OLD 55's One Song Per Artist Top 500 1955- 1963

[OLD 55]

Hi to all my friends.

I think we all like making Music lists and rating songs in order e.g. the weekly Top Ten. I thought I'd have a go at a Top 500, but break it up into different periods of time. As the Rock 'n' Roll era is generally regarded as commencing in 1955 I decided to start there, and in keeping with the Oldies Top 40 go as far as 1963 - nine years of songs.

I found that my list was leaning heavily to Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, and other favourites of mine. To make my list more diverse, I decided to limit my choices to only ONE song per Artist. I also considered only songs which made Billboard's Pop or Rhythm and Blues Charts. Also, I made each song's 'year' the one in which it peaked - i.e. if a song entered the Charts in 1954 but reached its highest position in 1955, it's a '1955 song'. I excluded songs which entered the Charts in 1963 but peaked in 1964 - they're '1964 songs'. HUH ? I had to leave out the Supremes' 'When The Lovelight....' as it entered the Charts in late 1963 but peaked in 1964.

I didn't set out to be controversial. Some songs that were #1 in the U.S.just didn't get much airplay here, e.g. 'Fingertips - Pt2'. It was regarded as maybe a 'one off' by a child prodigy (how wrong were our DJs )Also any song that included lyrics like "I'll never kiss your lips again, they buried you today" is hard for me to warm to, but "Teen Angel" was the most successful of it's genre, so I acknowledged that. Basically, I ignored Chart positions and tried to arrange the songs in my preference order.

ALL feedback - good, or bad(which is better than indifference) is most welcome.

Here's my first 50 in ascending order, 500 to 451.

Legend:

* after song, means song is included in Grammy and/ or Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (none in this 50)

