Pop

92. Cliff Richard and The Shadows – Travellin’ Light (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Info

Since the success of Living Doll , Cliff Richard’s band, The Drifters, had run into trouble. Unlike most backing bands at the time, they had signed a separate contract to Cliff, meaning they could release material on their own. Their first single, Feelin’ Fine, had to be withdrawn in the US when the manager of the famous soul group with the same name threatened legal action.

Before

The second single, Jet Black, was credited to The Four Jets, but manager Norrie Paramor suggested they needed to find a name and stick to it. That July while in a pub in Ruslip, bassist Jet Harris suggested to guitarist Hank Marvin they should be called The Shadows, and thus the name of one of the most famous bands of the next few years was finally settled. Bobby Vee’s backing group were also called The Shadows, but Marvin and co didn’t know this, so tough.

Travellin’ Light, written by Sid Tepper & Roy C Bennett, became their first single with their new name. Tepper and Bennett became two of Richards’ most frequent collaborators, and they also wrote many songs for Elvis Presley, particularly for his films.

Review

Travellin’ Light is pretty much a rewrite of Living Doll, as close as you can get to following up a number 1 with a repeat of the same formula. It’s also quite similar to Roger Miller’s 1965 number 1, King of the Road – had he been listening to this? The production is also similar to before, but this time Cliff’s voice has been treated with a strong echo effect, and there’s some welcome twangy guitar flourishes from Marvin, that could have done to be louder in the mix. Cliff is on his way to see his girl, and he’s so excited he’s taken nothing with him. He can’t even be bothered with a comb or toothbrush, the dirty beggar.

It’s an average country tune that would be better remembered if they’d at least tried to make it sound different to what had come before, but five weeks at number 1 suggests their fans were happy with more of the same.

The Info

Written by

Sid Tepper & Roy C Bennett

Producer

Norrie Paramor

Weeks at number 1

5 (30 October-3 December)

Trivia

Births

2 November: Actor Peter Mullan
14 November: Actor Paul McGann
18 November: Footballer Jimmy Quinn
25 November: Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy
30 November: Presenter Lorraine Kelly
2 December: Actress Gwyneth Strong

Deaths

26 November: Pianist Albert Ketèlbey

Meanwhile…

30 October: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club opened in Soho, London. One of the most renowned venues of its kind, some of the artists who later played there include Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, Prince and Jimi Hendrix, in his final public performance.

1 November: The first section of the M1 opened, between Watford and Rugby.

17 November: Prestwick and Renfrew become the first UK airports to feature duty free shops.

91. Bobby Darin – Mack the Knife (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Info

It’s the 50s, you’ve had a big hit that’s resulted in you gaining a huge fan following, particularly of teenage girls who wish they could be your Dream Lover – how do you follow it up? Well, if you’re Bobby Darin, you release a swinging celebration of a serial killer. Darin’s version of Mack the Knife remains the most famous version – and there are a lot out there.

Before

Mack the Knife was originally known as Die Moritat von Mackie Messer. It was composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, for their play Die Dreigroschenoper, known over here as The Threepenny Opera. The song was written at the last minute before it’s premiere in 1928, to introduce the killer Macheath. It was first introduced to US audiences in 1933, but it was Marc Blitzstein’s 1954 version, with less graphic lyrics to appeal to conservative America, that’s still in use today.

In 1956 the US charts were awash with versions of Mack the Knife, with the first by The Dick Hyman Trio. Jazz supremo Louis Armstrong was responsible for the first version with vocals. In addition to the female victims listed in the song, Armstrong ad-libbed a mention of Lotte Lenya, the widow of Kurt Weill, who had starred in the original production, and the then-current off-Broadway version, who was present while Armstrong recorded. This was left in Darin’s version by mistake, and most subsequent versions on account of Darin’s being considered the essential recording.

Darin fell in love with Mack the Knife while watching The Threepenny Opera in 1958, and worked the song into his live act. Fresh from the success of Dream Lover a year later, Darin was given more freedom over his sound, and his desire to move away from the teen-pop that had made him famous helped him to surprise his audience by making Mack the Knife the opening track on his next album, That’s All. This was the first time a major pop idol had tried to change tack to such an extent. However, even Darin wasn’t sure about releasing such a statement of intent as a single, and it was Atlantic Records co-founder, and Darin’s producer Ahmet Ertegun that ordered its release. As was usually the case in Ertegun’s career, he was right to do so.

