Category: Monthly

Winter isn’t seeming to be arriving anytime soon back here in May of 2022, so let’s listen to the sounds of April, 1957 as the sun beats down…

The songs of April, 1957

“A Poor Man’s Roses” – Patti Page
“A White Sport Coat” – Marty Robbins*
“All Shook Up” – Elvis Presley*
“Almost Paradise” – Roger Williams*
“Banana Boat Song” – Harry Belafonte
“Banana Boat Song” – Tarriers
“Butterfly” – Andy Williams
“Butterfly” – Charlie Gracie
“Chantez-Chantez” – Dinah Shore*
“Come Go With Me” – Dell-Vikings
“Dark Moon” – Bonnie Guitar*
“Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone
“Gone” – Ferlin Husky
“I’m Sorry” – Platters
“I’m Stickin’ With You” – Jimmy Bowen & Rhythm Orchids
“I’m Waiting Just For You” – Pat Boone
“I’m Walkin’” – Fats Domino
“Just Because” – Lloyd Price*
“Little Darlin’” – Diamonds
“Love Is A Golden Ring” – Frankie Laine*
“Love Is Strange” – Mickey And Sylvia
“Lucille” – Little Richard*
“Mama Look At Bubu” – Harry Belafonte
“Marianne” – Hilltoppers
“Marianne” – Terry Gilkyson & Easy Riders
“Ninety Nine Ways” – Tab Hunter*
“Party Doll” – Buddy Knox
“Party Doll” – Steve Lawrence
“Rock-A-Billy” – Guy Mitchell*
“Round & Round” – Perry Como
“School Day” – Chuck Berry*
“Sittin’ In The Balcony” – Eddie Cochran
“So Rare” – Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra*
“Teenage Crush” – Tommy Sands
“Too Much” – Elvis Presley
“Walkin’ After Midnight” – Patsy Cline
“Who Needs You” – Four Lads
“Why Baby Why” – Pat Boone
“Young Love” – Sonny James
“Young Love” – Tab Hunter

* = New to the chart this week.

We’ll throw in an R&B chart for the month… except this only adds in 2 new songs as the cross-over gets increasingly strong.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link or embedded below:

This month in history

On April 10 the filmic adaption of the 1954 play, “12 Angry Men”, directed by Sidney Lumet, and starring Henry Fonda is released. It’s a classic for a reason…

Browsing through an issue of Billboard for the month I spotted this feature – “charts from the past”. Funny to think of people from a time we are revisiting doing the same. And actually one of those was from a year we’ve been through – 1952.

On April 11 the Ryan X-13 Vertijet becomes 1st jet to take-off & land vertically – which makes for some cool footage in this news reel:

What’d Sadie think?

“Butterfly” by Andy Williams is top of the hit parade for 2 weeks before the inevitable supremacy of “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley for the rest of the month.

“A White Sport Coat” by Marty Robbins is a great tune. Apparently Robbins recalled writing “A White Sport Coat” in twenty minutes. He is said to have had the inspiration for the song while driving from a motel to a venue in Ohio, where he was due to perform that evening. During the course of the journey, he passed a local high school, where its students were dressed ready for their prom.

And then we have the number 1, “All Shook Up” by Elvis. Seems unnecessary to say it, but yes a great song. According to one account the composer, Blackwell, wrote the song at the offices of Shalimar Music in 1956 after Al Stanton, one of Shalimar’s owners, shaking a bottle of Pepsi at the time, suggested he write a song based on the phrase “all shook up.” But then Elvis apparently claimed otherwise, “I’ve never even had an idea for a song. Just once, maybe. I went to bed one night, had quite a dream, and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song, ‘All Shook Up’.”

“Almost Paradise” by Roger Williams is film score-esque and takes the energy down to many notches. As does “Dark Moon” by Bonnie Guitar.

“Chantez-Chantez” by Dinah Shore is faux french? Disappointed with her recent chartings, Shore had held “open houses” for composers at her residence to find strong material for her next single and through this process discovered “Chantez, Chantez”.

