Billboard's #1 Pop Singles

Max · February 4, 2012

I never knew that. However, Shelley's version was far superior, in part because it had such good instrumentation. (Glen Campbell served as one of the studio musicians.)

"Johnny Angel" was succeeded at the top spot by Elvis Presley's "Good Luck Charm," which spent two weeks at number one: the weeks ended 4/21/62 & 4/28/62.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I recall hearing that "Good Luck Charm" was a song written about Priscilla Beaulieu. Elvis married Priscilla on May 1, 1967; nine months to the day later, their daughter--Lisa Marie--was born.

After "Good Luck Charm" became Elvis' 16th chart-topper, the King scored a few more top ten hits: "She's Not You" (#5, Sept. 1962), "Return to Sender" (#2, Nov. 1962), "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" (#3, Aug. 1963), and "Bossa Nova Baby" (#8, Nov. 1963). Yet, Presley's career turned ice cold once the Beatles landed on American shores: from 1964-68, his only top ten entry was "Crying in the Chapel" (a tune recorded in 1960), which peaked at #3 in 1965. Sadly, as Elvis was stuck in movie hell, no disc jockeys seemed to take any of his new releases seriously.

In 1968, a television special was set to be filmed at the NBC Studios in Burbank. Elvis went against the instructions of Col. Parker, who suggested that the King only perform Christmas songs. Instead, he heeded the advice of director Steve Binder; Mr. Binder felt that this television special was Presley's last chance for a career comeback, and urged Elvis to perform his old favorites along with a contemporary song or two. This special, which aired on 12/3/68, was a huge success and gave Elvis his second career. Within a short while, Presley would accumulate several big hits, including one final chart-topper, 1969's "Suspicious Minds."

alphanguy74 · February 4, 2012

I don't like Good Luck Charm at all... Once Elvis got into some later hits, I like him alot better. Here's an interesting cover of that song done by The Marvelettes from later in 1962 with Wanda Rogers singing lead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojaatDE8Id8&feature=related

Max · February 6, 2012

Alphanguy, thanks for sharing that Marvelettes cover of "Good Luck Charm." It is quite interesting to hear Wanda sing lead vocals on one of that group's early-60s songs.

In early 1962, the Shirelles scored their fourth top ten hit with the #8 "Baby It's You." The group's follow-up, "Soldier Boy," would be its biggest hit ever, spending three weeks at number one: the weeks ended 5/5/62, 5/12/62, & 5/19/62.

Among girl group songs, the romantic "Soldier Boy" is unique in the fact that the entire group sang the entire song (i.e., there was no lead singer on this tune). Given the record's massive popularity, it was somewhat surprising that the Shirelles made only one more top ten appearance, with "Foolish Little Girl" (#4) in 1963. Later that year, the girls scored their final top 40 entry with "Don't Say Goodnight and Mean Goodbye," which peaked at #26. (Although this did not benefit the Shirelles in the least, two British Invasion bands recorded notable covers of their songs: Manfred Mann sang "Sha La La," while the Beatles performed "Boys" and "Baby It's You.")

Aside from the fact that their hit making days were over, the Shirelles were cheated out of trust fund money that Scepter Records had promised to give them (when they turned twenty-one). The group sued and tried to leave the label, but were countersued by Scepter for breach of contract. Eventually, an out-of-court settlement was reached (and the group left the label in 1967). More tragedy followed: in 1982, Micki Harris died of a heart attack; eighteen years later, Doris Coley succumbed to breast cancer. (I should note that Dionne Warwick usually filled in for Coley during the mid-60s.)

In 1996, the Shirelles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. IMO, this induction was long overdue given that they were the first rock and roll girl group to achieve major success on the pop chart.

DRW50 · February 6, 2012

Such a sad story of The Shirelles. So many black artists were badly cheated and betrayed in these years.

Soldier Boy is quaint but any time there's a major international conflict with the US, you hear it again - I remember Kimberly Locke of American Idol season 2 singing this during the time we started in Iraq.

As for Baby It's You, this is one of my all time favorite covers of anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAJIfSS0RO8

alphanguy74 · February 6, 2012

I agree... both versions of "Baby It's you" were great... Gayle McCormick is just an incerdible singer in every way. Soldier Boy is a song that seems really suited for the times, it is unusual to have that unison lead, but it happens sometimes, like in the Jaynetts' "Sally Go Round The Roses". That's too bad about their money. I didn't realize that they got cheated, Dionne certainly didn't, I wonder if Dionne saw what happened and learned from it.

