Sammy was a star, he was the only jewish black crooner in showbiz, so top in that particular field!

 

That old black magic is one i like, i know the doris version of love me or leave me - think it was a film theme song for her movie.

 

Yellow Rose Of Texas was boosted in the 70s on a chart topping 50s album of various artists. It was tv advertised so got to hear a clip of that song endlessly. I dont mind it actually :)

Maybe there's something about the jazzy records from this period - I think they sound much less of their time and more like they could be recorded now than many of the more mainstream hits. And so there's more jazz and even more crazy scatting from today's winner, which really made my jaw hit the floor when I heard it. Don Lang was an English trombonist and singer, and I really think "Cloudburst" is a fabulous, presumably pretty unknown, record. Unfortunately it only made #16 and his only Top 10 will come via a cover of "Witch Doctor" in a few years. D'oh!

 

9 Don Lang With The Mairants-Langhorn Big Six Cloudburst A remarkable frenzy of scatting over brass and bass - this really blew my mind

8 Johnston Brothers Hernando's Hideaway 38th #1: a great tango pop number and the deep slightly sinister vocals really add to it

7 Johnnie Ray Song Of The Dreamer Classic Johnnie with a really assertive and heartfelt delivery and some nice punchy backing singer parts

6 Johnnie Ray Hernando's Hideaway He sings this extremely well of course but I prefer the Johnston Brothers' more disinterested style for this song

6 Winifred Atwell Let's Have A Ding Dong The usual joyous whirlwind medley from Winifred that's over before you know it

6 Sammy Davis Jr Hey There Definitely the best version of this with incredible vocals from Sammy but I still don't love the song

5 Alma Cogan Go On By The usual from Alma - terribly chirply, bouncy and qutie catchy

5 Lita Roza Hey There My second favourite version of this with some interesting backing instrumentation

4 Ruby Murray I'll Come When You Call Quite a nice tune, just very soft and slow and not that memorable

4 Ron Goodwin Blue Star (The 'Medic' Theme) An instrumental version of this - quite nice but definitely preferred it with the vocals

4 Johnnie Ray Hey There A rather plodding version of an already dull song

3 Doris Day I'll Never Stop Loving You Another of those terribly soft ballads that's just not memorable and it's not hummable either unlike Ruby's

3 Central Band Of The Royal Air Force The Dambusters March This is very much the Dambusters march performed competently but it's not a piece of music that excites me much

2 Gary Miller The Yellow Rose Of Texas This appears on an album called "100 Nursery Rhymes", and Gary's fine on it but the backing singing sounds quite childish

 

 

Next group:

 

#303 12/11/1955 Ronnie Hilton The Yellow Rose Of Texas 15 {15}-15->2

#304 12/11/1955 Frankie Laine Humming Bird 16 {16}->1

#305 12/11/1955 The Stargazers Twenty Tiny Fingers 4 17-13-10-7-5-5-6-6-{4}-8-16->11

#306 19/11/1955 The Four Aces Love Is A Many Splendored Thing 2 11-{2}-2-3-3-3-5-3-3-5-5-7-13->13

#307 19/11/1955 Max Bygraves Meet Me On The Corner 2 19-11-9-6-5-4-3-{2}-5-8-15->11

#308 19/11/1955 Pat Boone Ain't That A Shame 7 20-9-8-{7}-10-14-14-12-17-25R(52)-22->11

#309 26/11/1955 Dickie Valentine Christmas Alphabet 1 12-4-2-{1}-1-1-9->7

#310 26/11/1955 The Singing Dogs The Singing Dogs (Medley) 13 16-16-{13}-13->4

#311 26/11/1955 David Whitfield With Mantovani And His Orchestra And Chorus When You Lose The One You Love 7 17-15-11-{7}-10-12-11-12-14-11-12->11

#312 26/11/1955 Petula Clark Suddenly There's A Valley 7 18-14-9-12-9-8-{7}-10-15-17->10

#313 26/11/1955 Frankie Laine Hawk-Eye 7 20-17-12-11-{7}-7-8-14->8

#314 26/11/1955 The Coronets Twenty Tiny Fingers 20 {20}->1

#315 03/12/1955 Lee Lawrence Suddenly There's A Valley 14 19-{14}R(2)-15-22->4

#316 03/12/1955 Frankie Vaughan Seventeen 18 20-{18}-18->3

 

The Singing Dogs :unsure:

Edited January 25, 20232 yr by jimwatts

I'm glad you rate 'Hernando's Hideaway' too (Johnston Brothers version of course) - it's a great chart topper!

