Tag Archives: tb50s

by

Song of the Day #6,034: ‘Hearts of Stone’ – The Fontane Sisters

Throwing back to the week of Jan. 11, 1955, we find three repeats atop the Billboard singles chart: ‘Mister Sandman‘ by The Chordettes, ‘Let Me Go, Lover‘ by Joan Weber, and ‘The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane‘ by the Ames Brothers.

I’m sure there’s a good reason for the sticking power of hit songs in the 50s (payola? not as many new songs as later decades?). It certainly seems like the same dozen or so tunes kicked around the top 10 for the better part of a year. I suspect things might be shaken up a bit as we enter the rock-n-roll era.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,020: ‘The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane’ – Ames Brothers

Today’s Throwback Weekend selection falls on my wife’s birthday, so I had to chuckle when the title turned out to be ‘The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane’ by the Ames Brothers.

This track sat at #3 the week of December 28, 1954, behind repeat Songs of the Day ‘Mister Sandman’ by The Chordettes and ‘Let Me Go Lover’ by Joan Weber.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,006: ‘Let Me Go, Lover’ – Joan Weber

Throwing back to the week of December 14, 1954, we find The Chordettes’ ‘Mister Sandman’ still dominating the charts. But in second place, on its way to a four-week stint at #1, was Joan Weber’s ‘Let Me Go, Lover.’

The song became popular after it was featured on a television show called Studio One, in an episode about a murder mystery involving a disc jockey. The producers took advantage of the show’s reach to push the song into stores and radio stations, one of the earliest examples of that sort of cross-promotion.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #5,992: ‘Teach Me Tonight’ – The DeCastro Sisters

Throwing back to the week of November 30, 1954, we find The Chordettes atop the Billboard chart with ‘Mister Sandman,’ followed by two more repeats: Eddie Fisher’s ‘I Need You Now‘ and Rosemary Clooney’s ‘This Ole House.’

In the fourth spot, on the way to a peak at #2, was ‘Teach Me Tonight’ by The DeCastro Sisters, a trio of Cuban-born siblings. This was the fifth version of the song to land on a Billboard chart between 1954 and 1955, and the one that made it the farthest.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #5,978: ‘Mr. Sandman’ – The Chordettes

Throwing back to the week of Nov. 16, 1954, Eddie Fisher tops the Billboard hits chart with ‘I Need You Now.’ This was the song’s third straight week at #1, and its last, because it was about to be overtaken by the song at #2.

That was ‘Mr. Sandman’ by The Chordettes. This song would go on to spend seven weeks at #1, giving the vocal quartet their biggest hit (followed closely by ‘Lollipop’ four years later).

Continue reading →