Pop

24. Vera Lynn with Frank Weir, His Saxophone, His Orchestra & Chorus – My Son, My Son (1954)

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‘Vera, Vera, what has become of you?’ So Roger Waters sang on Pink Floyd’s Vera from 1980 double album The Wall. It may well be partly because I love that album, but at some point I got it into my head that Dame Vera Lynn had died, a long time back. I was shocked upon researching this to find out she turned 100 on 20 March 2017. 100! Well done Vera.

What’s more, ‘the Forces Sweetheart’ achieved an incredible feat that year. She released the compilation Vera Lynn 100, making her the first centenarian performer to have an album in the charts. Amazing really, when you consider that she had three singles in the initial UK top 12 back in 1952 (which was actually a top 15 due to tied positions) – Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart, The Homing Waltz and Forget-Me-Not. The first of those three had also been the first single by a British performer to be number 1 in the US. And now I’m updating this in 2019, Lynn is the oldest living number 1 artist on these shores.

It had taken a long time for Britain to recover from World War Two, so it’s no wonder that Lynn was still in vogue in the mid-50s. However, rationing had just come to an end, so I’m sure this would have been symbolic of a need to finally move on from such traumatic times. Perhaps this is partly why My Son, My Son remains her only number 1 single, and the beginning of her decline in fame. It had been written by Gordon Melville Rees, Bob Howard and trumpeter Eddie Calvert, who had scored a number 1 with Oh Mein Papa back at the start of the year. But how did Vera Lynn become such a national treasure?

Born Vera Margaret Welch in East Ham, Essex on 20 March 1917, she was performing publicly by the age of seven, and it was four years later that she took her grandmother Margaret Lynn’s surname and became Vera Lynn. She made her first radio broadcast with The Joe Loss Orchestra in 1935 and began making her initial recordings with them, plus other big dance band names such as Charlie Kunz.

At the same time, she was recording as a solo artist. Her first release was Up the Wooden Hill to Bedfordshire in 1936 and her first hit came a year later with The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot. But of course she is most famous for the 1939 recording We’ll Meet Again, the most memorable song of World War Two.

Her first solo live performance – by which time she had become the Forces Sweetheart – was 1940, the year of the Blitz. In 1941, Lynn began her own radio programme, Sincerely Yours, where she would perform soldiers’ requests and send messages to overseas troops. A year later came her second most well-known song, The White Cliffs of Dover.

She dedicated her career to the war effort, touring Egypt, India and Burma to lend moral support until Hitler was defeated in 1945. This of course also helped her become better known in other countries, and in 1952 her fame spread to the US. She went to number 1 there with Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart for nine weeks. And two years later came My Son My Son.

I feel bad slating this, but the fact she helped a nation keep sane in the war doesn’t make My Son, My Son any easier to enjoy now. Frank Lee’s production is overblown, with backing vocals from a male voice choir that hurt the ears. The lyrics tap into the spirit of songs like We’ll Meet Again by paying tribute to a mother’s son. You can picture a soldier’s mum singing it in-between sobbing over a letter from her brave boy fighting in another country. It seems trite in this day and age, and possibly to the younger generation back then, keen for something with some energy and spirit. Having said that, it was the all-too-typical-of-the-time Hold My Hand by Don Cornell that knocked Lynn off the top for a second run as bestseller.

My Son My Son was Lynn’s commercial peak, and her decline came soon after, like so many of her ilk, but in the 60s and 70s she had her own BBC variety series and would regularly guest on other shows, including The Royal Variety Performance and Morecambe and Wise’s 1972 Christmas special.

Lynn’s enduring popularity and link to the war effort meant she was a natural to use during anniversary celebrations, and her final performances marked VE Day’s 50th anniversary in 1995 by performing outside Buckingham Palace and later that evening in Hyde Park. A fitting end to a remarkable live career. Lynn died of pneumonia in 2020, aged 103.

It says a lot about Lynn that the fact she had (an admittedly) poor number one is somewhat of an afterthought really during her long career. Who cares when you are known as the person that kept so many soldiers going during terrible times?