Well that's an oddity Ive never heard before as top choice... :o

 

Hernando's Hideaway for me, great song and the Dambusters music is fine in the movie version.

Well The Singing Dogs are definitely worth a listen... but not too many listens.

 

After 18 hits it's probably time for Frankie Laine to have a turn as the top pick. "Humming Bird" was also done by The Chordettes and by Les Paul & Mary Ford but only Frankie's was a hit here, and it's a really sweet number about being with someone who doesn't want to settle down.

 

8 Frankie Laine Humming Bird A really lovely little song breautifully done by Franki

7 Pat Boone Ain't That A Shame A Fats Domino cover but I love the song and actually it's quite nicely done

7 The Four Aces Love Is A Many Splendored Thing Oscar winning song for a film of the same name; really good and like the rich harmonies

7 Petula Clark Suddenly There's A Valley A very sweet wistful ballad and a great performance from Petula

6 The Coronets Twenty Tiny Fingers Fun light song about having twins and nicely arranged and sung in this my favourite of the 3 versions

5 Dickie Valentine Christmas Alphabet 40th #1: a pleasant festive chart toppere which reels off some nice things about Christmas but it's quite pedestrian and not a classic

5 Lee Lawrence Suddenly There's A Valley Still nice but doesn't flow like Petula's and the vocals are good but don't have the same impact

4 The Stargazers Twenty Tiny Fingers More ragged than The Coronets' version but they haven't ruined this one

4 David Whitfield With Mantovani And His Orchestra And Chorus When You Lose The One You Love Maybe Mantovani's influence but this is decent for David - has quite a nice tune and the vocals don't make me wince too much

4 The Singing Dogs The Singing Dogs (Medley) Plenty of points for ingenuity though doesn't bear many listens - dogs barking to the tune of Jingle Bells and nursery rhymes

3 Frankie Laine Hawk-Eye He's so talented he can spot a pretty girl a mile away apparently: a bit boorish this one and a sharp contrast with "Humming Bird"

3 Max Bygraves Meet Me On The Corner Tolerable by Max's standards; no ridiculous talking over the record but his singing is still quite coarse

3 Ronnie Hilton The Yellow Rose Of Texas Another version of this… it's done fine but think Mitch Miller's was the best and that also only got a 3 haha

2 Frankie Vaughan Seventeen I don't share Frankie's feverish excitement about this 17 year old girl, and there isn't much of a tune either

 

 

 

And with the next group we reach the end of the year:

 

#317 10/12/1955 Harry Secombe On With The Motley 16 17-{16}-17->3

#318 10/12/1955 Big Ben Banjo Band Let's Get Together Again 18 19-{18}R(3)->2

#319 10/12/1955 Jo Stafford Suddenly There's A Valley 12 20-15-{12}-13-16-19R(4)->6

#320 17/12/1955 Alma Cogan Twenty Tiny Fingers 17 {17}->1

#321 17/12/1955 Anne Shelton Arrivederci Darling 17 19-18-{17}-19->4

#322 17/12/1955 Dickie Valentine The Old Pianna Rag 15 20-20-18-{15}-18->5

#323 24/12/1955 Alma Cogan Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo 6 13-10-{6}-6-12->5

#324 24/12/1955 Boyd Bennett And His Rockets Seventeen 16 {16}-23->2

#325 24/12/1955 Jimmy Young Someone On Your Mind 13 19-16-14-{13}-18->5

#326 24/12/1955 Jimmy Shand Band Bluebell Polka 20 {20}-20->2

#327 31/12/1955 Johnston Brothers And The George Chisholm Sour-Note Six Join In And Sing Again 9 {9}->1

#328 31/12/1955 Bill Haley And His Comets Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie 4 21-5-{4}-4-7-6-6-15-19->9

#329 31/12/1955 Perry Como Tina Marie 24 {24}->1

#330 31/12/1955 Eve Boswell Pickin' A Chicken 9 25-20-15-13-12-{9}-15-18R(3)-16-17-20R(3)-26-23->13

 

Not a lot in that batch for me, surprisingly. Petula's I dont know, but I always like Petula so that's a given. Pat Boone, unless it's Speedy Gonzales, I always dislike if he's singing, but I'm totally fine when he's getting undressed for a cold shower on his journey to the centre of the earth (early film reference that had a peculiar effect on me as I hit puberty) and Ive never liked Aint That A Shame much even by fats Domino.

