Currently Listening To - 1950's and 1960's

Woo suggested we have a thread for the 1950's and 1960's so I thought I'd oblige.

I'll start with a few of the early hits of the 50's

Nat King Cole reached No. 1 in the charts in 1950 with this Academy Award winning song. 'Best Original Song.'




In 1951, Frankie Laine went to N0.2 with this million seller. The B side 'Rose, Rose, I love you' reached number No.3



Also in 1951, Jo Stafford reached No.2 with this song. Both Frankie and Jo were backed by the Norman Luboff Choir in these songs.



And, yet, another 1951 hit. Tony Bennett got to No.1 and stayed there for 10 weeks. Notice that the record in this shot is a juke box record - no middle to it.



Just to be a bit more obscure. The Mills Brothers took this to No.1 in 1952.



In 1952 Johnnie Ray got his first big hit, in the U.S., and stayed at No.1 for 11 weeks with this song. This was, also, a double sider with the B side charting with 'The Little White Cloud That Cried'.
It's said that he was a big influence in the start of Rock and Roll and Elvis said that it got him interested in it.




In 1956 he had a smash hit in the UK with 'Just Walkin' In The Rain'

 

This one came later in the 50's - in 1959.

It made the top twenty for three different singers. In the U.S. it went to N0.1 by The Fleetwoods and No.12 by Mike Preston. In the U.K. it went to No.18 sung by David MacBeth.

I preferred the U.K. version.



Also in 1959 my old acquaintance, Emile Ford, got this double-sider to No.1

A side


B side


He also had the dubious honour of inventing Karaoke!

Sticking with 1959, Reggie Marty Wilde reached No.2 with this song



It also went to No.13 sung by Craig Douglas. Craig Douglas's only No.1 was also in 1959



Sam Cooke could only get it to No.28

 

Thanks, Sheal

All good memories.

Here's another 1959 hit, getting to No.3 and selling over a million copies.



Another 1959 hit. Originally from the show 'The Music Man'.

 

He got 5 records in the top 20 in 59/60. Technically, at the time, it was 9 in the top 20 because four of them were double-siders (both sides were hits)!

He was a really nice person and I used to have coffee with him sometimes, at the Chequered Flag in Cleveland Street (by the Post Office tower that was just being built). Although already at No.1 he had plenty of time to show us amateurs how to play some of the chords in his songs.

1961, Billy Fury got to No.3, and sold over a million copies, with this one.

 

Something slightly different.

The song, "One For My Baby" was written for Fred Astaire in the 1943 film 'The Sky's The Limit'. Fred did a song and dance routine in the film that is more upbeat than the way we know it today.

Frank Sinatra made the song famous and here's a 1950's version of it by Frank - in his TV series of programmes.


Sammy Davis Jnr did the song, whilst impersonating a number of famous singer, during one of his 1960's shows and was accompanied by Quincy Jones and the Count Basie Orchestra.

 

@wiseowl
Going more into the pop part of the era:-

Carrying on with some of my 'links'

Ritchie Valens became quite famous in the short time he lived. He died at the age of 17 in the plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and the 'Big Bopper'.

This was one of his ballads


The Big Bopper's most famous hit was 'Chantilly Lace'


This song by Buddy Holly is not as famous as some of his rock ones but he was proud of having written it. It only reached No. 25 in this country and didn't chart in the U.S.


And linking to Chantilly Lace, this, not particularly good, song by Jayne Mansfield was supposed to be a reply to The Big Bopper's song.