Written by: Gordon Melville Rees, Bob Howard & Eddie Calvert

Producer: Frank Lee

Weeks at number 1: 2 (5-18 November)

Meanwhile…

13 November: Great Britain defeated France at the Parc des Princes in Paris to win the first ever Rugby League World Cup final.

23. Don Cornell with Orchestra directed by Jerry Carr – Hold My Hand (1954)

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The Intro

Frank Sinatra’s three-week stint at number 1 with Three Coins in the Fountain came to an end when he was replaced by another crooner. Don Cornell (born Luigi Francisco Varlaro on 21 April 1919) was a super-smooth baritone singer from the Bronx.

Before

Sinatra had been a singing waiter, until a fight with someone over a racist remark caught the eye (not literally) of a boxing promoter. Varlaro won 20 professional fights, but decided to walk away when asked to throw a fight for money. Sounds like a pretty decent guy, all in all.

He became a guitarist but his bandleader Sammy Kaye decided to promote him to front-man and introduced him one night as Don Cornell, without giving him prior knowledge.

Fast forward a few years and Cornell was now doing well as a solo artist. In 1952 he had a hit with I, which, weirdly, was the only song title made up of a single character until Prince’s 7 in 1992.

Hold My Hand had been written by Jack Lawrence and Richard Myers and featured in the romantic comedy Susan Slept Here (1954), starring Dick Powell in his final role, alongside Debbie Reynolds.

Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK1EW7aj7dg

The song suffers in comparison to Sinatra’s. Although Three Coins in the Fountain isn’t Ol’ Blue Eyes best, his voice has aged better than Cornell’s, which now sounds a bit too polished. Having said that, the orchestra improves it, with little flourishes to keep the ears interested. I’ve heard worse.

After

Although record buyers decided they preferred it to Three Coins in the Fountain, Hold My Hand lost out to it in the Best Original Song nominations at the following Academy Awards ceremony. It only went to number two in the US, but stayed on top in the UK for four weeks, and then a further week after Vera Lynn had her fortnight of glory with My Son, My Son.

In another example of how God-fearing we still were back then, (see David Whitfield’s Answer Me), the BBC considered banning Hold My Hand for the opening line, the apparently blasphemous ‘So this the kingdom of Heaven’. Cornell agreed to record this again and change it to ‘So this the wonder of Heaven’. Laughable, really.

The Outro

Cornell’s success tailed off in the UK, though he still performed well in America, and in 1963 he became one of the first stars to be included in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died in 2004 from emphysema and diabetes on 23 February 2004, aged 84.

The Info

Written by

Jack Lawrence & Richard Myers

Producer

Bob Thiele

Weeks at number 1

5 (8 October-5 November & 19-25 November)

Trivia

Births

3 November: Singer Adam Ant

Meanwhile…

13 October: Chris Chataway broke the 5000m world record.

19 October: Britain agreed to end its occupation of the Suez Canal. Colonel Gamel Abdul Nasser had recently come into power in Egypt, and both sides agreed that British troops would be withdrawn in 1956. It didn’t quite work out like that…

2 November: The radio premiere of Hancock’s Half Hour. One of the most influential comedies of all time, it was written by Alan Galton and Ray Simpson, and introduced the world to troubled comedian Tony Hancock, playing an exaggerated version of himself.

22. Frank Sinatra with Orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle – Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

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The Intro

The first true musical legend to appear in this blog, Frank Sinatra was one of the 20th-century’s true icons, he remains an influential figure to this day, and the epitome of cool. If you choose to ignore his links to crime and the more unpleasant stories about him, that is.

Before

Francis Albert Sinatra was born on 12 December 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italians ‘Dolly’ and ‘Marty’ Sinatra. Delivered via forceps, Sinatra was born with a perforated eardrum and severe scarring on his left cheek, neck and ear. A skinny child with bad acne, he was given tough love by his parents, with some biographers claiming his mother abused him in his youth. Sinatra became interested in jazz music from a young age, and his idol was Bing Crosby. His uncle bought him a ukelele when he was 15, and he would entertain his family, getting his first kick out of entertaining others. Expelled from high school in 1931 for being rowdy, he took on several odd jobs and would sing for free on local radio stations. He never learnt to read music properly, and would do so by ear only.

