Tag Archives: tb50s

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Song of the Day #6,439: ‘No, Not Much’ – The Four Lads

Throwing back to the week of February 21, 1956, we find a quartet of repeats atop the Billboard hits chart: ‘Rock and Roll Waltz’ (Kay Starr), ‘Lisbon Antigua’ (Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra), ‘The Great Pretender’ (The Platters), and ‘Memories Are Made of This’ (Dean Martin).

That brings us to #5, where The Four Lads show up for the second time on Throwback Weekends. Back in October, their ‘Moments to Remember‘ was featured, coincidentally also on a week it occupied the fifth spot in the chart.

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Song of the Day #6,425: ‘Lisbon Antigua’ – Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra

Throwing back to the week of February 7, 1956, we find a trio of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100: The Platters’ ‘The Great Pretender,’ Dean Martin’s ‘Memories Are Made of This,’ and Kay Starr’s ‘Rock and Roll Waltz.’

In fourth place that week was another kind of throwback, to the sort of songs that populated the chart in the early 50s. ‘Lisbon Antigua’ is an instrumental track conducted by Nelson Riddle, based on a 1930s Portuguese tune called ‘Lisboa Antiga.’

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Song of the Day #6,411: ‘(The) Rock and Roll Waltz’ – Kay Starr

Some familiar names topped the Billboard Hot 100 on the weekend of January 24, 1956: Dean Martin with ‘Memories Are Made of This,‘ The Platters with ‘The Great Pretender,’ and Tennessee Ernie Ford with ‘Sixteen Tons.’

At #4 that week, on its way to a 4-week stint at #1, was the novelty track ‘Rock and Roll Waltz’ by vocalist Kay Starr. The track, written by Shorty Allen and Roy Alfred, depicts the singer coming home to find her parents dancing (a waltz, naturally) to her rock and roll records.

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Song of the Day #6,397: ‘The Great Pretender’ – The Platters

Throwing back to the week of January 10, 1956, we find Dean Martin and Tennessee Ernie Ford holding on to the top two spots with, respectively, ‘Memories Are Made of This‘ and ‘Sixteen Tons.’

At #3, The Platters’ ‘The Great Pretender’ was steadily moving up the chart on its way to a #1 berth a few weeks later. This was the first chart-topping hit for the doo-wop band, which ultimately had four songs reach #1.

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Song of the Day #6,383: ‘Memories Are Made of This’ – Dean Martin

Throwing back to the week of December 27, 1955, we find Tennessee Ernie Ford’s ‘Sixteen Tons’ in its fifth week at #1, where it would remain for another three weeks.

At #2 that week was Dean Martin’s ‘Memories Are Made of This,’ which would enjoy its own five-week stint at #1 in early 1956. The song was written by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller, a trio of singer-songwriters who performed as The Easy Riders. The Easy Riders sang backup for Martin on this recording.

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