And Then There Were Two

Dear Was That Really At Number 1? readers, it's time for a small side-note.

Ok, so, bare with me on this one. As the UK charts entered 1955, a new chart sprang up. Now, original and the one we've been following, was the New Musical Express chart. But the contender to the throne, launched on 22nd January 1955, was the Record Mirror chart.

By and large the results are fairly similar with a few exceptions, which, if worthy, will be noted.

However, in the interests of continuity we will be sticking with the New Musical Express chart for this period, because the Record Mirror chart would stop making their own independent charts in 1962 and the New Musical Express chart was the chart that became part of the Official Charts Company's records.

This arrangement will only stand until 1960, when the Record Retailer chart will take over, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Phew, that's that out of the way. I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen so far, and I hope you enjoy what you will get to see in the future.

Winifred Atwell - Let's Have Another Party

Winifred Atwell - 'Let's Have Another Party'

3rd December, 1954 (5 weeks)

Winifred Atwell, the first black person to reach the top of the UK charts, became the 3rd UK Christmas Number 1 in 1954 with the follow up to her previous hit 'Let's Have A Party'.

On stage, Atwell was charming, warm and dazzled with her skills at the piano. No wonder she became a star in an austere, post-War Britain - she once performed a private show for Queen Elizabeth and was personally called back for an encore by the monarch herself.

Rosemary Clooney - This Ole House

Rosemary Clooney - 'This Ole House'

26th November, 1954 (1 week)

American singer Rosemary Clooney - aunt of some chap named George - scored her first UK Number 1 towards the end of 1954 with her version of This Ole House. Her popularity had been boosted earlier in the year by starring in the classic film alongside Bing Crosby (who would recall her as 'the best in the business').

Much as this song makes you smile when you listen to it, it was a 'bit' misunderstood by Clooney - a mistake that Was That Really At Number One? readers will see repeated by Shakin' Stevens in the 1980s. The song, written by Stuart Hamblen, is actually intended as an epitaph for a dead man he found in a dilapidated old house, miles from civilization whilst out hunting with his friend John Wayne...

But sod all that misery. Feel free to bop away to this one:

Vera Lynn - My Son, My Son

Vera Lynn - 'My Son, My Son'

5th November, 1954 (2 weeks)

Vera Lynn, aka, The Troops' sweetheart - As British as Doctor Who and a bowler hat - scored her only UK number 1 towards the end of her height as a recording artist.

Fondly remembered by many as a symbol of plucky British morale during The War, Vera Lynn is greatly remembered for songs such as 'We'll Meet Again', 'The White Cliffs Of Dover' and 'Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart' often used as morale boosters on her tours for British troops during WWII. Of course, it's this that gives Dame Vera Lynn that special place in the British psyche.

Placing aside my usual flippant and slightly condescending attitude, Vera Lynn is truly a special force in the history of UK music. The direct impact of her legacy may not be as obvious as The Beatles or The Smiths. But as an icon, as a concept - to this day - she manages to sum up an attitude that the British hold about themselves (rightly or wrongly). She is the embodiment of the British blitz spirit: the musical version of a cup of tea and the personification of our 'keep calm and carry on' attitude.

And that makes it a shame that this was her only UK Number 1. It's not a bad song, but it's not one of her greats. Had there been a British music charts in the 1940s, it's pretty much a given she would have achieved a lot more than this sole entry at Number 1: Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart made her the first British act to top the charts in America, for no less than 9 weeks.

But her impact on Britain as a country was remembered once again when she returned to the top in 2009 with her number 1 album 'We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn', making her career in music one of the longest in British history. And bloody good for her, I say.

Don Cornell - Hold My Hand

Don Cornell - 'Hold My Hand'

8th October, 1954 (4 weeks)

19th November 1954 (1 week)

Following on from Frank Sinatra, Don Cornell reached Number 1 with 'Hold My Hand', which was another song from a film, this one called 'Susan Slept Here'.

Here is Susan (aka, one Debbie Reynolds - wife of previous Was That Really At Number 1? topic Eddie Fisher) listening to Hold My Hand on the good old fashioned wireless box:

This song was actually beaten by Frank Sinatra's 'Three Coins In The Fountain' for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Whereas I blogged on the importance of that win for Sinatra's profile (and I certainly won't recant on it), it's a shame in many ways, because I actually prefer this song.

Frank Sinatra - Three Coins In The Fountain

Frank Sinatra - 'Three Coins In The Fountain'

17th September, 1954 (3 weeks).

As one of the biggest stars of all time, he was bound to pop up at some point. Frank Sinatra scored his first UK Number 1 with the theme song from 'Three Coins In The Fountain', imaginatively entitled, 'Three Coins In The Fountain'.

The film tells the story of three American girls looking for romance in Rome whilst in the employ of the American Embassy. The song itself would go on to win best original song at the Academy Awards.

Please excuse the Portuguese, it was the best available video. Use it as a Portuguese lesson. Or something. Educational and fun, that's what I strive for.

To compare the song directly to Doris Day's 'Secret Love', the previous winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song, I'd have to say they're both pretty dull and neither of them stand out as being anything 'special'. But I'm just some guy with a blog, Sinatra is one of the biggest names of all time, so what do I know.

The song along with his own personal Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1953, did, however, help to relaunch Sinatra's flagging career in the mid-50s after his massive success in the 1940s. So much as I think it's a fairly tame song that doesn't really match some of Sinatra's other standards, it's still none-the-less an important song in keeping Sinatra up at the top. And Without Sinatra there'd be no, erm... Michael Bublé? On a more serious note, 1953/54 was an important turning point in re-energising a stalled career as it led to the sustained career of a man who has had an influence on pop culture that few can touch. Michael Bublé is just one (unfortunate) side effect of that.

Kitty Kallen - Little Things Mean A Lot

Kitty Kallen - 'Little Things Mean A Lot'

10th September, 1954 (1 week)

Kitty Kallen...

Kitty Kallen...

Rings a bell? No? Wondering just who is this Kitty Kallen? Good question. She's a nobody. But one of the most important nobodies in the history of the UK chart. The first of many. The ennobler of a rich tradition of popular UK music. The trailblazer for a varied history of people who nearly were, but never would.

Yes, Kitty Kallen, who, in 1954, reached Number 1 with Little Things Mean A Lot, is officially the first UK One Hit Wonder. An honour as prestigious as coming last in Eurovision with nul points.

A one hit wonder can only be scored by someone who releases one single and then never charts again (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) and, using this definition, Kitty Kallen was the first person to achieve the (slightly dubious) honour in the UK.

For the American Kitty Kallen, her sole song to chart in the UK came at just the wrong time. She had been popular across the Atlantic throughout the 1940s, singing with a string of big bands. But there was no UK single's chart in the 1940s and, alas, this genre wasn't what it once was and Kallen was unable to sustain her star power and translate it in to a chart career in the UK.

But, in a way, being the UK's first one hit wonder probably gives her a more special legacy.