Previous Feature 45s — Page 4

Ray Peterson from Texas (U.S.A), with his four-octave vocal range, formed his own record label in 1960 and released 6 singles from the catalogue on local London. The best seller was Corinna, Corinna which followed 9 earlier RCA singles including The Wonder of You and Tell Laura I Love Her. He switched to MGM records in 1964 and two singles, Oh No! followed by Across the Street were issued. You Thrill Me made No.21 on Sydney's chart for 2 weeks in Sep/Oct 1961.

Warren Williams began as a boy soprano and in 1958 formed a rock and roll group, "The Squares". After one single release, he went solo and recorded for Festival, HMV and CBS. His most succesful years were with Leedon (1961-1965), charting with A Star Fell From Heaven, Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss and Just Like a Child. Lovely, Lovely Habit was his only HMV release and he was backed by the popular Sydney vocal quartet "The Delltones".

Mike Douglas was born in Chicago and was a vocalist with Kay Kyser's band from 1945 until its demise in 1950. In the sixties and seventies, he hosted his own TV program The Mike Douglas Show. His recording of The Men in My Little Girl's Life was his only solo hit but there was a follow-up late in 1966 on Epic, Cabaret. His voice was heard on Kay Kyser hits including Ole Buttermilk Sky, Coffee Time and The Old Lamplighter. Mike Douglas died on his 81st birthday in 2006.

Leroy Pullins was born in Kentucky but moved to Nashville in the sixties to follow a career in country music. He intended to be a Roger Miller sound-alike and recorded a novelty hit I'm a Nut for Kapp Records. Two albums and four more singles were released shortly after but there were no other hits. Before his death at age 44 he returned to Kentucky and became a fireman. I'm a Nut was subsequently used in the soundtrack of the 1998 film Pecker.

Popular Sydney instrumental group, The Joy Boys, recorded this John Chapman composition for Christmas 1962 after their successful singles Smoky Mokes and Southern 'Rora. It was No. 19 on the 2UE Top 40 chart on 22 December, after 4 appearances and the only Christmas hit that year. Xmas Guitar was released on an extended play the following year and re-issued on a single in 1974.

Recorded by Decca on 19 Oct 1958 and first released in USA 25 Nov 1958, then each year until it became a hit in 1960. The record made No. 37 on the local 2UE Top 40 chart (24 Dec 1960). Johnny Marks, a New York Jew with a penchant for writing Christmas songs, wrote this and many others, including Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1949).
--See--All Alone Am I--and--
I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus.

The original female vocal trio was known as "The Four Pennies" after the inclusion of Sylvia Peterson, but they recorded their first hit He's So Fine as "The Chiffons". The song was written by their manager, Ronald Mack and produced by the Tokens, who also provided the instrumental backing. Other popular releases were One Fine Day, Sweet Talking Guy and Out of This World. In 1975 they recorded the contentious My Sweet Lord, based on their original hit.

The 4 Seasons' first single release for Vee Jay records was written by Bob Gaudio in 15 minutes and named after the daughter of a New York disc-jockey. The recording failed to make the local Top 40 but was followed by a number of successful singles including Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Dawn (Go Away), Stay and Rag Doll. The Four Seasons re-appeared on the Top 40 in the mid seventies with two hits, Who Loves You and December 1963 (Oh, What a Night).

An English composition by orchestra leader Mantovani (Tulio Trapani), who had the original hit in 1954, with vocalist David Whitfield. This revival by the New York group, Jay and the Americans, made No.5 on our Top 40 for three weeks in July and August 1965. Their first local release was She Cried in 1962 and was followed by the chart successes Come a Little Bit Closer and Some Enchanted Evening. By 1972 they had released 24 singles on the local United Artists label.

Andy Williams began his career with his brothers, augmenting the trio The Williams Brothers. Andy pursued a solo career from 1953 and signed with Archie Bleyer's Cadence label. His first U.S. hit was a vocal version of Canadian Sunset, followed by Butterfly in which he purposely copied the vocal style of Elvis Presley. The song was written by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann under the pseudonym Anthony September and made No.2 on some Sydney Hit Parades in May and June 1957.

