It's a surprise to me that Ella Fitzgerald never had a UK top 10 hit but looking at her wiki page,I see that most of her hits in the US (including four no.1s) were before the UK chart started in 1952.

It's a surprise to me that Ella Fitzgerald never had a UK top 10 hit but looking at her wiki page,I see that most of her hits in the US (including four no.1s) were before the UK chart started in 1952.

 

I've just checked The Missing Charts by Steve Water, which are privately compiled charts for the UK covering 1940-1952, and using data from music companies' re-order sheets. It shows only four solo hits for Ella in that period, with none reaching the top 20. There is also a duet with Louis Jordan, Baby It's Cold Outside, which peaked at #18 in 1949, and two bigger hits when she was singing on Ink Spots records (which were vitrtually guaranted to hit top 10 anyway with or without her on them), Cow Cow Boogie (#3 in 1944) and a double a-side I'm Making Believe/Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall (#9 in 1945).

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 67, 68, and 69.

 

We start today with the 19th and final UK charting single for David Whitfield, with a cover of I Believe, probably the biggest chart hits of the 1950s when Frankie Laine had released it in 1953. In fact David had also released a mono version of the song back then, but this was a new stereo mix with added harp and backing singers. David had last appeared in the chart (and on this thread) in August 1958. I believe spent one week at #49 on w/e 24th November 1960.

 

We then skip over Andy Stewart's Donald Where's Your Troosers, which had a single week at #37 on w/e 15/12/1960, as a reissue in 1989 compehensively removed it from the One Week Wonders list, giving it 8 more weeks and a peak of #4. So instead our next song is Why Why Bye Bye by Bob Luman, which was the follow to his #6 hit, Let's Think About Living. Why Why Bye Bye was at #46 on w/e 15/12/1960

 

Next up we have Jackie Wilson, or Jack Leory Wilson Jr to give him his full name. He was at #50 on w/e 22nd December 1960 with Alone at Last. This is the only time he appears on this thread, so I'm including a potted history here of his career and life. Incredibly he has only had seven different tracks in the UK charts, and three of those much later than the rock and roll era he was associated, but many reissues over the years have given him repeated success over the years with just a few song. At his point Jackie had had a #6 hit with Reet Petite in 1957, and a couple of smaller hits in 1958 and earlier in 1960. After this You're Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher hit #11 in 1969, and I Get The Sweetest Feeling hit #9 in 1972. In May 1975 a reissue of those last two songs reached #25. In September 1975 Jackie was one of the acts on Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock 'N' Roll Revue, and was on stage performing 'Lonely Teardrops'. On singing the lyric 'My heart is crying' Jackie sank to the stage. The audience applauded, believing it to be part of the act, but when his fellow musicians stopped the music, and one of the Coasters rushed to resucitate him it became apparent he had in fact suffered a massive heart attack. The heart attack had caused a lack of Oxygen to his brain, and besides a brief period of apparent recovery in 1976, he spent the rest of his life in a semi-comatose state, until he died in January 1984 from pneumonia aged 49. He was said to be broke for much of his later life, due allegedly to his manager being unfair with his earnings, and was certainly broke at the time of his death, and so the music legend was buried in an unmarked grave. In 1987 a US radio station who had decided to do something about this was able to raise the funds to buy him a headstone. I'm not sure if it was part of the money raising initiative, or if that had simply raised his profile enough to cause a new demand for his records, but late 1986 had seen the re-release of Reet Petite, with a quirky clay-mation video, which would take that year's Christmas number one. In 1987 there were also re-reissues of I Get The Sweetest Feeling, and Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher And Higher), reaching #3 and #15 respectively. Finally, at the end of 1987 a previously uncharted track, Baby Workout, was also released, perhaps in an effort to secure him a second consecutive Christmas number one, but in the event it only reached #93 (and even then I think the 75-100 positions were compressed, so in a full chart it would have been lower). I think it's interesting that Jackie Wilson was a big legend of rock and roll, with a big voice and lungs, but at the same time had relatively few charting singles, and a career tragically cut short at the young age of 41.

 

I know I covered this next one in the Christmas special a couple of week's back, but in the interest of completion in the main run of episodes we have Tommy Steele's Must Be Santa at #40 on w/e 29/12/1960.

 

Also on w/e 29/12/1960, at #42, we have Cleo Laine Let's Slip Away. Cleo's only other Uk charting single was the #5 hit You'll Answer To Me in 1961.

 

And in w/e 05/01/1961 another version of Must Be Santa, by Joan Regan, at #42.

