Trumpeter Eddie Calvert scored a number 1 for 8 weeks with his version of the well-known song 'Oh Mein Papa'.
This song actually has a pretty special claim to fame - it was the first UK number 1 single to be recorded at the 'slightly famous' Abbey Road studios.
I said 'Answer Me' would be back before you knew it! Making its second appearance at number 1, this time recorded by Frankie Laine, making his 3rd appearance in this position for 1953:
Not content with having the biggest selling single of 1953, Mr Rawhide claimed the 1953 Christmas Number 1 as well with his version of the previous number 1 single. The first (but not only) time a number 1 would be removed by another version of the same song.
Which ties in nicely with the common theme of number 1 singles being a snap shot of popularity, not necessarily cultural trends. Multiple versions of the same version of a song appearing in the charts is still going to this day - the best example probably being the battle for Christmas number 1 2008 between Alexandra Burke and Jeff Buckley, which was of course well and truly won by X-Factor's Alexandra Burke. But more on that 'a bit later on'.
As a song though, I much prefer this version to David Whitfield's. Frankie Laine's voice is much rawer and charged with emotion, lending a greater poignancy to the song over the irritating operatic style of Whitfield.
David Whitfield was launched to number 1 on the 6th November 1953 with his version of 'Answer Me, My Love' by the strength of a predominately female fan-base.
Interestingly, this song was originally banned by the BBC. Not because Whitfield was a satanic anti-Christ prone to abusing his female fanbase (though imagine the scandal), but because the BBC didn't approve of the original religious connotations. It was actually being directed at God, called 'Answer Me, Lord Above' asking why the poor old chap's lover had left. So Aunty Beeb slapped it with the 'banned' label. Considering how much the BBC gets attacked by 'certain right wing news outlets' for being too politically correct under this government, it's interesting to see they've probably been making the same claims for the past 60 years.
Anyway, a re-recorded version was released with new lyrics directing the song at the lover themselves and cutting out the middle man, if you will, and got to number 1, so here it is:
Personally, I've never really understood the sheer financial power of the young girl market (perhaps that's why I never get any dates. Well, that and I sit at a computer writing blogs about Number 1 singles rather than actually, erm... talking to people). I think this is another example of this lack of understanding. To me, listening to Whitfield's voice is as pleasant as rubbing your ear against sandpaper. Yet he still managed to be very popular. Go figure.
This song itself, however, will pop up again very very soon...
Frankie Laine scored his second number 1 with 'Hey Joe' in October 1953.
After the massive success of 'I Believe', this is a slightly less successful number for Frankie Laine. Though that was always inevitable as I Believe was a mega-hit for the man often billed as having 'steel tonsils'. The song itself is an upbeat number, about chasing the same girl his friend is courting. Or whatever term was used in the 1950s. I like the idea that it was courting.
As a side note, Frankie Laine also sang the tune to Rawhide.
the 11th of September and Frankie Laine's run at number 1 is ended by Guy Mitchell scoring his second number 1 single with 'Look At That Girl'.
Guy Mitchell is back and singing about girls again. The swine. Though it's less of a novelty record about London Bankers this time and bit more in the big band swing style.
'Guy Mitchell' was just a stage name for Mr Albert George Cernik - an American of Croatian descent. It came about as a result of Columbia Records executive (and producer of this song) Mitch Miller, deciding that Cernik seemed a nice 'guy' and his own name was Mitch. Et voila, Guy Mitchell the superstar was born.
Mantovani & His Orchestra - 'The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)'
14th August, 1953 (1 Week)
The second song to hit Number 1, temporarily interrupting Frankie Laine was the mononymous Mantovani & his Orchestra.
And now for something a little bit different, as they say:
The song originally appeared in the 1952 film 'Moulin Rouge' starring José Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor, sung by Muriel Smith with Gabor lip-synching - though it would be Mantovani's version that would score the biggest chart success in the UK.
The first song to break Frankie Laine's run at Number 1 was the second entry for the future Mr Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Fisher. As his first number 1 was 'Outside Of Heaven' on the 30th January in the same year, Eddie Fisher became the first act to score 2 Number 1 singles.
Considering the amount of time 'I Believe' would have otherwise spent at number 1, I feel a bit cheated out of that milestone by this utter snoozefest of a song. Below par, Eddie Fisher. Below par. Try harder next time.
Except there won't be a next time for the man who divorced his wife to marry his best friend's widow. At least, not another chance at number 1. By 1959, Fisher would see his television show - and his main source of publicity - cancelled due to a large amount of acrimonious press coverage following his divorce from Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor.
