Category: Monthly

It feels like summer is all but here in Auckland of 2021, while I hear it is positively wintery up north. But wherever you are today, its April in 1955 as we listen to a lovely selection of tunes…

The songs of April, 1955

“Ballad Of Davy Crocket” – Bill Hayes
“Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Fess Parker
“Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Tennessee Ernie Ford*
“Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” – Prez Prado
“Dance With Me Henry” – Georgia Gibbs
“Danger Heartbreak Ahead” – Jaye P. Morgan
“Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup” – Nat King Cole
“Dixie Danny” – Laurie Sisters*
“Don’t Be Angry” – Crew-Cuts*
“Don’t Be Angry” – Nappy Brown*
“Earth Angel” – Crew-Cuts
“Earth Angel” – Penguins
“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters
“Honey-Babe” – Art Mooney Orchestra*
“How Important Can It Be” – Joni James
“It May Sound Silly” – Mcguire Sisters
“It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie” – Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads*
“Ko Ko Mo” – Crew-Cuts
“Ko Ko Mo” – Perry Como
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Andy Griffith*
“Mambo Rock” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Melody Of Love” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – David Carroll Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – Four Aces
“Open Up Your Heart” – Cowboy Church Sunday School
“Plantation Boogie” – Lenny Dee
“Play Me Hearts And Flowers” – Johnny Desmond
“Pledging My Love” – Johnny Ace
“Sincerely” – Mcguire Sisters
“Smiles” – Crazy Otto
“That’s All I Want From You” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Breeze And I” – Caterina Valente*
“The Crazy Otto” – Johnny Maddox
“The Sand And The Sea” – Nat King Cole
“Tweedlee Dee” – Georgia Gibbs
“Two Hearts” – Pat Boone*
“Unchained Melody” – Al Hibbler*
“Unchained Melody” – Les Baxter Orchestra & Chorus*
“Unchained Melody” – Roy Hamilton*
“Whatever Lola Wants” – Sarah Vaughan*

* = 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 April 15th the man who made McDonald’s what it is today, but not the founder, Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald’s franchise restaurant, in Des Plaines, Illinois. Here’s a recreation of him visiting a McDonald’s for the first time from a film:

The very next day on the 16th – Sir Laurence Olivier’s film version of Shakespeare’s Richard III, is released in the UK. Here’s a classic monologue from that film:

And… the Internet is such an unreliable source of information at times, as we know, which extends to ’50s history. According to a few sources on April 3rd, “The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg’s book “Howl” against obscenity charges”. Except it wasn’t even released till 1956. But because I love it so, and it was written in 1955 and is a great snapshot of the subculture of the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM9BMVFpk80

What’d Sadie think?

The whole nation must have been humming it, because the very catchy “Ballad Of Davy Crocket” by Bill Hayes was number 1 for the whole month.

But there was also a new version of the song this month by country singer Tennessee Ernie Ford which is now our favourite version of the tune, check it out!

Our new songs of the month continue with “Dixie Danny” by the Laurie Sisters. Just no. It’s dreadful. Meanwhile “Don’t Be Angry” is a nice cover of a R&B chart hit by the Crew-Cuts. Oh, yes.

“Honey-Babe” – Art Mooney Orchestra is not great. Though the lyrics like, “Got a girl in every port, they’re pursuing me for no support” feel like they could be from a ’90s Hip Hop song if they rhymed.

“It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie” is a nice tune by the interestingly named, “Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads” . I wish I could find more out about the band, but what there is on Wikipedia is oddly amusing in its way.

“The group consisted of Smith (Robert H. (Red) Robinson) (vocals, banjo, and guitar), Saul Striks (December 8, 1924 – c. December 1979) (piano) and Major C. Short (Double Bass). Striks died from a heart attack in December 1979 at either 54 or 55 years old. Robinson is also dead. Short lived in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, until he died on March 30, 2018, at the age of 93.”

Short outlived them all.

“Make Yourself Comfortable” is a comedy cum song by comedian and actor Andy Griffith. You’d have to be in the mood for it.

