Anyone feel like escaping 2022? Thought so… come join us back in July, 1956 and hear what it sounded like via the charts of the month:
The songs of July, 1956
“A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl” – Teresa Brewer
“Allegheny Moon” – Patti Page
“Be-Bop-A-Lula” – Gene Vincent
“Born To Be With You” – Chordettes
“Fever” – Little Willie John*
“Glendora” – Perry Como
“Graduation Day” – Four Freshmen*
“Graduation Day” – Rover Boys
“Heartbreak Hotel” – Elvis Presley
“Hot Diggity” – Perry Como
“How Little We Know” – Frank Sinatra*
“I Almost Lost My Mind” – Pat Boone
“I Want You I Need You I Love You” – Elvis Presley
“I Want You To Be My Girl” – Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
“I’m In Love Again” – Fats Domino
“It Only Hurts For A Little While” – Ames Brothers
“Ivory Tower” – Cathy Carr
“Ivory Tower” – Gale Storm
“Love Love Love” – Clovers*
“Moonglow And Theme From Picnic” – George Cates Orchestra
“Moonglow And Theme From Picnic” – Morris Stoloff
“More” – Perry Como
“My Blue Heaven” – Fats Domino
“My Prayer” – Platters*
“On The Street Where You Live” – Eddie Fisher*
“On The Street Where You Live” – Vic Damone
“Picnic” – Mcguire Sisters
“Portuguese Washerwoman” – Joe Fingers Carr*
“Standing On The Corner” – Dean Martin
“Standing On The Corner” – Four Lads
“Stranded In The Jungle” – Cadets*
“That’s All There Is To That” – Nat King Cole*
“The Church Bells May Ring” – Diamonds
“The Happy Whistler” – Don Robertson
“The Magic Touch” – Platters
“The Wayward Wind” – Gogi Grant
“Transfusion” – Nervous Norvus
“Treasure Of Love” – Clyde Mcphatter
“Walk Hand In Hand” – Tony Martin
“Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera)” – Doris Day*
* = 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 July 4th the first flight of the U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union are made by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from Wiesbaden in West Germany.
Then on July 7th, originally a radio show, the first episode of the televised version of Hancock’s Half Hour is broadcast by the BBC.
I find celebrity births are good at giving me perspective for how long ago we’re exploring. For example on July 9 Tom Hanks was born in Concord, California. And on July 15th Ian Curtis, singer in one of my favourite bands – Joy Division, was born in Manchester.
After ten years as partners, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together at the Copacabana nightclub in New York, United States. A video of the duo a few months earlier at the Sands in Las Vegas is below:
In further parallels to the Ukraine-Russia conflict going on back in 2022, on July 28 the UK government, under prime minister Anthony Eden, froze Egypt’s financial assets in British banks as a result of the Suez Crisis.
What’d Sadie think?
“The Wayward Wind” by Gogi Grant dominates the number 1 spot for the whole month – we’re not massive fans but apparently the USA of 1956 was.
“Fever” by Little Willie John topped the Billboard R&B charts as well as crossing over to the pop charts. “Little” Willie was 19. I’m not sure if he dropped the moniker as “lil’ bow wow” would do decades later, when he grew older. Either way it’s one heck of a song and easily tune of the month. One of those classics I definitely didn’t realise were this early and hadn’t knowingly heard the original of.
“Graduation Day” by the Four Freshmen is a song about nostalgia hat presumedly some people are now nostalgic about. Meta! It’s an OK song.
“How Little We Know” is another chart hit for Frank Sinatra and then “Love Love Love” is another hit for chart regulars the Clovers. Both alright but nothing to write home about.
“My Prayer” by the Platters is a doo-wop version, and the most successful version, of a song originally from 1939. And it was this week’s “oops” when creating the playlist – sometimes I click “add to playlist” an album that is the same name as a song, and then have to spend time deleting the extra songs one by one. Such a glamorous job! Anyway, Another good ‘un by the Platters.
“On The Street Where You Live” by Eddie Fisher is another charting version of the song from ‘My Fair Lady’. If you liked the original, you’ll like this version.
I can find nothing online about “Portuguese Washerwoman” by Joe Fingers Carr. But then it has very little to recommend it, so it’s lost in time for a reason.
“Stranded In The Jungle” by the Cadets was also a hit for “Jay Hawks” and “the Gadabouts”. But maybe it is jinxed as it was the one and only hit for all three. With the style of rhythm and the “spoken word” poetry, its basically a rap song so I’m surprised not to have encountered it before as historically notable in the genre. Maybe talking about cannibals made it a little problematic…
The title of “That’s All There Is To That” by Nat King Cole apparently reference’s Ethel Barrymore’s phrase to rebuff curtain calls, “That’s all there is, there isn’t any more”. Which appears to be a storied phrase but the song itself isn’t one of NKC’s best.
“Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera)” by Doris Day is from “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and is a classic for a reason!
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.