Billboard's #1 Pop Singles

[DRW50]

My favorite of those is "All Alone Am I."

Here's Brenda in the days when kd lang was still doing country music (which I think suited her far more than the jazz/smooth pop stuff she's done ever since - too bad she was so anathema to the country music community). She had a nice little tribute to Brenda, Kitty Wells, and Loretta Lynn as they sang with her on this song (there's also a weird performance from this time where she is wearing her black Danny Kaye in White Christmas style attire, and they're in some sort of silly poodle type skirt things).

The video is...not about the song, and a little trashy/possibly NSFW, but is all I could find.

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[alphanguy74]

I love "I Want to Be Wanted"... her Ballads have always been my favorites, she had some really DREAMY ones over the years. "All Alone Am I", and "Break It to Me Gently" are my two favorites of her big hits... but two lesser known singles of hers that I felt were GORGEOUS and deserving of hit status were these two:

Johnny One Time (#41)(Nominted for a Grammy in 1970)

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And Rusty Bells from 1965 (#33)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCHCJts6Ah8

One must also mention that Brenda Lee placed 72 songs in the billboard charts (pop, country and AC) over her entire career, an incredibly impressive achievement.

[Max]

Thanks both of you for sharing those Brenda Lee songs.

I never before knew that.

After "Save the Last Dance for Me" fell from #1 for the second time, it was succeeded by "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles, which spent one week at the top: the week ended 11/14/60. (I had an extremely difficult time finding a "studio" recording of this song on YouTube, so I hope what is posted below is the original version.)

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Ray Charles Robinson was born in Georgia on September 23, 1930. (He was raised in Florida, however.) Unlike Stevie Wonder (who was blind at birth), Charles didn't experience vision problems until age 5; two years later, young Ray lost his eyesight. Sadly, that wasn't the only major tragedy of his youth: Charles' younger brother, father, and mother all died when he was four, ten, and fifteen, respectively.

In the first half of the 1950s, Charles signed with Atlantic Records. His first #1 R&B hit was "I Got a Woman" (1955), a groundbreaking yet sexist record (with lyrics like "She knows a woman's place...is right there now in her home"). Though many more R&B hits followed, hit first major pop hit didn't come until 1959, with "What'd I Say (Part I)." Shortly after that song peaked at #6, Ray switched labels and moved to ABC-Paramount.

While Ray Charles' version of "Georgia on My Mind" is the definitive version, it is actually not the original. Instead, the song was first recorded by Hoagy Carmichael & His Orchestra in 1930. Charles was familiar with the tune and decided to record it because he was always performing it while on tour. Obviously, that decision paid big dividends, as (the Ray Charles version of) "Georgia on My Mind" became the official song of the state of Georgia in 1979. (Interestingly enough, it was written about a girl named Georgia, as opposed to the state.)

In 1961, Ray returned to the top ten with an instrumental titled "One Mint Julep." He would score his second chart-topper before the year ended.

[DRW50]

That's certainly a classic, although, to be honest, it's always bored me a little.

[alphanguy74]

It kind of bored me a little, too. I think maybe because it was too slow for Ray's voice. I believe this is only one of two songs that went into the billbaord top ten, which had the state of Georgia in the title... the other only went to number 4, but I like it MUCH better.Once again, an EXTREMELY slow ballad, but one that fits with the singer better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW3IWMJineo&feature=related

[DRW50]

Yeah, I love Rainy Night in Georgia. Such emotion.

[Max]

I actually agree with both of you regarding "Georgia on My Mind." While it is a pretty song that millions of people love, I personally don't care for it.

Please pardon my rudeness, but (to the best of my knowledge) more number one hits have GA in its title than any other state. In 1973, two more Georgia songs topped the Hot 100: "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence and "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight & the Pips. (Alphanguy, given that you are such an expert, I am shocked that you forgot about these two songs!)

Out of all the songs that reached number one in 1960, my personal favorite is "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, which held the peak position for one week: the week ended 11/21/60.

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Maurice Williams was/is a musician from South Carolina. He wrote an oldies classic titled "Little Darlin,'" which was performed by his doo-wop group, the Gladiolas. While the Gladiolas version of "Little Darlin'" failed to make the top 40, a Canadian group called the Diamonds took the tune to #2, where it spent eight weeks in 1957. (The Gladiolas' version sounds far different than the hit Diamonds' version. IMO, the Diamonds' recording is the far superior one.)

Williams was understandably upset that another artist did better with his own song. Three years later, however, he finally got the recognition he deserved with "Stay," a tune that he wrote and performed with the Zodiacs. (The Gladiolas changed their name because of a label switch; Williams' former label owned the rights to the Gladiolas name.) Featuring Williams' striking falsetto, "Stay" has the distinction of being the shortest single (with a run time of about 97 seconds) to top the chart. Interestingly, the version of "Stay" that was released had a line removed from it: "Let's have another smoke." (In an era before Surgeon General's warnings on cigarettes, I was surprised these lyrics were so controversial.)

Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs have the undeserved status of being a one-hit wonder. However, "Stay" reached the top 40 two additional times: the Four Seasons took the song to #16 in 1964, and Jackson Browne took it to #20 in 1978. Some have said that Browne's version is superior, but I could not disagree more: the best version of "Stay" is the original by Williams & the Zodiacs.

[alphanguy74]

Oh Max.... your'e not rude... your'e just right! LOL Just chalk it up to a brain freeze on my part. I have no clue why I would forget such songs, that's what I get for typing posts at 1 AM! LMAO

Now, as for "Stay"... I never like the song. One reason is that I have a limited affinity for falsetto, and the other is that I don't care for the song's structure.

