Billboard's #1 Pop Singles

[alphanguy74]

I think animal house did give it another lease on life. Wasn't it also used in one of those Pee Wee Herman movies? Instrumental are another thing that has virtually dissapeared from the music landscape. My favorite insturmental of all time only reached #3, and is "No Matter What Shape" by the T-bones.... which later changed their name to Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds and had several hits in the 70's.

[Max]

I never before knew that the T-Bones became Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds.

Carl, I sincerely apologize for my rudeness, but according to "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits" by Joel Whitburn, James Taylor was not part of the same Flying Machine that had a hit with "Smile a Little Smile for Me" (he didn't even join after the song became a hit); rather, he was part of an entirely different group that just happened to also be called the Flying Machine. (Despite this fact, I never even realized that Taylor himself once had a group called the Flying Machine.)

Given its large level of recognition, it is surprising that "Wipeout" by the Surfaris only reached #2 in 1963. My two favorite instrumentals are "Sleep Walk" by Santo & Johnny (#1 in 1959) and "Walk - Don't Run" by the Ventures (#2 in 1960).

The Platters' second chart-topper was the magnificent "Twilight Time," which spent one week at number one: the week ended 4/21/58.

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"Twilight Time"--a song that I consider to be the Platters' finest recording effort--was first made a hit by the Three Suns in 1946, and was based upon a poem that Samuel "Buck" Ram (who would later manage the Platters) once wrote. Like "Tequila," "Twilight Time" was a B-side; in this case the A-side of the record was called "Out of My Mind."

I've already mentioned that the lead singer of the Platters was Tony Williams; the rest of the group (at the height of its popularity) consisted of David Lynch, Herb Reed, Paul Robi, and Zola Taylor. In early 1959, the Platters would have their third and final chart-topper with their biggest hit ever.

[Max]

Novelty songs were extremely popular in 1958, as three such recordings topped the chart that year. The first novelty tune to do so was "Witch Doctor" by David Seville, which spent two weeks at number one: the weeks ended 4/28/58 & 5/5/58.

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David Seville was actually the stage name of Ross Bagdasarian (who was an individual of Armenian descent). Because Bagdasarian was a name that was to difficult to pronounce, the musician decided to re-name himself after a place he had been stationed near while serving in the Air Force: Seville, Spain. (I assume he just chose the first name of David at random.)

Technically speaking, what made "Witch Doctor" a unique song was that "the voice of the witch doctor was recorded at halfspeed and played back at normal speed" (to quote "The 'Billboard' Book of Number One Hits" by Fred Bronson). Of course, Seville was able to brilliantly exploit this technique when creating the Chipmunks. These three (imaginary) furry creatures were named after Liberty Records executives Alvin Bennett, Simon Waronker, and Theodore Keep.

The Chipmunks were not given billing for "Witch Doctor" (in fact, you only hear the voice of one "Chipmunk," as opposed to three of them, on this song), and a follow up hit--"The Bird On My Head" (which peaked at #34)--was also credited solely to Seville. Subsequent recordings would be officially billed as being performed by "David Seville & the Chipmunks," and one of those tunes would be the final chart-topper of 1958.

[Bright Eyes]

Was this the origin of the famous Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon, et al?

[Max]

Yes, it was, and I was going to mention that in my write-up for David Seville's second number one hit. (Bright Eyes, I apologize for sounding so rude when I said that; you obviously have no way of knowing what I'm going to discuss in the future.)

The Chipmunks were successful in a number of mediums in the late-50's & early-60's. After that time, however, their popularity faded. Any comeback seemed highly unlikely, especially after Seville died in 1972.

However, the Chipmunks made a huge comeback thanks to the leadership of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. (Seville's son). This later success was due to the NBC Saturday Morning cartoon "Alvin and the Chipmunks," which ran from 1983-91.

Bright Eyes, I sincerely hope that my (unintended) rudeness did not rub you the wrong way. Future questions and participation are most welcome.

[Bright Eyes]

Thanks for the info. And no worries, I failed to detect any rudeness on your part whatsoever. And to add, a couple years ago I gave myself a personal assignment to listen to every number one hit since 1940. It was fun to go through then and it's fun to relive now. You have some great informational write-ups Max. Keep it up.

[alphanguy74]

I always find it odd when novelty songs reach #1... but I think maybe alot of it is children spending their allowance! LOL There were quite alot of novelty songs in the late 50's and early 60's... surprisingly so. But then they virtually dissapeared after the reign of Weird Al Yankovic in the 80's.

[Max]

Thank you so much for your kind words, Bright Eyes. That is beyond awesome that you have listened to every single #1 hit since 1940 (the very year "Billboard" Magazine first issued music charts). Sadly, I know very little about the number one hits from 1940-54, as well as those from the mid-90's to the present.

Alphanguy, I agree with you 100%!