 

Next up we have the Olympics with I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, which was at #40 on w/e 19/01/1961. They had only other hit in the UK, Western Movies, which hit #12 in 1958, but a had a longer career in their native USA.

 

Then we have Dion, who had previously spent two weeks at #28 in 1959 as part of Dion and The Belmonts, with the single A Teenager In Love, which was also a #2 for Marty Wilde and a #13 for Craig Douglas in the same year. Dion was now back with his first solo single, Lonely Teenager, which was at #47 on w/e 19/01/1961. He would go on to hit #11 later in the year with Runaround Sue, and #10 in 1962 with The Wanderer, which also reentered the top 20 in 1976. In 1989 he had one more charting single, King Of The New York Streets, which peaked at #74.

 

Finally for today is the only week of UK chart action for Tommy Zang, with Hey Good Looking, which was at #45 in w/e 16/02/1961. I have to say this song seems to be so familiar to me, but there is no other version ever charted here, and Tommy Zang is obscure enough he doesn't even have a wikipedia page, so no idea where I've heard the song before. There is another single with the same title, by Bo Diddley, which hit #39 in 1965, but that seems to be a different song.

It's familiar to me as well,so I've found the wiki page for the song. The most well known version is the original by Hank Williams who wrote it himself. His recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was released in 1951 so it would have missed the UK chart. Hank Williams has never had a UK hit single which must make him one of the most well known artists never to chart here. He's another singer to die far too early at the age of 29.

It's familiar to me as well,so I've found the wiki page for the song. The most well known version is the original by Hank Williams who wrote it himself. His recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was released in 1951 so it would have missed the UK chart. Hank Williams has never had a UK hit single which must make him one of the most well known artists never to chart here. He's another singer to die far too early at the age of 29.

 

Looking at the Missing Charts book it shows him with only two charting singles in the pre-NME era charts calculated from order books. Hey Good Lookin' which peaked at #8 in 1951, and Half As Much which reached #23 in 1952. I just looked at his wikipedia page and apparently, amongst many other songs, he wrote Jambalaya, one of my favourite Carpenters songs, though the song was also recorded by Hank himself, and also charted by Jo Stafford in 1952 and Fats Domino in 1962. Hank's premature death from heart failure was on 1st January 1953, and the NME singles chart only began in November 1952, so that coupled with the fact there was limited unreleased material of his left at the time he died, with only five singles released after his death (in the US at least), probably explains why he never made the singles chart here. I'm going to have to listen to some of his songs now I think, as he seems like he must have been pretty influential given how many songs he recorded himself, and wrote for others.

A version of 'Hey Good Lookin' was used in a series of Findus Lean Cuisine adverts in the mid 1980s. That may be why the song is familiar to you.

A version of 'Hey Good Lookin' was used in a series of Findus Lean Cuisine adverts in the mid 1980s. That may be why the song is familiar to you.

 

In that case I almost certainly heard it a few days ago in the latest episode of The Hard Sell by Applemask and Bob The Fish productions, a youtube series about advertising over the years, as the latest episode, tying into new year etc, was about weight loss foods (Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine and Slim Fast). No wonder it seemed familiar then!

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 70, 71 & 72

 

We start today with Fools Rush In by Brook Benton, real name Benjamin Peay, which was at #50 on w/e 16th February 1961. In 1963 Rick Nelson took his version of this song to #12. Here's footage of Brook performing it.

 

Or hear the full single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qf6JiGS1iQ

 

Moving on to w/e 23rd February 1961 we have the only week of UK chart action for the Packabeats, with an insturmental called Gypsy Beat.

 

From one instumental to another, as Tony Osborne Sound ft Joanne Brown with The Man From Madrid, which one place lower at #50 in the same week. Tony Osbourne Sound had to wait 12 years for their second and last Uk charting single, The Shepherd's Song, which reached #46 in February 1973.

 

And making it a hat trick of instrumentals here's The Ventures with Ram Bunk Shush, at #45 in w/e 9th March 1961. This was their third charting single, after Walk Don't Run (#8) and Perfidia (#4). They had one more charting single to come, Lullaby Of The Leaves which reach #41 in May 1961.

 

Back in March 1960 Jim Reeves had his first charting single in the UK, He'll Have To Go which peaked at #12 and spent an impressive 31 weeks on the chart. A year on this is his second single to make the chart, Whispering Hope, which manages only a solitary week at #50in w/e 16th March 1961.

 

In w/e 6th April 1961 Brenda Lee was at #47 with Emotions. Here she is performing it.