 

Hummingbird is quite restrained for Frankie! Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing is a song that was big at the time, and forgotten since. Singing dogs? 80's hit Ruff Mix by Wonder Dog is the only record that matters....!

The charts are crying out for Austin Butler!

Nothing really standing out here but a few I enjoyed bopping along to and I'm giving Bill Haley his second win to top off a rather excellent year for him.

 

7 Bill Haley And His Comets Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie The usual style obviously but a very good tune and nice guitar solo

7 Perry Como Tina Marie Sounds like the backing singers have hiccups but it's a great upbeat number

7 Eve Boswell Pickin' A Chicken Picking a barbecued chicken apart is apparently a romantic thing to do - sounds messy to me but a really fun a catchy song

6 Jimmy Young Someone On Your Mind One of his more dynamic ones - has a Latin flavour and you can really feel his anguish

6 Anne Shelton Arrivederci Darling Her beau is departing on a train - this sounds very wartime but I do like it; some sweet instrumentation and her voice is strong

6 Alma Cogan Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo An oddly specific piece of advice and as usual she sounds far too chirpy when delivering it, but it's fun and catchy

5 Jo Stafford Suddenly There's A Valley Jo's last hit sadly but preferred Petula's version - this doesn't connect as well and it's a bit slow

5 Dickie Valentine The Old Pianna Rag It's a good and fun tune and I still really like his voice - shame about the rabble that joins in for the second half

4 Jimmy Shand Band Bluebell Polka A barndance accordian piece - it's fine

4 Big Ben Banjo Band Let's Get Together Again Much preferred their one from last year - this just sounds like a circus act accompaniment

4 Alma Cogan Twenty Tiny Fingers Preferred the group version by the Coronets; this is inessential

3 Boyd Bennett And His Rockets Seventeen Slightly more subtle than Ronnie's version but still not a fan of the song

3 Johnston Brothers And The George Chisholm Sour-Note Six Join In And Sing Again Just a disjointed medley of songs - I'm sure this served a purpose at the time but it's hard to see the point looking back

3 Harry Secombe On With The Motley He was part of "The Goon Show" but this just seems a fairly serious classical operatic piece; doesn't do much for me

 

 

Bill Haley easily there...! Nothing else much to say about the competition :o

Top picks from 1955:

 

Gold medal: Under The Bridges Of Paris - Eartha Kitt :wub: :wub: :wub:

Silver medal: Love Me Or Leave Me - Sammy Davis Jr.

Bronze medal: Cloudburst - Don Lang (random pick I know but I love it)

 

Others I gave a 9:

 

The Breeze And I - Caterina Valente

Rose Marie - Slim Whitman

Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley And His Comets

Stowaway - Barbara Lyon

 

And in retrospect I should really have given "Hernando's Hideaway" a 9; great record.

 

Worst record of the year: Close The Door - Stargazers

 

The first group for 1956 includes one of my very favourite songs of the whole decade. :yahoo:

 

#331 07/01/1956 Bill Hayes The Ballad Of Davy Crockett 2 13-7-{2}-2-2-3-5-9-12->9

#332 07/01/1956 Lonnie Donegan Rock Island Line 8 17-16-10-9-{8}-9-12-11-9-11-9-13-19-16R(2)-30-25-20R(2)-20-21-22-19-25->22

#333 07/01/1956 Tennessee Ernie Ford Sixteen Tons 1 18-2-{1}-1-1-1-2-5-8-14-13->11

#334 14/01/1956 Frank Sinatra Love And Marriage 3 9-{3}-4-4-5-7-13-16->8

#335 14/01/1956 Tennessee Ernie Ford The Ballad Of Davy Crockett 3 11-7-{3}-5-10-14-14->7

