Workplaces are shutting up shop for the year in 2021, meanwhile back in 1955 its only August and the charts are looking something like this:
The songs of August, 1955
“A Blossom Fell” – Nat King Cole & The Four Knights
“A Story Untold” – Crew-Cuts
“Ain’t That A Shame” – Fats Domino
“Ain’t That A Shame” – Pat Boone
“Autumn Leaves” – Roger Williams*
“Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” – Perez Prado
“Domani” – Julius Larosa
“Gum Drop” – Crew-Cuts*
“Hard To Get” – Gisele Mackenzie
“Honey-Babe” – Art Mooney Orchestra
“Hummingbird” – Les Paul & Mary Ford
“I’ll Never Stop Loving You” – Doris Day
“It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie” – Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads
“Learnin’ The Blues” – Frank Sinatra
“Maybellene” – Chuck Berry*
“Razzle Dazzle” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Rock Around The Clock” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett
“Seventeen” – Fontane Sisters*
“Seventeen” – Rusty Draper*
“Something’s Gotta Give / Love Me Or Leave Me” – Sammy Davis Jr.
“Something’s Gotta Give” – Mcguire Sisters
“Song Of The Dreamer / Don’T Stay Away Too Long” – Eddie Fisher*
“Sweet And Gentle” – Alan Dale
“That Old Black Magic” – Sammy Davis Jr.
“The Bible Tells Me So” – Nick Noble*
“The House Of Blue Lights” – Chuck Miller
“The Kentuckian Song” – Hilltoppers
“The Man In The Raincoat” – Priscilla Wright
“The Popcorn Song” – Cliffie Stone Orchestra*
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Johnny Desmond*
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller*
“Tina Marie / Fooled” – Perry Como*
“Unchained Melody” – Al Hibbler
“Unchained Melody” – Les Baxter
“Wake The Town And Tell The People” – Les Baxter*
“Wake The Town And Tell The People” – Mindy Carson*
* = New to the chart this week.
You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link or embedded below:
This month in history
On August 3, 1955 we saw the English-language première of Samuel Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot” (a personal fave), directed by Peter Hall, taking place at the Arts Theatre, London. A televised performance of the play from 1961 is below:
Then on the 7th, “Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering”, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan. The “TR-55” model they launched would be renamed a “Sony” in 1958 and looked like the one below:
Very relevantly to our playlists, and this week in particular, on August 19th “WINS” radio (New York City), announces it will not play “copy” white cover versions of R&B records (DJ’s play Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame,” not Pat Boone’s).
And finally on Aug 26 we see the 1st color telecast (NBC) of a tennis match (Davis Cup). That doesn’t seem to be available but here’s a news reel about the 1955 cup, which shows just how different the game was back then.
Finally on August 27 the first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in London. Created by Sir Hugh Beaver, Managing Director of the Guinness Brewery, after a personal experience, with the aim of “settling pub arguments” it eventually became the institution we know today.
What’d Sadie think?
No surprise that Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” continues to dominate the charts, with another full month at the top.
Roger Williams was described by the Los Angeles Times as “one of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century”, and “the rare instrumental pop artist to strike a lasting commercial chord” but “Autumn Leaves” didn’t really leave us with much of a lasting impression.
“Gum Drop” by the Crew-Cuts on the other hand is one of those nonsense songs that manages to rise above the goofy lyrics – perhaps the great sax part in this case. Which was also the case with “Song Of The Dreamer” by Eddie Fisher.
Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” tells the story of “a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing a man driving a V8 Ford and chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille.” It’s just cool.
So not cool is Nick Noble’s “The Bible Tells Me So”. Pass!
Meanwhile, “The Popcorn Song” by Cliffie Stone Orchestra and “The Yellow Rose Of Texas” by Johnny Desmond are both very sing-a-long-able.
“Tina Marie ” is not Perry Como at his best, but even on an average day he’s a ’50s staple right?
Mindy Carson’s “Wake The Town And Tell The People” is a wedding day number complete with the chorus imitating the sound of wedding bells – which here in December 2021 also makes it sound Xmas-y, so its a good ‘un to end the playlist on.
Alrighty, now go listen to the full playlist yourself on Youtube via this link.