In 1935 his mother persuaded him to join local singers The 3 Flashes. He worshipped them, but they only let him join because he had a car. Renamed the Hoboken Four, they won first prize on a local radio talent show, and Sinatra became their lead singer, provoking jealousy due to the attention he received from girls. By 1939 he was working as a singing waiter when he joined the Harry James Band as their singer, and it was with them that he released his first record, From the Bottom of My Heart. He then moved on to The Tommy Dorsey Band. Dorsey became Sinatra’s father figure, who would learn and copy his mannerisms. Their bond was so strong, Sinatra asked him to be godfather to his daughter Nancy, born in 1940.

For the next two years his popularity grew with each recording, and he pushed Dorsey to let him make music under his own name. He became obsessed with the idea of overtaking Crosby as a star, and following a legal battle he left the group. According to some newspaper reports, Sinatra’s mobster godfather had to hold a gun to Dorsey’s head in order to persuade him.

In 1943 Sinatra signed with Colombia, and Sinatramania was in full swing. It was around this time he became known as ‘The Voice’. His fame eclipsed Crosby and he would entertain US troops during World War Two. His first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, was released in 1946.

In 1954, Frank Sinatra was the comeback kid. The early 50s had seen his career slump drastically. His Mafia connections had caused problems, he had left his label, Columbia, Hollywood had rejected him, and his audiences were dwindling. However, his suitably bitter performance in World War Two drama From Here to Eternity in 1953 earned him rave reviews and marked a spectacular turnaround in fortunes. He even later won an Oscar for Best Supporting Role, but before then he had signed with Capitol and released a cover of the now-creepy-sounding I’m Walking Behind You, which was a UK number 1 for Eddie Fisher and Sally Sweetland.

February 1954 saw the release of his album Songs for Young Lovers. Featuring I Get a Kick Out of You and They Can’t Take That Away from Me, it is still considered one of his best. The same month, his duet with Doris Day, Young at Heart, was a huge hit.

Three Coins in the Fountain was the title track for a new romantic drama. With lyrics by US star collaborator Sammy Cahn and music by UK songwriter Jule Styne, the song refers to the traditional act of throwing a coin into Rome’s Trevi Fountain and making a wish. They had been asked to write the song without any knowledge of the movie whatsoever, and it was so rushed that 20th Century Fox didn’t sign a contract, meaning the composers were screwed over the royalties. Charming.

https://youtu.be/4VYWvEkDBtw

The song isn’t that memorable, and although I’m no Sinatra expert, it doesn’t strike me as up there with his classics. But what does shine through is the quality of his voice. That warm, unmistakable timbre to his croon puts him head and shoulders above other stars of the era. And considering the rushed nature of the song’s creation, it’s not too shabby. It earned him his first UK number 1, and he stayed at the top for three weeks. It also went to number 1 in the US too, but performed by The Four Aces. In 1955, it earned Sinatra another Oscar, this time for Best Original Song.

After

It would be 12 years before Sinatra had another UK number 1 single. By then, pop music had changed and changed again, but Ol’ Blue Eyes would remained a colossal star throughout.

The Outro

During Three Coins in the Fountain‘s reign, the UK singles chart increased in size from its initial 12 to 20. It’s also worth me pointing out that this chart, that first began in 1952, was originally only seen in the New Musical Express. However, it is now considered to be the most important chart of the time, until it was overtaken by Record Retailer from 1960 to 1969.

The Info

Written by

Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn

Producer

Voyle Gilmore

Weeks at number 1

3 (17 September-7 October)

20. David Whitfield, with Chorus and Mantovani and His Orchestra – Cara Mia (1954)

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The Intro

Doris Day’s Secret Love had a second, lengthy eight-week stay at number 1 after toppling Johnnie Ray’s Such a Night. Eventually Day ran out of steam and on 2 July, Hull’s favourite soprano David Whitfield returned to number one with his version of Cara Mia, with dual credit going to popular conductor Mantovani and his orchestra.

Before

Both were at the height of their fame and had previous chart-toppers to their name, Whitfield with Answer Me and Mantovani had The Song from The Moulin Rouge. This track easily outdid the success of both, and stayed top of the pops for a mammoth 10 weeks, a UK record at the time.