The second chart-topper by the Everly Brothers is the song that I consider to be their all-time masterpiece, "All I Have to Do Is Dream." This timeless, romantic classic was number one for four weeks: the weeks ended 5/12/58, 5/19/58, 5/26/58, & 6/2/58.

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"All I Have to Do Is Dream"--the song that got me hooked on oldies (as a teenager in the mid-90's!) and one which still remains among my favorite tunes ever--was written by the song writing team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in about 15 minutes. (The Bryants actually wrote many of the Everlys' hits on Cadence Records.) The appeal of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" seems to be irresistible, given that the following artists charted with covers of the song over the course of decades:

*In 1963, a cover version by Richard Chamberlain peaked at #14.

*In 1970, a cover version by Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell peaked at #27.

*In 1981, a cover version by Andy Gibb & Victoria Principal peaked at #51.

(As an interesting side note, the B-side to the Everly Brothers' version of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" was a tune called "Claudette," a song that Roy Orbison wrote for his wife.)

Following the success of "All I Have to Do Is Dream," the Everly Brothers would score six additional top ten hits on Cadence: "Bird Dog," "Devoted to You," "Problems," "('Til) I Kissed You," "Let It Be Me," and "When Will I Be Loved." (Both "Bird Dog" and "Problems" peaked at #2.) In 1960, the duo would make a fateful decision to leave Cadence for Warner Brothers; the Everlys' first record issued on that label would be their biggest hit ever.

[alphanguy74]

Here's a live performance from 1972 on the German TV show Musikladen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nE_f_c3Jeo

And another great cover:

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[DRW50]

It's a very pretty song - it's always bored me a little for some reason.

How high did Walk Right Back go?

[quartermainefan]

That's a great song, and the lyrics are so perfect. Any song that can work "gee whiz" into it and still sound so right has got to be good.

[I Am A Swede]

I'm a bit late to respond, but this is a fascinating thread. This is a song I've heard countless times, but I've never known who the original artists were. The version I've heard was with a Swedish group called "The Boppers" who specialized in covering old 50s and 60s hits:

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[Max]

Qfan, this is so true!

I Am A Swede, welcome to SON and to this thread! I've never before heard the Boppers' version of "At the Hop," but they really did a great job with that song.

Alphanguy, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John sounded so beautiful when they performed "All I Have to Do Is Dream." It's very unfortunate that their version of the song failed commercially.

Carl, I agree that "Walk Right Back" is a wonderful song. As hard as this is to believe, it only reached #7 (in 1961).

The longest any song spent at number one in 1958 would be six weeks, and two songs did so. The first of these two--"The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley--was on top the weeks ended 6/9/58, 6/16/58, 6/23/58, 6/30/58, 7/7/58, & 7/14/58. (For whatever reason, the YouTube user who uploaded this song chose an image that had nothing to do with the tune or its artist.)

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"The Purple People Eater" was the second of three novelty songs to go to #1 in 1958. Shelby "Sheb" Wooley had previously tried to attain musical success by signing ballads, but decided to write and record a tune that he himself once described as the "bottom of the barrel." (I happen to agree with Wooley's assessment of this song. And while I understand how "The Purple People Eater" could peak at number one, the fact that it topped the chart for six weeks was f***ing ridiculous IMO.) Despite how Wooley himself felt about this recording, kids everywhere couldn't get enough of "The Purple People Eater," as related merchandise became extremely popular. Exactly thirty years later, "The Purple People Eater" made a comeback of sorts when a movie (of the same title) was made (in which Wooley himself appears).

Wooley was unable to duplicate the success of "The Purple People Eater," and wound up a one-hit wonder. (Wooley even recorded songs under the pseudonym of Ben Colder, but still failed to make the top 40 again.) Fortunately, Sheb was able to enjoy success as an actor: he starred in several western films--including "Rocky Mountain" and "High Noon"--and was also part of the cast of the TV show "Rawhide" (where he portrayed Pete Nolan).

Sheb Wooley died of leukemia in 2003. He was 82 years old.

[DRW50]

It's a silly song, but I prefer it to that "yellow polka dot bikini song" which kind of annoys me.

I think novelty songs came back again in the 90s, with the Macarena, Barbie Girl, I'm Too Sexy. That decade had a ton. For some reason it seems like they stopped in the 00's, aside from things like Who Let the Dogs Out.

[alphanguy74]

Max... the Cliff and Olivia version was never released as a single (though it would have made a nice single, wouldn't it?), every week on his variety show, he and his guests would sing a medley of various hits songs from the past as the big finale of the show. I just love seeing other people's takes on hit songs. Purple People Eater? I hate it! But then it's a personal hang up of mine, as I worked somewhere when I was in my early 20's where a department manager used to call me "purple penis eater", due I suppose to the purple car I drove at the time. But I got even with him later, so it's all good now, I suppose.