Friday, October 2, 2009

Featured Songs for Saturday 3 October 2009

I'm not sure I'll be able to come up with a list of 'October' songs in time today. I've been trying to put together some songs to celebrate the years of friends Annett and Louise, both born in July 1959.
I'm looking at songs from '59, what their mothers were hearing that birth year, then at the 10 year mark, (1969) as sweet 16 years olds (1975) and so through other highlights of their years.

One I did find from 1959 was
Paul Anka
Put Your Head On My Shoulder. US#2(3) 18 in Top 100 from 31 August 1959
and Paul Anka made US#1 with Lonely Boy.

I think I allowed myself to waste time by going through each 1959 million seller, song by song, from my Million Seller file.

With so many million sellers, I should just stick to the No 1 hits of '59, '69, '75.

1959
The year of; experimental television transmission tests in Auckland, the opening, 24 May, of the Auckland Harbour Bridge and no Maoris were included in the All Black team sent to South Africa

peak wks
20 2(2) 9/2 21 16 Candles
The Crests
Formed as a black quartet in 1955, with white singer Johnny Maestro joining as lead in 1956. All in their teens at the time of this, their 2nd chart and, their biggest hit (1 of only 3 Top 20's) Big Hit in NZ.

19 2(2) 23/2 23 Donna
Richie Valens
#20 (2) UKt20 28 March
Written by Richie Valens (real name Richard Valenzuela), this, his 2nd hit ("Come On, Let's Go" sold 750,000), was his only million-seller, backed with "La Bamba". Known from being with The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly when they were all killed in the 3 February 1959 plane crash Big Hit in NZ.

18 2(3) 9/3 15 Charlie Brown
The Coasters
The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller proved to be very good for The Coasters in 1959, providing the group with this, their 3rd million-seller.

17 2(3) 15/6 19 Personality
Lloyd Price
NZ#1 in July and UK#9 from June 1959, another written by Lloyd in conjunction with Harold Logan to become his 4th million-seller Monster Hit in NZ.

16 2(3) 5/10 18 Put Your Head On My Shoulder
Paul Anka
#7 (12) UKt30 30 October, the 4th million-seller for Paul was another of his own compositions, written in 1958. Monster Hit and NZ#1 in July 1959.

15 1, 11/5 17 The Happy Organ
Dave 'Baby' Cortez
David Cortez Clowney's only #1 hit, with "Rinky Dink" his only other Top 20. The keyboardist/composer worked mainly as a session musician around New York. NZ#1 in June 1959

14 1, 28/12 16 Why
Frankie Avalon
His 4th million-seller, written by Bob Marcucci (words) and Peter de Angelis. The tune was later subject to much litigation on both sides of the Atlantic, it being claimed to be similiar to the 1926 song, "In A Little Spanish Town". The English High Court ruled that while there was a definite degree of similarity, there was no infringement of copyright. (The plaintiffs had to prove there was a concious or subconcious act of copying). In England the song was covered by Anthony Newley reaching #20. Monster Hit in NZ.

13 1, 16/11 20 Mr Blue
Fleetwoods
The 2nd million-seller for the trio, Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis and Gary Troxel all from the State of Washington (written by Dewayne Blackwell) Big Hit in NZ.

12 1(2) 10/8 14 A Big Hunk O' Love
Elvis Presley
Backed with "My Wish Came True" became Elvis' 24th million-seller and sold 2 million. 1 of only 4 new recordings during his Army hitch (along with "A Fool Such As I" also #1) Moderate Hit in NZ.

11 1(2) 18/5 16 Kansas City
Wilbert Harrison
Also NZ#1 in September 1959. The sole million-seller for Wilbert Harrison had been written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952, originally called "K.C. Lovin'" Moderate Hit in NZ.

10 1(2) 21/9 18 Sleep Walk
Santo & Johnny
Their sole million-seller. The Million Sellers Encyclopedia says "it owes its appeal to the pulsating slow background beat of Johnny's rhythm guitar and a melancholy, somewhat exotic melody of Santo's steel guitar. The Brooklyn born Farina brothers were aged 21 and 18 at the time.

9 1(2) 14/12 20 Heartaches By The Number
Guy Mitchell
6th million-seller for Guy Mitchell, and his last. There were only two more charts - making #51 and #45 before Guy disappeared off the American charts after July 1960

8 1(3) 19/1 19 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Platters
UK#1, 20 March and NZ#1 January 1959 and their 5th million-seller. Previously a #1 for Paul Whiteman's Orchestra in 1934 and from the 1933 musical 'Roberta'

7 1(4) 13/4 16 Come Softly To Me
Fleetwoods
All aged 19 when the trio achieved their 1st million-seller with their own composition. Gretchen Christopher, Barbara Ellis and Gary Troxel - all from the State of Washington

6 1(4) 13/7 15 Lonely Boy
Paul Anka
The 3rd million-seller for Paul Anka was written by him in 1958. It spent 17 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at #3

5 1(4) 24/8 17 The Three Bells
The Browns
The 1st million-seller for this trio of Jim, Maxine and Bonnie Brown, then aged 25, 27 and 22 respectively, in 1959. The siblings had sung together since childhood. A French song written in 1945, was also big for Edith Piaf and Les Compagnons de la Chanson. English lyrics were written in 1948 and Les Compagnons visited Britain in 1951 with their English version but the Browns record proved to be the biggest hit of all, spending 17 weeks in the US charts and was #6 with 13 weeks in the British charts

4 1(4) 9/2 21 Stagger Lee
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price heard an old American folk song called the 'Ballad of Stack-O-Lee' while in the services in the Far East, and rewrote it in modern style. Reaction with servicemen was so great he decided to record it on discharge from the Forces. The song is a story of two gamblers who meet a tragic end became a Top rhythm & blues record and a million-seller for Price

3 1(5) 9/3 17 Venus
Frankie Avalon
Frankie's 1st of three million-sellers for 1959, two of which made #1, the odd one out was "Just Ask Your Heart", US#7 and UK#16

2 1(6) 1/6 21 The Battle Of New Orleans
Johnny Horton
The original melody was said to be an 1815 fiddle tune, entitled 'The Eighteenth of January' composed in celebration of the decisive victory over the British the year before. The top country-and-western record of 1959 (#1 for 10 weeks) and Johnny Horton's first million-seller, it reached 7 figures within seven weeks of its release. Moderate hit in NZ, outsold by Lonnie Donnegan's version

1 1(9) 5/10 26 Mack The Knife
Bobby Darin
UK#1(2) from 16 October 1959, the 4th million seller for Bobby, sold over 2 million. Bobby first recorded this Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill - "The Threepenny Opera" song for an album entitled "That's All" and it was released as a single later in the year to become a million-seller in 1960. It became Bobby Darin's trademark and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year (1959) and a Monster Hit in NZ.

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