# after song, means it is an instrumental

(#9, 1961) song peaked at #9 in 1961

(#7, 1962/3) song entered in 1962 but peaked at #7 in 1963

451. I Understand (Just How You Feel) - The G-Clefs (#9, 1961)

452. Cast Your Fate To The Wind # - Vince Guaraldi Trio (#22, 1962)

453. Let’s Have A Party - Wanda Jackson (#37, 1960)

454. Suddenly There’s A Valley - Jo Stafford (#13, 1955)

455. Garden Of Eden Joe Valino - (#12, 1956)

456. Still - Bill Anderson (#8, 1963)

457. Chains - The Cookies (#17, 1962)

458. Around The World # - Mantovani And His Orchestra (#12, 1957)

459. Eddie My Love - The Teen Queens (#14, 1956)

460. She Can’t Find Her Keys - Paul Petersen (#19, 1962)

461. Hummingbird - Les Paul and Mary Ford (#7, 1955)

462. Harlem Nocturne # - The Viscounts (#52, 1959)

463. Bonanza # - Al Caiola And His Orchestra (#19, 1961)

464. Two Lovers - Mary Wells (#7, 1962/3)

465. Stick Shift # - The Duals (#25, 1961)

466. See You In September - The Tempos (#23, 1959)

467. Cherry Pie - Skip & Flip (#11, 1960)

468. Down The Aisle Of Love - The Quin-Tones (#18, 1958)

469. Let’s Get Together - Hayley Mills (#8, 1961)

470. Martian Hop - The Ran-Dells (#16, 1963)

471. Mexican Hat Rock - # The Applejacks (#16, 1958)

472. Let’s Think About Living - Bob Luman (#7, 1960)

473. Could This Be Magic - The Dubs (#23, 1957)

474. Deliicious - Jim Backus and Friend (#40, 1958)

475. It’s Almost Tomorrow - The Dream Weavers (#7, 1955/6)

476. White Silver Sands - Owen Bradley Quintet (#18, 1957)

477. Come Prima - Polly Bergen (#67, 1958)

478. Memories Of Maria # - Jerry Byrd (#74, 1962)

479. It’s All Right - The Impressions (#4, 1963)

480. The Ballad Of Davy Crockett - Bill Hayes (#1, 1955)

481. Angel On My Shoulder - Shelby Flint (#22, 1960/1)

482. Graduation Day - The Four Freshmen (#17, 1956)

483. Gonna Find Me A Bluebird - Marvin Rainwater (#18, 1957)

484. Alone (Why Must I Be Alone) - Shepherd Sisters (#18, 1957)

485. Little Red Rented Rowboat - Joe Dowell (#23, 1962)

486. I’ll Save The Last Dance For You - Damita Jo (#22, 1960)

487. Love You So - Ron Holden with The Thunderbirds (#7, 1960)

488. Teen Angel - Mark Dinning (#1, 1959/60)

489. Fingertips Pt2 - Little Stevie Wonder (#1, 1963)

490. The Cinnamon Cinder (It’s A Very Nice Dance) - The Pastel Six (#25, 1962/3)

491. Language Of Love - John D. Loudermilk (#32, 1961)

492. The Mountain Of Love - Harold Dorman (#21, 1960)

493. Snap Your Fingers - Joe Henderson (#8, 1962)

494. Uh! Oh! Part 2 - The Nutty Squirrels (#14, 1959)

495. Freight Train - Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group f/ Nancy Whiskey (#40, 1957)

496. This Little Girl’s Gone Rockin’ - Ruth Brown (#24, 1958)

497. Johnny Get Angry - Joanie Sommers (#7, 1962)

498. Don’t Be Angry - Nappy Brown (#25, 1955)

499. My Boy–Flat Top - Dorothy Collins (#16, 1955)

500. Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley (#32, 1963)

[edna]

hello Mr.55!!!

So glad to see you back...

[phil]

Hi Darryl, so good to see you back. Awesome list.

[edna]

I'm listening to the songs... great choice!!

[OLD 55]

Thanks Phil and Edna.

I'll see how many views the Thread gets and decide how often to put on the next 50 songs. I had a lot of fun preparing this and I hope it brings back memories to those who are familiar with some of the songs.

I've already started on 1964 - 1969, my favourite era in Pop Music. It's hard to place them in order, but I think I have my Top 5 (495 to go).

[chutzpah]

Good choice of songs considering I was really small, getting into all kinds of trouble and stuff. But I remember quite a few of them. This next list should be quite interesting because that's when I think I was cooking my brain.

[RonJonSurfer]

That is one heck of a list and I wish I was listening to it all right now...with a nice six pack by my side (some afterthought huh?)

[CanAm]

Welcome back, Darryl. What a great list. I must confess that I'm unfamiliar with many of them since I' m more of a 60's and 70's guy.

"She Can't Find Her Keys" by Paul Petersen was one of the first 45's I inherited from my older sister along with "Johnny Angel" by Shelley Fabares. I'm looking forward to listening to many of the ones I'm not familiar with.

[edna]

I had to post two of them on Facebook... I know most of the songs but the ones I didn't are great...

[OLD 55]

Thanks Chutz, Ron, Ian and Elena ! Johnny Angel is a lot higher up my list Ian. What a cutie was Shelley Fabares - probably still is.

We've had almost 50 hits on the Thread, so I'll put on the next 50 songs now (450 to 401).

[OLD 55]

I hope these bring back a few more happy memories.

Legend:

* after song, means song is included in Grammy and/or Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (three in this 50)

# after song, means it is an instrumental

(#9, 1961) song peaked at #9 in 1961

(#7, 1962/3) song entered in 1962 but peaked at #7 in 1963

401. Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower) - Georgia Gibbs (#1, 1955)

402. Yakety Sax # - Boots Randolph (#35, 1963)

403. Dominique - The Singing Nun (#1, 1963)

404. Every Beat Of My Heart - The Pips (#6, 1961)

405. Itchy Twitchy Feeling - Bobby Hendricks (#25, 1958)

406. Sleep - Little Willie John (#13, 1960)

407. Baby Sittin’ Boogie - Buzz Clifford (#6, 1961)

408. A Little Bit Of Soap - The Jarmels (#12, 1961)

409. Shutters And Boards - Jerry Wallace (#24, 1962/3)

410. Let Me Go Lover - Joan Weber (#1, 1954/5)

411. Wild Weekend # - The Rebels (#8, 1962/3)

412. The Moonlight Gambler - Frankie Laine (#3, 1956/7)

413. Loop De Loop - Johnny Thunder (#4, 1962/3)

414. Stranded In The Jungle - The Cadets (#15, 1956)

415. I’m Available - Margie Rayburn (#9, 1957)

416. Lah De Dah - Billy & Lillie (#9, 1958)

417. Tips Of My Fingers - Roy Clark (#45, 1963)

418. (My Baby Don’t Love Me) No More - The DeJohn Sisters (#6, 1954/5)