 

Or hear the full single here:

 

Next up is Petula Clark with Something Missing, at #44 in w/e 13th April 1961. This was the follow up to her #1 hit Sailor, and was in turn followed up by the #3 hit Romeo.

 

And at #47 in the same week was Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with Linda Lu, their 5th charting single. They had a #1 in 1960 with Shakin' All Over, and wouldn't chart after this until January 1963, which we'll see in due course on this thread.

 

Finally for today we have the only week of UK chart action for Dick Charlesworth and his City Gents and Billy Boy, which was at #43 on w/e 9th May 1961.

There were some good instrumentals in that last batch but the highlight was the Petula Clark song. I liked the understated orchestral arrangement on that one.

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 73, 74 and 75

 

First up today with the 8th and final UK charting single for guitarist Bert Weedon, who was at # 47 on w/e 4th May 1961 with Mr Guitar.

 

Moving on one week we have The Velvets at #46 with That Lucky Old Sun.

 

And then after an 18 month absence from the charts it's the 27th and final single from four time charttopper Frankie Laine, who had been the most successful chart artist in the UK until a year or so before when Elvis shot past at a rate of knots (on his 8th number one at the date of this single's week in the charts). Gunslinger was at #50 in w/e 11th May 1961, and was the theme to a US TV series of the same name which was airing in the UK in spring 1961.

 

Onward to w/e 8th June 1961, where Jimmy Crawford, real name Michael Lindsey, is at #49 with Love Or Money. There was also a version at about the same time by The Blackwells, which spent two weeks on chart, peaking at #46, as well as a version released by Billy Fury in 1982 which peaked at #57. Jimmy's only other UK charting single was I Love How You Love Me, which peaked at #18 later in the year.

 

The following that we have the second and last single from instrumentalists Nero and The Gladiators, who were at #48 on w/e 27/07/1961 with their version of 'I dovregubbins hall' or In The Hall Of The Mountain King. I'm going to guess that some of you will be thinking about a certain theme park after his this tune....

 

One place lower that week was Fats Domino with It Keeps Rainin', as song taken to #2 in 1993 by Bitty McLean (and I'll be honest I didn't know Bitty's was a cover until a second ago when I hit play on the video).

 

The on to w/e 17th August 1961 where Clinton Ford, real name Ian Stopford Harrison, was at #48 with Too Many Beautiful Girls. This was Clinton's second UK charting single after Old Shep which we saw on this thread back in 1959, and would go on to have two more, Fanlight Fanny (#22 in 1962) and Run To The Door (#25 in 1967).

 

And in the same week at 50 we find the only other UK charting single by The Velvets, namely Tonight (Could Be The Night).

 

Finally for today we have the only week of UK chart action for Joe Barry, with I'm A Fool To Care, which was at #49 on w/e 24th August 1961.

The One Week Wonders - Episodes 76, 77 & 78

 

First today is Al Saxon, real name Allan Fowler, with There I've Said It Again, which was at #48 on w/e 7th September 1961. A version by Bobby Vinton released in 1963 reached #34 in the UK and #1 in the US.

 

Then a week later at #50 was Linda Scott with Don't Bet Money Honey, the follow up to her #7 hit I've Told Every Little Star, and her only other UK charting single.

 

Spending a week at #48 on w/e 19th October 1961 was Joe Loss with Sucu Sucu. There were four other versions of this in the charts in 1961, by Laurie Johnson (#9), Nina and Frederik (#23), Ping Ping and Al Verlaine (#41) and Ted Heath (#36)

 

A week later at #50 we find another instrumental, the Bobby Darin Orchestra with Come September, the theme from the movie of the same name, which starred Bobby. It was the movie where Bobby met his future wife, Sandra Dee, who played her usual innocent virginal character in this movie, and who I presume (though I'd never heard of her until just now) was the inspiration for the Grease song Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee.

 

Also at #50, but on w/e 2nd November 1961, were The Moontrekkers with yet another insturmental, Night Of The Vampire, their only week of UK chart action.

 

Moving on to w/e 26th November 1961 we have Fat Domino with What A Party at #43.

 

Next up is a Belgium group called Les Chakachas who were at #48 in w/e 11th January 1962 with Twist Twist. They had to wait just over 10 years, until May 1972, for their only other UK charting single, Jungle Fever, which reached #7.

 

And the we have the Brook Brothers, Geoff and Ricky, with He's Old Enough To Know Better, which was at #37 on w/e 25th January 1962. We won't see another One Week Wonder within the Top 40 now until 1969!

 

Finally for this triple episode we have the only week of UK chart action for Brad Newman with Somebody To Love, which was at #47 in w/e 22nd February 1962. A version by The Jets reached #56 in 1982.

