6. Endless Sleep - Marty Wilde

 

Peak position - 4

 

I like the guitar on this one and his vocal is very powerful but the song itself is average. His daughter Kim was born two years later. They have seven top 3 singles between them but a no.1 has eluded both of them. Marty is still going at the age of 77.

Edited January 29, 20178 yr by King Rollo

5. All I Have To Do Is Dream/Claudette - The Everly Brothers

 

Peak position - 1

 

This was no.1 for 7 weeks in the summer. Of the two songs,All I Have To Do Is Dream is the better known and one of the most enduring songs from the 50s. Claudette is more up tempo and was written by Roy Orbison,two years before he charted with his own music.

4. Volare - Dean Martin

 

Peak position - 2

 

This is the highest placed of the four versions of Volare which charted in 1958. It's sung mostly in English with some Italian kept in. I think I prefer the original.

3. Return To Me - Dean Martin

 

Peak position - 2

 

And here he is again. This is on the way down while Volare is on the way up. It's a dreary ballad which definitely fits into the easy listening genre. With the popularity of rock'n'roll,I think this would have been considered to be out of date even in 1958. After a string of top 10 hits,it would be eleven years before he made the top 10 again.

2. Stupid Cupid/Carolina Moon - Connie Francis

 

Peak position - 1

 

Stupid Cupid is a lively,fun rock'n'roll song with a great sax solo. Carolina Moon is a ballad written way back in 1924. She sings it well. Connie was the first female teenager to have a UK no.1 single and the first female to have a no.1 album. She is now 78 years old.

1. When - The Kalin Twins

 

A catchy pop song from the Kalin brothers with some enthusiastic backing vocals almost putting them in the shade. Showaddywaddy's version of the song got to no.3 in 1977. The Kalin Twins were one hit wonders. They died within a year of each other in 2005/06. At that time,they were the only twins to have a no.1 as a duo but in 2007,The Proclaimers emulated that achievement.

The other notable thing about this chart was Cliff Richard making his debut at no.29 with his first single Move It.

 

My favourite three songs from the top 20:

 

1. Fever - Peggy Lee

2. All I Have To Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers

3. Yakety Yak - The Coasters

 

Thanks to all who read or commented on this thread. I'll be back soon with a top 20 from the 60s.

 

 

Quite an interesting list....I've heard about 1/2 of the songs or a tad more, and am quite familiar with The Everly Brothers, Duane Eddy, Connie Francis and Elvis, not to forget Dean Martin, either... :) :)

pretty good top 10 there, bar Charlie Drake. I always liked Dean Martin, suave and witty and tipsy on his variety shows, and an effortless vocal. Fever, Volare and All I Have To Do Is Dream are all fab.