Category: Monthly

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.

It’s back to work in January 2022, so let’s escape back to 1955 to hear what the November charts have to offer….

The songs of November, 1955

“Ain’t That A Shame” – Pat Boone
“At My Front Door” – Eldorados
“At My Front Door” – Pat Boone
“Autumn Leaves” – Roger Williams
“Black Denim Trousers” – Cheers
“Croce Di Oro” – Patti Page*
“Daddy-O” – Fontane Sisters*
“He” – Al Hibbler
“He” – Mcguire Sisters
“I Hear You Knocking” – Gale Storm
“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Dreamweavers*
“Love And Marriage” – Frank Sinatra*
“Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” – Four Aces
“Moments To Remember” – Four Lads
“My Bonnie Lassie” – Ames Brothers
“Only You” – Hilltoppers*
“Only You” – Platters
“Pepper-Hot Baby” – Jaye P. Morgan*
“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett
“Seventeen” – Fontane Sisters
“Sixteen Tons” – Tennessee Ernie Ford*
“Someone You Love” – Nat King Cole
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Gogi Grant
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Jo Stafford
“The Bible Tells Me So” – Don Cornell
“The Longest Walk” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Billy Vaughn
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Randy Draper
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Johnny Desmond
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller
“Tina Marie” – Perry Como
“Wake The Town And Tell The People” – Les Baxter
“You Are My Love” – Joni James
“Young Abe Lincoln” – Don Cornell*

* = New to the chart this week.

We’ll supplement the fairly limited number of new songs with a top 10 R&B chart from the month:

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

This month in history

Not a great start to the month, with November 1 being the “official” start date of the Vietnam war. It will be a number of years before we can trace its impact through music and popular culture here.

My original picture of the 50s came from “Happy Days”, a ’70s TV show take on life in the decade. Another impactful imagining of it came from the ’80s film “Back to the Future”. According to that film on November 5, 1955, “Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown, a physics professor at Hill Valley University, was standing on his toilet seat attempting to hang a clock in his bathroom, when he slipped and slammed his head on the side of the sink. Upon regaining consciousness Brown reported having ‘a revelation, a picture, a picture in my head.’” …yes he fictionally invented the time machine at the centre of that film.

Fittingly the film transports the central character back to the ’50s where he plays Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” 3 years before its release in 1958. I’m no Marty McFly so we’ll have to wait a year in real time for it to appear in our charts.

Back in the real 1955… we heard he recorded his first single a few months ago and now on the 22nd Colonel Tom Parker signs Elvis Presley to RCA Records.

What’d Sadie think?

It’s a split month at the top of the charts with “Autumn Leaves” by Roger Williams there for a week before “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces taking it out for the remainder.

Love it

“Love And Marriage” – Frank Sinatra. Couldn’t have told you Sinatra’s was the original but there you go and what a great version and song it is.

“Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford seems to be the version I recall being played when I was a young lad. It’s not the first version, that was fro 1947, but its apparently the most famous. Such a great sing-a-long.

Like it

“Croce Di Oro” – Patti Page

“Only You” – Hilltoppers

“Pepper-Hot Baby” – Jaye P. Morgan

“Young Abe Lincoln” – Don Cornell

Thirty Days – Chuck Berry

Feel So Good – Shirley & Lee

Don’t stat me talkin’ – Sonny Boy Williamson

All Around the World – Little Willie John

Everyday – Count Basie

“Daddy-O” – Fontane Sisters

Greenbacks – Ray Charles

Lose it

“It’s Almost Tomorrow” – Dreamweavers

I hear you Knockin’ – Smily Lewis
Hands Off – J McShann

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

We’re in the middle of summer holidays down under in the first week of 2022, as we begin to catch-up to the end of the year (as we do at 4x speed) in 1955.