Apologies for taking another unexpected week off, but I'm going to resume again now. Rather than trying to do triples again for several days until I catch up to where I would have been (24th Jan should be Episode 89 if I'd stuck to one a day), I think I will just see how many episodes I can get through today.

 

The One Week Wonders - Episode 79

 

First up at #50 on w/e 22nd February 1962 was Tommy Bruce with Babette. Tommy Bruce had had two singles in the charts in 1960, as part of Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers, Ain't Misbehavin' which reached #3, and Broken Doll which only got to #36. Babette was his last UK charting single.

 

Next at #43 on w/e 8th March 1962 was Emile Ford, now solo, but a former charttopper alongside his Checkmates, with What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For. This was his 8th and last UK charting single, spanning a period of 2.5 years.

 

We then skip over Buddy Holly's Listen To Me, at #48 on w/e 15th March 1962, as this was a reissue of a single that had charted back in March 1958. Instead we end this episode a version of Jamabalaya by Fats Domino which was at #41 on w/e 29th March 1962. We saw Jo Stafford's version of the song back in 1952 (albeit as a two week wonder, due to the technicality of the repeated chart week), and the only other version that charted was the most famous version, by the Carpenters which spent 11 weeks on chart and peaked at #12.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 80

 

First up for this episode are Chubby Checker and Bobby Rydell, real names Ernest Evans and Robert Ridarelli, with Teach Me To Twist, in which Bobby asks Chubby to teach him, and Chubby does so. It was Chubby's 5th UK charting single (4 of which were tied to the Twist dance craze), his biggest having been the #2 hit Let's Twist Again. For Bobby it was his 6th single, his biggest to that point having been his debut, Wild One, which reached #7. Bobby's only charting singles after this were another duet with Chubby, Jingle Bell Rock, which reached #40 over Xmas 1962, and, as a soloist, Forget Him which reached #13. Chubby had three more minor hits by the end of 1963, in addition to Jingle Bell Rock, plus a reissue of Let's Twist Again and The Twist which hit #5 in 1975. He also saw a brief revival alongside the Fat Boys with a reworked version of the Twist which got to #2 in 1988. Teach Me To Twist was at #45 on w/e 19th April 1962.

 

This is followed by the first of only two UK charting singles in the 60s for Patsy Cline, real name Virginia Hensley. She's Got You was at #43 on w/e 26th April 1962. This was followed up with Heartaches, which reached #31 towards the end of 1962. On March 3rd 1963 Patsy appeared in a benefit concert in Kansas City, for DJ 'Cactus' Jack Call who died in a car crash about a month before. The following day she was unable to fly home due to foggy conditions. On March 5th she boarded a private plane with fellow performers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, who had also been on the bill for the benefit gig, as well as manager Randy Hughes who piloted the plane. The plane stopped at one point in Missouri, then at 5pm landed at Dyersberg Airport, Tennessee. The airfield manager at Dyersberg advised them to stay the night there, because of high winds, even offering them free rooms and meals, but Hughes responded 'I've already come this far. We'll be there before you know it.'. They took off from Dyersberg at 6:07pm. The plane crashed nose first in a forest in Camden, Tennesee that evening, killing all on board. Patsy's watch was later discovered to have stopped at 6:20pm. Many years later, in 1990, a reissue of her most famous song, Crazy, reached #14 in the UK chart, and another single, the somewhat uncomfortably named (given her cause of death) I Fall To Pieces, also got to #87.

 

Finally for this episode the third and final UK charting single for Terry Lightfoot's New Orleans Jazzmen, Tavern In The Town, at #49 on w/e 3rd May 1962. Their previous hits were True Love (#33) and King Kong (#29), both in 1961. Tavern In The Town was from the recent movie It's Trad Dad!, and their performance from that film can be seen in this video.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 81

 

First up we have the Vernon Girls with The Locomotion, at #47 in w/e 6th September 1962. Other versions that have charted are by Little Eva (#2 1962), Dave Stewart (#70 1986) and Kylie Minogue (#2 1988).

 

Next, at #48 on w/e 27th September 1962, we have The Fentones with The Breeze And I, which had been a #5 hit for Caterina Valente in 1955. This was the last of The Fentones six charting singles, four of which were with Shane Fenton.

 

And from one instrumental to another we end this episode with the George Shearing Quartet with Baubles Bangles And Beads, which was at #49 on w/e 4th October 1962. George Shearing's only other charting single was Let There Be Love which reached #11 earlier in 1962.