New Zealand's first major rock and roll artist and first gold disc recipient, Johnny Devlin toured Australia to perform on a Lee Gordon Big Show in 1959 and recorded cover versions Tiger/Lonely Boy for his own label, Teen Records of York Street, Sydney. He backed the Beatles on their 1964 Australian tour, tried to crack the UK market the following year and later settled in Sydney. His biggest hits were Turn the Lights Out Johnny and Got a Zack in the Back of Me Pocket.
See--I Gotta Be True

Frank Gallop began as a session announcer for the CBS radio network. In 1955, he was selected as the voice to introduce the Perry Como television shows and later appeared on screen. He cut a pop record in 1958, Got a Match (W&G) and eight years later, for Kapp Records, The Ballad of Irving, a parody of Lorne Greene's Ringo with musical elements from Big Bad John. Later that year, The Ballad of Irving was followed by Son of Irving (CBS).

Gus Backus, a New Yorker and one time member of the doo wop group The Dell-Vikings, served as a U.S. Army soldier in West Germany from 1957 and later became a popular schlager singer, recording for Polydor. Already well-known in Europe for his hits Sauerkraut Polka and a German version of A Pub With No Beer, he recorded Big Willie Broke Jail Tonight in 1963. The recording made No.7 on the 2UE Top 40 prediction list in August 1964 but failed to make the main chart.

As a teenage jazz vocalist in the late forties, Irene Reid was hired by the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue New York, as lead singer with jazz trumpeter and arranger, Dick Vance. She later toured and recorded with Count Basie's band and appeared on Broadway in the cast of The Wiz. In 1962-3 a Brazilian music style, Bossa Nova, swept the world and she recorded a single in that style, My Heart Said (The Bossa Nova). It made No.27 on the 2UE Top 40 in June 1963 and was listed for 9 weeks.

Craig Douglas, a native of the Isle of Wight, was working as a milkman when he secured a contract with Decca Records on winning a talent contest. His first two releases flopped but he scored a No.1 with Sam Cooke's Only Sixteen for the Top Rank label. This started a string of hit parade successes in England, mainly cover versions of American hits. Our Favourite Melodies was one of his seven UK Top 10 hits and made No.37 on the local 2UE Top 40 in October 1962.

Tommy Britt was a teenager in 1957 when his London release Lonesome Heart made the Montreal hit charts. He began as a five year old on breakfast radio and sang in operettas at high school. His singing teacher encouraged him to make a sample disc which she played for London Records executives. Afterwards, he moved to the U.S.A. and released Fabulous, Fantastic and Fifteen (Unison) and Ella, A Fella, and a Striped Umbrella (Arc).

Ray Peterson signed a contract with RCA records in 1958. His first local release was Fever (1958) but his first hit was The Wonder of You in 1959. Other hits followed including Missing You and I Could Have Loved You So Well for his own label, Dunes and the Gene Pitney composition Across the Street for M.G.M. which made No.16 on the 2UE Top 40 (24 Feb 1965) and was listed for 9 weeks. Before he died of cancer in 2005, Ray was married with 7 children and became a minister of religion.

The first of two local Chancellor releases for Johnny Burnette, I Wanna Thank Your Folks was written by Barry Mann. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Johnny began as a singer in a trio formed in 1952 with his brother, Dorsey and friend Paul Burlison. After the trio disbanded, the brothers continued performing together but gradually moved to solo careers. Before his untimely death from a boating accident on Clear Lake, California in 1964 Johnny, aged 30 had four local Top 20 hits.
See Damn the Defiant! and Fool of the Year

Freddy Cannon was born in the North Shore area of Massachusetts in 1939 and made his recording debut in 1955 as a backing vocalist and guitarist. His first release here was Tallahassee Lassie a Swan recording on the London label in 1959. Jump Over was his biggest local hit making No.12 on Sydney's 2UE Top 40 (18th Jun 1960). It was the second of nine Top Rank releases but Freddy had more than 20 single releases in the 1960's on Festival, Top Rank, HMV, Stateside and Warner Brothers. See Humdinger and If You Were a Rock and Roll Record.

