(VANITY) TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS ('50S) - ROUND 7

me | 6/8/20 | ME

[Fast Moving Angel]

2 1955 “Rock Around the Clock” Bill Haley & His Comets

[Dr. Sivana]

(unfortunately and falsely translated as "Sukiyaki")

If it weren't called some word Americans and disc jockeys could spell and pronounce, to never would have made the Hot 100, never mind #1.

[jocon307]

Rock around the Clock!

[upchuck]

-—> 2 1955 “Rock Around the Clock” Bill Haley & His Comets

VS

2 1959 “Mack the Knife” Bobby Darin

[Fiji Hill]

If it weren't called some word Americans and disc jockeys could spell and pronounce, to never would have made the Hot 100, never mind #1.

That would be like a Japanese DJ calling Rosemary Clooney's Hey, There "Cheeseburger" or Kitty Kallen's Little Things Mean a Lot "Meat Loaf."

Nonetheless, how to label a foreign-language tune so that those who don't speak the language would buy it remained problematic. When Lolita Ditta released Seemann,Deina Heimat ist das Meer (sailor, your home is the ocean), it became a hit after being released under the name "Sailor" (incidentally, it comes from Austria, which has no seacoast). Other foreign-language tunes were released under their original names, such as Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (into the blue painted blue), aka "Volare" (to fly) by Domenico Modugno and and Morgen (tomorrow) by Ivo Robić.

[Dr. Sivana]

“Volare” at least comes from a romance language and is short and easy to pronounce and spell. Heck, it could be someone’s name!

When “Eres Tú” made the Top 10 in 1974, my older brother purposely pronounced it “Eat a Stool”, which also does the song no favors.

The example I had heard was it was like calling “Moon River” “Beef Stew”. But think about the Japanese tongue trying to say “Moon River”, it might well come out “Moon Livel”. Even when Sukiyaki was remade in English by “A Taste of Honey” in 1980 it made #3. Even though “Taste” was know for disco, the version was slow and respectful, because they liked the song. They also kept the Sukiyaki name.

[Gay State Conservative]

Mack The Knife

[Impy]

Mack the Knife!

[DoodleBob]

Rock Around the Clock

[Fiji Hill]

It seems to me the weirdest hit of all time was Dominique by Soeur Sourire. How a French-language ballad of Domingo de Guzmán, a thirteenth-century Spanish evangelist, diplomat and crusader made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and sat there for four weeks is beyond me. But this may have been a signal that the record-buying public was in the mood for a change because two weeks after "Dominique" dropped out of the top spot Beatlemania began to sweep the country.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Yeah, but c’mon, the title sounds like a goofy song about a food dish. It’s a beautiful love song. It would be like calling a Beatles song like “And I Loved Her” as “Hamburger Helper.”

[Dr. Sivana]

Well, “Yesterday” DID start out as “Scrambled Egg”.

[Dr. Sivana]

See my post #66.

[fieldmarshaldj]

And that definitely would’ve wrecked the impact of the song.

[the OlLine Rebel]

TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS 1950'S PING LIST (This is a temporary ping list, so don’t worry!)

!!!!SONG OF THE 1950s!!!!

"ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK" - BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS - RANKED #2 ON BILLBOARD FOR 1955

...beats "MACK THE KNIFE" by BOBBY DARIN, Ranked #2 for 1959 by Billboard.

THANKS FOR VOTING! POLL SUMMARY COMING SOON.

[Gay State Conservative]

As usual I’m in the minority.Good song but *far* from great.Although it must be said that there was *so* many great songs done in the 50s.

[Gay State Conservative]

Dominique was a truly wonderful song.

[plain talk]

That is good news

[the OlLine Rebel]

TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS 1950’S PING LIST
(This is a temporary ping list, so don’t worry!)

A summary of the performance in our survey of each of the top 7 songs for the years in the ‘50s!