“Smiles” is another by Crazy Otto or Johnny Maddox or whatever he wants to call himself and is as passable as his previous instrumentals.

“The Breeze And I” is a cover of a ’40s tune by Caterina Valente and is quite sweet. Caterina Valente is “an Italian-French multilingual singer, guitarist, dancer, and actress. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven.”. Quite the over achiever.

“Two Hearts” by Pat Boone has a nice groove but its not a patch on song of the week, “Unchained Melody” by Al Hibbler. It’s not the most famous cover, that wouldn’t come until the Righteous Brothers in 1965, but it is still a great tune. Apparently the song is from a little known 1955 film, “Unchained”.

“Whatever Lola Wants” by Sarah Vaughan is a swinging number from the broadway musical Damn Yankees and ends the new songs on the charts this month.

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

A busy month and week in 2021 and 1955 – as The Scovells move into their new home in Auckland and we have 12 new tracks on the charts:

The songs of March, 1955

“A Man Chases A Girl” – Eddie Fisher*
“Birth Of The Boogie” – Bill Haley & The Comets*
“Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” – Prez Prado*
“Dance With Me Henry” – Georgia Gibbs*
“Danger Heartbreak Ahead” – Jaye P. Morgan*
“Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup” – Nat King Cole*
“Earth Angel” – Crew-Cuts
“Earth Angel” – Penguins
“Glad Rag Doll” – Crazy Otto*
“Hearts Of Stone” – Charms
“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters
“How Important Can It Be” – Joni James
“How Important Can It Be” – Sarah Vaughan
“It May Sound Silly” – Mcguire Sisters*
“Ko Ko Mo” – Crew-Cuts
“Ko Ko Mo” – Perry Como
“Let Me Go Lover” – Joan Weber
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Sarah Vaughan
“Mambo Rock” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Melody Of Love” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – David Carroll Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – Four Aces
“Mr. Sandman” – Chordettes
“No More” – Mcguire Sisters
“Open Up Your Heart” – Cowboy Church Sunday School
“Plantation Boogie” – Lenny Dee
“Play Me Hearts And Flowers” – Johnny Desmond*
“Pledging My Love” – Johnny Ace
“Pledging My Love” – Teresa Brewer*
“Rock Love” – Fontane Sisters
“Sincerely” – Mcguire Sisters
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Tennessee Ernie Ford
“That’s All I Want From You” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Bill Hayes
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Fess Parker*
“The Crazy Otto” – Johnny Maddox
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Ames Brothers
“The Sand And The Sea” – Nat King Cole*
“Tweedlee Dee” – Georgia Gibbs
“Tweedlee Dee” – Lavern Baker

* = 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 March 5th Elvis Presley makes his television debut on “Louisiana Hayride” carried by KSLA-TV Shreveport. You can watch it… oh no – although audio recordings exists, there is no known video footage of this appearance.

Sadly on March 12th Charlie Parker, 34, US saxophonist and a personal fave died. Here he is performing a couple of years earlier:

And at the 7th annual Emmy awards held on the 7th, Lassie wins Best Children’s show. Here’s the theme tune:

What’d Sadie think?

Three weeks at number 1 for “Sincerely” by the Mcguire Sisters before its overtaken in the last week of March by “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” by Bill Hayes.

As mentioned its a busy weekend back in 2021 so we’ll just group the songs by “love ’em”, “like ’em” and “lose ’em”.

Love ’em:

“Birth Of The Boogie” – Bill Haley & The Comets

“Danger Heartbreak Ahead” – Jaye P. Morgan

“It May Sound Silly” – Mcguire Sisters

“The Sand And The Sea” – Nat King Cole

Like ’em:

“Pledging My Love” – Teresa Brewer

“Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” – Prez Prado

“Dance With Me Henry” – Georgia Gibbs

“Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup” – Nat King Cole

“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Fess Parker

Lose ’em

“Glad Rag Doll” – Crazy Otto

“A Man Chases A Girl” – Eddie Fisher (Until She Catches Him)

“Play Me Hearts And Flowers” – Johnny Desmond

Now go make up your mind and listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

22 years to the month before I was born was February, 1955 which is where we find ourselves listing to a pop-chart that looked something like this…