Review

https://youtu.be/SEllHMWkXEU

Darin should never have doubted Mack the Knife‘s potential. Granted, the lyrics are easily the darkest there had ever been at number 1, even after being cleaned up for the US, but I can imagine a lot of listeners weren’t even taking notice of the words, as it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the music. Darin really is on fire here, and there’s no wonder even Frank Sinatra, who recorded his own version, believed Darin’s was the best. He sounds smooth, assured and in his element, and the band really knock it out of the park with a punchy performance. By the time you reach the end, you’re rooting for Mack to take another life. Or was that just me? This is one of the decade’s very best number 1s, in my eyes.

After

Mack the Knife hit the top spots in the UK and US, and later won him two Grammy Awards. He followed it with the equally memorable Beyond the Sea. He continued to experiment with genres, trying his hand at country, and still charted highly. He also acted on TV and met and fell in love with Sandra Dee (yes, that Sandra Dee) on the set of his first film, Come September (1961), in which they starred together. They married and had a son, and starred in further films, but divorced in 1967.

Around this time, Darin had become increasingly politically active. He had his first hit in two years in 1966 when he covered folk singer Tim Hardin’s If I Were a Carpenter. He befriended Robert F Kennedy, worked with him on his presidential campaign and was at the Ambassador Hotel the night he was assassinated. This, and learning of his true parentage (more here) resulted in him becoming a recluse for a year. Upon his return to public life he set up his own record label, Direction Records, releasing folk and protest music.

In the 70s Darin had remarried and had several TV shows, but his health problems began to catch up with him. Some think his drive and desire to cram so much into his life came about due to his weakened heart, which was caused by rheumatic fever when he was eight. Darin suspected he was likely to die younger than most, and unfortunately he was right.

He first had heart surgery in 1971, and had to be administered oxygen after live shows. He suffered from sepsis in 1973, which further weakened his heart, and following an operation that lasted over six hours, Darin died in recovery, on 20 December aged only 37, but he had more than left his mark.

Darin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame in the 90s, and is remembered as one of many bright young talents of rock’n’roll’s early days that went too soon. He refused to be pigeonholed and his desire to experiment proved influential.

The Outro

Darin’s life was immortalised in the 2004 biopic Beyond the Sea, but unfortunately the star, director, co-writer and co-producer was Kevin Spacey, so you can expect the film to be culturally erased from history now.

The Info

Written by

Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht/Mark Blitzstein (English lyrics)

Producer

Ahmet Ertegun

Weeks at number 1

2 (16-29 October)

Trivia

Births

16 October: Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp
20 October: Actress Niamh Cusack

90. Jerry Keller – Here Comes Summer (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

Here Comes Summer is often considered one of the first tailor-made summer anthems. The problem is, in the UK at least, that it arrived late. It entered the charts in August 1959 and didn’t reach number 1 until 9 October, toppling Only Sixteen by Craig Douglas. It was written and performed by wholesome singer-songwriter Jerry Keller.

Before

Jerry Paul Keller was born 20 June 1938 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but the Kellers moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma when he was six. He formed The Lads of Note Quartet sometime in the 50s and was also a member of The Tulsa Boy Singers, in addition to becoming a disc jockey.

In 1956 he moved to New York determined to make it big, and recorded a series of demos for record labels. Getting nowhere, his church friend Pat Boone (who had the biggest-selling single of that year in the UK with I’ll Be Home) introduced him to Marty Mills, who became his manager. With its vivid lyrics of finishing school and enjoying a summer romance, Keller had finally found the hit he had been looking for.

Review

Much like Bobby Darin’s Dream Lover, Here Comes Summer is the quintessential sound of 50s teen-pop to me. It’s not as good, but it’s not far off. It’s musically warm and wistful, and makes you look back to a summer that you never actually had, but feel like you did anyway. The backing vocals spoil it somewhat though, overpowering the song at times, drowning out Keller’s voice and spoiling the production.

After

Unfortunately Keller was the first of many artists who become so identifiable with a summer hit that they’re rarely, if ever, heard of again as a performer.