Cara Mia, Italian for ‘My Beloved’, was credited to Tulio Trapani and Lee Lange. In fact, Trapani was Mantovani, who had arranged the song, and Lange was producer Bunny Lewis. Why did they use aliases? I’m not sure, but it’s the first time we’ve seen a number 1 with credits for pseudonyms. Why am I mentioning it? Because there’s not a lot that can be said about the song itself, unfortunately.

Review

After a run of interesting tracks, we’re back in the rather’dull, overblown sludge territory that seemed so popular in the early 50s. Whitfield can hold a note, that’s for sure, but once more I find myself asking how this could be number 1 for so long. Then again, I did the same when Bryan Adams reigned for so long in the summer of 1991, so perhaps it’s going to be a common theme with the biggest sellers.

After

Neither artist had a number 1 again, although Mantovani came close with follow-up Swedish Rhapsody, and continued to enjoy huge sales figures, as well as presenting his own TV series in 1959. The composer ceased recording in the mid-70s, and died in a Kent care home on 8 April 1980, aged 74.

As for Whitfield, he too had further success for a few years, and his top 10 entries continued until 1957. including recording the theme music to the TV series The Adventures of William Tell, he fell out of favour when rock’n’roll took hold. It also didn’t help that he would turn down offers to go to America, preferring to stay put in Hull.

The Outro

Whitfield recorded two further versions of Cara Mia, in 1966 and for his final album in 1975. He too died in 1980, of a brain haemorrhage while touring Australia on 15 January, aged only 54.

The Info

Written by

Tulio Trapani & Lee Lange

Producer

Bunny Lewis

Weeks at number 1

10 (2 July-9 September)

Trivia

Births

10 July: Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant
11 August: Singer Joe Jackson
25 August: Singer Elvis Costello

Deaths

11 July: Physician Henry Valentine Knaggs

Meanwhile…

4 July: Meat rationing came to an end in the UK.

19. Johnnie Ray – Such a Night (1954)

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The Intro

‘Poor old Johnnie Ray sounded sad upon the radio
He moved a million hearts in mono.’

Immortalised in the video and opening line of Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners,  it’s a shame that it seems to be what US singer and songwriter Johnnie Ray is best known for these days.

As great a song as it is, he deserves better. In many ways the prototype eccentric rock’n’roll star, he was troubled, overtly sexual and most of all, different. He wasn’t a cardigan crooner or your typical teen idol, but for a time he was just as popular. Ray was a big influence on Elvis Presley, who later covered this song, and Morrissey wore a hearing aid in the early years of The Smiths in tribute.

Before

Born 10 January 1927, John Alvin Ray was raised in Dallas, Oregon. The Rays lived briefly on a farm, and at the age of three, he began playing piano. At 12, he was singing in the church choir.

Aged 13 and living in Portland, Oregon, Ray became deaf in his left ear following an accident at the Boy Scouts, which is why he was known for wearing a hearing aid in concert. He also later explained the incident had a profound impact on his unique performance style.

Ray was one of the first, if not the first star to show you could turn your weaknesses into your greatest strengths. He was influenced by, among others, Kay Starr, whose jazzy, rhythmic singing on previous number 1, Comes A-Long A-Love was one of the earliest signals of rock’n’roll to make the charts.

At 15 Ray was singing on a local radio station, and performing in comedy and theatre shows. Later, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, and gained a cult following for his live performances. He signed his first record deal in 1951.

In 1952 Ray became famous for the first of several appearances on US TV’s Toast of the Town (which became The Ed Sullivan Show three years later). Soon after the double-A side Cry/The Little White Cloud That Cried made him a teen idol. On 30 April, his cover of Such a Night became his first UK number 1.

Review

Such a Night had originally been a hit for soul group The Drifters. It was songwriter Lincoln Chase’s first big hit, and caused some controversy by being a bit too racy. Ray had no qualms about not only covering it, but making it sound positively filthy by the usual standards of the day. The lyrics and rhymes are very basic, but it’s all about the delivery with this song, produced by hitmaker Mitch Miller. Ray doesn’t hold back, he grunts and groans, and makes it clear he’s not just talking about kissing his girl.