The songs of February, 1955

“Dim Dim The Lights” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Earth Angel” – Crew-Cuts*
“Earth Angel” – Gloria Mann*
“Earth Angel” – Penguins
“Hearts Of Stone” – Charms
“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters
“How Important Can It Be” – Joni James*
“How Important Can It Be” – Sarah Vaughan*
“I Need You Now” – Eddie Fisher
“Ko Ko Mo” – Crew-Cuts
“Ko Ko Mo” – Perry Como*
“Let Me Go Lover” – Joan Weber
“Let Me Go Lover” – Teresa Brewer
“Ling Ting Tong” – Charms
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Sarah Vaughan
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Peggy King*
“Melody Of Love” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – David Carroll Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – Four Aces
“Melody Of Love” – Leo Diamond*
“Mr. Sandman” – Chordettes
“Mr. Sandman” – Four Aces
“No More” – Dejohn Sisters
“No More” – Mcguire Sisters
“Open Up You Heart” – Cowboy Church Sunday School
“Plantation Boogie” – Lenny Dee*
“Pledging My Love” – Johnny Ace*
“Rock Love” – Fontane Sisters*
“Shake Rattle And Roll” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Sincerely” – Mcguire Sisters
“Smiles” – Crazy Otto*
“Song Of The Barefoot Contessa” – Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra
“Teach Me Tonight” – Decastro Sisters
“That’s All I Want From You” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” – Bill Hayes*
“The Crazy Otto” – Johnny Maddox & The Rhythmasters*
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Ames Brothers
“This Ole House” – Rosemary Clooney
“Tweedlee Dee” – Georgia Gibbs
“Tweedlee Dee” – Lavern Baker

* = 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 relevant birthdays are starting to roll in thick-and-fast – this month in 1955 we have Steve Jobs born on the 24th.

On the same day were the 12th annual Oscars. Best Motion Picture – Drama went to “On the Waterfront” directed by Elia Kazan and staring Marlon Brando.

The film was suggested by “Crime on the Waterfront” by Malcolm Johnson, a series of articles published in November–December 1948 in the New York Sun which won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, detailing Union violence and corruption amongst longshoremen.

Meanwhile Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama went to Grace Kelly for “The Country Girl”. Also starting chart topper Bing Crosby and William Holden  the film is about an alcoholic has-been actor/singer struggling with the one last chance he has been given to resurrect his career.

What’d Sadie think?

“Hearts Of Stone” by the Fontane Sisters has a week at number 1 before “Sincerely” by the Mcguire Sisters tops the charts for the rest of February.

We have two new versions of “Earth Angel” this month, by the Crew-Cuts and Gloria Mann. We’ve included the former and its a great version of a great tne.

Two versions of “How Important Can It Be” are charting, one by Joni James and the other by Sarah Vaughan. The former is the original and the version we include on the playlist this week. ’tis very nice but nothing exceptional.

A new version of “Ko Ko Mo” by chart fave Perry Como greets us this week and comes with an excellent sax part. As does “Rock Love” by the Fontane Sisters.

Possibly our favourite new tune of the month is “Make Yourself Comfortable” by Peggy King which has some nice layered vocals.

Meanwhile Leo Diamond’s “Melody Of Love” is a fairly dull instrumental.

As chill but a bit more interesting is “Plantation Boogie” by Lenny Dee. I’d not heard the name before, but by all accounts Dee was an, “American virtuoso organist who played many styles of music. His record albums were among the most popular of easy listening and space age pop organists of the 1950s through the early 1970s.” And indeed, for a 1955 tune this one is a little spacey it not psychedelic. Not bad.

Apparently “Pledging My Love” by Johnny Ace was the most popular version of the song. Sadly it was released by Duke Records in December 1954 soon after Ace’s death by an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. It’s a great song.

Then we have “Smiles” by Crazy Otto, an alias for Johnny Maddox, an ragtime pianist. Confusingly he also charts with a track named “The Crazy Otto” under his real name. They’re both ragtime piano tunes which are fairly tame. Randomly, Ms. Pac-Man, the 1982 video game was called Crazy Otto during development.