“Just Because” by Lloyd Price is on both of our charts – mainstream and R&B but to be honest it doesn’t grab us. Frankie Laine’s “Love Is A Golden Ring” doesn’t do much more for us.

“Lucille” by Little Richard is top of the R&B charts as well as on the mainstream and this one definitely deserves a place on both.

“Ninety Nine Ways” by Tab Hunter is a precursor to Jay Z’s “99 Problems”? Maybe not – but it’s a good tune for what it is. Also “Tab Hunter” is a strong name. Google the man, as wikipedia says he was, “known for his blond, clean-cut good looks [and] Hunter starred in more than forty films.”

“Rock-A-Billy” by Guy Mitchell is inane but catchy.

“School Day” is classic Chuck Berry and an ode to the transformative nature of this sound, “Hail, hail rock and roll / Deliver me from the days of old”

“So Rare” by Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra is originally from 1937. Apart from that it’s not very notable.

“C C Rider” by Chuck Willis on the other hand is a great tune with a hella sax part. And by all accounts its relaxed beat, combined with mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspired the emergence of the popular dance, “The Stroll”.

Empty Arms by Ivory Joe Hunter ends the charts on a mellow vibe and we like it. Apparently a cover version by chart fave Teresa Brewer became a hit the same month as this but it didn’t make it into our to 20.

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

As it starts to feel a little autumnal down here in New Zealand of April, 2022 we find ourselves chilling out listening to the songs of March, 1957…

The songs of March, 1957

“A Poor Man’s Roses” – Patti Page*
“Ain’t Got No Home” – Clarence Henry*
“Banana Boat Song” – Fontane Sisters
“Banana Boat Song” – Harry Belafonte
“Banana Boat Song” – Tarriers
“Blue Monday” – Fats Domino
“Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino
“Butterfly” – Andy Williams*
“Butterfly” – Charlie Gracie*
“Can I Steal A Little Love” – Frank Sinatra
“Cinco Robles” – Russell Arms
“Come Go With Me” – Dell-Vikings*
“Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone
“Gone” – Ferlin Husky*
“I Dreamed” – Betty Johnson
“I’m Sorry” – Platters*
“I’m Stickin’ With You” – Jimmy Bowen & Rhythm Orchids*
“I’m Waiting Just For You” – Pat Boone*
“I’m Walkin’” – Fats Domino*
“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte
“Jim Dandy” – Lavern Baker
“Knee Deep In The Blues” – Guy Mitchell
“Little Darlin’” – Diamonds*
“Love Is Strange” – Mickey And Sylvia
“Lucky Lips” – Ruth Brown*
“Mama Look At Bubu” – Harry Belafonte*
“Marianne” – Hilltoppers
“Marianne” – Terry Gilkyson And The Easy Riders
“Moonlight Gambler” – Frankie Laine
“Party Doll” – Buddy Knox*
“Party Doll” – Steve Lawrence*
“Rock-A-Bye Your Baby” – Jerry Lee Lewis
“Round And Round” – Perry Como*
“Since I Met You Baby” – Ivory Joe Hunter
“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell
“Sittin’ In The Balcony” – Eddie Cochran*
“Teenage Crush” – Tommy Sands*
“Too Much” – Elvis Presley
“True Love” – Bing Crosby And Grace Kelly
“Walkin’ After Midnight” – Patsy Cline*
“Who Needs You” – Four Lads
“Why Baby Why” – Pat Boone*
“Wringle Wrangle” – Fess Parker
“You Don’t Owe Me A Thing” – Johnnie Ray
“Young Love” – Sonny James
“Young Love” – Tab Hunter

* = 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

Only a few months into the charts and Elvis is already be satirized. On March 5th an episode of the sitcom “The Phil Silvers Show” (aka Sgt Bilko) mocked him as, “Elvis Pelvin”. I can’t find that clip but a later one, after Elvis had joined the army, is below:

On March 12 Random House and Houghton-Mifflin co-publish the classic “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss. Below is a 1970’s animated version:

And speaking of Elvis in the army, on March 23rd the US Army sells its last homing pigeons. Apparently a crucial part of the war effort only a decade prior…

What’d Sadie think?