Peanuts was written by Joe Cook of Little Joe and the Thrillers who had the original hit in 1957. Rick and the Keens were based in Dallas, Texas where they recorded the song for Smash Records in 1961. It was a hit in New York, Los Angeles and particularly in Chicago. The disc was released locally on the Mercury label but failed to make our Top 40 charts. In the U.S. they followed up with Popcorn (Smash 1961), Your Turn to Cry (Jamie 1962) and Darla (Tollie 1964).

English actor and comedian, Lance Percival was born in Kent in 1933. He appeared in many films and television programmes and recorded several discs for the Parlophone label. Two singles were released here in 1963, Riviera Cayf and The Beetroot Song (from the film It's All Over Town), neither making our Top 40 charts. His version of the forties calypso song Shame and Scandal (In the Family) was popular in England in 1965.
--See--Riviera Cayf.

The first Roulette release in this country and Jimmie Rodgers' third hit single. Hugo and Luigi, A&R men with the parent U.S. company discovered Jimmie Rodgers and signed him in 1957 although he was heard on Arthur Godfrey's radio talent show earlier. His first two hits were Honeycomb and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, both released here on Columbia (EMI). Jimmie continued his hits on Roulette and through the sixties on London, Dot and A&M.
--See--The Wreck of the John B;
Just a Closer Walk With Thee;
Child of Clay;
English Country Garden.

Based on an early 18th century English song A Knave Is a Knave, the words became more and more bawdy when sung by soldiers in successive wars until its ultimate sanitation after World War II. It became a hit parade success in July 1952 with Ella Fitzgerald's version on local Decca. Diana Trask was a popular Australian singer from Warburton, Victoria. She moved to the U.S. in 1959 and recorded this side with Glenn Osser's Orchestra for Columbia Records.

Mike Sarne was a student of Russian when his first hit Come Outside was released in 1962. He went on to appear in television series and films, and later as a writer, producer and director. He also created a number of television commercials and hosted a children's television quiz show. Code of Love with the accompaniment of the composer, Charles Blackwell was his fourth local Parlophone release after Will I What and Just for Kicks.

A British cover version of an American song written by Lee Pockriss and Fred Tobias, originally recorded by Bob Halley in 1961. Col James was from Birkenhead, Merseyside but at age 19 he moved to London and teamed with Pete Morgan in the Morgan-James Duo. They recorded Rodgers and Hammerstein's Happy Talk in 1964 and in 1966 they had hits in the U.K. with Sweet Pussy Cat and Put Your Tears Away.

Released as a London label 78 rpm single (HL-1083) in August 1956, it topped many local radio hit parades. After re-issue in America, EMI (Aust.) released a 45 rpm single, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of its original release. Gogi Grant was born in Philadelphia and her first hit record was Suddenly There's a Valley. Locally, four London 78 rpm and five RCA 45 rpm singles were released before her last recording The Sea was issued in 1967.

The Kingston Trio began performing in the San Francisco area and signed a 7 year contract with Capitol Records in 1957. Nineteen singles were released on Australian Capitol, Tom Dooley being the first. After a disagreement, Dave Guard was replaced with John Stewart in 1961. Reverend Mr. Black with a chorus adapted from the traditional gospel tune Lonesome Valley, was listed on the weekly 2UE Top 40 five times and peaked at No.29 on 15th Jun 1963.
--See--Everglades and Stay Awhile.

Phil McLean was a popular disc jockey on AM radio in Clevelend, Ohio. He was inspired by Jimmy Dean's hit Big Bad John and recorded a parodied version. Small Sad Sam was written by Eddie V. Deane with the help of Sunny Skyler, a veteran composer who specialised in setting alternate lyrics to popular songs. In this version, an overweight antihero Sam saves only himself from an elevator crash.

The Rock-A-Teens wrote this rockabilly number (originally titled Rock-A-Teen Boogie) and recorded it in the rear of George McGraw's record store in Salem, Virginia, for McGraw's label (Doran). When Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith threatened to sue for plagiarism, McGraw bought the tune, retitled it Woo-Hoo and with his composition credit re-issued it on Roulette. Revived many times in different countries it has featured in at least three motion pictures and a number of TV commercials.

Originally a Little Jack Little song from 1933, successfully recorded by Billy Cotton and his Band. Singer and songwriter, P.J.Proby, born in Texas, recorded for an independent label in the U.S.A. and later for Liberty Records but had little success until he went to London, appeared on the Beatles TV special in 1964 and recorded Hold Me and a number of other hits with producer Jack Good. His version of Hold Me made No.3 on the British charts and No.2 locally (2nd Sep 1964).