I Am A Swede · February 6, 2012

Wow, I always believed that "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was their biggest hit. I had never heard of "Soldier Boy" before, but you can still hear "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" occasionally on the radio here.

Max · February 8, 2012

Smith did a great job with their cover of "Baby It's You." That version peaked at #5, thus outperforming the Shirelles' original.

I Am A Swede, it is funny how an artist's biggest hit is often not its most remembered song. The Shirelles (with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow") are a great example of this.

The first British artist of the rock era to top the chart wasn't the Beatles. Rather, it was Mr. Acker Bilk, whose "Stranger on the Shore," spent one week at #1: the week ended 5/26/62.

Bernard Stanley Bilk was born on January 28, 1929 in Somerset, England. (He was/is called "Acker" because that is a colloquialism for "mate.") During childhood, he lost two front teeth (in a fist fight) and half of one finger (while on a sled ride). While in the British Army, he learned how to play the clarinet. Eventually, he became such an expert with this instrument that he was billed as the "Great Master of the Clarinet."

In 1961, Acker wrote and recorded a relaxing piece named "Jenny" (after one of his children). However, a name change came about after the BBC asked Bilk for permission to use this song as the theme for a kid's TV show called "Stranger on the Shore." Though "Stranger on the Shore" only spent one week atop the Hot 100, it was #1 for seven weeks on the adult contemporary chart. In spite of the tune's success, the talented Bilk was sadly relegated to one-hit wonder status (at least in the United States).

alphanguy74 · February 8, 2012

I am curious as to the chart history of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", I wonder how long it remained in the top 40, etc. There are many instances of song that never reach number one (Or spend less time at #1) that outsell songs that reach the top spot for longer periods, though I have no clue if "Will you Love Me" is one of those. One of the biggest examples is coming up in March 1963, and we will discuss that when the time comes. Charts and record sales have always fascinated me, anyway. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Stranger On the Shore. It's one of the most beautiful, relaxing instrumentals ever released. It jut soothes me every time I hear it. Here he is performing it live in 1988:

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Max · February 9, 2012

Bilk sounded absolutely perfect in that 1988 performance. Though he was sporting his trademark striped waistcoat and goatee, I was surprised he wasn't wearing his hat.

Alphanguy, you have just brought up an excellent point. Truth be told, it is overly simplistic to judge a record's popularity based on its peak chart position and how long it spent there (even though this is exactly what I have been doing). Even though "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was #1 for two weeks (as opposed to the three weeks "Soldier Boy" spent at the top), it spent a total of 15 weeks on the top 40 compared to "Soldier Boy's" 13. (I unfortunately don't have any more chart statistics for you.) While I don't have sales figures, "The 'Billboard' Book of Number One Hits" says that "Soldier Boy" was the Shirelles' biggest selling record.

The maximum duration any song in 1962 spent at #1 was five weeks, and three singles did so. The first of these was "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles, which topped the Hot 100 the weeks ended 6/2/62, 6/9/62, 6/16/62, 6/23/62, & 6/30/62.

In 1962, Ray Charles decided to embark on a totally different type of project when he recorded his "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" album. Ray asked his producer, Sid Feller, to gather the 150 best country tunes made over the past twenty years; from those 150 selections, Charles chose to cover twelve of them for his upcoming album. One of these songs was "I Can't Stop Loving You," a tune composed by Don Gibson. In 1958, Gibson scored a top ten pop hit with "Oh Lonesome Me," and "I Can't Stop Loving You" served as that record's B-side.