I haven't heard that version of The Locomotion before. It's quite unusual for the early 60s that there is no attempt on that record to cover up their rather common sounding accents.

I haven't heard that version of The Locomotion before. It's quite unusual for the early 60s that there is no attempt on that record to cover up their rather common sounding accents.

 

I've just found their wikipedia article (didn't realise Vernons had an 's' on the end) and apparently they were a group of women who worked at Vernons Pools in Liverpool, so perhaps them sounding ordinary was part of the appeal to those who bought their records. To be honest I wasn't even sure the song was entirely in tune, but thought maybe they were just going for a different key or a different tone to the Little Eva and Kylie Minogue versions I'm used to.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 82

 

We start this episode with a prolific producer, writer, and composer of TV theme tunes, Tony Hatch, who amongst many others composed the original themes for Crossroads, Emmerdale Farm and Neighbours. In this instance he was at #50 on w/e 4th October 1962 with the theme to the ABC sci-fi series Out Of This World, which featured introductions from Boris Karloff, and ran for 13 episodes in 1962 (technically 14 episodes if you count the fact that the week before it started Armchair Theatre aired an episode that had been made for Out Of This World, as a way to promote the new series). This is the only time Tony Hatch appears on a UK charting single as the named artist (albeite leading an orchestra), though he wrote and/or produced many many more.

 

Next up is The Big 'O', Roy Orbison, with Working For The Man, which was at #50 on w/e 8th November 1962.

 

And finally for this episode we revisit one we previously saw in the Christmas special a few weeks. Connie Francis was at #48 on w/e 20th December 1962 with I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter.

The One Week Wonders - Episode 83

 

First up we have Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with their first charting single since we saw them with Linda Lu in April 1961. A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues was at #48 on w/e 10th January 1963.

 

Next we stay with the same chart week and move down to #50 to find the only week of UK chart action for The Cookies with Chains.

 

And finally for this episode we have Tell Him by The Exciters, which was at #46 on w/e 21st February 1963. The Exciters had to wait just over 12.5 years for their only other UK charting single, Reaching For The Best which hit #31 in late 1975. Tell Him was also a hit for several other acts and artists, Billie Davis (#10 in 1963), Hello (#6 in 1974) and comedy actresses Quentin and Ash (#25 in 1996). As for The Exciters version we have something particularly interesting to watch here, as I'm fairly sure it's the first proper music video we've seen, as opposed to liver performance footage from tv shows, or footage taken from feature films. Strictly speaking it's actually a Scopitone, a 16mm film made for a type of jukebox with a moving picture component, they were made in Technicolour with a hifi magnetic soundtrack. Scopitones had begun a few years before in France, then spread to Germany, before arriving in England around 1962/3, so this would be one of the first ones made for an English language single.

 

One more for today I think, then I may well try to do the same number of episodes again tomorrow to be fully caught up.

 

The One Week Wonders - Episode 84

 

First up we have a temporary return to the UK chart for Johnny Mathis, who was last seen in the charts in early 1961 with the #9 hit My Love For You, and wouldn't hit the charts again until the #10 hit I'm Stone In Love With You in January 1975. This is What Will Mary Say, which was at #49 on w/e 4th April 1963.

 

Next up we have Tony Sheridan and The Beatles with My Bonnie. This was Tony Sheridan' only UK charting single, and the only one of The Beatles' many hits to be a one week wonder. It was at #48 on w/e 6th June 1963.

 

And finally for this episode we have The Isley Brothers with Twist And Shout, their debut on the UK charts, which was at #42 on w/e 25th July 1963. Other versions of Twist And Shout that have charted were by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (#4 in 1963), Salt-n-Peppa (#4 in 1988) and Chaka Demus and Pliers (#1 in 1993).

The One Week Wonders - Episode 85

 

First up we have producer Mickie Most, with a solo single as an artist prior to becoming a highly successful producer. The single, Mr Porter, was at #45 on w/e 25th July 1963.

 

Next up is Swedish vocalist Alice Babs with After You've Gone, which was at #43 on w/e 15th August 1963. Although many version of After You've Gone have been recorded over the last century or so since the first version was recorded by Marion Harris in 1918, Alice's version is the only one to have ever reached the UK singles chart.

 

Finally for this episode is return to the charts for its first charttopper, Al Martino, who we last saw in the charts, and this thread, in 1960, when he charted with Summertime. Now he was charting at #48 on w/e 29th August 1963 with I Love You Because, a song taken to #5 the following year by Jim Reeves. Al would reach the UK charts one last time when he scored a #5 hit in 1973 with Spanish Eyes.