[Max]

No need to feel embarrassed, Alphanguy. I too am so forgetful at that time of night.

If you don't care for falsetto, you must hate the Four Seasons and Lou Christie!

As I mentioned previously, Elvis Presley was the most popular recording artist of 1960. He scored the year's final chart-topper with one of his most memorable ballads, "Are You Lonesome Tonight," which spent six weeks at number one: the weeks ended 11/28/60, 12/5/60, 12/12/60, 12/19/60, 12/26/60, & 1/2/61.

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While Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight" is the definitive version, the tune actually dates all the way back to 1926. In 1950, the song was recorded by both Blue Barron (who was a big band leader) and the legendary Al Jolson. Nine years later, actress and singer Jaye P. Morgan took the record to #65 on the Hot 100.

The most distinctive feature of Elvis' version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" was a lengthy mid-song narrative spoken by the King himself. (Versions of the tune made prior to 1950 did not feature this narrative, nor did Morgan's rendition feature it.) This spoken portion was actually patterned after a quote from William Shakespeare's "As You Like It," when the character of Jaques proclaimed "All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

Of course, "Are You Lonesome Tonight" was not the only #1 hit to feature a mid-song spoken narrative, as we have already heard with Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry." Additionally, this feature can be found in one of the Supremes' chart-toppers, "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" (1967).

[Max]

There were twenty-one "new" #1 hits in 1961. The first of these was "Wonderland by Night" by Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra, which held the top spot for three weeks: the weeks ended 1/9/61, 1/16/61, & 1/23/61.

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Bert Kaempfert was a German musician born in Hamburg. Though "Wunderland bei Nacht" ("Wonderland by Night") was a romantic instrumental, it was featured in a movie that showed the downside of the economic revival that occurred under the Third Reich. Aside from 1965's "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" (which peaked at #11), "Wonderland by Night" was Kaempfert's only top 30 single. Upon suffering a stroke at age 56, Bert died on 6/21/80.

Kaempfert may be better remembered for things aside from "Wonderland by Night." While he never wrote that tune, he did co-write two future number one hits: "Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)" by Joe Dowell (1961) and "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra (1966). (Elvis Presley sang "Wooden Heart" before Joe Dowell did.) Bert also played a very important role in the history of the Beatles: he served as producer at their first commercial recording session. During that June 1961 session, the Fab Four performed "Cry for a Shadow" and "Ain't She Sweet," and also served as back-up vocalists for Tony Sheridan on "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."

"Wonderland by Night" was number one when John Kennedy became president. The tune was also taken to the top 20 by two other artists: Louis Prima's version went to #15 and Anita Bryant's non-instrumental version peaked at #18.

[Max]

One of the most important songs of the early-60s was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles, which was number one for two weeks: the weeks ended 1/30/61 & 2/6/61. While groups comprised entirely of females (such as the Chordettes, the Fontane Sisters, and the McGuire Sisters) previously scored chart-toppers, the Shirelles were the first to do so with a rock and roll tune.

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The Shirelles were a "girl group" from Passaic, NJ comprised of Beverly Lee, Addie "Micki" Harris, Doris Coley, and lead singer Shirley Owens (who would later be known as Shirley Alston Reeves). The group's first chart entry came in 1958, when "I Met Him on a Sunday" peaked at #49. One year later, the girls recorded a cover version of the Five Royales' "Dedicated to the One I Love," which fizzled at #83. The Shirelles finally garnered a top 40 single when "Tonight's the Night" went to #39 in 1960.

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was the girls' follow-up to "Tonight's the Night." Though this beautiful song was written by the legendary team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King (who were then husband and wife), Shirley initially disliked the tune because she felt it was too much of a country record (after listening to King's demo of the song). However, Owens changed her opinion during the recording session (when producer Luther Dixon made "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" into a rock song).

After "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" soared to #1, the Shirelles became big stars. "Dedicated to the One I Love" was quickly re-released, and it went to #3. Another song--"Mama Said"--shot up to #4. In 1962, the girls would return to the peak position with their biggest hit ever.

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is one of my very favorite girl group records. The song seems to appeal to so many people, given that it has been covered by Brenda Lee, the Four Seasons (whose version peaked at #24 in 1968), Dusty Springfield, Lesley Gore, Cher, Dave Mason (who took the tune to #39 in 1978), Neil Diamond, and Amy Winehouse, among others.

[alphanguy74]

Ok... I'm like 2 days late with this, but I'll post it anyway. Just to take a quick review of 1960, this is a great synopses of the hit songs of that year, not just the #1's... so many really memorable and classic songs that fell short of #1, along with the ones that made it all the way to the top:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAfI1y8t6c

[alphanguy74]

"Wonderland At Night" is a song I always liked. A local restaurant used to use it as background msuic for their commericals in the 70's, and every time I hear it, I think of those commercials. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is one of thsoe songs that has gone beyond "hit record" status, and has passed into "Standard" status. It will be remembered 50 years form now. And deservedly so. A brilliant record in every way. I wonder if Carole King and Gerry Goffin realized at the time that they were creating something of that magnitude. Probably not! LOL

[quartermainefan]

"Will You Still Love Me..." Is just a great tune, but Carole King knew how to write catching songs. It's interesting how already the music has changed from this song to the first ones you posted.

[DRW50]

My favorite Shirelles songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-4WGfYGos0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zAX5StHD6A