He did, however, enjoy further success as a songwriter. He wrote Almost There, a hit for Andy Williams, and The Legend of Shenandoah, recited by James Stewart in the film Shenandoah (1965).  In 1966 he wrote the English lyrics for Un homme et une femme, translated as A Man and a Woman, which was covered by many artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Engelbert Humperdinck and Johnny Mathis.

The Outro

In the 70s and 80s he appeared in films and was used as a vocalist in television jingles, before disappearing into obscurity, but Here Comes Summer still gets used in adverts from time to time, a charming memory of relative teenage innocence.

The Info

Written by

Jerry Keller

Producer

Richard Wolf

Weeks at number 1

1 (9-15 October)

Trivia

Births

10 October: Singer Kirsty MacColl
15 October: Sarah, Duchess of York

88. Cliff Richard and The Drifters – Living Doll (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

‘Look out! Cliff!’ It’s hard to believe now, but when Sir Cliff Richard’s first single Move It narrowly missed out on number 1 to Connie Francis’s Carolina Moon/Stupid Cupid in 1958, he was considered edgy, and the closest we had to our own Elvis Presley. Tommy Steele’s impersonation of ‘the King’ on Singing the Blues was too similar, and he soon began concentrating on his film career.

Unlike Elvis, Cliff was and is mainly a British phenomenon, and his cool image soon disappeared, to be forever replaced by that of the wholesome Christian entertainer. Not that it damaged his career. Cliff is the third biggest-selling artist in the history of the UK singles chart, behind The Beatles and Elvis, selling over 21 million in this country alone. This is the first of many staggering statistics – 67 UK top ten singles, 14 of which were number 1. Along with Elvis, he is the only act to make the chart in the first six decades, and is the only singer to have had number 1s from the 50s through to the 90s. This is the story of Living Doll, his first.

Before

Harry Rodger Webb had been born in Lucknow, British India on 14 October 1940. The Webbs had a modest life, but following Indian Independence in 1948 they moved into a smaller semi-detached house in Carshalton, south London. The teenage Webb became keenly interested in skiffle, like so many future stars, and his father bought him a guitar for his 16th birthday. In 1957 he formed The Quintones, before becoming the singer in The Dick Teague Skiffle Group, and then The Drifters. This was, of course, not the US soul group of the same name.

Entrepreneur Harry Greatorex became their manager, and suggested Webb needed a name change if they were to get anywhere. He came up with ‘Cliff’– because it sounded like ‘rock’, and band member Ian Samwell thought Richard would make a great surname and could also serve as a tribute to Little Richard. Together with drummer Terry Smart and guitarist Norman Mitham, they were now Cliff Richard and The Drifters, and Move It, penned by Samwell, stormed the charts. Cliff was a sensation, with his good looks, scowl and rock’n’roll attitude. John Lennon even called it the first British rock record.

Subsequent singles High Class Baby in 1958 and Mean Streak in 1959 reached the top 10. By the time of Richard’s film debut, in the film Serious Charge (1959), the line-up of The Drifters had settled on Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch on guitars, bassist Jet Harris and Tony Meeham on drums.

Lionel Bart had been approached to write songs for the film. Bart had already won awards for his pop songs, and had helped discover Tommy Steele, before moving into musicals soon after. He was browsing a newspaper when he came across an advert for a child’s doll. 10 minutes later he had written the controversial lyric for Living Doll. Originally planned as a rock’n’roll song (as featured in the film), Richard was not a fan, and was horrified to hear it was going to be their next single. Producer Norrie Paramor told him they could record it any way they wanted as long as it got done. It was Welch that came up with the genius idea of slowing down the tempo and making it a country song. Previously, The Drifters had only accompanied Cliff in live performances. This was their recording debut.

Review

Welch’s change of pace proved to be a masterstroke, and completely made the song, It’s still an ear worm now, as I can’t get it out of my head after relistening.

The problem with Living Doll, of course, is Bart’s lyrics. They really haven’t aged well, and it’s hard to match Christian crusader Cliff Richard with words that objectify women so badly. The easy-going charm of the tune cannot disguise the sinister, misogynistic lyrics that Cliff is crooning (and his crooning is really effective here – Living Doll is a great production by Paramor). The words are just plain odd at times, too. For instance, if they are taken literally, then Cliff is chuffed that, although his girl looks like a doll, her hair is in fact real, and what’s more, he’ll let you have a feel if you like.