“Young Love” by Tab Hunter is number one for four weeks before “Butterfly” by Andy Williams takes the top spot for the final week of the month.

Love ’em

“A Poor Man’s Roses” – Patti Page

“Ain’t Got No Home” – Clarence Henry

“I’m Walkin’” – Fats Domino

“Party Doll” – Buddy Knox

“Walkin’ After Midnight” – Patsy Cline

Like ’em

“Butterfly” – Andy Williams

“Come Go With Me” – Dell-Vikings

“I’m Sorry” – Platters

“Little Darlin’” – Diamonds

“Lucky Lips” – Ruth Brown

“Mama Look At Bubu” – Harry Belafonte

“Round And Round” – Perry Como

“Teenage Crush” – Tommy Sands

“Walkin’ After Midnight” – Patsy Cline

“Why Baby Why” – Pat Boone

Leave ’em

“Gone” – Ferlin Husky
“I’m Stickin’ With You” – Jimmy Bowen & Rhythm Orchids

“I’m Waiting Just For You” – Pat Boone
“Sittin’ In The Balcony” – Eddie Cochran

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

It’s 20 years before I’m born – February, 1957 – this week. Let’s take a break from April, 2022 to hear what it sounded like…

The songs of February, 1957

“A Rose And A Baby Ruth” – George Hamilton Iv
“Banana Boat Song” – Fontane Sisters
“Banana Boat Song” – Harry Belafonte
“Banana Boat Song” – Steve Lawrence*
“Banana Boat Song” – Tarriers*
“Blue Monday” – Fats Domino
“Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino
“Can I Steal A Little Love” – Frank Sinatra*
“Cinco Robles” – Russell Arms*
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Eddie Fisher
“Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone
“Gonna Get Along Without You Now” – Patience And Prudence
“Green Door” – Jim Lowe
“Hey Jealous Lover” – Frank Sinatra
“I Dreamed” – Betty Johnson
“I Love My Baby” – Jill Corey
“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte
“Jim Dandy” – Lavern Baker
“Just Walkin’ In The Rain” – Johnnie Ray
“Knee Deep In The Blues” – Guy Mitchell*
“Love Is Strange” – Mickey And Sylvia
“Love Me Tender” – Elvis Presley
“Marianne” – Hilltoppers*
“Marianne” – Terry Gilkyson And The Easy Riders*
“Moonlight Gambler” – Frankie Laine
“On My Word Of Honour” – Platters
“Rock-A-Bye My Baby” – Jerry Lee Lewis
“Since I Met You Baby” – Ivory Joe Hunter
“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell
“Too Much” – Elvis Presley
“True Love” – Bing Crosby And Grace Kelly
“Who Needs You” – Four Lads*
“Wringle Wrangle” – Fess Parker*
“You Don’t Owe Me A Thing” – Johnnie Ray
“Young Love” – Sonny James
“Young Love” – Tab Hunter

* = 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 the 16th of the month, the “Toddlers’ Truce”, a mandated television close down between 6 and 7 pm, was abolished in the United Kingdom. Apparently it had been around since the end of the war and was indeed designed to ensure children got off to bed!

It was controversial, aside from the parenting-by-numbers aspect of it, because it didn’t have an impact on the BBC – who were paid for by the government and actually saved money by not having to have programming – but effected the revenue of the newer, commercial, ITV network.

Speaking of controversy, of a much heavier sort, on the 18 February, 68-year-old Whanganui farmer Walter Bolton became the last person to be executed in New Zealand when he was hanged at Mount Eden prison. Well done, New Zealand on ending that barbarism.

Later that month Swedish film classic “The Seventh Seal”, directed by Ingmar Bergman, was released. Watch the trailer below:

Some history

What’d Sadie think?

