I Love #1s - 1956

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Aeons ago, the 1998 poll saw a suprise victory for Cornershop's 'Brimful Of Asha' with 39 ticks under its belt, whilst Boyzone were down in the dumps with just one measly tick. This week we trundle back to gentler times... Or are they?

[Poll #1030879]

Comments

Non-famous but good #1s of this year

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Dreamweavers - THEY WROTE THEIR OWN SONGS!! Ahem. Beautiful wimpy lonely ballad, a real high point.

Kay Starr - wry generation gap tale.

Winifred Atwell - Poptimism club staple and boshin piano knees up.

(Poor Old) Johnnie Ray - seductively unbotherd love song with just the merest hint of bittersweet.

Re: Non-famous but good #1s of this year

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Thanks to the wonder of now having youtube at work I have listened to all the above!

THORTS:
- Dean Martin is a super creepy dude, but *man* he's got a good voice, all is forgiven.
- Winifred & her piano are cracking as ever, plus the faint hysterical warbling in the background is spooky and awesome
- Frankie Lymon is my favourite & (I think) the most musically forward thinking (eg compared to Dean M's sidekicks humming the bass parts for 'Memories')
- Pat & Kay fail to engage me (the latter probably due to poor youtube rip of some dudes ballroom dancing to it)
- Tennessee is GREBT and quite menacing!

A good year all round, I think.

Re: Non-famous but good #1s of this year

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Oh yes and 'No Other Love' is so big and blustering and OTT - I love it!

Re: Non-famous but good #1s of this year

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

You can the first three you mention here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=covBLQUOMRc

Hadn't heard any of them before - all quite good, especially the Winifred Atwell one.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

At a minimum, "Sixteen Tons", "Memories Are Made of This", and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" were number one hits in America as well. I voted for all the songs I knew 'cept Frankie Lymon and Frankie Laine

[the-roofdog.livejournal.com]

I always thought Tennessee Ernie Ford was 1955. Reason being, in Back to the Future it's on a board outside the record shop. Yes, it is where I get all my historikal knowledge from.

[brak55.livejournal.com]

It was in the U.S. It was #1 from late November to late December when Memories are Made of This took its place.

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

i remember reading something from ford, about how much he loathed 16 tons becoming an anthem, because he didnt think it respected the sheer deathly effort that coal mining was--that said, it does seem to be the most entertaining song in that genre (and i find the rollicking of the music and the opression of the lyrics really telling, it kind of reminds me of brecht/weil)

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Surely Frankie Lymon has to to beat all others in this poll, if only because the song and his career have their own classic tragic Pop Anecdote, the whole business of the hit that made him and broke him, solo crash, inevitable drug addiction and very early death.

Surprised nobody's made a movie called "Why Do Fools: The Frankie Lymon Story", altho of course I guess they might have.

[umlauts.livejournal.com]

My grandmother had a 45 of the Kay Starr that was still in really good condition in 1985 when I started listening to my family's records and I WUVVED THAT SONG AND STILL DO. It's brilliant! Ripe for a novelty cover, NOW.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend the Prisonaires' Just Walkin' In The Rain. Their big fact: they were all prisoners.