Even worse, Cliff seems to get jealous very easily, and is prepared to lock her in a trunk to keep her away from other men. I wonder if Cliff ever wonders what God thinks of him singing this? Of course, in 1959, nobody gave a toss about comparing women to dolls, and Living Doll became the biggest-selling song of the year. It also marked the beginning of the end of ‘Edgy Cliff’, with his sound becoming more family-oriented.

The Outro

It was 27 years later that Cliff took the irreverent Comic Relief charity version of the same song back to the top alongside the cast of The Young Ones, and that’s the version I first heard, but we’ll hear about that when we get to 1986.

The Info

Written by

Lionel Bart

Producer

Norrie Paramor

Weeks at number 1

6 (31 July-10 September) *BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

31 July: Journalist Kim Newman
1 August: Del Leppard singer Joe Elliott
5 August: Dead or Alive singer Pete Burns

Deaths

5 August: Poet Edgar Guest
19 August: Sculptor Jacob Epstein
6 September: Actress Kay Kendall

Meanwhile…

4 August: Barclays made history as the first bank to install one of those new-fangled computers.

26 August: The first Mini, an icon of the following decade, went on sale.

87. Bobby Darin – Dream Lover (1959)

/ robbarker1979

Bobby-Darin.jpg

The Intro

Bobby Darin is an interesting character. He was one of, if not the first teen idol to break free of what was expected and forge his own musical path. He was also, like Paul Anka and Buddy Holly, very musically gifted for someone so young. His private life was also fascinating.

Before

Born Walden Robert Cassotto on 14 May 1936 in East Harlem, New York, he was raised by his grandmother, but led to believe she was his mother. His birth mother, Nina, fell pregnant with him out of wedlock aged 17, so rather than the scandal get out, they decided his mother should pretend to be his sister instead. This pretence was kept up until Nina revealed the truth to him in 1968, when he was 32 years old. Cassotto was understandably devastated.

He had become interested in music at a young age, and was able to play the piano, drums and guitar by the time he was a teenager. He excelled at science, but decided to pursue an acting career, before changing his career path again when he met Don Kirshner, who later managed The Monkees, in 1955.

Around this time, he allegedly came upon his stage name when outside a Mandarin restaurant – the neon sign was faulty, leaving only ‘DARIN’ lit up.

Darin and Kirshner had met in a candy store. They decided to write advertising jingles and ditties, the first of which was appropriately named Bubblegum Pop. He joined the Brill Building team of songwriters, and wrote songs for Connie Francis. The partnership was unsuccessful (he was there the day Neil Sedaka presented her with her second hit, Stupid Cupid), but they grew close. Unfortunately for Darin, her father, who was looking after her struggling career, did not approve. Darin suggested they elope but she refused. She later said it was the biggest mistake of her life.

Around the time Darin and Kirshner went their separate ways, Darin was taken under the wing of Atlantic Records songwriter and co-founder Ahmet Ertegun. In 1958 he wrote Splish Splash in less than an hour, and it went on to sell over a million. Finally he was a star. In April 1959, he recorded another self-penned composition, Dream Lover, with Ertegun producing alongside another legendary music figure, Jerry Wexler. Neil Sedaka was also there on the piano.

Review

Splish Splash had been simple, knockabout fun, but Dream Lover was a sophisticated teen-pop slice of yearning. Built upon a Latin rhythm, it was successfully designed to make young girls swoon, but with safe enough lyrics to keep potentially angry parents at bay. It’s reminiscent of Tab Hunter’s Young Love, but assured where Hunter’s performance was tentative. The double-meaning of the line ‘I want a dream lover so I don’t have to dream alone’ is inspired, and Darin’s voice is effectively anguished.

The Outro

If someone was to ask me to name a song that sums up the 50s, Dream Lover would be one of the first I’d mention. This may be in part due to its use on an advert for Maltesers in the late 80s. Nostalgia for the 50s was of course very big back then, kickstarted as it was by the popularity of the Levis ads. My first exposure to Great Balls of Fire came from an advert for Edam, with the lyrics changed to ‘Goodness gracious great balls of cheese!’… bizarre, really, to turn a song of lust into an ode to cheese… I digress. One thing this blog has given me is a newfound respect for some of the artists that helped develop pop music in the 50s, and for this song, Bobby Darin deserves some of that acclaim. He’d be back later in the year with a very different sound.