A bit of chop and change around the number 1 spot this month. “Singing The Blues” by Guy Mitchell holds on for 1 more week before Pat Boone’s “Don’t Forbid Me” hits a high for a week and then “Young Love” by Tab Hunter rounds it out for the last. 2 weeks.

It’s a relatively light, post-Xmas, set of new songs on the charts this week….

Another “Banana Boat Song” cover, this time by Steve Lawrence. Some songs have great covers. But with some songs it’s really just all about the original. Banana Boat Song is one of the latter. So pass on this version.

Meanwhile, “Can I Steal A Little Love” by Frank Sinatra is Frank belting it out at his best. Great stuff!

But then when listening to “Cinco Robles” by Russell Arms we were asleep 4 bars in. Luckily we woke up to listen to “Knee Deep In The Blues” by Guy Mitchell which ain’t bad. Nor is “Who Needs You” by the Four Lads. But neither really grabbed us.

I’m not sure what is going on in “Marianne” by the Hilltoppers, but the lyrics “Leave your fat old mamma home, she never will say yes” are probably the least problematic aspect of it? Apparently it was a traditional calypso song made popular by Trinidadian calypsonian, “Roaring Lion” that was popular in 1945 after V-J day in Trinidad. But I think by 1957 it was all a tad lost in translation. Though wikipedia tells me that it was used as comedy number about my all-time favourite, Cary Grant, which went something like this…

All day, all night, Cary Grant
That’s all I hear from my wife, is Cary Grant
What can he do that I can’t
Big deal, big star, Cary Grant

“Wringle Wrangle” is a song by Fess Parker that is so terrible its borderline great . The name rang a bell, and it turns out he is known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Disney TV miniseries which ran from ’54-55. Which the mere mention of has that song from a few weeks back stuck in our ear.

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

And just like that, we’ve done 7 years of our journey through musical history. As we find ourselves enjoying Easter in 2022, let’s hear how January, 1957 sounds…

The songs of January, 1957

“A Rose And A Baby Ruth” – George Hamilton Iv
“Banana Boat Song” – Fontane Sisters*
“Banana Boat Song” – Harry Belafonte*
“Banana Boat Song” – Tarriers
“Blue Monday” – Fats Domino*
“Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino*
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Eddie Fisher
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Vince Martin And The Tarriers
“Confidential” – Sonny Knight
“Don’t Be Cruel” – Elvis Presley
“Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone
“Friendly Persuasion” – Pat Boone
“Garden Of Eden” – Joe Valino
“Gonna Get Along Without You Now” – Patience And Prudence
“Green Door” – Jim Lowe
“Hey Jealous Lover” – Frank Sinatra
“Honky Tonk” – Bill Doggett
“I Dreamed” – Betty Johnson*
“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte
“Jim Dandy” – Lavern Baker*
“Just Walkin’ In The Rain” – Johnnie Ray
“Love Is Strange” – Mickey And Sylvia*
“Love Me Tender” – Elvis Presley
“Mama From A Train” – Patti Page
“Mary’s Boy Child” – Harry Belafonte
“Moonlight Gambler” – Frankie Laine
“Mutual Admiration Society” – Teresa Brewer
“Night Lights” – Nat King Cole
“On My Word Of Honour” – Platters*
“Priscilla” – Eddie Cooley And The Dimples
“Rock-A-Bye Your Baby” – Jerry Lee Lewis
“Since I Met You Baby” – Ivory Joe Hunter
“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell
“Singing The Blues” – Marty Robbins
“Slow Walk” – Bill Doggett*
“Too Much” – Elvis Presley*
“True Love” – Bing Crosby And Grace Kelly
“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” – Elvis Presley*
“You Don’t Owe Me A Thing” – Johnnie Ray*
“Young Love” – Crew-Cuts*
“Young Love” – Sonny James*
“Young Love” – Tab Hunter*

* = New to the chart this week.