Though "I Can't Stop Loving You" ended up being Charles' biggest hit, many cautioned Ray not to cover any country songs, for fear that it would alienate his loyal R&B audience. After scoring this third chart-topper, more top ten hits would follow:

"You Don't Know Me" (#2, 1962)

"You Are My Sunshine" (#7, 1962)

"Take These Chains from My Heart" (#8, 1963)

"Busted" (#4, 1963)

"Crying Time" (#6, 1966)

Charles' 33rd and final top 40 hit came in 1990, with the #18 "I'll Be Good to You" (which was a collaboration with Quincy Jones and Chaka Khan). Four years earlier, Ray was among the first group of artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ray Charles remained in the public spotlight until his death (at age 73) from liver disease on June 10, 2004. In October of that year, a biographical movie--simply titled "Ray"--was released, with Jamie Foxx in the main role.

alphanguy74 · February 9, 2012

Yes, Max... the extra two weeks in the top 40 does make me wonder, but not only that, the time of year a song is at the peak determines number of units sold, 3rd week of December and summer always moves more units than any other time of year. but I'm sure Billboard's people are correct in the case of "Soldier boy". "I Can't Stop Loving You" is one of those songs that everyone seems to love, and I never get tired of hearing. It's also very mellow and relaxing, yet sophisticated at the same time. The Raelettes also did some recoding on their own, managing to land 5 song in the hot 100 between 1968 and 1972. None were really big hits...but interesting none the less. Although the Raelettes had MANY personnell changes over the years, most all of the singles were recorded by the 1968-72 lineup of Vernita Moss, Mable John, Susaye Greene, Estella Yarborough, and Dorothy Berry. This song, although not one that charted, is considered by most fans to be their best, and most entertaining, with Vernita Moss and her booming Dramatic Contralto singing lead. A woman classified as a "Dramatic Contralto" is the deepest of all female voices, and quite rare. Vernita was quite rare and unique, and Ray made a great choice in having her in the group. The most famous female singer of the modern rock era with a Dramatic contralto, is of course, Ruth Pointer, followed closely by Dorothy Morrison from the Edwin Hawkins' Singers (O Happy Day).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E435R3k5-MQ

the last 30 seconds of this song will make you laugh out loud ("I'll drop a torpedo on ya!")

DRW50 · February 9, 2012

I Can't Stop Loving You - one of my grandfather's favorite songs.

Max · February 12, 2012

Carl, thank you so much for sharing this fascinating piece of information.

Alphanguy, I am very impressed with your knowledge of musical terms. While I know a lot about chart history, I know almost nothing about the mechanics of music.

"I Can't Stop Loving You" was succeeded at the top spot by "The Stripper" by David Rose & His Orchestra, which spent one week at number one: the week ended 7/7/62.

David Rose (6/15/10-8/23/90) was born in London but moved to the United States at the age of seven. Prior to the rock era, he scored a smash hit with 1944's "Holiday for Strings." However, Rose was most well known for composing radio and television theme songs, including music for "The Red Skelton Show." David also had a storied personal life, once being married to Judy Garland (from 1941-44).

In 1958, Rose composed and recorded "The Stripper." According to "The 'Billboard' Book of Number One Hits," the idea for the the tune came about as follows: David "was scoring a television show called 'Burlesque'...Just before going on the air with a live broadcast, the producer suggested that a scene where the two stars [Dan Dailey and Joan Blondell] argued behind a closed dressing room door needed something going on in the background. Rose said there should be a stripper on stage, as it was a burlesque house." To accomodate this scene, David wrote a short composition that was quickly forgotten. Yet, some four years later, it was placed as the B-side to another Rose record, "Ebb Tide." The general consensus (prior to release) was that "The Stripper" was garbage; in fact, the only reason why it was even used as a B-side was becuase MGM executives wanted to get "Ebb Tide" out on the market ASAP (and didn't feel there was enough time to record a new B-side).

Of course, "The Stripper" not only went to #1, but also became a highly recognizable instrumental to people of all ages. While David was never able to reach the top 40 again, his career success continued as a result of composing the themes for "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven."

DRW50 · February 12, 2012

That is one of those songs you only have to hear the very start of and instantly you know it. I've always wondered if any stripper ever actually stripped to that.

I also thought for a long time that this was tied to the Joanne Woodward movie The Stripper. Didn't they come out around the same time?

I didn't know he did the theme to Little House. What would Harriet Olson say!

alphanguy74 · February 12, 2012

This song never fails to make me smile. you always picture someone stripping when you hear it. This is a song that is a permanent standard as much as anything recorded during that era. This was a time when music was going through growing pains, stereo, or not to stereo? Some songs were only released in mono, and during this time, companies started releasing the singles in Mono and the album version in stereo much of the time. Sometimes one version would be better than the other. Max posted the mono single version of the song, this is the stereo album version:

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alphanguy74 · February 12, 2012

And to answer your question, Carl....

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