Results

rank -song -act -best disposition

1950
1 “Goodnight Irene” Gordon Jenkins & The Weavers Round 2, top 64
2 “Mona Lisa” Nat King Cole Round 6, Final 4
3 “Third Man Theme” Anton Karas Round 4, Sweet 16
4 “Sam’s Song” Gary & Bing Crosby Round 2, top 64
5 “Simple Melody” Gary & Bing Crosby Round 2, top 64
6 “Music, Music, Music” Teresa Brewer Round 3, top 32
7 “Third Man Theme” Guy Lombardo Round 1, ranking #7s

1951
1 “Too Young” Nat King Cole Round 4, Sweet 16
2 “Because of You” Tony Bennett Round 2, top 64
3 “How High the Moon” Les Paul & Mary Ford Round 3, top 32
4 “Come on-a My House” Rosemary Clooney Round 2, top 64
5 “Be My Love” Mario Lanza Round 3, top 32
6 “On Top of Old Smoky” The Weavers Round 2, top 64
7 “Cold, Cold Heart” Tony Bennett Round 1, ranking #7s

1952
1 “Blue Tango” Leroy Anderson Round 4, Sweet 16
2 “Wheel of Fortune” Kay Starr Round 3, top 32
3 “Cry” Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads Round 2, top 64
4 “You Belong to Me” Jo Stafford Round 5, Great 8
5 “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart” Vera Lynn Round 2, top 64
6 “Half as Much” Rosemary Clooney Round 2, top 64
7 “Wish You Were Here” Eddie Fisher Round 1, ranking #7s

1953
1 “The Song from Moulin Rouge” Percy Faith Round 3, top 32
2 “Vaya con Dios” Les Paul & Mary Ford Round 5, Great 8
3 “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?” Patti Page Round 3, top 32
4 “I’m Walking Behind You” Eddie Fisher Round 2, top 64
5 “You, You, You” Ames Brothers Round 2, top 64
6 “Till I Waltz Again with You” Teresa Brewer Round 2, top 64
7 “April in Portugal” Les Baxter Round 1, ranking #7s

1954
1 “Little Things Mean a Lot” Kitty Kallen Round 2, top 64
2 “Wanted” Perry Como Round 3, top 32
3 “Hey There” Rosemary Clooney Round 2, top 64
4 “Sh-Boom” The Crew-Cuts Round 4, Sweet 16
5 “Make Love to Me” Jo Stafford Round 2, top 64
6 “Oh! My Pa-Pa” Eddie Fisher Round 3, top 32
7 “(Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely” The Four Knights Round 1, ranking #7s

1955
1 “Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White” Perez Prado Round 2, top 64
2 “Rock Around the Clock” Bill Haley & His Comets WINNER
3 “The Yellow Rose of Texas” Mitch Miller Round 2, top 64
4 “Autumn Leaves” Roger Williams Round 2, top 64
5 “Unchained Melody” Les Baxter Round 3, top 32
6 “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” Bill Hayes Round 2, top 64
7 “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” The Four Aces Round 4, Sweet 16

1956
1 “Heartbreak Hotel” Elvis Presley Round 6, Final 4
2 “Don’t Be Cruel” Elvis Presley Round 3, top 32
3 “Lisbon Antigua” Nelson Riddle Round 2, top 64
4 “My Prayer” The Platters Round 5, Great 8
5 “The Wayward Wind” Gogi Grant Round 3, top 32
6 “The Poor People of Paris” Les Baxter Round 2, top 64
7 “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” Doris Day Round 2, top 64

1957
1 “All Shook Up” Elvis Presley Round 2, top 64
2 “Love Letters in the Sand” Pat Boone Round 3, top 32
3 “Little Darlin’” The Diamonds Round 4, Sweet 16
4 “Young Love” Tab Hunter Round 2, top 64
5 “So Rare” Jimmy Dorsey Round 2, top 64
6 “Don’t Forbid Me” Pat Boone Round 2, top 64
7 “Singing the Blues” Guy Mitchell Round 4, Sweet 16

1958
1 “Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)” Domenico Modugno Round 3, top 32
2 “All I Have to Do Is Dream” / “Claudette” The Everly Brothers Round 5, Great 8
3 “Don’t” / “I Beg of You” Elvis Presley Round 2, top 64
4 “Witch Doctor” David Seville Round 3, top 32
5 “Patricia” Perez Prado Round 2, top 64
6 “Sail Along, Silv’ry Moon” / “Raunchy” Billy Vaughn Round 2, top 64
7 “Catch a Falling Star” / “Magic Moments” Perry Como Round 2, top 64

1959
1 “The Battle of New Orleans” Johnny Horton Round 2, top 64
2 “Mack the Knife” Bobby Darin Round 7, Finals
3 “Personality” Lloyd Price Round 3, top 32
4 “Venus” Frankie Avalon Round 3, top 32
5 “Lonely Boy” Paul Anka Round 2, top 64
6 “Dream Lover” Bobby Darin Round 4, Sweet 16
7 “The Three Bells” The Browns Round 1, ranking #7s

[the OlLine Rebel]

You’re telling me. I was sweatin’ bullets!