Closing out the new songs of the month we have “The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” by Bill Hayes. This was the theme tune to the classic Disney television miniseries “Davy Crockett”, first telecast on December 15, 1954 and its too well known and catchy to call it good or bad. Sing along!

And a happy new year from 1955 where we are starting the year off down in Kokomo…

The songs of January 1955

“Count Your Blessings” – Eddie Fisher
“Dim Dim The Lights” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Earth Angel” – Penguins
“Hearts Of Stone” – Charms
“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters
“Hey There” – Rosemary Clooney
“I Love You Madly” – Four Coins*
“I Need You Now” – Eddie Fisher
“Ko Ko Mo” – Crew-Cuts*
“Let Me Go Lover” – Joan Weber
“Let Me Go Lover” – Patti Page
“Let Me Go Lover” – Teresa Brewer
“Ling Ting Tong” – Charms*
“Ling Ting Tong” – Five Keys*
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Sarah Vaughan
“Mambo Italiano” – Rosemary Clooney
“Melody Of Love” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – David Carroll Orchestra
“Melody Of Love” – Four Aces
“Mr. Sandman” – Chordettes
“Mr. Sandman” – Four Aces
“No More” – Dejohn Sisters*
“No More” – Mcguire Sisters*
“Open Up Your Heart” – Cowboy Church Sunday School
“Papa Loves Mambo” – Perry Como
“Runaround” – Three Chuckles
“Shake Rattle And Roll” – Bill Haley & The Comets
“Sincerely” – Mcguire Sisters
“Song Of The Barefoot Contessa” – Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra*
“Teach Me Tonight” – Decastro Sisters
“Teach Me Tonight” – Jo Stafford*
“That’s All I Want From You” – Jaye P. Morgan
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Ames Brothers
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Archie Bleyer*
“This Ole House” – Rosemary Clooney
“This Ole House” – Stuart Hamblen*
“Tweedlee Dee” – Georgia Gibbs*
“Tweedlee Dee” – Lavern Baker*

* = 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

I always look at the births and deaths for the month in question but thus far we’ve had few people born who are relevant to pop-culture today. But this month we have Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor born on January 6, 1955 and US artist Jeff Koons born on the 21st. You can see a documentary on the latter’s life below:

On January 7th the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the first full-length British-made animated feature, is released. You can watch the whole thing here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXkicQRl6vg

Meanwhile on the same across the pond, Marian Anderson becomes the 1st African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. You can see her performing in 1951:

On the 15th one of our favourite composers Dmitri Shostakovich’s “From Jewish Folk Poetry” premieres in Leningrad. The piece was actually composed in the autumn of 1948, but after Shostakovich’s denunciation in the Zhdanov decree of that year was unable to be performed for another 7 years.

What’d Sadie think?

The classic “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes stays at number 1 for 3 weeks before “Let Me Go Lover” by Joan Weber takes the top spot for the remaining two.

“I Love You Madly” by the Four Coins starts off the new songs on the charts this week. The group apparently used the name the Four Keys until they learned another vocal group had it under copyright. They then became The Four Coins. To be honest I’d believe they changed their name because they had a reputation for being terrible to escape… it’s not great.

“Ko Ko Mo” by the Crew-Cuts is a bit of fun though. Originally recorded by rhythm and blues duo Gene and Eunice in November 1954 it was covered by at least 17 different musicians in the first few months of 1955 alone, including Perry Como, The Charms, Louis Armstrong and of course the The Crew-Cuts whose version ain’t too bad.

We have two versions of “Ling Ting Tong” on the charts, one by the Five Keys… who were, to be clear, not the Four Keys that forced the Four Coins to change their time. Following this? Us neither. To simplify things (?) we included the version by the Charms on our playlist. But maybe we should have skipped it because it’s downright racist. Sorry you can keep it 1950s.

Next we have “No More” by the Mcguire Sisters where the 1950s do what they do best. Listen to this one twice and skip the previous song.

Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra give us the instrumental “Song Of The Barefoot Contessa” which is from the soundtrack to the 1954 film of the same song. It’s Bogart so its worth watching the trailer at least:

Then chart regular Jo Stafford delivers the jazz standard, “Teach Me Tonight”. It’s a sultry wee number and we like it lots.

We have a new version of “The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane”, by Archie Bleyer this time. It’s no longer (presuming you’re paying attention) a spoiler to mention how this odd song is about a newborn baby not a lady of the night… This version just as odd but also oddly catchy.

We’ve had the even catchier and classic, “This Ole House”, on the charts for a while. This week Stuart Hamblen’s version is also charting, which is fair as it was his original. But its no patch on the Rosemary Clooney version.

Lastly we have “Tweedlee Dee” by Lavern Baker, described as an “R&B novelty song”. Wikipedia also notes, “The arrangement and vocal style of the song attempted to adapt a black vocal style to one that would satisfy the tastes of the white record-buying market, featuring a light tone and a frisky rhythm beat.”. So it’s not great, but it is a bit of fun.

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

Xmas comes early for those who time travel. It’s only October in 2021 but here at 4xlife we’re listening to the sounds of December, 1954…

The songs of December, 1954

“Bazoom I Need Your Lovin’” – Cheers
“Cara Mia” – David Whitfield
“Count Your Blessing” – Eddie Fisher
“Count Your Blessings” – Ames Brothers
“Dim All The Lights” – Bill Haley And His Comets
“Earth Angel” – Penguins*
“Hajji Baba” – Nat King Cole
“Hearts Of Stone” – Champs*
“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters*
“Hey There” – Rosemary Clooney
“Hold My Hand” – Don Cornell
“Home For The Holidays” – Perry Como*
“I Need You Now” – Eddie Fisher
“If I Give My Heart To You” – Doris Day
“Let Me Go Lover” – Teresa Brewer*
“Let Me Go Lover” – Joan Weber*
“Let Me Go Lover” – Patti Page*
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Sarah Vaughan
“Mambo Italiano” – Rosemary Clooney
“Melody Of Love” – Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra*
“Melody Of Love” – David Carroll And His Orchestra*
“Mr Sandman” – Chordettes
“Mr Sandman” – Four Aces
“Muskrat Ramble” – Mcguire Sisters
“My Baby Don’t Love Me No More” – Dejohn Sisters*
“Open Up Your Heart” – Cowboy Church Sunday School*
“Papa Loves Mambo” – Perry Como
“Runaround” – Three Chuckles
“Santo Natale” – David Whitfield*
“Shake Rattle And Roll” – Bill Haley And His Comets
“Sincerely” – Mcguire Sisters*
“Teach Me Tonight” – Decastro Sisters
“That’s All I Want From You” – Jaye P Morgan*
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Ames Brothers
“This Ole House” – Rosemary Clooney
“White Christmas” – Bing Crosby
“Wither Thou Goest” – Les Paul & Mary Ford

* = New to the chart this week.

A few new songs but we’ll also see what Xmas sounded like across the pond in the UK with a top 10 from there:

“Santo Natale” – David Whitfield
“I Still Believe” – Ronnie Hilton
“This Ole House”- Rosemary Clooney
“No One But You”- Billy Eckstine
“Let’s Get Together No 1” – Big Ben Banjo Band
“The Finger Of Suspicion”- Dickie Valentine With The Stargazers
“My Son My Son” – Vera Lynn
“Rain Rain Rain” – Frankie Laine And The Four Lads
“Heartbeat” – Ruby Murray

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

This month in history

On December 4th The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA, but it wasn’t actually called Burger King, though it did innovate the “flame grilled” technique they still used today. You can see more on this here:

Meanwhile on December 10, US Air Force Lt Col John Stapp travels at 632 mph in a rocket sled at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. I hope he hadn’t eaten a whopper before hand by the looks of the experience…

And lastly on December 12 we had the live transmission of the BBC’s adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four, starring Peter Cushing, on UK television which you can watch in fuzzy-vision below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYBbvj8NKx8

What’d Sadie think?

We have “Mr Sandman” by the Chordettes at number one sport for the whole month, including the coveted “Xmas Number ” as announced in the first week of January’s chart.

