Billboard's #1 Pop Singles

[Max]

I've never before heard of Donna Loren, but she has a great voice.

Though I love "Personality" and agree that it deserved to go to #1, I prefer "Stagger Lee" just a tiny bit more.

Perhaps the quintessential song of the "teen idol" genre was "Venus" by Frankie Avalon, which spent five weeks at number one: the weeks ended 3/9/59, 3/16/59, 3/23/59, 3/30/59, & 4/6/59.

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A native of Philadelphia, Frankie Avalon was born on 9/18/39 as Francis Thomas Avallone. And despite the fact that today's rock elitists often dismiss him as somebody with little or no talent, Frankie first made a name for himself as a child trumpet prodigy. Avalon's first singing experience came as one of the vocalists in a band called Rocco & the Saints. One day, Frankie received a telephone call from manager Bob Marcucci. Though he was reluctant to leave the band and persue a solo career (since Avalon saw himself as only a trumpet player), Marcucci managed to convince him otherwise.

Avalon's first solo hit was 1958's "DeDe Dinah," which peaked at #9. Frankie would soon equal this feat with "Ginger Bread." (Avalon held his nose while he sang both songs, which--IMO--made them sound awful.) Avalon's first hit ballad, titled "I'll Wait for You," then followed, peaking at #15. "Venus" was his fourth top 20 hit; while the song is far from a musical masterpiece (given its constant use of echo chambers), I find that it is a very pretty and enjoyable recording to listen to. (Note that Frankie would also record a disco version of "Venus" that fizzled at #46 in 1976.)

1959 was Avalon's most successful year as a recording artist. After "Venus," more top 10 hits followed--"Bobby Sox to Stockings" (#8), "A Boy Without a Girl" (#10), and "Just Ask Your Heart" (#7). After "Just Ask Your Heart," Frankie would score his second chart-topper.

Though the two songs share nothing in common other than the title, a record called "Venus" would go to #1 by Shocking Blue in 1970. In 1986, Bananarama would have its only chart-topper with a cover of the Shocking Blue tune.

[DRW50]

I didn't know he literally held his nose on those songs. It explains why they're so awful.

Just Ask Your Heart is a great big red circle around how very flat he is.

Venus was his best song, and his best vocal.

[Max]

Apparently, Avalon was just goofing off, but others actually thought it would be a good idea to record those songs that way.

"Venus" was succeeded at #1 by "Come Softly to Me" by The Fleetwoods. "Come Softly to Me" spent four weeks at the peak position: the weeks ended 4/13/59, 4/20/59, 4/27/59, & 5/4/59.

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The Fleetwoods were a doo-wop group (that were unique among other groups in the genre given that they sang in an easy listening style) from Olympia, WA that consisted of Gary Troxel, Barbara Ellis, and Gretchen Christopher. (Interestingly, Barbara was born just nine days earlier than Gretchen in the very same hospital.) Barbara and Gretchen were childhood friends, and sang together as a duo when they were teenagers. The two ladies were looking for a trumpet player, and that is how they met Gary. While Gary was unable to play trumpet in the same key that the girls sang in, the three did form a vocal trio called Two Girls and a Guy.

The first song the trio wrote together was a little ditty called "Come Softly," which received rave reviews at their high school talent assembly. After subsequent performances, word got around to record promoter Bob Reisdorff, who was about to start his own label (Dolphin Records). The song took six months to record, and the final product featured "the sounds" of Gary's car keys. Right before the record's release, Reisdorff demanded two changes: first, the title of the tune had to be changed to "Come Softly to Me" (even though that exact phrase is never sung) because he felt that "Come Softly" was "too suggestive" of a title. Second, the trio would be renamed the Fleetwoods, after the group members' local telephone exchange. (This seems absolutely strange to people born in modern times, but all-digit phone numbers did not always exist; prior to this, telephone numbers consisted of a telephone exchange, plus a digit, followed by a dash, plus four additional digits. An example of this would be "Beechwood 4-5789.")

Like Frankie Avalon, the Fleetwoods would score another chart-topper before the conclusion of 1959.

