Song of the Day #6,176: ‘I Love Paris’ – Ella Fitzgerald
Song of the Day #6,175: ‘Sous le ciel de paris’ – Edith Piaf
My wife and I have long talked about taking a trip to Paris for our 30th wedding anniversary.
Earlier this year we celebrated our 28th, and because life is short and you never know what’s around the corner, we figured… why wait?
So we’ll be in the City of Lights for the next week, and in lieu of regular posts I’ll offer up five songs about Paris. Apprécier!
Song of the Day #6,174: ‘Help Me, Rhonda’ – The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys claimed the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 1, 1965, with ‘Help Me, Rhonda,’ their second chart-topper (following the previous year’s ‘I Get Around‘).
This was the second version of this song released in 1965. The first, titled ‘Help Me, Ronda,’ appeared on the band’s album The Beach Boys Today!, ran about 20 seconds longer, and had less of a rock sound. Brian Wilson felt the song had hit potential so the band rerecorded it with a little more oomph.
Song of the Day #6,173: ‘Unchained Melody’ – Al Hibbler
Throwing back to the week of May 31, 1955, we find a quartet of repeats atop the Billboard chart: Perez Pablo’s ‘Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White,‘ Les Baxter’s ‘Unchained Melody,’ Georgia Gibbs’ ‘Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower),’ and Bill Hayes’ ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett.’
I mentioned in the Les Baxter post that multiple versions of ‘Unchained Melody’ were kicking around the top ten that spring, and this week at #5 we find another of them. Al Hibbler’s take was the top-performing vocal version of the song until the Righteous Brothers came along a decade later.
Meet Me In Montauk 