#336 14/01/1956 Edna Savage Arrivederci Darling 19 {19}->1

#337 14/01/1956 Gary Miller Robin Hood 10 20-19-13-{10}-11-17->6

#338 21/01/1956 Frank Sinatra (Love Is) The Tender Trap 2 9-6-3-{2}-4-4-7-8-14->9

#339 21/01/1956 Frankie Laine With The Mellomen Sixteen Tons 10 11-{10}-13->3

#340 21/01/1956 Dick James With Stephen James And His Chums Robin Hood/The Ballad Of Davy Crockett 14 17-16-16-{14}-16-16-14-17-29R(10)->9

#341 21/01/1956 Eamonn Andrews The Shifting Whispering Sands 18 20-20-{18}->3

#342 28/01/1956 The Hilltoppers Only You 3 14-15-8-8-6-5-6-6-4-5-4-4-4-5-5-{3}-12-11-11-14-16-26-24R(7)->23

#343 28/01/1956 Lou Busch Zambesi 2 18-17-7-3-{2}-2-2-2-6-4-6-5-7-7-16-21-28->17

#344 28/01/1956 Nat 'King' Cole Dreams Can Tell A Lie 10 18-11-12-11-{10}-13-13-16-20->9

#345 28/01/1956 Malcolm Vaughan With Your Love 18 20-{18}R(2)-20R(3)->3

Edited January 31, 20232 yr by JulianT

omg 'Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo' - I'll never forget my first listen of that, was working at HMV and it came on as one of those songs that is buried on Disc 3 of Now! That's What I Call Christmas *_* just thought what on Earth is this :lol: I haven't heard it in years but can still recall how it goes haha.

 

The charts are crying out for Austin Butler!

:lol:

I think it's going to have to be a perfect score for Tennessee's version of the miner's tale. The story, the rich vocals, the clarinet part between verses and the big wailing climax at the end are all brilliant. Really enjoyed this bunch in general; even some of the ones I'm less keen on like "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett" and "Robin Hood" are good fun, and Lonnie has arrived!

 

10 Tennessee Ernie Ford Sixteen Tons 41st #1: love everything about this - the lyrics, the melody, the instruments and the beautiful deep voice

8 Lou Busch Zambesi A brilliant and catchy instrumental to be later given vocals and spelled "Zambezi", but much classier as it is I think

8 Lonnie Donegan Rock Island Line First hit for the king of skiffle and it builds up from a standing start to 100mph - great stuff

8 Frankie Laine With The Mellomen Sixteen Tons A great version too - mainly missing the vocal warmth and the clarinet interlude

7 The Hilltoppers Only You Think The Platters' version is slightly more expressive but this is also really well sung and a classic for sure

7 Malcolm Vaughan With Your Love Lovely song this - his voice is slightly vibrato laden for me but still very well delivered

7 Nat 'King' Cole Dreams Can Tell A Lie Effortlessly classy as ever from Nat

6 Eamonn Andrews The Shifting Whispering Sands Such an intruguing and mesmerising song but prefer the version to come - this one is shortened and without the full impact

5 Frank Sinatra Love And Marriage This is a well remembered classic for sure but it's quite twee

5 Dick James With Stephen James And His Chums Robin Hood/The Ballad Of Davy Crockett Seems to be the first ever double A side hit - he has a nice warm voice though I don't love either song

5 Tennessee Ernie Ford The Ballad Of Davy Crockett Prefer Tennessee's vocals to Bill's hence this getting an extra point

4 Bill Hayes The Ballad Of Davy Crockett It's quite fun really but after multiple playings of three versions the tune does start to grate

4 Gary Miller Robin Hood Again the tune starts to grate after while and could do without the screaming children but it's still quite fun

3 Edna Savage Arrivederci Darling Much preferred Anne Shelton's version - the vocals are too soft here and she seems to have borrowed Vera Lynn's backing chorus

3 Frank Sinatra (Love Is) The Tender Trap Quite a nondescript one from Frank; my least favourite of a strong bunch

 

 

Next group:

 

#346 28/01/1956 Billy Vaughn Orchestra And Chorus The Shifting Whispering Sands (Parts 1 And 2) 20 {20}->1

