And here we are only beginning 2022, whilst finishing 1955 in our musical journey through time. Let’s see what it sounds like…
The songs of December, 1955
“A Woman In Love” – Four Aces*
“All At Once You Love Her” – Perry Como*
“Angels In The Sky” – Crew-Cuts*
“Are You Satisfied” – Rusty Draper*
“At My Front Door” – Pat Boone
“Autumn Leaves” – Roger Williams
“Band Of Gold” – Don Cherry*
“Black Denim Trousers” – Cheers
“Burn That Candle” – Bill Haley & The Comets*
“C’est La Vie” – Sarah Vaughan*
“Croce Di Oro” – Patti Page
“Cry Me A River” – Julie London*
“Daddy-O” – Fontane Sisters
“Dungaree Doll” – Eddie Fisher*
“Forgive My Heart” – Nat King Cole*
“He” – Al Hibbler
“He” – Mcguire Sisters
“I Hear You Knocking” – Gale Storm
“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Dream Weavers
“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Jo Stafford*
“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Snooky Lanson*
“Love And Marriage” – Frank Sinatra
“Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” – Four Aces
“Memories Are Made Of This” – Dean Martin*
“Memories Are Made Of This” – Gale Storm*
“Memories Of You” – Four Coins*
“Moments To Remember” – Four Lads
“My Bonnie Lassie” – Ames Brothers
“My Boy Flat-Top” – Dorothy Collins*
“No Arms Can Ever Hold You” – Georgie Shaw*
“No Other Arms” – Pat Boone*
“Nuttin’ For Christmas” – Art Mooney Orchestra*
“Nuttin’ For Christmas” – Joe Ward*
“Only You” – Hilltoppers
“Only You” – Platters
“Pepper-Hot Baby” – Jaye P. Morgan
“Shifting Whispering Sands” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
“Shifting Whispering Sands” – Randy Draper
“Sixteen Tons” – Tennessee Ernie Ford
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Gogi Grant
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Jo Stafford
“Teenage Prayer” – Gale Storm*
“The Great Pretender” – Platters*
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Johnny Desmond
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller
“White Christmas” – Bing Crosby
“You Are My Love” – Joni James
* = New to the chart this week.
A big chart (the data I have now goes deeper than the top 20 for each month) but let’s supplement it with a top 10 from the UK for the month:
“Rock Around The Clock” – Bill Haley And His Comets
“Christmas Alphabet” – Dickie Valentine
“Love Is A Many Splendored” – The Four Aces
“Let’s Have A Ding Dong” – Winifred Atwell
“Twenty Tiny Fingers” – Stargazers
“Meet Me On The Corner” – Max Bygraves
“Ain’t That A Shame” – Pat Boone
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Die Petula Clark
“Hernando’s Hideaway” – Johnston Brothers
You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link or embedded below:
This month in history
A big month in history as the world tries to cram some achievements into the year before 1956…
On December 1 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, Rosa Parks refuses to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger and is arrested, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott and eventually the desegregation of transport.
On the 8th the Council of Europe adopts the iconic flag design we now know as the European Union flag.
Saturday morning sleep-ins are made easier for parents across the USA when the first Saturday morning cartoon series is shown on U.S. television: The Mighty Mouse Playhouse. See the intro below:
On Xmas eve in his Christmas radio-message, aired by Vatican radio, Pope Pius XII asks for the banishment of the nuclear weapons. The speech is relayed also by Radio Moscow (except, unsurprisingly enough, for the part where the pope confirms the condemnation of communism)
Then on Xmas day, after being on radio since 1932, the Royal Christmas Message is broadcast on British television for the first time. Oddly, in sound only. Broadcast live from her study at Sandringham the theme was the opportunities arising from membership of the Commonwealth of Nations.
We must adventure on if we are to make the world a better place. All my peoples of the Commonwealth and Empire have their part to play in this voyage of discovery. We travel all together, just as the Maori tribes sailed all together into the mysterious South Pacific to find New Zealand.
Queen Elisabeth II – Xmas Message 1955
To round out the year, General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make a profit of over one biiiiiillion dollars in one year.
What’d Sadie think?
We like it a lot and it appears the USA did too because “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford is top of the charts for 5 weeks, including the coveted Xmas number 1 spot.
Love ’em
“C’est La Vie” is a lovely song by Sarah Vaughan and was apparently the most successful version of it. As is “Memories Are Made Of This” by Dean Martin.
“Cry Me A River” by Julie London is a classic written by Arthur Hamilton. Apparently he actually coined the phrase. At one point he was worried, “that listeners would hear a reference to the Crimea”. No worries there Arthur…
“Nuttin’ For Christmas” – Joe Ward wouldn’t make the love ’em list if it wasn’t Xmas, but it is and it’s a fun song.
“Another notable version was performed by Stan Freberg. Freberg’s version adds a humorous coda when a man in an outfit resembling Santa Claus’s enters through the fireplace and reveals himself to be a robber; the singer directs the robber to the family’s valuables, and both join in the closing refrain.“
The same goes for “Christmas Alphabet” by Dickie Valentine but it doesn’t appear to have any comedy versions recorded of it.
We seem to be hitting peak ’50s classics in the middle of the decade. “The Great Pretender” by Platters is just an outstanding song. Buck Ram, the manager of The Platters said that he wrote the song in about 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in order to have a follow up to the success of “Only You”…wow!
“Ain’t That A Shame” by Pat Boone is a cover of a Fats Domino original, which ain’t as good but is still a hit for sure.
Like ’em
“A Woman In Love” – Four Aces
“All At Once You Love Her” – Perry Como
“Angels In The Sky” – Crew-Cuts
“Band Of Gold” – Don Cherry
“Burn That Candle” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Dungaree Doll” – Eddie Fisher
“Forgive My Heart” – Nat King Cole
“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Snooky Lanson
“Teenage Prayer” – Gale Storm
“Twenty Tiny Fingers” – Stargazers
Lose ’em
“Are You Satisfied” – Rusty Draper
“Memories Of You” – Four Coins
“My Boy Flat-Top” – Dorothy Collins
“No Arms Can Ever Hold You” – Georgie Shaw
“Let’s Have A Ding Dong” – Winifred Atwell
“Meet Me On The Corner” – Max Bygraves
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.