And for the first time, I have some chart data for New Zealand. According to this source, these songs were charting in NZ in 1957.

Just Walking In The Rain – Johnny Ray
Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley
Canadian Sunset – Hugo Winterhalter*
True Love – Grace Kelly & Bing Crosby
Singing The Blues – Guy Mitchell
Lay Down Your Arms – Anne Shelton*

4 of them are in the US charts – 1 was previously and the Anne Shelton is the only novel song. It looks like Anne was a British singer so it made its way over from the UK versus the other American tunes.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link or embedded below:

This month in history

On January 23rd, in 1957, the Wham-O toy company issued the first Frisbee. It had taken a while to get to this point. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Students from nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other, yelling “Frisbie!”. Decades and variations later and the plastic disc we know today was created.

Great footage of the first every Frisbee contest from that year:

Sadly on January 14th Humphrey Bogart, American actor dies of cancer of the esophagus at 57. Here’s looking at you kid… (spoiler alert if you’ve somehow not seen Casablanca!)

New Zealand’s permanent Antarctic research station, Scott Base, was declared open by Captain Harold Ruegg, the Administrator for the Ross Dependency, on 20 January.

What’d Sadie think?

“Singing The Blues” by Guy Mitchell continues its number 1 run for the whole month of January.

Harry Belafonte’s classic version of the “Banana Boat Song” makes it onto the charts after The Tarriers inferior version did last week. Great to hear it.

“Blue Monday” by Fats Domino was written by Dave Bartholomew and first recorded in 1953 by Smiley Lewis. But Fats made it his own and is credited as a writer on subsequent versions. Great tune.

“I Dreamed” by Betty Johnson is a jolly (roger) wee tune. Fun!

“Jim Dandy” by Lavern Baker is about a man (Jim Dandy) who rescues women from improbable or impossible predicaments. It apparently proved popular enough that Chase wrote a second song for Baker entitled “Jim Dandy Got Married”. It’s a belter for sure.

“Love Is Strange” by Mickey And Sylvia is an R&B cross-over hit written by Bo Diddley and its a nice tune. It made it onto the Dirty Dancing soundtrack decades later – which is one of those things I only discover because the Youtube version of the song tells me so in the title.

“On My Word Of Honour” is another tune that sounds like its by the Platters… because it is. Not that their songs are samey as such, but they have a definite style. This is a good ‘un.

Meanwhile, “Slow Walk” by Bill Doggett is a hella sax tune!

This Elvis chap is growing on me , but “Too Much” is the weaker of his tunes so far. But here he is performing it on the Ed Sullivan show anyway, because dang the man was a performer.

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” is originally a tune from 1940 and it sounds a bit less contemporary than other Elvis tunes but its still decent.

Johnnie Ray’s “You Don’t Owe Me A Thing” also sounds a little dated though and didn’t grab us in any way.

There are 3 versions of “Young Love” in the charts suddenly. We’ve got the version by the Crew-Cuts in our playlist. From theme to sound it feels like peak-50s. Which I guess is where we are at. Not bad, not great.

Lay Down Your Arms by Anne Shelton was originally a Swedish song. It comes to us from the NZ charts but was also a No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed in the Top Twenty for 14 weeks. Apparently the BBC took a dim view of the song as it might have encouraged British troops to ‘lay down their guns’, at a difficult time of the post-Suez crisis and the conflict in Cyprus with EOKA. The ban was soon lifted when requests came in. It’s the song today’s world needs? And not bad for what it is.