The Outro

Sex had made its way to the top of the charts (the nudge-nudge wink-wink of Guy Mitchell’s Look at That Girl barely compares) for the first time, and already the likes of Frankie Laine started to look old-fashioned by comparison. Ray would do better, but rock’n’roll doesn’t seem so far away anymore.

The Info

Written by

Lincoln Chase

Producer

Mitch Miller

Weeks at number 1

1 (30 April-6 May)

Trivia

Deaths

6 May: Journalist JC Forbes

Meanwhile…

6 May: Athlete Roger Bannister made history, becoming the first person to break the four-minute mile.

18. Doris Day with Orchestra conducted by Ray Heindorf – Secret Love (1954)

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The Intro

US smash-hit musical western Calamity Jane was first released in November 1953. Loosely based on the life of the title character and her alleged romance with notorious folk hero “Wild Bill” Hickok, it starred Doris Day and Howard Keel in the central roles.

Before

Day, born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on 3 April 1922 was one of the most well-known singers and actresses of the era. Originally she wanted to be a dancer, but an accident at the age of 15 forced her out of action and she discovered a talent for singing, with Ella Fitzgerald her idol.

She took singing lessons, and caught the attention of jazz musician Barney Rapp. Kappelhoff began working with him, but he understandably felt she needed a new stage name. Admiring her rendition of Day After Day, he suggested Doris Day.

The sugary timbre of her voice and film-star looks soon captivated radio, film and television audiences, right from her first hit, Sentimental Journey, back in 1945.

Her first UK singles success came in 1952, with a Frankie Laine duet, Sugarbush, and the following year she duetted with Johnnie Ray on the number four hit Let’s Walk That-a-Way.

On 16 April, 1954, UK singles buyers saw sense and decided that this track from Calamity Jane was more deserving of the number 1 spot than the execrable I See the Moon by The Stargazers. The ballad was written by composer Sammy Fain, with Paul Francis Webster providing the lyrics that describe the joy of finally being able to tell the world of a love kept under wraps.

Day was visibly moved when Fain visited her to play it for the first time. The day of the recording, she warmed-up her voice, cycled to the studio and announced to musical director Ray Heindorf that she would only perform one take of her vocal. Despite understandable misgivings, Heindorf was ecstatic after the take, agreeing that she could never outdo herself.

Review

It would seem this song had special meaning for Day, she clearly loved it and it shows in that one-take performance. A cut above other songs of this ilk, her authentic vocal turns from typically sweet to barely-contained delight at times. The stirring strings replicate the chorus and add to its hit factor.

After

Secret Love gave Day her fourth US number one, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song on 25 March. However she caused controversy by refusing to perform it at the ceremony. The subsequent bad press saw Day housebound with depression for some time afterwards. Nonetheless, a few weeks later it became her first UK number 1.

The Outro

In a clear display of how mad the British record-buying public can often be, I See the Moon returned to the top after only a week. Not for long though, and on 8 May, Secret Love toppled Johnnie Ray’s Such a Night, beginning eight weeks as best-selling single.

The Info

Written by

Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster 

Producer

Ray Heindorf

Weeks at number 1

9 (16-22 April, 8 May-1 July) *BEST-SELLING SINGLE OF THE YEAR*

Trivia

Births

19 April: Footballer Trevor Francis
8 May: Entertainer Gary Wilmot

Deaths

7 June: Mathematician Alan Turing

Meanwhile…

29 May: Diane Leather became the first woman to break the five-minute mile.
29 June: The IRA returned after a long period of inactivity.

17. The Stargazers with Syd Dean & His Orchestra – I See the Moon (1954)

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The Intro

If Eddie Calvert’s nine-week run seems odd now, well, I See the Moon having a five-week stint, followed by a further week later on, is just staggering.

Before

I See the Moon was written by US playwright and composer Meredith Wilson, who later became best known for being the man behind hit Broadway musical The Music Man.

Review

This was the radio comedy group’s second of three number 1s. Broken Wings, was quite a staid, serious affair, but I’d always take that over this, unless I needed to torture someone.
The actual song isn’t too bad, but the production and performance, full of self-consciously wacky noises that harm the ears, are nauseating. The only real selling point is that it offers a curious glimpse into what passed as comedy in 1954. The Stargazers, for some unfathomable reason, decide to sing as though they are pissed-up and tone deaf. Easily the worst number 1 so far.