The Info

Written by

Bobby Darin

Producer

Ahmet Ertegun

Weeks at number 1

4 (3-30 July)

Trivia

Births

3 July: Journalist Julie Burchill

Deaths

11 July: Cricketer Charlie Parker

Meanwhile…

28 July: Postcodes were introduced for the first time, in Norwich.

29 July: The Mental Health Act, the Obscene Publications Act and Legitimacy Act all became law.

86. Russ Conway – Roulette (1959)

/ robbarker1979

Trevor071-2.jpg

The Intro

So here I am, still trying to get my head around a pop culture that is at times completely alien to me, wondering how pianist Russ Conway’s instrumental Side Saddle got to number 1 when surrounded by the likes of songs by Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, and now I have to review his second number 1, which actually knocked Elvis from the top. As I said in my blog for A Fool Such As I/I Need Your Love Tonight, these tracks were poor by Elvis’s standards, but still…

Review

Roulette sounds like a throwaway from Conway, who, probably astounded by Side Saddle‘s success, probably thought he could just repeat the formula. And it worked. Actually, Roulette is better than his best-selling number 1, as the tune is a little catchier – after all, it was made to order, whereas Side Saddle was only ever meant to be incidental music. I could imagine it sounding appropriate in an old-fashioned London pub or strolling along Blackpool’s beach. I’m struggling to find any other use for it though.

After

I shouldn’t be so hard on Russ Conway. He clearly was very good at what he did, with further hits and TV shows. There were three more top 10 hits in 1959 alone, and plenty more top 40 entries until 1962. In his lifetime he sold over 30 million records, which gave him a lifestyle of mansions, Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.

However, he suffered for his art. He became blighted by ill health, although smoking 80 cigarettes a day and drinking a lot won’t have helped.

In 1963 he suffered a nervous breakdown, and then fell and fractured his hip, which left him paralysed for three days. Two years later he suffered his first stroke, aged only 38. For several years he was unable to play, and was prescribed anti-depressants to help him cope with these issues and his own self-doubt in his abilities. Many believe his hidden homosexuality was also a considerable factor in his depression.

The Outro

Conway was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the late-80s and founded the Russ Conway Cancer Fund in 1990. Despite this he battled on, and even lost part of a second finger after getting it stuck in the door of his Rolls-Royce. It still didn’t stop him playing though, and it wasn’t until 16 November 2000 that he finally succumbed to cancer, aged 75.

The Info

Written by

Trevor Stanford

Producer

Norman Newell

Weeks at number 1

2 (19 June-2 July)

Trivia

Births

19 June: Chef Sophie Grigson
I27 June: Inspiral Carpets keyboardist Clint Boon

83. Russ Conway – Side Saddle (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

By the spring of 1959 it had been three years since Winifred Atwell had last topped the charts, with The Poor People of Paris. Despite the changes in musical tastes since then, there was still a market for jolly old honky tonk instrumentals that you could have a knees-up to. Who could fill that gap? Step forward, Russ Conway.

Before

Born Trevor Stanford (the name his self-penned songs would be credited to) on 2 September 1925 in Bristol, his mother had been a pianist but died when he was only 14. His two brothers had formal musical education, but no real talent to speak of, whereas Conway was the opposite.

He served in the Navy during World War Two, where he was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for ‘gallantry and devotion to duty’. During the war his many health problems began, which saw him discharged due to a stomach ulcer. He had lost one of the tips of a finger in an accident with a bread-slicer, but that didn’t stop him taking his friend’s advice, and upon his return, Conway agreed to stand in for a holidaying club pianist. He then began performing in pubs and clubs, before being spotted by the choreographer Irving Davies. He signed to EMI’s Colombia label, where he would play piano for stars including Gracie Fields.

Eventually Conway made it on to The Billy Cotton Band Show, and it was Cotton who was instrumental in persuading Conway to loosen up and develop the style that made him a solo star. His first solo single, Party Pops, was released in 1957, and was a medley in the vein of Atwell’s 1954 Christmas number 1, Let’s Have Another Party. However, it was by composing that he made his breakthrough. When writing a score for a TV musical version of Beauty and the Beast, Conway was asked at the last minute to write a tune for a ballroom scene. He hastily came up with one and called it Side Saddle.

