Throwing back to the week of March 8, 1955, we find The McGuire Sisters atop the Billboard singles chart with ‘Sincerely,’ its sixth straight (and last) week at #1.
In the #2 spot was an instrumental ragtime recording called ‘The Crazy Otto Medley,’ performed by pianist Johnny Maddox. What a different world it was 70 years ago, when a song like this could be a major hit, spending seven weeks at #2.
Throwing back to the week of February 22, 1955, we find the usual repeats in the top three spots before a newcomer at #4: Perry Como with ‘Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So).’
This was RCA Victor’s first rock record, and matching it with a white crooner like Como was, as one historian put it, an “industry effort to whitewash the racy, raunchy music of rhythm and blues before anyone’s daughter heard it.”
Throwing back to the week of February 8, 1955, we find the usual host of repeats atop the singles chart.
At #1 was ‘Sincerely‘ by the McGuire Sisters, followed by ‘Hearts of Stone‘ by the Fontane Sister. Then came ‘Let Me Go, Lover‘ by Joan Weber, and ‘Mister Sandman‘ by The Chordettes. The ladies were absolutely crushing it!
Throwing back to the week of January 25, 1955, we find a slew of repeats atop the singles chart, as usual for this decade: ‘Let Me Go Lover‘ by Joan Weber, ‘Mister Sandman‘ by The Chordettes, ‘Hearts Of Stone‘ by The Fontane Sisters, and ‘The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane‘ by The Ames Brothers.
Keeping the sibling theme going at #5 that week were The McGuire Sisters with ‘Sincerely,’ a cover of a song written by Harvey Fuqua and Alan Freed for The Moonglows the previous year.
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.
Meet Me In Montauk 