After

Hard to believe now but for five weeks this was considered the best song in the country, until Doris Day toppled it with the more deserving Secret Love. Yet somehow I See the Moon went back to number 1 on 23 April. Strange days indeed.

The Info

Written by

Meredith Wilson

Producer

Dick Rowe

Weeks at number 1

6 (12 March-15 April, 23-29 April)

Trivia

Births

17 March: Actress Leslie Anne-Down

Deaths

26 March: Rugby union international James Peters

Meanwhile…

24 March: Following an eight-day trial, The Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Peter Wildeblood and Michael Pitt-Rivers were convicted for ‘conspiracy to incite certain male persons to commit serious offences with male persons’. Sent to prison for being gay, basically. Montagu protested his innocence, and eventually public opinion turned in his favour, and his case is considered one of the main reasons for the reform of the law on homosexuality.

14. David Whitfield with Stanley Black & His Orchestra – Answer Me (1953)

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The Intro

Until the rise of The Beatles, most songs in the 50s and 60s charts tended to be covers, and often multiple versions of these songs were available at once. This led to the last two number 1s of 1953 being covers of the same track, and even, for one week, number 1 at the same time. An oddity, no doubt, brought on by the fact that the charts were compiled in such an amateurish fashion, with the New Musical Express simply ringing around 20 shops to ask what was doing well.

Before

David Whitfield was a hugely popular male tenor when he first hit number 1. Hailing from Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, he was born on 2 February 1925. Whitfield sang in the choir at his church as a child and during World War Two he would entertain fellow troops.

Whitfield featured in the Radio Luxembourg version of Opportunity Knocks after the war, which was his platform to fame. His second single was a version of I Believe, but follow-up Bridge of Sighs was his first taste of top 10 action.

Review

Answer Me was originally a German song called Mütterlein, written by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. The English lyrics were by top US songwriter Carl Sigman, who used to collaborate with Duke Ellington, among others. In Answer Me, a man asks God why his love has left him:

‘Answer me, Lord above:
Just what sin have I been guilty of?
Tell me how I came to lose my love
Please answer me, oh, Lord’

I would have thought God had bigger things to think about… These lyrics proved to be controversial. It seems laughable now, but the BBC actually banned Answer Me due to complaints over its religious content, and both David Whitfield and Frankie Laine later released toned down versions called Answer Me, My Love, in which Sigman cleaned up his act. This seems even more bizarre when you consider the huge success of I Believe, but it must have been due to the explicit references to God.

With its depressing lyrics, all-too-early-50s stately pace and overwrought style, Answer Me is a less memorable I Believe. David Whitfield’s voice was clearly made for this type of song, but you just wish he’d tone it down a bit.

After

Nonetheless, Whitfield was the most successful British singer in the US in 1953, but the problem was, the unstoppable Frankie Laine’s version was in the charts at the same time.

The Info

Written by

Gerhard Winkler & Fred Rauch/Carl Sigman (English lyrics)

Producer

Bunny Lewis

Weeks at number 1

2 (6-12 November, 11-17 December)

Trivia

Births

7 November: Equestrian Lucinda Green
13 December: Comedian Jim Davidson

Deaths

7 November: Poet Dylan Thomas

Meanwhile…

11 November: Current affairs series Panorama first appeared on the BBC. Groundbreaking, and still often controversial, this series continues to unearth unpleasant truths all these years later.

13. Frankie Laine with Paul Weston & His Orchestra – Hey Joe (1953)

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The Intro

Frankie Laine dominated the singles chart in 1953 in a way nobody else has since. His record-breaking dominance with I Believe was proof of this enough, but there was more to come.

Before

On 23 October, Laine’s cover of Hey Joe ended the dominance of Guy Mitchell’s Look at That Girl. A week later, his next number 1, Answer Me, entered the charts. With four songs in a chart that only consisted of 12 singles back then, it’s doubtful that anyone else will ever have a third of all songs in the chart in any given week ever again. Although Ed Sheeran seems to be trying his best.