Review

This has to be one of the strangest number 1 singles so far. I’m really struggling to grasp how it happened. At least with Atwell, her number 1s were covers of familiar tunes played at a manic pace. I’ve now listened to Side Saddle several times and I can’t remember the tune, let alone work out how it spent a month at the top. It has a certain quaint charm I guess and will have reminded the oldies of the time of their youth, perhaps. That’s the best I can manage, I’m afraid.

The Info

Written by

Trevor Stanford 

Producer

Norman Newell

Weeks at number 1

4 (27 March-23 April)

Trivia

Births

15 April: Actress Emma Thompson
17 April: Painter Peter Doig
21 April: The Cure singer Robert Smith

Meanwhile…

30 March: An early CND rally took place in Trafalgar Square that saw 20,000 demonstrators attend.

2 April: United Dairies merged with Cow & Gate to become Unigate. You might say, ‘So what?’, and it’s before my time too, but Unigate are fondly remembered for their ‘Watch out there’s a Humphrey about’ adverts in the 70s… My mind is wandering… can we have a number 1 I can understand next, please?

81. Shirley Bassey with Wally Stott & His Orchestra – As I Love You (1959)

/ robbarker1979

The Intro

Shirley Bassey became the first Welsh artist to have a UK number 1 when As I Love You knocked Elvis Presley from the top.

Before

Born on 8 January 1937 in the large multi-ethnic area of Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Shirley Veronica Bassey’s father was Nigerian and her mother was English. Bassey grew up in a nearby community – the fantastically named Splott. She was equipped with that famously loud singing voice (more on that later) before she had even hit her teens, but it made her teachers and fellow students feel uncomfortable and she was often being told to, in her words, ‘shut up’. She left school at 14 to work in a steel factory while singing in pubs and clubs on evenings and at the weekend.

Her pre-fame life was tough and eventful, with the whole family struggling to afford to eat. Bassey was only in her teens when she began performing, but dirty old men in the crowd would be shouting at her to get her clothes off. She became pregnant with her first child at 16 but never revealed the name of the father.

In 1955 while appearing in the West End, she was offered a record deal with Philips. Her first single, Burn My Candle, was banned by the BBC in 1956 for its slightly saucy lyrics. Bassey had her first hit with her rendition of The Banana Boat Song the following year. In mid-1958 she recorded both As I Love You and Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me, with both reaching the top three simultaneously.

Review

So, Bassey’s voice. I have to confess I am not a fan. I think you either love her powerful bellow or hate it, and I’m the latter. This made me reticent to try As I Love You, but fortunately, the shouting is kept to a minimum.

Jay Livingston and Ray Evans’ (the duo behind Doris Day’s Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)) tune is a chirpy love song, and it sounds ahead of its time. It’s hardly innovative, but to me it’s comparable to the type of tune Bacharach and David were writing in the 60s, complete with some catchy brass sounds in the chorus. It’s not as impressive though, and rather throwaway.

After

Shirley Bassey was the last female artist to have a number 1 in the 50s, and it was a full two years before a woman scale such heights again.

The Outro

Bassey would reach the top again in 1961, with Reach for the Stars/Climb Ev’ry Mountain.

The Info

Written by

Jay Livingston & Ray Evans

Producer

Johnny Franz

Weeks at number 1

4 (20 February-19 March)

Trivia

Births

23 February: Field hockey player Richard Dodds
27 February: Philosopher Simon Critchley
9 March: Zoologist Mark Carwardine
15 March: Poet Ben Okri 

Deaths

Scholar Kathleen Freeman – 21 February

Meanwhile…

23 February: As the winter drew to a close, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan visited the USSR to meet with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. Macmillan was the first British leader since Sir Winston Churchill during World War Two to visit the country. At the time there had been a slight thaw in the Cold War. The atmosphere at the meeting was cordial, and the two discussed expanding cultural ties, but a few days later, the famously volatile Khruschev snubbed Macmillan and his entourage.

75. Connie Francis – Carolina Moon/Stupid Cupid (1958)

/ robbarker1979

fa0d7bb1b15ab93c0d194f8099b4a048.jpg

The Intro

Thanks to Who’s Sorry Now? Connie Francis had become a star. MGM changed their minds and offered her a new contract. The problem now was, how do you follow it up? Her next two singles, I’m Sorry I Made You Cry and Heartaches, sank without trace. Francis needed another track that would appeal to both young and old listeners. As luck would have it, she got one of each.