419. More # - Kai Winding & Orchestra (#8, 1963)

420. Don’t Make Me Over * - Dionne Warwick (#21, 1962/3)

421. Walk Hand In Hand - Tony Martin (#10, 1958)

422. The Lonely Surfer # - Jack Nitzsche (#39, 1963)

423. I Cried A Tear - Laverne Baker (#6, 1958/9)

424. Green, Green - The New Christy Minstrels (#14, 1963)

425. It Might As Well Rain Until September - Carole King (#22, 1962)

426. Barbara-Ann - The Regents (#13, 1961)

427. Apache # - Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar (#2, 1961)

428. Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp (#2, 1962)

429. Wonderful Summer - Robin Ward (#14, 1963)

430. Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp)- Allan Sherman (#2, 1963)

431. Makin’ Love - Floyd Robinson (#20, 1959)

432. Here Comes Summer - Jerry Keller (#14, 1959)

433. I Just Don't Understand - Ann-Margret (#17, 1961)

434. Are You Satisfied ? - Rusty Draper (#11, 1955/6)

435. Portuguese Washerwomen # - Joe “‘Fingers” Carr (#19, 1956)

436. Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Locklin (#8, 1960)

437. When We Get Married - The Dreamlovers (#10, 1961)

438. Morgen - Ivo Robic and the Song-Masters (#13, 1959)

439. Hey, Girl - Freddie Scott (#10, 1963)

440. The Way You Look Tonight - The Lettermen (#13, 1961)

441. Please Love Me Forever - Cathy Jean and The Roommates (#12, 1961)

442. Please Don’t Talk To The Lifeguard - Diane Ray (#31, 1963)

443.“Main Title”/“Molly-O “ (Man With The Golden Arm) # -Dick Jacobs And His Orchestra (#22, 1956)^

444. Baubles, Bangles And Beads - Kirby Stone Four (#25, 1958)

445. Summertime, Summertime - The Jamies (#26, 1958)

446. Ahab The Arab - Ray Stevens (#5, 1962)

447. I’m Stickin’ With You - Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids (#14, 1957)

448. Woo-Hoo # - Rock-A-Teens (#16, 1959)

449. Hello Walls * - Faron Young (#12, 1961)

450. Hide Away # * - Freddy King (#29, 1961)

^ Many of you would know that "The Man With The Golden Arm" was a 1955 Movie starring Frank Sinatra as a drug addict, and Kim Novak as his girlfriend Molly who tried to help him fight his addiction. There were 5 Hit Instrumental versions of the movie theme in Billboard's Hot 100. In England The BBC banned the song !

[Brad_M]

430.Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp) Allan Sherman (#2, 1963)

[OLD 55]

Muddah, Fadduh kindly disregard this letter !

Brad do you know "Delicious" ? Jim Backus (Mr.Magoo, Thurston Howell) and his female friend break open a bottle of bubbly and find it is "delicious". Guaranteed for a laugh. I can't remember how to link it to YouTube.

Cheers Mate !

[chutzpah]

Freddy King. Great song! Good stuff, it took me a long time to figure out the changes to that song. Old blues :guitar: and I've never quite figured that song out. Now I'll be going crazy figuring it out.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Guest

[phil]

The Lonely Surfer, Hideaway, and especially Hey Girl by Freddie Scott are great tunes.

[OLD 55]

At least Rolling Stone Magazine had the good sense to put Freddy King at #15 in their "Greatest Guitarists" list. It's a great song. I'm glad he's appreciated.

:guitar:

"The Lonely Surfer" was a Top Ten hit here in Australia. Great arrangement !

"Hey Girl" is probably only found on those 'Lost 45s' series of CDs nowadays.

I had a lot of enjoyment listening to these songs while preparing this List.

[OLD 55]

Not many views unfortunately. Where's Joe ? I included the Vince Guaraldi Trio for him. Never mind - here's my next 50 songs.

Legend:

* after song, means song is included in Grammy and/or Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (two in this 50)

# after song, means it is an instrumental

(#9, 1961) song peaked at #9 in 1961

(#7, 1962/3) song entered in 1962 but peaked at #7 in 1963

351. (Down At) Papa Joe’s - The Dixiebelles (#9, 1963)

352. Tonight # - Ferrante & Teicher (#8, 1961)

353. You Don’t Know Me - Jerry Vale (#14, 1956)

354. The Swingin’ Shepherd Blues # - Moe Koffman Quartette (#23, 1958)

355. Abilene - George Hamilton IV (#15, 1963)

356. Michael - The Highwaymen (#1, 1961)

357. That Old Black Magic * - Louis Prima And Keely Smith (#18, 1958)

358. When The Boys Talk About The Girls - Valerie Carr (#19, 1958)

359. Rainbow - Russ Hamilton (#4, 1957)

360. Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So) - The Crew-Cuts (#6, 1955)