#347 04/02/1956 Frankie Vaughan My Boy Flat Top 20 {20}-20->2

#348 11/02/1956 Dean Martin Memories Are Made Of This 1 4-{1}-1-1-1-3-3-7-8-7-5-10-13-17-27-25->16

#349 11/02/1956 The Dream Weavers It's Almost Tomorrow 1 16-6-3-3-3-{1}-1-2-1-2-3-2-3-3-6-13-21-23->18

#350 11/02/1956 Ronnie Hilton Young And Foolish 17 {17}-20R(2)-19R(2)->3

#351 11/02/1956 Don Cherry Band Of Gold 6 19-10-8-{6}-7-8-10-12-13-17-20->11

#352 18/02/1956 Kay Starr Rock And Roll Waltz 1 9-7-4-4-4-2-{1}-3-3-2-3-4-6-5-6-8-9-12-22-24->20

#353 18/02/1956 Dave King With The Keynotes Memories Are Made Of This 5 13-15-11-{5}-5-8-6-5-6-6-6-15-14-22-30->15

#354 18/02/1956 Edmund Hockridge Young And Foolish 10 17-12-{10}-10-11-14-14-28R(2)-26R(3)->9

#355 18/02/1956 Johnnie Ray Who's Sorry Now 17 19-{17}->2

#356 18/02/1956 Max Bygraves The Ballad Of Davy Crockett 20 {20}->1

#357 25/02/1956 Frank Chacksfield In Old Lisbon 15 18-{15}-15-20->4

#358 03/03/1956 Jimmy Parkinson The Great Pretender 9 17-12-10-11-11-{9}-10-12-18-20-24-21-26->13

#359 03/03/1956 David Whitfield My September Love 3 19-20-18R(2)-16R(2)-11-8-9-7-7-{3}-5-7-8-8-8-7-9-10-16-17-27-20-26-25R(3)->24

#360 03/03/1956 Dean Martin Young And Foolish 20 {20}->1

 

 

Sorry I keep forgetting to comment on this Julian but definitely agree with Sixteen Tons as your top pick. Agree that it's a combination of lyric, vocal and instrumental that makes that one stand out. Glad I discovered this 50s gem a while back.

That perfect score for 'Sixteen Tons' is thoroughly deserved :wub: it stands out for miles in amongst all the 50s #1s - fantastic storytelling and the clarinet is utilised well, pretty haunting and atmospheric. I used to play the clarinet myself (Squidward who?) and wish I'd stuck it out now just to have a crack at that song lol.

 

'Zambesi' is pretty good too - part of an elusive club of U.K. #2s beginning with 'Z' alongside 'Zoom' by Fat Larry's Band :P

16 Tons is great, and Tennessee Ernie is great too, and the lyric might still be relevant to a new generation...

 

Zambezi is great fun, though the version I know best is The Pirhanas 1982ish cover. Rock Island Line is a good intro to the very influential Lonnie Donegan. Only You is a standard, but I'll go with The Platters - or Ringo Starr's 1974 hit version.

 

Love And Marriage was the intro to 80's/90's sitcom Married: With Children, though it was well-known before that. I don't ever remember not knowing it. It's quite fun, but not classic. Frank's The Tender Trap I think was a movie theme.

 

So into the kiddie section: The Ballad Of Davy Crockett was the theme tune to the Disney TV show starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett - so we knew it backwards for as long as repeats of the show continued (into the 70's). So there is only one version for kids of that era: The Wellingtons original TV theme tune.

 

Ditto Robin Hood, the British TV show of the 50's that was in re-runs into the early 70's was The Adventures Of Robin Hood. The theme was famous, Richard Greene (Robin Hood) was well-known in the UK, and the hit song by Dick James is the bloke who sang the TV theme so that's the "proper" version. I completely agree about suffering repeated hearings though. Once a week is enough, per episode! And nowhere else hearing it needed...

Fittingly at the time of writing it is indeed almost tomorrow.

There are heartbreak ballads and heartbreak ballads - some are just done so authentically that they really hit you. "It's Almost Tomorrow" is one of those for me, particularly the lead vocalist just has such a sincere and touching voice. Apparently they were discovered by a talent show, but as far as the UK goes were very much a one hit wonder.