Dion started his singing career in New York and recorded a number of successful songs with The Belmonts. After disagreements, he decided to leave the group and start a solo career. His first solo single was Lonely Teenager in 1960 from the album Alone With Dion. More hits followed to 1963, including his penultimate local hit Ruby Baby, before a run of misses, This Little Girl, Be Careful of Stones That You Throw, Donna the Prima Donna, Drip Drop and others.
--See--When the Red Red Robin...
and After the Dance

After an attempt for success in Australia, performing live and releasing I Wanna Be Your Man/Cats Eyes (Zodiac), the group returned to New Zealand in May 1964. In June, they recorded the chart-topper She's a Mod and scored again the following year with Till We Kissed (No.6 on 2UE Top 40, 11 Aug 1965), a remake of Arthur Alexander's 1962 recording Where Have You Been (All My Life). The group disbanded at this time.

J.P. Richardson started as a radio broadcaster in his home state, Texas, in 1949. After serving in the army for two years, he returned to radio in 1957 and adopted the pseudonym "The Big Bopper". In 1958 he wrote and recorded Chantilly Lace, the flipside of this week's feature 45. This side made No.39 on Sydney's Top 40 in August 1958 and the flip Chantilly Lace made No.8 (from 19 Dec 1958) for three weeks.
--See--Pink Petticoats

Sheb Wooley was a film and television actor, songwriter and singer from Oklahoma. He followed his 1958 hit The Purple People Eater with a number of less popular novelty songs, then came another hit Hootenanny Hoot in 1963. He also recorded under the name Ben Colder after sending up Rex Allen's Don't Go Near the Indians as Don't Go Near the Eskimos (M-G-M)(1962).
--See--Skin Tight, Pin Striped...

Chan Romero was born in Montana but moved to California in 1958. There, inspired by Ritchie Valens' Come On, Let's Go, he composed The Hippy Hippy Shake and recorded it for Del_Fi in 1959. Chan Romero toured Australia with Jerry Lee Lewis in 1960 when The Hippy Hippy Shake was popular for Columbia Records (No.3 on 2UE Top40 of 2nd April). Three years later, EMI (Aust.) re-issued the disc on the London label.

Mark Gould (owner of this website) recorded A Rockin' Good Way in his teens. With the backing of Don Costa's Orchestra and Chorus recorded at the ABC-Paramount Studios in America, Mark hams it up on this rare version of the Dinah Washington/Brook Benton hit. The song was revived in 1984 by Bonnie Tyler and Shakin' Stevens.

This recording for Cadence Records in the U.S.A. was only a hit in Sydney. Although Don Carroll had a number of earlier releases in America, dating back as far as 1956, Seven-Up and Ice Cream Soda / Handful of Friends was his only local release. It made No. 33 on the 2UE Top 40 on 21st October 1961 and was listed for 5 weeks.

The Tornados were brought together by record producer Joe Meek and in February 1962, became a backing and touring band for English pop singer, Billy Fury. Two months later, they released their first instrumental single Love and Fury which flopped, but the follow-up Telstar became a world-wide million seller. Dragonfly was their fifth local single release (6th in U.K.).

A rare single from Marty Robbins' 1959 long-playing album entitled Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, "El Paso" was released on an extended play and intended for release as a single with Running Gun as B side. When the E.P. started selling well in the local market, the Australian Record Company withdrew the single. The song made No.12 (2UE Top 40, 5th March 1960) and was listed for nine weeks.
See--Ruby Ann

Record producers, Hugo and Luigi named her after the title of her first recording, Little Me and the month of her birth. At age 14, Little Peggy March recorded a top selling version of I Will Follow Him. After winning a song festival in Germany, she established a singing career in Europe. Twelve of her RCA singles were released locally between 1963 and 1971.

Composer and conductor Charles Raymond Offenberg began using the name Ray Charles in 1944. In the 1950's he joined The Perry Como Show (NBC TV) with a choir which Perry called The Ray Charles Singers. Take Me Along was a Bob Merrill composition from the 1959 musical starring Walter Pidgeon and Jackie Gleason. For more see Love Me With All Your Heart.