The highest Xmas tune to chart was was Perry Como’s “home for the holidays”, one of our new tunes of the month.

“Earth Angel” by the Penguins is the first new song we encounter. Their only breakout hit it eventually sold 10 million copies. Apparently the song was going to be overdubbed with additional instrumentation when it was released as a B-side but the original demo version became an unexpected hit. For me this sounds like your prototypical ’50s tune and its a lovely one for sure.

“Hearts Of Stone” – Fontane Sisters is the second new R&B cross-over on the main charts this month. A great tune with a belting sax part.

“Home For The Holidays” by Perry Como is our first Xmas song of the charts and a new one for 1954. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a Perry Como Xmas tune and lovely that is. We’ll pull this one out properly again in a month back in 2021.

Teresa Brewer’s version of “Let Me Go Lover” is one of 3 that appear on the chart ths month. The Joan Weber version is the original but we went with the Brewer version because we consistently like her songs. This is much more slowpaced than her regular numbers but is still great.

“Melody Of Love” is an instrumental by Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra and is oh so chill and perfect if you’re in the mood for such.

“My Baby Don’t Love Me No More” is an original by the Dejohn Sisters and a fun break-up tune. It was also covered by the Mcguire Sisters who chart with “Sincerely” instead – its a little bit…sincere? The Moonglows original version made it to number 1 on the R&B charts.

The amazingly named “Cowboy Church Sunday School” version of “Open Up Your Heart” …. Apparently when it is played at normal speed, 45 rpm, the vocal sounds unnaturally high. When played at 33⅓ rpm the vocal sounds more natural. This was done deliberately (as a song would normally we recorded and played back at 45pm for a single) by Stuart Hamblen’s wife and adult daughters, so that when played at 45rpm it sounds as if it is being sung by children.

The version in the playlist is the “sped up” version as this seems to be the most prevalent online and how most people will have heard it at the time. It’s like a sermon by the chipmunks and frankly not great. You can hear the song at the 33rpm speed and the actual adult voices here:

“Santo Natale” by David Whitfield is our second Xmas tune of the December charts and its not bad, we’ll throw it on this year’s Xmas playlist for sure.

“That’s All I Want From You” is by Jaye P Morgan. Who is no relation to JP Morgan the bank. If she was a 2021 R&B performer you’d assume it was some kind of homage/reference but no. The song itself has something nice going on in the rhythm layer and it’ll probably grow on us after a few listens.

That Christmas classic, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby is back yet again. But in 1954 we get a new version for the musical of same name – you can see trailer for this below:

There’s always less information on the UK chart hits at this stage, so all we can do is comment on their relative merits according to our listen.

“I Still Believe” by Ronnie Hilton is one of those songs that will have you swaying along and wishing you were holding someone tight on a dance floor.

Billy Eckstine’s “No One But You” is also slow but in a snorefest kind of way, moving on!

“Let’s Get Together No 1” was a hit for one hit-wonder “Big Ben Banjo Band”, whose name is too good. Alas the greatness stops and ends there, the song is a fairly average instrumental.

Dickie Valentine With The Stargazers give us a nice number with “The Finger Of Suspicion”.

“My Son My Son” was eventually a number 1 for Vera Lynn, and surprisingly her only UK number one hit on the official chart as most of her hits were before charts started in the country. It’s not bad at all, but not number 1 in our ears.

“Rain Rain Rain” by Frankie Laine And The Four Lads picks up the pace, which has been notably lacking on the UK charts compared with the R&B influenced USA charts this week. It’s a good ‘un.

“Heartbeat” by Ruby Murray ends the charts on a nice upbeat note that should have you singing along by the second.

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

We’ve had our first sighting of Xmas advertising in New Zealand, so no doubt things were feeling decidedly Xmasy a month later in November of 1954. No sign of seasonal tunes yet but we have a bumper crop of 10 new tunes on the mainstream charts….