Before

Yet again, Francis’s father suggested wisely when he picked Carolina Moon. Like Who’s Sorry Now? it was an oldie. It had been written by Joe Burke and Benny Davis in 1924, and was a hit for Gene Austin four years later. Both songwriters were responsible for a number of famous tunes – Joe Burke came up with Tiptoe Through the Tulips and Davis wrote Baby Face with Harry Akst.

Reviews

Carolina Moon is a sweet, wistful ballad, tenderly sang by Francis. She’s missing her love and is hoping the moon will find him and tell him she’s ‘blue and lonely’. They can’t have had a decent postal service near Francis, I guess. Crap joke aside, it’s a good showcase for the singer, and the plaintive harmonica solo is a highlight. On it’s own though, I doubt it would have reached number 1. Luckily for Francis, her luck turned once more.

Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka were still in their teens and struggling to get their foot in the door of the world of songwriting. Eventually they wound up at the office of Aldon Music, a new company formed by producers Don Kirshner and Al Nevins. I say office… by all accounts the tiny room was a piano, two desks and lots of boxes as they had only just moved in. Nonetheless, Kirshner was impressed (Nevins less so), and he contacted Francis to say the boys could help her out.

Kirshner, Greenfield and Sedaka were surprised to see Francis was still living in humble surroundings, in a small house with no carpet. They played ballad after ballad to her and Bobby Darin (the singer had started in music as Francis’s songwriter). She later recalled in an interview for DISCoveries Magazine that hours later, after Kirshner had left, she said, ‘Look, fellas. I hate to tell you this and don’t get me wrong, your music is beautiful, but it’s too educated. The kids don’t dig this kinda stuff anymore. You guys are putting me to sleep. Don’t you have something a little more lively?’ Greenfield told Sedaka to play a sample of a new song they had written for the Shepherd Sisters. Sedaka was horrified. He considered Francis way too classy to even suggest such a thought. He relented, played her Stupid Cupid, and finally Francis, Kirshner, Greenfield and Sedaka got what they looking for. A big hit.

https://youtu.be/2kJA8v577W8

Stupid Cupid was inspired. Sedaka might not have thought it was classy, but music didn’t need to be anymore. It had witty lyrics, a memorable tune and great production from Morty Kraft. The bass player remains unknown but whoever it was, their work is considered some of the best in rock’n’roll up to that point. The guitar twang every time Francis reaches ‘Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me’ is clever or annoying depending on your mood, but the way Francis sings that line is perfect. She certainly had a knack of owning the songs she worked on

Spending six weeks at number 1, Carolina Moon/Stupid Cupid finally established Francis, and although she never reached the top again, the hits continued. Lipstick on Your Collar is still considered a 50s classic.

She continued her winning ways around the world for years to come, and had further number 1 success in the US into the 60s, but the 70s were tough on the singer. She was raped and nearly suffocated in a motel in 1974. The attacker was never found, and Francis became reclusive and addicted to medication. In 1977 she completely lost her voice following surgery. When it returned, she had to learn to sing all over again. She began performing again, but in 1981 her brother was murdered by Mafia hitmen, and she was diagnosed with manic depression before being committed to 17 different hospitals.

Having led such a rollercoaster life, she decided to put pen to paper. Francis released her autobiography, Who’s Sorry Now? in 1984, and it became a bestseller. Despite her tribulations she is remembered as one of the biggest stars during a time that was mainly male-dominated. Greenfield and Sedaka of course became very successful, and Sedaka later a star in his own right, and Kirshner earned himself the nickname ‘The Man with the Golden Ear’, managing, among others, The Monkees, before they broke free.

The Info

Written by

Carolina Moon: Joe Burke & Benny Davis/Stupid Cupid: Howard Greenfield & Neil Sedaka

Producers

Connie Francis/Leroy Holmes

Weeks at number 1

6 (26 September-6 November)

Trivia

Births

27 September: Novelist Irvine Welsh 
14 October: Musician Thomas Dolby 
27 October: Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon 

Deaths

2 October: Birth control advocate Marie Stopes 
17 October: Cricketer Charlie Townsend 
24 October: Philosopher GE Moore 
28 October: Physicist Stephen Butterworth 