Ben E. King, lead singer of The Five Crowns came to prominence when all members of the Drifters were sacked and replaced by his group late in 1958. King thus became lead singer of the new group, The Drifters and eighteen months later, he went solo. His first hit was Lieber and Stoller's Spanish Harlem. Twelve singles followed, three of which were Top 40 hits in Sydney, before Around the Corner and a number of later releases.
For more see Ecstacy.

The De Kroo Brothers, Leo and Doug arrived in Sydney in January 1960 from Holland via Perth. They went on radio and television and signed a one year contract with Columbia EMI, releasing three singles. They changed to Festival Records and released another three singles before reviving Bob Wilson's 1960 recording (And Her Name Is) Scarlet. It made No.4 in Sydney on 11th Oct 1963.

Fats Domino started his recording career with Imperial Records in 1949. No less than 32 of his U.S. Imperial singles were released here on London between 1956 and 1962, then 8 on Ampar (from ABC records in the U.S.) and a few more on other labels later in the sixties. Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday, I'm Walkin' and I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday were among his best sellers.

George Morton and others wrote the song and it was used as a follow-up to the Shangri-Las Remember (Walkin' in the Sand), also written by Morton as was the next, Give Him a Great Big Kiss, all for Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller's "Red Bird" label. Leader of the Pack was instantly a subject for parody and satire and remains so. It was No.1 in Sydney for two weeks Nov/Dec 1964.

Despite his assertion that he would be bigger than Elvis Presley, English singer-songwriter Crispian St. Peters had few hits. You Were on My Mind, a Canadian song made popular by We Five (a quintet from California) and The Pied Piper originally recorded by The Changin' Times were followed by No, No, No and Changes which flopped. Your Ever Changin' Mind was a small hit in 1967. You Were on My Mind made No.18 in Sydney on 20th April 1966.

Ian B. McLeod was born in Scotland and toured Australia while in the Merchant Navy in the mid-50's, appearing on 2UW's Amateur Hour. Later he migrated to Australia, settling in Sydney and was a regular on TV programmes, Six O'Clock Rock, Bandstand and Teen Time, performing under the name "Adam". He recorded Princess in 1959 for Johnny Devlin's Teen label with Devlin's backing group, The Devils.

Written by Georgia Dobbins, a member of the group "The Marvels" that would become "The Marvelettes", Please Mr. Postman was their initial hit and the first Motown recording to hit No.1 on the Billboard Singles Chart. They followed with a few notable singles including Playboy, Beechwood 4-5789, As Long As I Know He's Mine, Don't Mess With Bill and My Baby Must Be a Magician.

An American collegiate folk quintet whose first hit, a 19th century Afro-American folk song Michael, was a million seller. Whiskey in the Jar an Irish traditional song was arranged and adapted by the lead singer, Dave Fisher. They also recorded the Irish song The Gypsy Rover. The Highwaymen broke up in 1964 but all but one of the original members re-united in 1985 for a 25th anniversary college reunion.

Vince Hill came to notice when he joined the British vocal group, The Raindrops. He began a solo career late in 1961 and recorded The River's Run Dry, a song written by fellow Raindrop, Johnny Worth (aka. Les Vandyke) who also wrote hits for Adam Faith, Eden Kane and many other performers. Vince Hill's biggest hit was his version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Edelweiss from The Sound of Music.

Singer, guitarist and pianist, Digger Revell (real name, Gary Hildred) appeared on Sydney TV's Six O'Clock Rock (ABN2) and Teen Time (ATN7) as a vocalist and in 1961, joined the Denver Men. Their first hit was a number 1 instrumental, Surfside produced by manager Johnny Devlin. Building Castles in the Air was the first vocal hit. Others followed on RCA after Johnny Devlin became A&R man for that label.

London-born pianist and saxophonist, Reg Owen began his post war musical career as an arranger for the orchestras of Ted Heath and Cyril Stapleton. In the 1950's he started writing film scores and in 1959 had a hit with Billy Maxted's Manhattan Spiritual. Less than four years later he returned to the Sydney Top 40 with his own composition, Happy Guitar. It made No.4 in December 1962.