The songs of November, 1954

“Bazoom I Need Your Lovin’” – Cheers
“Cara Mia” – David Whitfield
“Count Your Blessings” – Eddie Fisher
“Dim Dim The Lights” – Bill Haley And His Comets
“Hajji Baba” – Nat King Cole
“Hey There” – Rosemary Clooney
“Hold My Hand” – Don Cornell
“I Need You Now” – Eddie Fisher
“If I Give My Heart To You” – Denise Lor
“If I Give My Heart To You” – Doris Day
“It’s A Woman’s World” – Four Aces
“Make Yourself Comfortable” – Sarah Vaughan
“Mambo Italiano” – Rosemary Clooney
“Mr Sandman” – Chordettes
“Mr Sandman” – Four Aces
“Muskrat Ramble” – Mcguire Sisters
“Papa Loves Mambo” – Perry Como
“Runaround” – Three Chuckles
“Sh-Boom” – Crew Cuts
“Shake Rattle And Roll” – Bill Haley And His Comets
“Skokiaan” – Four Lads
“Skokiaan” – Ralph Marterie
“Smile” – Nat King Cole
“Teach Me Tonight” – Decastro Sisters
“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” – Ames Brothers
“This Ole House” – Rosemary Clooney
“Wither Thou Goest” – Les Paul & Mary Ford

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

This month in history

How long ago was 1954? Well french artist, Henri Matisse born in _1869_, died aged 84 on November 3 of the year. Here’s a nice documentary on his life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwGt_Yugp0w

Meanwhile just being birthed was “Hancock’s Half Hour” on BBC radio. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian.

By all accounts the series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development. You can listen to a 1954 episode below:

On November 23rd The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.27 points, or 0.86 percent, closing at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its peak level reached just before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Only took two decades, a world war and major economic boom…

Speaking of boom, this was the month the world was introduced to the classic film monster Godzilla:

What’d Sadie think?

“This Ole House” by Rosemary Clooney takes the number 1 spot all month, and deservedly so to our ears. Though there’s some brilliant newcomers…

The charts start on a fun note with “Bazoom I Need Your Lovin’” by The Cheers. If you’re not singing “bazooooom” by the end of the song and the rest of your day you’re not listening close enough.

“Count Your Blessings” by Eddie Fisher is just all too chill after Bazoom I’m afraid Eddie.

Bill Haley And His Comets follow up “Shake rattle and roll” with “Dim Dim The Lights” which is a bit too similar yet not as good.

“Hajji Baba” by Nat King Cole showcases his amazing voice but is a fairly lacklustre song. It’s from the soundtrack to the 1954 film, “The Adventures of Hajji Baba” which is as exploitive as you imagine a ’50s film named this to be. You can watch the whole film here:

Who knew, before it was “A Man’s world” it was “(It’s A) Woman’s World” according to the Four Aces. Now I wasn’t around in the 1950’s but I do believe that wasn’t strictly speaking the case. The lyrics speak volumes,

It’s a woman’s world when she’s in love
It’s a woman’s world, his kiss can make her glow
And that’s what makes it so, it’s a woman’s world

But it has a lovely melody despite the content. Speaking of lovely, “Make Yourself Comfortable” by Sarah Vaughan had us swaying.

Ok I’ll confess, I thought “Mambo Italiano” was a Dean Martin song originally but he didn’t cover it till 1955. It was written in 1954 for Rosemary Clooney whose version is just great. Bob Merrill reportedly wrote it “under a recording deadline, scribbling hastily on a paper napkin in an Italian restaurant in New York City, and then using the wall pay-phone to dictate the melody, rhythm and lyrics to the studio pianist.”. Who saws greatness takes time? (People who charge by the hour.)

It’s a month for the classics we all know. “Mr Sandman” by the Chordettes wasn’t the first version, that was by Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra, but it was the first to chart. I need a new way to say “it’s a classic for a reason”.

Meanwhile there’s a reason why you don’t recognise “Runaround” by Three Chuckles. Neither the song or the band have been heard of since, snore!

“The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane” by Ames Brothers closes the charts and is just weird. But the horns and “boom-diddi-booms” are fun. I shan’t spoil the ending…

So go listen to it, and the rest of the playlist in full playlist on Youtube via this link.