(vanity) TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS II - '50s

author | 1/9/22 | the OlLine Rebel

[the OlLine Rebel]

FREEPERS, LET'S START THIS CONTEST FOR THE GREATEST SONG OF THE '50S!

ROUND 1A – ‘50s

The baseline for the survey is the top 10 hits of each year of the '50s, as compiled by BILLBOARD. This is NOT based on personal preferences, biases, prejudices, or counter-culture fringe-element reactionism. Nor based on weekly charts.

Round 1 involves ranking candidate songs in order of preference for each year. Part A (as well as B next week) will be 5 years’ worth of rankings, so hunker down because that’s 50 songs to handle!

(The remaining rounds are handled as play-offs, starting with 32 pairs of songs to compare. More on that later.)

For the first time ever, WE WILL USE A SURVEY WEBSITE for the polling! NO MORE TYPING YOUR CHOICES IN THE THREAD!

Following posts list the pieces for instant review. Again, however, links to SurveyHero will be used for the surveys, and links to YouTube for the hits.

ROUND 1A DUE DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 16 @12:00PM EST

[the OlLine Rebel]

Thanks Sam!

[Rocky]

Wow. You did a great job on this. Thanks for doing this.

[rocksblues]

Done.My # !'s

“Mona Lisa” Nat King Cole

“Too Young” Nat King Cole

“Cry” Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads

“(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?” Patti Page

“Sh-Boom” The Crew-Cuts

[the OlLine Rebel]

So you did the polls at the links?

Just reporting your #1s, huh?

Mona Lisa is running away with the whole thing so far. I actually prefer Too Young (for Nat), now that I’ve heard it quite a few times from the other year.

[rocksblues]

Yes I did the 5 surveys.

[the OlLine Rebel]

TOURNAMENT OF CHART-TOPPERS 1950S PING LIST

For those who have not signed up, please consider tuning into the Tournament of Chart-Toppers for the 1950s and casting your votes!

Please PM me if you would like to be ON or OFF the ping list!

Mid-week update, without giving too much away!

Solid participation. Maybe some more will chime in! Please PM me if you have had "issues".

For each year, the leaders are now - Mona Lisa (50), Tennessee Waltz (51), You Belong to Me (52), Vaya con Dios (53), Three Coins in the Fountain (54).

Overall, Mona Lisa is heading the pack. Sam's Song trails. Dead center by points/voter is Wish You Were Here.

[CommerceComet]

1950: Mona Lisa

1951: Too Young

1952: You Belong to Me

1953: Vaya con Dios

1954: (Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely

[Fiji Hill]

My favorite version of "Sh-Boom" is by Barry Frank & the Four Bells, issued on Bell, a "budget" label that, nonetheless, had some great talent. Others prefer the original version by the Chords, which came out on the Cat label, a short-lived but talent-laded subsidiary of Ahmet Ertegun's Atlantic Records.

Bazoom by the Cheers, a group from LA that included future TV star Bert Convy, may have been inspired by "Sh-Boom." It was written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and was their first of a long string of national pop hits.

[Grammy]

Please make sure I’m on your list!

[Albion Wilde]

I have such fond memories of Hernando’s Hideaway (1954), which my younger brother as a very small child used to sing to the next-door neighbor’s dog, while patting her through the wire fence. Adorable!

1950
Third man - Karas
Third man - Lombardo
mona lisa
goodnight irene
music music music
harbor lights
it isn’t fair
simple melody
chattanooga
sam’s song

1951
Too young
tennessee waltz
on top of old smoky
how high the moon
if
be my love
because of you
cold, cold heart
loveliest night of the year
come on-a my house

1952
blue tango
cry
you belong to me
wish you were here
delicado
half as much
wheel of fortune
here in my heart
auf wiederseh’n
i went to your wedding

1953
vaya con dios
april in portugal
song from moulin rouge
no other love
don’t let the stars get in your eyes
i believe
you, you, you
doggie in the window
walking behind you
till i waltz again with you

1954
Hernando’s hideaway
three coins in the fountain
secret love
little things mean a lot
hey there
i get so lonely
wanted
sh-boom
make love to me
oh my papa

I was struck by how schmaltzy the instrumentation was on so many of these songs—the sweeping violin intros and schlocky orchestral backgrounds to the strong solo voices of these entertainers. Post-war swank. Some of them reminded me of the soundtrack to The Godfather as MIchael Corleone was courting Kay—home from the war, and now let’s hold the pretty girl in our arms and dance, sweep her off her feet, what does it matter what I do for a living, romance will gain her!

Great fan of Nat King Cole. Like Sidney Poitier, he was a polished, affable gentleman who did more for civil rights by burnishing his talent and appealing to audiences as a friend—opening his heart to show his human aspirations in common with all mankind—than all the militant firebrands of the following decade put together.

I thank you, TOLR, for the very organized way you put all the tracks together in one playlist for each of the years. What a lot of work, and well done!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Thank you all for the acknowledgement!

I just want to ensure you are actually going to the SurveyHero website, via my links in #1, and putting these in!

It’s nice if you want to post your picks, but not necessary anymore, as in the “old days” of my surveys. Please make sure you’re counted by going to the links in #1!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Ooops - see #71 please! Forgot to include you - make sure you put your picks in the links at #1!

[Albion Wilde]

Gotta say that my picks were ALL based on sentimental value and absolutely NOT on artistry. Perhaps as the survey whittles down some and as we get into the latter part of the decade that’ll change.

I was just a little tot then, but my parents loved to listen to the radio, so many of the tunes were familiar.

I had to evaluate whether to favor the ones I favored as a small child, or the ones I like today. But there was a surprising amount of confluence.

Some tunes are just better than others, and likewise some singers, according to many of one's hard-wired tastes. I stil loathe "Oh, My Papa" and "C'mon-a My House," even though both those artists had great voices and other tolerable songs. Those two songs rankle me even more than "Doggie in the Window."

But rules is rules, so I just ranked them last.

[Albion Wilde]

Yes, I did the survey online. Old posting habits die hard, though — I always enjoyed seeing the contrast in what some people favor vs others! But it’s also great to know it’s not necessary this year.

[workerbee]

Hi OLR, I haven’t forgotten this and I’m going to get back to you, just haven’t had a lot of time this week.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Aww, I’ve come to love Oh My Papa…I like it anyway but it’s now something I think of with my dad. He died and it fits very well. Also like Doggie not only as cute, but my mom still has sheet music for it that I always tried to plink along to.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Right…I don’t mind, but I don’t want some people to confuse what to do!

I like some discussion, too. Just don’t want them to miss a vote (and for this first round, it HAS to be via the survey site…I can’t compute other votes onto it nor enter it for them).

[rocksblues]

I liked the Chords version best but not a number 1 according to billboard.

[Fiji Hill]

The Chords’ version made it to #9 on the pop charts and #2 on the R & B juke box charts.

[Fiji Hill]

1953 not only gave us “Doggie” but also “Hound Dog.” Homer & Jethro’s “That Hound Dog in the Window” spoofed both.