And I also feel I have to give a runner's up feature to "The Shifting Whispering Sands" because it's the most extraordinary setting of a piece of poetry. Well worth a listen. I didn't get it at all at first but after a few listens I found it totally hypnotic.

 

9 The Dream Weavers It's Almost Tomorrow 43rd #1: a heartbreakingly beautiful ballad sung in a very intimate and tender way

9 Billy Vaughn Orchestra And Chorus The Shifting Whispering Sands (Parts 1 And 2) Took a few listens to get into this but it's incredible storytelling and a complete one off

8 Kay Starr Rock And Roll Waltz 44th #1: her 2 chart toppers are her best songs by far - this is a catchy 3 time number with her usual crystal clear vocals

7 Don Cherry Band Of Gold Just a lovely song well done

7 Jimmy Parkinson The Great Pretender Great song and a nice version but there's a better one to come

6 Frank Chacksfield In Old Lisbon An interesting one from Frank with vocals this time; as usual the instrumental part is very captivating

6 Dave King With The Keynotes Memories Are Made Of This Actually very slightly prefer this to Dean's version thanks to the slightly more upbeat tempo

6 Dean Martin Memories Are Made Of This 42nd #1: it's well remembered and a good song but it doesn't excite me

5 David Whitfield My September Love One of David's best efforts that I've heard; a really nice melody and the vocals aren't so bad they ruin it

5 Johnnie Ray Who's Sorry Now One of Johnnie's weaker songs but he still puts so much into it that it manages to be quite exciting

4 Edmund Hockridge Young And Foolish The best of the three versions though still not great; very well sung

3 Frankie Vaughan My Boy Flat Top It's like "Seventeen" part II and it's not quite as bad as that but not much of a tune

3 Ronnie Hilton Young And Foolish Just quite a dreary song

3 Dean Martin Young And Foolish Not much difference between this and Ronnie's but even slightly drearier

2 Max Bygraves The Ballad Of Davy Crockett A good way to make a slightly annoying song really annoying is to get Max to do a version

 

 

 

Tomorrow's lineup:

 

#361 10/03/1956 Bill Haley And His Comets See You Later, Alligator 7 9-{7}-7-8-7-8-8-11-10-13-16-22-23-21R(16)-19-20-20-12-15-18-25->21

#362 10/03/1956 Eddie Calvert Zambesi 13 18-16R(2)-{13}-13-14-25-26->7

#363 10/03/1956 Slim Whitman Tumbling Tumbleweeds 19 20-{19}->2

#364 17/03/1956 Winifred Atwell The Poor People Of Paris 1 12-5-3-2-{1}-1-1-2-2-2-3-6-11-15-18-27->16

#365 17/03/1956 Dick Hyman Trio Theme From 'The Threepenny Opera' 9 15-12-10-11-{9}-10-12-19-16-25->10

#366 17/03/1956 Jimmy Young Chain Gang 9 18-{9}-9-10-15-22->6

#367 24/03/1956 Alfi And Harry The Trouble With Harry 15 {15}-16-19-21-29->5

#368 24/03/1956 Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra Moritat (A Theme From 'The Threepenny Opera') 12 17-15-{12}-12-17-28-25->7

#369 24/03/1956 Lita Roza Jimmy Unknown 15 19-17-{15}-20-26->5

#370 31/03/1956 Alma Cogan Willie Can 13 18-17-{13}-13-15-17-18-22->8

#371 31/03/1956 Michael Holliday Nothin' To Do 20 {20}-30R(4)-23->3

#372 07/04/1956 Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra The Italian Theme 18 {18}-23->2

#373 14/04/1956 Teresa Brewer A Tear Fell 2 18-11-8-6-5-4-{2}-4-5-7-8-9-17-15-18->15

#374 14/04/1956 Slim Whitman I'm A Fool 16 19-{16}-20-29R(2)->4

 

Edited February 1, 20232 yr by JulianT

The only track I've ever charted is Dean Martin's Memories Are Made Of This, still a laid-back fave. There's a lot of songs I know in versions I don't know. Shifting Whispering Sands is basically a novelty record - a spoken word with bits of music inspiring later hits like Desiderata, Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) and more, I guess. Unusual!