Frankie Laine scored a phenomenal hit with 'I Believe'. Despite not being consecutive, it reigned at the top for 18 weeks. As a comparison, the current record holder, Bryan Adams, is 16 weeks. Without being broken - for a week's length each time - the song would have scored 20 weeks at number 1. It goes without saying then, that this record was the biggest selling single of 1953
In the time that this song was Number 1, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Mount Everest was climbed and, for the first time in 19 years, England won the Ashes.
The song has, of course, since become a well known standard and has been covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and errr.... Robson and Jerome. Though considering the massive success of the song on this, its original UK Charts outing, I guess you can't really blame Simon Cowell for sticking his oar in as well.
In many ways it's a shame that this song didn't reach the full 20 weeks at number 1. That would have been a very impressive standard to set for all future records to follow. It would be easy to say at this point "Oh, it'll never happen again", which would be something I would totally disagree with. I mean, that's a bit insulting to today's youth - it was in 2008 that 'Umbrella' was at Number 1 for 10 weeks, becoming only the 5th song to break 10 weeks consecutively. It just takes the right song.
Clearly this was the right song at the right time, as it will be again.
Lita Roza - '(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?' 17th April, 1953 (1 week)
Yes. You read that right. This song was actually a Number 1 hit.
I did say a few posts ago that there was some unbearable songs coming up. This is but the first of many. A theme that I've hinted at several times is that chart music has never exactly reflected music trends. That's the problem when you're judging the music tastes of a nation with effectively one snapshot from each week: it's only rarely that someone special comes along who catches what tastemakers would term the zeitgeist of an era and makes it critically and, more importantly (for the purpose of this blog at least) commercially successful. For every Madonna how many Tiffanys are there?
So, for my disdain of this song, I won't post a link up to it out of principle. Ok, actually, that's a lie. I just can't find a copy of it anywhere to post. But whatever, I can pretend to have principles about these sorts of things. In the meantime, here is a picture of Lita Roza (not the same, I know, I know, I'm sorry) the Liverpudlian purveyor of songs about puppies. The first person from Liverpool to get a UK Number 1 single. I've heard a few rumours there might be one or two more number 1s from that city... (at the time I write this, I believe it's 57, if you're interested).
The Stargazers scored the next number 1 hit on the 10th April 1953 with their song 'Broken Wings'. The first number 1 for a group was also the first of two Number 1 songs for the band.
This is really the first number 1 that I have actively disliked. It sounds like elevator muzak. Vile.
Further to this, my disdain was compounded when I saw that the band were awarded the NME 'Group Of The Year' award for 5 years running. 50 years have passed and I still disagree with what the NME has to say.
Guy Mitchell had the next number 1 single in the UK with She Wears Red Feathers, the tale of a London Banker's love for a hula girl.
This video is something different - I thought it was a bit more interesting than the usual 'slide show to music'. It's from a short film from Universal featuring Guy Mitchell himself performing She Wears Red Feathers and Feet Up! Which was, in fact, the first ever UK number 2 single, missing out to Al Martino.
So, she wears red feathers and a hula-hula skirt and eats cocynuts fish feeerom the sea (I hear 'they're greeeeeeat', anyone?) and gets a London Banker to fall in love with her. Call me a cynic, but he's probably only doing it so he can be a non-dom. Though I think that probably reaches a point where it stops being romantic. Or funny.
Of all the songs so far, this one has stood out to me, despite being very much in the same vein of one singer and their orchestra as the previous singles. It manages to come close to novelty, but doesn't cross the line in to being unbearable - unlike some of the songs coming up...
Perry Como - 'Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes'
6th February 1953 (5 weeks)
Aaaah, good old Perry Como. A pioneer of the classic musical variety television shows of the era. Of course, he was going to pop up soon!
So here he is. Shaking his swing thing.
Como has a very pleasant voice. It's clear why he became very popular (and I imagine his dashing Italian-American good looks probably helped). Though this song has very familiar sounding brass, the lyrics are somewhat apart from the vaguely novelty sound of the songs he is possibly more famous for.
I won't make any bones about the fact that this early chart music isn't something I'm very up on, though I have always had an awareness of Perry Como - probably because his popularity was, at the time, unrivaled. In many ways, that makes it quite sad that he isn't remembered in the same way as the likes of Sinatra. One would imagine that's because Como managed to live in the public eye for 50 years scandal and rumour free. It's hard to imagine that being allowed to happen now. It was a different planet, as they say.
Interestingly, this song was released in Germany as a double A-side with the UK's previous number 1 single, by Eddie Fisher. Anything beats a dance remix, right?
