OH

i dont think i want to do this blog any more. it was a stupid idea. bye

40. “CHRISTMAS ALPHABET” – DICKIE VALENTINE

Weeks at number one: 3 (16th December 1955 – 20 January 1956…..and if this looks like more than three weeks….it is…..the Whole Record Industry took time off at christmas, the slackers) / Length: 2m07s / Label: Decca Notable for…being the first proper christmassy number one MELODY & HARMONY ~ 3 : Dickie began the year […]

39. “ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK” – BILL HALEY AND HIS COMETS

Weeks at number one: 5 (25th November – 16th December 1955) / Length: 2m12s / Label: Decca Notable for…being the most important(?) song so far, probably…the most influential, is what i mean really MELODY & HARMONY ~ 6 : Having spent the last three years (in blog time) waiting for something exciting, here it is: […]

38. “HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY” – THE JOHNSTON BROTHERS

Weeks at number one: 2 (11th – 25th November 1955) / Length: 2m35s / Label: Decca Notable for… the only number one with the name Hernando.  haven’t looked that up MELODY & HARMONY ~ 6 : Originally written for ‘The Pajama Game’, a beautifully titled 1954 musical. This is not an original cast recording: This […]

37. “THE MAN FROM LARAMIE” – JIMMY YOUNG

Weeks at number one: 4 (14th October – 11th November 1955) / Length: 2m21s / Label: Decca Notable for…Jimmy Young was the first act to score number one hits with their first two singles. His third and last single reached no.3, so a pretty great chart record. MELODY & HARMONY ~ 4 : What I […]

36. “ROSE MARIE” – SLIM WHITMAN

Weeks at number one: 11(!) (29th July – 14th October) / Length: 2m16s, but that’s just an estimate, because there seem to be an infinite amount of recordings of this song, and I haven’t been able to confirm for sure which one is the chart-topping one / Label: London Notable for…being number one for pretty […]

35. “DREAMBOAT” – ALMA COGAN

Weeks at number one: 2 (15th – 29th July 1955) / Length: 1m48s / Label:HMV Notable for…being the shortest number one so far. Youngest act so far also (23). MELODY & HARMONY ~ 5 : I’m back at Uni now. You can’t expect me to write as much. That’s just a warning. I’ll also be […]

34. “UNCHAINED MELODY” – JIMMY YOUNG

Weeks at number one: 3 (24th June – 15th July 1955) / Length: 2m40s / Label: Decca Notable for…I’m pretty sure this song has the record for being number one’d by the most different acts…I think that The Righteous Brothers, Robson & Jerome and Gareth Gates have made a top-hit of it…should have looked it […]

33. “CHERRY PINK AND APPLE BLOSSOM WHITE” – EDDIE CALVERT

Weeks at number one: 4 (27th May – 24th June 1955) / Length: 2m24s / Label: Columbia Notable for…The previous version of these hit was a Cuban band doing a song written by a Frenchman soundtracking an American film), so here’s Englishman Eddie Calvert to mustard it right up… MELODY & HARMONY ~ 4 : […]

32. “STRANGER IN PARADISE” – TONY BENNETT

Weeks at number one: 2 (13th – 27th May 1955) / Length: 3m05s / Label: Philips Notable for…being the first song I’ve reviewed partly whilst watching Grand Designs. I don’t watch it that often. It’s not a bad programme by any means, but I’m just trying to watch less TV generally. MELODY & HARMONY ~ […]