361. Padre - Toni Arden (#13, 1958)

362. Corrine Corina - Big Joe Turner (#41, 1956)

363. If I Had A Hammer - Trini Lopez (#3, 1963)

364. Memories Of You - The Four Coins (#22, 1955)

365. You Need Hands - Eydie Gorme (#11, 1958)

366. Smoky Places - Corsairs Featuring Jay “Bird” Uzzell (#12, 1961/2)

367. My Coloring Book - Kitty Kallen (#18, 1962)

368. Tall Paul - Annette (#7, 1959)

369. Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah - Bob E. Soxx And The Blue Jeans (#8, 1962/3)

370. Hard To Get - Gisele MacKenzie (#4, 1955)

371. Band Of Gold - Don Cherry (#4, 1955/6)

372. The Big Hurt - Miss Toni Fisher (#3, 1959)

373. So Fine - The Fiestas (#11, 1959)

374. Teach Me Tonight - The DeCastro Sisters (#2, 1954/5)

375. Living Doll - Cliff Richard and The Drifters (#30, 1959)

376. Our Winter Love # - Bill Pursell (#9, 1963)

377. Caribbean - Mitchell Torok (#27, 1959)

378. Mona Lisa - Carl Mann (#25, 1959)

379. The Kind Of Boy You Can’t Forget- The Raindrops (#17, 1963)

380. How Important Can It Be ? - Joni James (#2, 1955)

381. Clap Your Hands - The Beau-Marks (#45, 1960)

382 I Left My Heart In San Francisco * - Tony Bennett (#19, 1962)

383. Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes) - Carla Thomas (#10, 1961)

384. A Million To One - Jimmy Charles (#5, 1960)

385. Angela Jones - Johnny Ferguson (#27, 1960)

386. Something’s Gotta Give - Sammy Davis Jr. (#9, 1955)

387. Last Night # - The Mar-Keys (#3, 1961)

388. Start Movin’ (In My Direction) Sal Mineo (#9, 1957)

389. Dungaree Doll - Eddie Fisher (#7, 1955/6)

390. The Yellow Rose Of Texas - Mitch Miller & his Orch. And Chorus (#1, 1955)

391. I Remember You - Frank Ifield (#5, 1962)

392. Painted, Tainted Rose - Al Martino (#15, 1963)

393. Near You # - Roger Williams (#10, 1958)

394. Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye (#10, 1963)

395. Little Band Of Gold - James Gilreath (#21, 1963)

396. She Cried - Jay & The Americans (#5, 1962)

397. The Wah Watusi - The Orlons (#2, 1962)

398. Waterloo - Stonewall Jackson (#4, 1959)

399. Hurt - Timmy Yuro (#4, 1961)

400. Pink Shoe Laces - Dodie Stevens (#3, 1959)

[Dappled]

Very interesting list!

[Dappled]

I first heard many of these songs as covers by British artists in the 60s. I didn't know that at the time, of course.

[edna]

I love to youtube those songs. I'm finding gems, thank you, Darryl...

Edited June 4, 2014 by Guest

[OLD 55]

Thanks Lars and Elena. The Brits were very loyal. A lot of their covers of US songs outsold the originals. We were fortunate enough in Oz to hear a good mix of US and UK songs.

One that I thought of was "Look For A Star". It was a 1960 Hit for Garry Mills in The UK and for Garry Miles in the US. Confusing ? I didn't include it because I like Billy Vaughn's instrumental version best - and I already had a song by him in my List.

[Brad_M]

...Brad do you know "Delicious" ? Jim Backus (Mr.Magoo, Thurston Howell) and his female friend break open a bottle of bubbly and find it is "delicious". Guaranteed for a laugh. I can't remember how to link it to YouTube.

Cheers Mate !

The record label misspelled his name on the 1st pressing.

[_Laurie_]

Vale, Martino, Bennett, a few of my parents favorites...remember hearing these guys quite a bit growing up...always being played at family get togethers, holidays, and such...Very nice 55!

[phil]

Darryl, I had the '45 Down At Papa Joes when I was a young young lad.

[OLD 55]

The record label misspelled his name on the 1st pressing.

Thanks Brad. Good pickup ! I didn't C it at first.