[quartermainefan]

I always thought that was a great song. While there are a few clunkers on the list so far, for the most part the people on the 1950s had it better musically than the people of the 2000s

[alphanguy74]

I always liked Venus... I always thought Frankie had plenty of talent, I feel in that time period, Fabian is the one that had no talent. But Avalon and Rydell both were good singers. My favorite of his will always be "Beauty School Dropout". Here is that disco version of Venus.. kind of boring, IMO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex3KNSpunqE

Another of my favorites of his, from Beach Blanket Bingo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Z6SjR14Nk

[alphanguy74]

"Come Softly To Me" is a fine song, but I think the Fleetwoods version is a bit too "flat" and uninteresting, I think the arrangement of the background vocals are partly responsible for that. I think Barbara and Gretchen's harmonies were too close, if they had been arranged farther apart, it would have sounded much better, also the lead vocal is too flat and straightforward (And by flat, I don't mean off pitch). I much prefer the cover version by the New Seekers, which as good as it was, was a commerical failure, only reaching #95 on the hot 100 in 1972, I think their version benefits greatly from Marty Kristian's subtle, yet more interesting lead vocal, the slower tempo, and the key change in their version really goes a long way to make the song more interesting:

[Max]

Qfan, I fully agree with the first part of the above sentence. However, I believe that the second part--regarding that it was better musically in the 1950s than in the 2000s--is not just mere fact, but rather a huge understatement.

Alphanguy, thank you for sharing that disco version of "Venus" with us. I agree that it is a boring song. (Avalon himself went on record stating that he prefers the 1959 original version.) By the way, the background behind Frankie and Annette looks so fake (although I've seen even worse).

Regardless of who sings it, "Come Softly to Me" is a decent tune, though hardly one of my favorites. I like the Fleetwood's second #1 hit a lot more.

The first of two instrumentals to reach #1 in 1959 was "The Happy Organ" by Dave "Baby" Cortez, which spent one week at the peak position: the week ended 5/11/59.

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Dave "Baby" Cortez (born in 1938 as David Cortez Clowney) was/is an R&B musician from Detroit. Though he had prior experience playing both the piano and the organ, Cortez spent time singing in a doo-wop group called the Pearls. After leaving the Pearls, Cortez planned to start a solo career with a tune called "The Dog and the Cat." Unfortunately--or should I say fortunately--Dave was unable to get the words to the song right, so he left the composition "lyric-less," added an organ to spice things up, renamed the record "The Happy Organ."

The uniqueness of "The Happy Organ" is perhaps what made the tune such a bit hit (along with the fact that it is a great rock song). Yet, lightning did not strike twice when Cortez's follow-up--"The Whistling Organ"--fizzled at #61. In fact, Dave's only other top 40 hit was "Rinky Dink," which peaked at #10 in 1962.

[DRW50]

That's one of those songs I never know the title of. I guess it wouldn't have that title today! It must have been a favorite on Lawrence Welk. It's very catchy but I can see why he didn't have any other big hits.

That this was a #1 in the rock era tells you a lot of how diverse taste was at the time.

[Max]

This is so true, Carl. It is beyond sad that pop music today seems to only have room for rap/hip-hop garbage, singers who got their start on "American Idol," and vocalists that employ gimmicks in order to stay relevant.

"The Happy Organ" was succeeded at the top spot by "Kansas City" by Wilbert Harrison, which spent two weeks at number one: the weeks ended 5/18/59 & 5/25/59. (An interesting coincidence is that guitarist "Wild" Jimmy Spruill played on both records.)

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"Kansas City" was the fourth chart-topper written by the team of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, and the first to be taken to the peak position by an artist other than Elvis Presley. This classic R&B tune was first recorded way back in 1952 by Little Willie Littlefield, and was titled "K.C. Lovin'" at the time (even though those words were never sung). Wilbert Harrison was one of five artists to cover the song seven years later (this time, releasing it under the "correct" title of "Kansas City"); the other artists who released cover versons were Rocky Olson, Rockin' Ronald & the Rebels, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, and Little Richard. (Though Harrison's version was the only one that made the top 40, Ballard, Olson, and Little Richard did chart with this record.)

Wilbert Harrison was born in Charlotte. Though one might have expected far more success to come Mr. Harrison's way after "Kansas City," he actually narrowly avoided one-hit wonder status when "Let's Work Together (Part 1)" peaked at #32 in early 1970. The North Carolina native died of a stroke at age 65 in 1994.

Before I conclude, I just wanted to make an interesting observation: by 1959, the skin color of an artist seemed to make little difference in regards to how a record would perform on the pop chart. This was really quite remarkable, given that the civil rights movement was just in its infancy at the time.

[Max]

New Orleans became the second American city to be named in the title of a number one song when "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton spent six weeks at the top: the weeks ended 6/1/59, 6/8/59, 6/15/59, 6/22/59, 6/29/59, & 7/6/59.

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The actual Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final battle of the War of 1812; during this battle, General Andrew Jackson ("Old Hickory") and his forces dealt a decisive blow to the British troops. Shortly after Jackson's victory, many began to play a folk song titled "The Eighth of January." In 1955, a teacher by the name of Jimmy Driftwood wrote lyrics for the tune and renamed it "The Battle of New Orleans." Four years later, Johnny Horton's recording of the song went to number one.

