Throwing back to the week of August 22, 1956, we find The Platters’ ‘My Prayer‘ hanging on to the top spot of the Billboard singles chart.
Tied for #2, where it would surprisingly peak on the Top 100, was Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog.’ ‘Hound Dog‘ would top the ‘Best Sellers in Stores’ chart for a then-record 11 weeks, but it was outperformed by Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ on the Top 100, which accounted for radio and jukebox play in addition to sales.
Throwing back to the week of August 8, 1956, we find the doo-wop group The Platters atop the Billboard singles chart with ‘My Prayer.’
The song was written in 1939 by Romanian violinist Georges Boulanger as an instrumental titled Avant de Mourir, with lyrics later added by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It found some success in the U.S. that year as ‘My Prayer,’ including in a recording by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.
Throwing back to the week of July 25, 1956, we find those stalwarts Pat Boone and Gogi Grant holding on to the top spots with ‘I Almost Lost My Mind‘ and ‘The Wayward Wind,’ respectively.
Hot on their heels was that young whippersnapper Elvis Presley, whose second single, ‘I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,’ tried to replicate the success of smash hit ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’ It didn’t quite make it — peaking at #3 on this chart — but it did give Elvis his first #1 on the Country chart.
Throwing back to the week of July 11, 1956, we find Gogi Grant’s ‘The Wayward Wind’ clinging to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth straight week.
At #2 was Pat Boone’s ‘I Almost Lost My Mind,’ which spent a month as the runner-up before its own two-week stint at #1. This was one of five #1’s and fifteen top ten hits for Boone in the five-year period from 1955-1959. He was the Drake of the Golden Age.
Throwing back to the week of June 27, 1956, we find Gogi Grant hanging on to the top spot with ‘The Wayward Wind,’ the unlikely hit that dethroned Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’
At #2 that week was Pat Boone with ‘I Almost Lost My Mind.’ The song eventually reached #1, becoming Boone’s second chart-topping hit (of six total in his career).
Meet Me In Montauk 