The songs of October, 1955

“Ain’t That A Shame” – Pat Boone
“At My Front Door” – Eldorados*
“At My Front Door” – Pat Boone*
“Autumn Leaves” – Roger Williams
“Black Denim Trousers” – Cheers
“Gum Drop” – Crew-Cuts
“Hard To Get” – Gisele Mackenzie
“He” – Al Hibbler
“He” – Mcguire Sisters*
“I Hear You Knocking” – Gale Storm*
“Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” – Four Aces
“Maybellene” – Chuck Berry
“Moments To Remember” – Four Lads
“My Bonnie Lassie” – Ames Brothers*
“Only You” – Platters
“Rock Around The Clock” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett
“Seventeen” – Fontane Sisters
“Someone You Love” – Nat King Cole*
“Song Of The Dreamer” – Eddie Fisher
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Gogi Grant*
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Jo Stafford*
“Suddenly There’s A Valley” – Julius Larosa*
“The Bible Tells Me So” – Don Cornell
“The Longest Walk” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Billy Vaughn
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Randy Draper
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Johnny Desmond
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller
“Tina Marie” – Perry Como
“Wake The Town And Tell The People” – Les Baxter
“Wake The Town And Tell The People” – Mindy Carson
“You Are My Love” – Joni James*

* = 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 October 2, master of suspense Hitchcock launches his TV show, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” for the first time, on the CBS TV network in the United States. Here’s the intro:

On October 7th cellist Yo-Yo Ma was born. You can watch an adorable view of him performing for President Kennedy in ’62 age 7 below:

And a couple of weeks later, on October 28th Bill Gates was born.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gipL_CEw-fk

What’d Sadie think?

It’s a real battle for the number 1 spot this month. First “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces takes it. Then “The Yellow Rose Of Texas” by Mitch Miller grabs it. Before the former is back on top for another week. Only for the month to end with Roger Williams’ “Autumn Leaves” to be crowned.

“At My Front Door” by the Eldorados, an American doo-wop group, reached #1 on the U.S. R&B charts and was their biggest hit – it’s a great tune.

I think this is the first time i’ve been unable to find a song. The Mcguire Sisters had a version of “He” in the charts but it’s nowhere to be found. Given we didn’t love the original this isn’t too much of a loss.

“I Hear You Knocking” is a rhythm and blues song written by Dave Bartholomew. New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Smiley Lewis first recorded the song in 1955. But our version is by Gale Storm. Her cover version reached number two on the Billboard Hot chart and became a gold record. Bartholomew believed her version “killed his [Lewis’s] record”; blues researcher Bill Dahl added, “Storm swiped his [Lewis’s] thunder for any crossover possibilities with her ludicrous whitewashed cover of the plaintive ballad”. So let’s also hear the original below:

They’re definitely not wrong, the original is much better – but still not a favourite.

“My Bonnie Lassie” by the Ames Brothers was released in 1955, but apparently the RCA matrix number for the recording is E3VW 1322, indicating that it was recorded in 1953. (Had the song actually been recorded in 1955, the matrix number would have started with the letter F.) Possibly more importantly the tune was also the entrance/exit song for professional wrestling superstar “Rowdy” Roddy Piper during his wrestling career. I guess that’s the military drums and fairly rousing chorus? It’s kind of fun.

The new songs of the month round out with three lovely tunes – “Someone You Love” by Nat King Cole, “Suddenly There’s A Valley” by Jo Stafford (one of 3 versions in October) and “You Are My Love” – Joni James. Our pick is the latter but they’re all great.

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

Merry Xmas from down under. I hope you and yours are having a wonderful end to the weird year that was 2021. But enough about today, let’s go back to hear from September, 1955:

The songs of September, 1955

“A Blossom Fell” – Nat King Cole
“Ain’t It A Shame” – Fats Domino
“Ain’t That A Shame” – Pat Boone
“Autumn Leaves” – Roger Williams
“Black Demin Trousers” – Cheers*
“Domani” – Julius Larosa
“Gum Drop” – Crew-Cuts
“Hard To Get” – Gisele Mackenzie
“He” – Al Hibbler*
“Hummingbird” – Les Paul & Mary Ford
“I Want You To Be My Baby” – Georgia Gibbs*
“I Want You To Be My Baby” – Lillian Briggs*
“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
“Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” – Four Aces*
“Maybellene” – Chuck Berry
“Moments To Remember” – Four Lads*
“Only You” – Platters*
“Rock Around The Clock” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett
“Seventeen” – Fontane Sisters
“Seventeen” – Rusty Draper
“Song Of A Dreamer” – Eddie Fisher
“The Bible Tells Me So” – Don Cornell*
“The Bible Tells Me So” – Nick Noble
“The House Of Blue Lights” – Chuck Miller
“The Longest Walk” – Jaye P. Morgan*
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra*
“The Shifting Whispering Sands” – Randy Draper*
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Johnny Desmond
“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” – Mitch Miller
“Tina Marie” – Perry Como
“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

The ’50s often get typecast as boring and straight-laced, compared with the free-love ’60s, but in reality the counterculture was strong, just not mainstream. So ‘today in histories’ like this one are sadly few and far between…

On September 2nd, 19555, under the guidance of Dr. Humphry Osmond, TV presenter Christopher Mayhew ingests 400 mg of mescaline hydrochloride and allows himself to be filmed as part of a Panorama special for BBC TV that is never broadcast. Luckily it is available to view:

It was Dr Osmond who, the previous year, introduced science-fiction writer Aldous Huxley to his research into hallucinogens and the world of mescaline and who, during the ensuing correspondence, first coined the word “psychedelic”. As a direct result of his experiences at the receiving end of Osmond’s spoon, Huxley wrote his infamous guinea-pig dissertation “The Doors Of Perception”, a book which would later become a veritable bible amongst the ’60s acid subculture.

So, the ’50s – not so straight-laced.

On September 6, “Shree 420”, the highest grossing Bollywood film of it time was released. Evidently “the number 420 refers to Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes the punishment for the offence of cheating; hence, ‘Mr. 420’ is a derogatory term for a cheat.” See the full film below:

And on the small screen, long-running US TV series Gunsmoke is broadcast for the first time, on the CBS-TV network. It ran into the ’70s and was definitely still on rotation when I was a child. Here’s an episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNyEx6wI224

Finally, on September 26, “America’s Sweethearts”, showbiz couple Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, marry – both of whom have featured in our charts. They would divorce within four years, meanwhile Carrie and Todd were born… and just now I realise actress Carrie Fisher, a familiar face from my own childhood, is Eddie’s daughter!

What’d Sadie think?

“The Yellow Rose Of Texas” by Mitch Miller, which is indeed a fun number, knocks “Rock around the Clock” off the top after a good run – staying at the top for the whole month.

“Black Demin Trousers” by Cheers is the first of our new songs this week, and tells the story of a motorcycle rider, described as “the terror of Highway 101,” and his loyal but oft-neglected girlfriend Mary Lou. In the song she pleads with him not to ride one night: “I’ve got a feeling if you ride tonight I’ll grieve” she tells him, but he ignores her and “hit a screamin’ diesel that was California bound.” When investigators arrive at the scene of the collision, they find no trace of the motorcycle or rider except for his clothes… All in 2 minutes. It’s kind of fun.

“He” by Al Hibbler is a song about God, as if that wasn’t obvious in the name, and its much slower and less fun. Pass!

Lillian Briggs’ “I Want You To Be My Baby” picks up the pace somewhat. It’s a jump blues song written by Jon Hendricks for Louis Jordan whose recording in 1953 was an R&B chart hit that autumn. The original is much better so here it is:

“Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces is from a movie of the same name. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and From 1967 to 1973, was used as the theme song to Love is a Many Splendored Thing, a soap opera based on the movie. It’s a sweet tune, and heres the film trailer:

We’ve already done the Four Aces to Four Lads segue before…but here are again. “Moments To Remember” by the latter is a little lackadaisical..

