I generally favored the more complex and engaging tunes, and rejected dopey ones when possible.
1 1950 Goodnight Irene Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers
A tragic song. He fell for a lass maybe 1/3 his age. Her family disapproved, as did most of the town, so he had to go into hiding. Still, I wonder what happened to Irene.
3 1950 Third Man Theme Anton Karas
5 1950 Simple Melody Gary & Bing Crosby
5 1951 Be My Love Mario Lanza
1 1951 Too Young Nat King Cole
3 1951 How High the Moon Les Paul & Mary Ford
5 1952 Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart Vera Lynn
3 1952 Cry Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads
1 1952 Blue Tango Leroy Anderson
4 1953 Im Walking Behind You Eddie Fisher
2 1953 Vaya con Dios Les Paul & Mary Ford
2 1954 Wanted Perry Como
1 1953 The Song from Moulin Rouge Percy Faith
3 1954 Hey There Rosemary Clooney
6 1954 Oh! My Pa-Pa Eddie Fisher
6 1955 The Ballad of Davy Crockett Bill Hayes
7 1955 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing The Four Aces
5 1955 Unchained Melody Les Baxter
4 1955 Autumn Leaves Roger Williams
6 1956 The Poor People of Paris Les Baxter
1 1956 Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley
5 1956 The Wayward Wind Gogi Grant
2 1957 Love Letters in the Sand Pat Boone
7 1957 Singing the Blues Guy Mitchell
5 1957 So Rare Jimmy Dorsey
7 1958 Catch a Falling Star / Magic Moments Perry Como
6 1958 Sail Along, Silvry Moon / Raunchy Billy Vaughn
4 1958 Witch Doctor David Seville
1 1959 The Battle of New Orleans Johnny Horton
5 1958 Patricia Perez Prado
2 1959 Mack the Knife Bobby Darin
3 1958 Dont / I Beg of You Elvis Presley
A tragic song. He fell for a lass maybe 1/3 his age. Her family disapproved, as did most of the town, so he had to go into hiding. Still, I wonder what happened to Irene.
Huddie (pronounced "Hugh-dee") Leadbetter, who wrote the song, says that Irene is 18. He sings, "I'll get you in my dreams" instead of "I'll see you in my dreams" as sung by the Weavers, Leadbetter's CPUSA comrades. In either case, poor Irene is in a dysfunctional relationship.