Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ray's Song Pick of the Day from 7 July

David Rose

THE STRIPPER US#1, 7 July 1962 (17 wks in Top 100)
The 3rd million seller for David Rose was his own compositon. conductor / composer / arranger for numerous movies and scored many TV series. Married to Martha Raye (1938-41) & Judy Garland (1941-43). Died 23 August 1990 of heart disease. HUGE HIT in N.Z.
Featured – Mon 7 July, 2008

The Kinks
Sunny Afternoon
, UK#1(2) from 7 July 1966, US#14, 11 wks in Top 100 from 6 August and NZ#2, 7 wks in Top 20 from 18 August 1966, Monster Hit in N.Z. The third and final UK#1 in the summer of 1966 for the Davies brothers and their two co-Kinks. The three single releases immediately following “Sunny Afternoon” went into the UK Top 10 (Dead End Street, Waterloo Sunset and Autumn Alamac). “Lola” went on to become a NZ#1, but only UK#2 and US#9 in 1970.
Featured – Tue 8 July, 2008

Ferrante & Teicher
THEME FROM THE APARTMENT
US#10 in 1960, 20 weeks in Top 100 from 25 July. (Monster Hit in N.Z.) the 1st million-seller for the piano duo who had studied together at New York's Juilliard School of Music. Both graduated as piano majors and a brief period of concert work they returned to Juilliard as faculty members, combining teaching with a limited concert schedule. Their increasing popularity forced them to concentrate on performing and they gradually drifted into popular music and devised a series of gadgets, including strips of sandpaper and cardboard wedges etc to extend the range of their pianos. They began their string of film theme hits after they had signed to United Artists in 1960, including the film ‘Exodus’ that received 5 Academy Awards.
Featured – Wed 9 July, 2008

Frank Sinatra
LEARNING THE BLUES
, US#1(2) from 9 July 1955 Frank's 2nd million-seller for the year (Love And Marriage) and had a sale 900,000 in the US with sales elswhere taking the total over a million. UK#2(6) Monster Hit in N.Z.
Featured – Thu 10 July, 2008

Frankie Laine
HIGH NOON
US#5 in 1952, 19 weeks in Top 30 from 12 July and UK#7, with 7 weeks in the Top 12 from November 1952. The 9th million seller for Frankie Laine was the theme to the movie starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. Tex Ritter’s version also made the US Top 30 (from 20 September) but Frankie Laine’s version was different in using drums (country music people were reluctant to use drums at the time *check details) and Laine’s version outsold Tex Ritter (US#12, 8wks). (Ritter sang "High Noon" at the first Academy Awards ceremony to be televised in 1953. The song, written by Ned Washington (lyrics) and Dmitri Tiomkin (music), received an Oscar for the Best Film Song of 1952.
Featured – Fri 11 July, 2008

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