Which is fine because its followed up by the outstanding “Only You” by The Platters. What a classic! Because it’s passed the test of time, there’s a bit more about it out there. For instance, Platters bass singer Herb Reed recalled how the group hit upon its successful version: “We tried it so many times, and it was terrible. One time we were rehearsing in the car … and the car jerked. Tony went ‘O-oHHHH-nly you.’ We laughed at first, but when he sang that song—that was the sign we had hit on something.” And in addition, according to producer Buck Ram, Tony Williams’ voice “broke” in rehearsal, but they decided to keep this effect in the recording.

Another version of “The Bible Tells Me So” hits the chart, this time by Don Cornell. I prefer his timbre and version in general. It’s weirdly catchy but I wouldn’t hit rewind on it.

Meanwhile, Jaye P. Morgan’s “The Longest Walk” is a swinging number that definitely got a few repeat listens. “The Shifting Whispering Sands” by Randy Draper on the other hand is a bit dull to round out our new tunes this time.

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

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.

In July in New Zealand there’s a curious phenomenon called “mid-winter Xmas” – where some people have a faux Xmas celebration to recognise the fact that its Winter, given that the real one falls during mid-summer down under. Of course it’s still not snowing or anything so it’s additionally odd. But there you go! All of this is to point out that it’s nearly Xmas in 2021 but in 1955 we’e just hitting July. So no Xmas tunes on this week’s playlist…

The songs of July, 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*
“Alabama Jubilee” – Ferko String Band
“Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” – Perez Prado
“Dance With Me Henry” – Georgia Gibbs
“Domani” – Julius Larosa*
“Hard To Get” – Gisele Mackenzie
“Heart” – Eddie Fisher
“Hey Mr. Banjo” – Sunnysiders
“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
“Love Me Or Leave Me / Something’S Gotta Give” – Sammy Davis Jr.
“My One Sin” – Nat King Cole*
“Razzle Dazzle / Two Hound Dogs” – Bill Haley & The Comets*
“Rock Around The Clock” – Bill Haley
“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett*
“Something’s Gotta Give / Love Me Or Leave Me” – Sammy Davis Jr.*
“Something’S Gotta Give” – Mcguire Sisters
“Sweet And Gentle” – Alan Dale*
“That Old Black Magic” – Sammy Davis Jr.*
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Bill Hayes
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Fess Parker
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Tennessee Ernie Ford
“The Breeze And I” – Caterina Valente
“The House Of Blue Lights” – Chuck Miller
“The Kentuckian Song” – Hilltoppers*
“The Man In The Raincoat” – Priscilla Wright
“Unchained Melody” – Al Hibbler
“Unchained Melody” – Les Baxter
“Unchained Melody” – Roy Hamilton
“Whatever Lola Wants” – Sarah Vaughan

* = New to the chart this week.

We’ll pad out the playlist with a top 10 from the UK charts of the same month:

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

This month in history

Happy days (see what i did there?) in 1955 as the original Disneyland launches on July 17. You can see a video about this below:

Not to be outdone, on July 26th Ted Allen threw a record 72 consecutive horseshoe ringers:

Different times eh.

What’d Sadie think?

It’s one more week at the top for “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” by Perez Prado before Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” storms the charts and changes pop for good. Maybe? We’ll see…

Love ’em

“Ain’t That A Shame” – Fats Domino

“My One Sin” – Nat King Cole

“Something’s Gotta Give / Love Me Or Leave Me” – Sammy Davis Jr.

“That Old Black Magic” – Sammy Davis Jr.

Where Will The Dimple Be? – Rosemary Clooney And The Mellomen

Stranger In Paradise – Tony Bennett

Like ’em

“I’ll Never Stop Loving You” – Doris Day

“Razzle Dazzle / Two Hound Dogs” – Bill Haley & The Comets

“Seventeen” – Boyd Bennett

“Sweet And Gentle” – Alan Dale

Dreamboat – Alma Cogan

I Wonder. – Dickie Valentine

Evermore – Ruby Murray

Cool Water – Frankie Laine With The Mellomen

Lose ’em

“Domani” – Julius Larosa

“Hummingbird” – Les Paul & Mary Ford

“The Kentuckian Song” – Hilltoppers

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