Mr. Horton was a country singer who had amassed a string of country hits since 1956. "The Battle of New Orleans" was his first record to cross-over to the pop chart. Two subsequent follow-ups would be huge pop hits as well: "Sink the Bismarck" (#3 in 1960) and "North to Alaska" (#4 in 1960). Sadly, his career was cut short when he was killed in an auto crash in November 1960 at age 30. (Note that there are varying accounts as to Horton's actual birth date, so he may have been as old as 35 when he died.) In an eerie coincidence, Horton's widow (Billie Jean Jones) was also the widow of Hank Williams (whose cause of death remains controversial but was likely due in part to a drug overdose). Even more bizarre was that both Williams and Horton gave their last performances at the Skyline Club in Austin.

IMO, the "Battle of New Orleans" was a lively song, but certainly did not deserve to spend six weeks at #1 given that its lyrics are rather silly. This tune also prevented two far superior records from reaching the top spot: Bobby Darin's "Dream Lover" and Lloyd Price's "Personality."

[DRW50]

I read a book a long time ago, by Pamela Des Barres, which graphically detailed the lives and deaths of many of these men. You may want to check it out, although I stopped towards the end because some of the details were too much for me.

Was Horton the guy who sang Pallisades Park or Tallahassee Lassie?

[alphanguy74]

Carl, it was Freddy Cannon that recorded those two songs. They do sound similar, though...,..although Cannon's voice is a bit higher. How bizarre that he and Hank williams were married to the same woman. I bet nobody married her after Horton died. She must have been thought to be a black widow! I also don't think the song desrved to be number one that long, I always thought the line about powdering the alligator's behind was stupid.

[quartermainefan]

These last two songs do nothing for me and never did. It's a shame the #2s didn't reach higher. That Mississippi song just sounds like hick garbage and always did imo. It isn't even music. The Kansas City song always struck me as this repetitive, barely a tune recording with something that doesn't really qualify as singing.

[Max]

While I enjoy "Kansas City," I agree that "The Battle of New Orleans" is a pretty stupid song that was unworthy of its chart position.

Carl, thanks for telling me about that book by Pamela Des Barres. Given all the tragedies in the early years of rock, it sounds like it would be a fascinating book to read.

I previously never thought the voices of Johnny Horton and Freddy Cannon sounded similar, but I do see your point now that you mentioned it. (By the way, "Palisades Park" is one of my favorite oldies; it deserved to go to #1, but only reached #3 in 1962.) The best way I would describe Cannon's voice is that it is a "mixture" of the voices of Neil Sedaka and Dion.

Paul Anka reached #1 with his first recording, "Diana." Shortly thereafter, in 1958, he made the top 10 again with "You Are My Destiny." Five more top 40 hits would follow, and then Anka would score his biggest success ever with "Lonely Boy," which held the peak position for four weeks: the weeks ended 7/13/59, 7/20/59, 7/27/59, & 8/3/59. (Sorry that the visuals in the below video have nothing to do with the song or artist, but it was so hard to find the original version of this song on YouTube.)

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Like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, Paul Anka was also a movie star. Anka's first movie was 1958's "Let's Rock." In 1959, the song "Lonely Boy" was featured in his second film, "Girls Town." He would later appear in the movies "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve" (1960) and "The Longest Day" (1962), among others. (Anka also wrote the musical score for "The Longest Day.")

After "Lonely Boy" fell from the top spot, Paul had a pair of #2s: the timelessly romantic "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and the sappy "Puppy Love." ("It's Time to Cry" would reach #4 in between those two hits.) Though Anka would amass over a dozen additional top 40 hits through 1963, only two of them--1960's "My Home Town" and 1961's "Dance on Little Girl"--made the top 10.

As was the case with so many other artists that were popular in the late-50s & early-60s, Anka's career ended once the Beatles turned the American pop music scene upside down. However, he still had many writing successes: Paul wrote the theme for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" as well as Tom Jones' biggest hit, 1971's "She's a Lady" (which peaked at #2). Furthermore, Anka took a French song titled "Comme d'Habitude," wrote English lyrics for it, and retitled it "My Way." Although it only reached #27 in 1969, the tune became Frank Sinatra's signature recording. Finally, Anka himself had a performance comeback: in the mid-70s, he paired with black female singer Odia Coates. This duo had three records that made the top ten, including the 1974 chart-topping "(You're) Having My Baby."

[DRW50]

Paul Anka wasn't much of a singer but he had such a distinct and emotional voice, and he was a very good writer. It's a shame that his material in the singer/songwriter era of the 70's was too maudlin for big appeal, although he did have a comeback, so who am I to sneer.