Throwing back to the week of May 3, 1955, we find two repeats atop the Billboard singles chart: Perez Prado’s ‘Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)’ at #1 and Bill Hayes’ ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’ at #2.
In the third spot was a song I mentioned a few weeks back in another Throwback Weekend post. The featured song was Georgia Gibbs’ ‘Tweedle Dee,’ and I noted that it was one of two tracks Gibbs had in the top ten at the time. The other was ‘Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower).’
Throwing back to the week of April 19, 1955, we find Bill Hayes’ ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett‘ holding on to Billboard’s #1 spot for the last of its five weeks atop the chart.
Hot on its tails at #2 was an instrumental track that would kick off a 10-week stint at #1 the following week: Pérez Prado’s recording of ‘Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White).’
Throwing back to the week of April 5, 1955, we have a trio of repeats atop the Billboard chart: Bill Hayes’ ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett,’ Johnny Maddox’s ‘The Crazy Otto Medley,’ and The McGuire Sisters’ ‘Sincerely.’
At #4 that week, on its way to peaking at #3, was Georgia Gibbs’ recording of ‘Tweedle Dee.’ Gibbs had another song — ‘Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower)’ — in the top ten at the same time.
Throwing back to the week of March 22, 1955, we find Bill Hayes atop the Billboard chart with ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett.’ This novelty folk song was written by George Bruns (not Burns) and Thomas W. Blackburn for the show Disneyland (which was later retitled The Wonderful World of Disney).
Three versions of the song hit the charts around the same time, including one by Fess Parker that was #6 this week and one by Tennessee Ernie Ford that reached the top ten the following week. But it was this version by actor/singer Hayes that did the best, reaching #1 and holding the top spot for a month.
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.
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