 

 

4 Al Martino Rachel OOOHHH RAAAYYYCHEELLL - not his finest song but he certainly makes a good fist of selling it

 

Still making my way through the 1953 songs but this is one of my favourites so far, so lively, I much prefer it to his ballads. Sad you only gave it a 4/10 and it also only made #10 in the singles chart.

 

Edited February 1, 20232 yr by TheSnake

I guess it's time Winifred had a win - I'm sure Jade will be pleased! I do think this is one of her best and in the second half you can hear what I think is a soprano voice singing along but turned down very faintly.

 

8 Winifred Atwell The Poor People Of Paris 45th #1: the usual romping rousing style but this one works particularly well and love the subtle vocal accompaniment

7 Bill Haley And His Comets See You Later, Alligator I hadn't realised until now what a strong run of hits they had - really good fun

7 Jimmy Young Chain Gang Really like the menacing relentless quality to this - much more interesting than most of Jimmy's hits

7 Teresa Brewer A Tear Fell Very nice song well delivered with her clear and pretty voice

6 Slim Whitman Tumbling Tumbleweeds Still an acquired taste but I enjoy the dreamy falsetto vocals with the instruments sliding away in the background

6 Eddie Calvert Zambesi Has that signature Eddie trumpet sound which I'm starting to tire of - great track still but much prefer the Lou Busch version

5 Michael Holliday Nothin' To Do My my these are depressing lyrics but it is actually a nice song that grew on me a fair bit

5 Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra The Italian Theme Very pleasant but doesn't really stand out from other instrumental records

4 Lita Roza Jimmy Unknown A sweet but terribly slow ballad that doesn't quite do enough to grab you

4 Dick Hyman Trio Theme From 'The Threepenny Opera' Similar comments to the version below but some very nice piano parts in this version

3 Slim Whitman I'm A Fool Can't really get into the melody here and find the yodeling slightly jarring in this one

3 Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra Moritat (A Theme From 'The Threepenny Opera') I'm sure this makes sense in the context of the show but to me this is just "Mack The Knife" without the words

2 Alma Cogan Willie Can Yes it's all a joke about penises in Alma's usual irritatingly cutesy style

1 Alfi And Harry The Trouble With Harry Almost unlistenable "comedy" record - ironically Harry isn't the trouble but his friend who keeps shouting at him is unbearable

 

 

The chart has expanded to a Top 30! It means progress will be slowing down and there'll be even more also ran hits (joy), but we've seen that you never know what gems may be lurking among them.

 

#375 14/04/1956 Johnston Brothers No Other Love 22 {22}->1

#376 14/04/1956 Anne Shelton Seven Days 20 24-{20}-20-30->4

#377 14/04/1956 Dave King With The Keynotes You Can't Be True To Two 11 25-18-13-{11}-12-13-17-17-25->9

#378 14/04/1956 Louis Armstrong And His All-Stars A Theme From 'The Threepenny Opera' (Mack The Knife) 8 27-14-14-{8}-11-11-12-15-21-23-21-24R(176)->12

#379 14/04/1956 Tony Bennett Come Next Spring 29 {29}->1

#380 14/04/1956 The Beverley Sisters Willie Can 23 30-24-{23}-27->4

#381 21/04/1956 Ronnie Hilton No Other Love 1 15-4-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-4-5-4-8-14-23->14

#382 21/04/1956 Johnnie Ray Ain't Misbehavin' 17 19-{17}-18-19-26-24-24R(2)->7

#383 28/04/1956 Lonnie Donegan Lost John/Stewball 2 16-12-8-10-7-{2}-3-2-3-3-2-7-10-14-21-25-29->17

#384 21/04/1956 Sammy Davis Jr In A Persian Market 28 {28}->1

#385 28/04/1956 Pat Boone I'll Be Home 1 19-14-9-7-4-3-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-2-4-7-6-8-9-17-17-20-19R(16)-25->24

#386 28/04/1956 Bing Crosby In A Little Spanish Town 22 {22}-29-26->3

#387 28/04/1956 Billy May And His Orchestra Main Title From 'The Man With The Golden Arm' 9 24-{9}-10-9-10-12-17-21-27-28->10

#388 28/04/1956 Dean Martin Innamorata 21 27-{21}-30->3