1961
Record of the week : 40. Baby Sittin' - Bobby Angelo and the Tuxedos There's only one new entry this week so this automatically gets the honour. I quite liked the song so it might have had a chance even if there had been more competition. The story here is that the parents have gone out for the evening and the younger sibling has been put to bed so there is an opportunity to get the girlfriend round for some " baby sittin' ". I liked the guitar work here, the vocal only takes up about half of the song. It's a cover of a song by Myron Lee and the Caddies. It reached a peak of number 30 and was the only hit single for the British group. |
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18th August 2021, 07:02 PM
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#39
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,856 User: 17,376
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Johnny Remember Me is an all-time classic, loved it as a kid, love it still. Still exciting. Cupid is the next best, Sam Cooke was amazing, a soul version of Nat 'King' Cole and a great songwriter - but I also prefer the cover version I first got to know the song by - Johnny Nash's reggae 1969 hit version, Johnny was the Sam Cooke of reggae vocally, so smooth and warm.
I also love Bobby Vee, saw him in concert on a 60's package tour in the 80's, and was astounded by how many of his records I knew and loved, having mainly been a lover of The Night Has A Thousand Eyes first and foremost aged 5 or 6. How Many Tears is sweet and Bobby let the audience pick the song he'd play next at times in his set, including this one. Shirley Bassey, my dad was a fan, he had a couple of her albums of 50's stuff and so I was well aware of her growing up. I liked Kiss Me Honey Honey Kiss Me, but her showtune covers were often showstoppers, but for the definitive version of Climb Every Mountain see the movie. Mother Superior belts it out with a passion and brings tingles down your spine. Honestly The Sound Of Music is a classic from beginning to end, and it's fun spotting which sci-fi shows the kids all ended up in (Lost In Space, Logan's Run, Spiderman to name 3 of the regular series stars) 
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19th August 2021, 04:14 PM
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#40
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BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,165 User: 23,961
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OK, I might watch The Sound Of Music the next time it's on the TV.
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