Review

Sadly, Hey Joe isn’t the legendary track covered by, among others, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was a country music track written by Boudleaux Bryant for Carl Smith, and had been a bestseller on the US country music chart for eight weeks. It was Bryant’s first notable achievement, and four years later he and his wife Felice would begin a run of hits for The Everly Brothers, including Bye Bye Love and All I Have to Do Is Dream. Hey Joe does not live up to those classics.

Laine’s cover, backed by Paul Weston & His Orchestra, certainly tries its best, and obviously its success suggests it worked with record buyers back then. Like Look at That Girl, it features a quite effective guitar solo, and the brass works well, but the lyrics are nauseating. Some cowboy is jealous of Joe’s gal, and he’s decided he’s going to take her for his own.

‘Hey Joe
She’s got skin that’s creamy dreamy
Eyes that look so lovey dovey
Lips as red as cherry berry wine’

Ugh. By the end of the song, he’s telling Joe that, though they might be friends to the end, the end is nigh as his passion for her is all-consuming. If Joe had any sense he’d shoot this annoying ex-friend first while he’s describing her in that patronising way of his.

Although Laine characteristically performs the tune with gusto, his vocal styling makes it worse, stretching certain words out past the point of no return. No doubt though, the popularity of westerns in the 50s, as well as Laine, meant Hey Joe was bound to do well.

The Info

Written by

Boudleaux Bryant

Producer

Mitch Miller

Weeks at number 1

2 (23 October-5 November)

Trivia

Births

27 October: Actor Peter Firth

Meanwhile…

2 November: The Samaritans phone counselling service began. Vicar Chad Varah officially set it up in London, was inspired years earlier while at a funeral for a 14-year-old girl who had committed suicide in the belief she had an STD. She was in fact only menstruating. This troubled Varah to the extent he advertised for volunteers at his church to help people contemplating suicide, and The Daily Mirror came up with the name for the fledgling support group in their headline a month later for an article highlighting Varah’s work. Varah stayed with the Samaritans until 2004.

12. Guy Mitchell – Look at That Girl (1953)

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The Intro

The majority of number 1 singles so far have been a bit on the serious side, with maudlin ballads often ruling the roost. Finally, after Frankie Laine’s I Believe‘s final three-week stint at the top (making a record-breaking total of 18), cheeky chap Guy Mitchell was back. Thankfully, this time he’s avoiding the slight racism of She Wears Red Feathers, too.

Before

Bob Merrill, one of the era’s chief hitmakers, totted up a third number 1 songwriting credit here, after also being responsible for Mitchell’s She Wears Red Feathers and Lita Roza’s (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window?. With producing supremo Mitch Mitchell also back on board, Look at That Girl went to number 1 on 11 September and stayed there for an impressive six weeks.

Review

https://youtu.be/aE2mb_Lo9aY

Less impressive is the song itself. Yes, finally something a bit more light-hearted, but despite the bounciness of the tune and Mitchell giving it his all, it’s easily forgotten. A few things are of note though. Firstly, the lyrics are almost saucy, certainly if you compare them to previous number ones, although that’s not saying much.

‘Look at that girl, you see what I see
Oh look at that girl, she’s walking straight to me
That’s right, last night I held her tight
Ho ho it happens all the time
I look at that girl, and I can’t believe she’s mine’

Mitchell, you dirty dog! This is explicit, by 1953 standards. Also, Look at That Girl features two elements that would become pop staples in years to come, and haven’t featured in number ones yet. Handclaps! And, best of all, a guitar solo!

After

Obvious ingredients to pop tunes yet they sounded almost shocking when I first heard this, after what had come before. It was an unusual piece for Mitchell as well, who was more used to performing novelty songs. Just like She Wears Red Feathers, Look at That Girl was also more successful in the UK than the US. It didn’t even chart there, and it marked the end of the success for Mitchell, Merrill and Miller as a trio together. With names like that, perhaps they should have become a law firm.

The Info

Written by

Bob Merrill

Producer

Mitch Miller

Weeks at number 1

6 (11 September-22 October)

Trivia

Births

12 October: Comedian Les Dennis
21 October: Labour MP Peter Mandelson

Deaths

30 September: Physicist Lewis Fry Richardson

Meanwhile…

26 September: The government had sweet news when they ended post-war sugar rationing. Slowly, but surely, the UK was sweeping off the post-war malaise.