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

Merry Xmas! It may only be April in 2022, but here we are again at 4 times speed – December, 1956. Let’s hear what it sounds like…

The songs of December, 1956

“A Rose & A Baby Ruth” – George Hamilton Iv
“Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino
“Blueberry Hill” – Louis Armstrong And Gordon Jenkins*
“Canadian Sunset” – Hugo Winterhalter
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Eddie Fisher
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Vince Martin And The Tarriers
“Confidential” – Sonny Knight
“Don’t Be Cruel” – Elvis Presley
“Don’t Forbid Me” – Pat Boone*
“Friendly Persuasion” – Pat Boone
“Garden Of Eden” – Joe Valino
“Gonna Get Along Without You Now” – Patience And Prudence*
“Green Door” – Jim Lowe
“Hey Jealous Lover” – Frank Sinatra
“Honky Tonk” – Bill Doggett
“Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley
“I Walk The Line” – Johnny Cash
“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte
“Just Walkin’ In The Rain” – Johnnie Ray
“Love Me Tender” – Elvis Presley
“Mama From The Train” – Patti Page
“Mary’s Boy Child” – Harry Belafonte*
“Moonlight Gambler” – Frankie Laine*
“Mutual Admiration Society” – Teresa Brewer
“Night Lights” – Nat King Cole
“Petticoats Of Portugal” – Dick Jacobs Orchestra
“Rock-A-Bye Your Baby” – Jerry Lee Lewis*
“Since I Met You Baby” – Ivory Joe Hunter*
“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell
“Singing The Blues” – Marty Robbins*
“Slow Walk” – Sil Austin*
“The Auctioneer” – Leroy Van Dyke*
“The Banana Boat Song” – Tarriers*
“True Love” – Bing Crosby And Grace Kelly
“Two Different Worlds” – Don Rondo
“You’ll Never Never Know” – Platters

* = 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 the 1st of the month, musical comedy film “The Girl Can’t Help It” starring Jayne Mansfield with cameos by rock ‘n’ roll stars from our charts, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent is released. The trailer promises that, “you’ll rock and roll yourself to the happiest time of your life”…

Then on December 6 Nelson Mandela & 156 others are arrested for political activities in South Africa – the trial would take 5 years and he would be found not-guilty, before being arrested and imprisoned for decades only a year later.

Over a decade after the end of World War II, on December 18, Japan was admitted to the UN. Back in 2022 of course Russia are being kicked out of global alliances at a rate of knots – will it take a decade for them to make their way back into the fold we wonder?

And on December 24 the “I Love Lucy” Christmas show airs – the first instance of a “retrospective” sitcom episode, where most of the show is clips from previous episodes.

And then I came across an issue of Te Ao Hou – issued by the “Department of Māori Affairs” in New Zealand in 1956. The insight into race-relations of the time are… fascinating/terrifying, yet unsurprising at the same time. But I’ll leave it to the adverts to give a real peek into 1956 New Zealand:

The other adverts were for Tractor tyres and cigarettes – naturally.

What’d Sadie think?

Xmas number 1 and the top-spot for the whole month goes to Guy Mitchell’s “Singing The Blues”.

“Blueberry Hill” by Louis Armstrong And Gordon Jenkins is a nice cover of the song but we prefer the Fats Domino version.

“Don’t Forbid Me” by Pat Boone was apparently originally written for Elvis but he never opened the mail or something, so Pat Boone got a go at it and it turned out OK.

“Gonna Get Along Without You Now” by Patience And Prudence is very forgettable. But apparently it was originally a sort-of-hit for chart fave, Teresa Brewer, several years before – though it only got as high as 25 so it didn’t make it into our playlists.

“Mary’s Boy Child” by Harry Belafonte is our only Xmas tune in the charts, unusual for a December but I guess everyone owned a copy of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” at this point? Didn’t know this was the original, and what a great tune it is.

“Moonlight Gambler” by Frankie Laine is his usual cowboy schtick if you’re in the mood.
“Rock-A-Bye Your Baby” is a belter by Jerry Lee Lewis, which was the theme for a movie from two years later somewhat confusingly.

“Since I Met You Baby” by Ivory Joe Hunter is a swinging wee number.

“Singing The Blues” by Marty Robbins is also super catchy, you’ll whistle along with the whistling for sure.

“Slow Walk” by Sil Austin is a hella sax tune. Tune in.

“The Auctioneer” is a fun country song about, well, auctions, by Leroy Van Dyke.