Meanwhile…

1 October: The sovereignty of Christmas Island is transferred from the UK to Australia.

11 October: The start of BBC sports programme Grandstand, which lasted until 2007.

16 October: Legendary BBC children’s TV series Blue Peter began.

21 October: The first women take to their seats in the House of Lords.

28 October: The State Opening of Parliament was broadcast on TV for the first time.

73. The Everly Brothers with Orchestra conducted by Archie Bleyer – All I Have to Do is Dream/Claudette (1958)

/ robbarker1979

everly-brothers-bw.jpg

The Intro

The first of four number 1s for the country-influenced rock’n’roll duo in this country, and the best-selling single of 1958. All I Have to Do is Dream/Claudette enjoyed a seven-week run at the top of the charts and established The Everly Brothers as one of the biggest and most influential acts of the next few years.

Before

Isaac Donald ‘Don’ Everly was born in Brownie, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky on 1 February 1937, and Phillip Jason ‘Phil’ Everly arrived on 19 January 1939 in Chicago, Illinois.

Born into a musical family, their father Ike was a guitarist and mother Margaret a singer. They sang as the Everly Family on the radio in the mid-1940s, with the boys known as ‘Little Donny’ and ‘Baby Boy Phil’. In 1955 the brothers moved to Nashville, Tennessee. By this point, their musical prowess already had an important fan – family friend Chet Atkins, a record producer and songwriter.

Atkins used his contacts to get Don and Phil a record deal, and their first single, Bye Bye Love (covered by Simon & Garfunkel as the last track on Bridge Over Troubled Water in 1970) was a smash-hit, selling over a million and reaching number six over here.

They continued to work with its songwriters, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant (Bryant’s solo work, Hey Joe, performed by Frankie Laine, had been a UK number 1 in 1953), releasing Wake Up Little Susie, which reached number 2, before working on All I Have to Do is Dream, which was by Boudleaux alone, and allegedly written in only 15 minutes.

Review

Opening with the lush jangle of Chet Atkins on guitar, All I Have to Do is Dream begins straight away with that memorable chorus, a trick later used by ABBA and Stock, Aitken & Waterman to pull the listener in. If that jangle doesn’t grab you (and if it doesn’t, what’s wrong with you?), the vocals will. Don and Phil’s unique harmonies still sound sublime today. The only misfire is the dated, corny lyric:

‘Only trouble is, gee whiz,
I’m dreamin’ my life away’

Fortunately before you have time to dwell on that too much you’re back into the chorus. This is the sound of the Everly Brothers and Boudleaux Bryant at their best. According to Phil, the acetate featuring Boudleaux on vocals would have been a hit anyway, such was the beauty of the song. Maybe so, but it’s his and brother Don’s voices, and Atkins’ guitar work, that make All I Have to Do is Dream a classic.

https://youtu.be/7izXABdoDPA

The other song, Claudette, hasn’t aged as well, but it’s a decent enough uptempo acoustic track, written by Roy Orbison and named after his first wife. As a B-side, however, it would certainly have been better than average, and as it helped propel ‘The Big O’ to success and helped buy him a cadillac, then it’s alright by me.

After

The Everly Brothers tied at number 1 for their first week with Vic Damone’s On the Street Where You Live, but went on to spend most of the summer at the top.

The Info

Written by

All I Have to Do is Dream: Boudleaux Bryant/Claudette: Roy Orbison 

Producer

Archie Bleyer

Weeks at number 1

7 (4 July-21 August)*BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

6 July: Comedian Jennifer Saunders
9 July: Actor Robin Kermode
11 July: Actor Mark Lester
15 July: Scientist Mark Lester
17 July: Journalist Suzanne Moore
24 July: Actor Joe McGann
30 July: Singer-songwriter Kate Bush/Athlete Daley Thompson
7 August: Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson
10 August: Labour MP Rosie Winterton
13 August: Singer Feargal Sharkey
14 August: Conservative MP Philip Dunne

Deaths

20 July: Campaigner Margaret Haig Thomas, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda

Meanwhile…

10 July: The first parking meters were installed.

18-26 July: The British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff.

26 July: The Queen gave her eldest son Charles the customary title of Prince of Wales, and the presentation of débutantes to the royal court were abolished.

1 August: Carry On Sergeant, the first of the Carry On films, premiered. Different in tone from the bawdy humour that was to come, it featured Bob Monkhouse and the first star of Doctor Who, William Hartnell.