“The Banana Boat Song” is a folk version of the Jamaican classic, by the Tarriers. “The Banana Boat Song” is a folk version of the Jamaican classic, by the Tarriers. Obviously no patch on Harry Belafonte’s version, who is in currently charting with the aforementioned Xmas classic.

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

Time is just flying by. Only 1.5 years into this 16-year project and we are already at November, 1956…

The songs of November, 1956

“A Rose And A Baby Ruth” – George Hamilton IV*
“After The Lights Go Down Low” – Al Hibbler
“Allegheny Moon” – Patti Page
“Anyway You Want Me” – Elvis Presley*
“Blueberry Hill” – Fats Domino
“Canadian Sunset” – Andy Williams
“Canadian Sunset” – Fats Domino*
“Canadian Sunset” – Hugo Winterhalter
“Chains Of Love” – Pat Boone
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Eddie Fisher*
“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Vince Martin And The Tarriers
“City Of Angels” – Highlights*
“Confidential” – Sonny Knight*
“Don’T Be Cruel” – Elvis Presley
“Friendly Persuasion” – Pat Boone
“Garden Of Eden” – Joe Valino*
“Green Door” – Jim Lowe
“Hey Jealous Lover” – Frank Sinatra*
“Honky Tonk” – Bill Doggett
“Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley
“I Walk The Line” – Johnny Cash
“It Isn’T Right” – Platters
“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte*
“Just Walking In The Rain” – Johnnie Ray
“Lay Down Your Arms” – Chordettes
“Love Me Tender” – Elvis Presley
“Mama From The Train” – Patti Page*
“Miracle Of Love” – Eileen Rodgers
“Mutual Admiration Society” – Teresa Brewer*
“My Prayer” – Platters
“Night Lights” – Nat King Cole*
“Petticoats Of Portugal” – Dick Jacobs Orchestra*
“Priscilla” – Eddie Cooley And The Dimples*
“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell*
“Soft Summer Breeze” – Eddie Heywood
“The Fool” – Sanford Clark
“Tonight You Belong To Me” – Lawrence Welk
“Tonight You Belong To Me” – Patience And Prudence
“True Love” – Bing Crosby And Grace Kelly
“True Love” – Jane Powell
“Two Different Worlds” – Don Rondo*
“Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera)” – Doris Day
“You Don’t Know Me” – Jerry Vale
“You’ll Never Never Know” – Platters

* = 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 November 3 the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” was televised for 1st time – hosted by Bert Lahr and 10 year old Liza Minnelli, as the finale of the Ford Star Jubilee series.

Then on November 5 “The Nat King Cole Show” debuted on NBC, the first variety program to be hosted by an African-American.

A timely one with current global events in 2022, on November 18 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev says the phrase “we will bury you!” to Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow.

It’s often been pointed out that in the full context, the phrase refers more to ideology and history-making than it does to warfare. Khrushchev was a plain speaker and it’s unlikely he’d have relied on prose if he intended to threaten.

What’d Sadie think?

The excellent “Green Door” by Jim Lowe manages to knock Elvis off the chart for 3 weeks before he storms back with “Love Me Tender” for the last 2 weeks of the month.

Love ’em

“A Rose And A Baby Ruth” – George Hamilton IV

“Cindy Oh Cindy” – Eddie Fisher

“Jamaica Farewell” – Harry Belanfonte

“Mutual Admiration Society” – Teresa Brewer

Liked ’em

“Anyway You Want Me” – Elvis Presley

“Confidential” – Sonny Knight

“Garden Of Eden” – Joe Valino

“Hey Jealous Lover” – Frank Sinatra

“Mama From The Train” – Patti Page

“Night Lights” – Nat King Cole

“Priscilla” – Eddie Cooley And The Dimples

“Singing The Blues” – Guy Mitchell

“City Of Angels” – The Highlights

Leave ’em

“Petticoats Of Portugal” – Dick Jacobs Orchestra

“Two Different Worlds” – Don Rondo

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.