Previous Feature 45s — Page 11

feature 45
Title:Walkin' Along
Artist:The Delltones
Writer:Weiss, Willis
Label:Leedon
Release:6 July 1964
The Delltones, recorded their first hit, a remake of The Crows Gee in 1959 and they followed in 1961 with You're the Limit. Just as their version of Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands hit the charts, lead singer, Noel Widerberg was killed in a car accident. Col Loughlin became the new lead singer and they recorded Come a Little Bit Closer in November 1962; it became their biggest selling single. In 1964 they revived the Diamonds hit Walking Along but it failed to make the Top 40. See also--
The White Cliffs of Dover.
feature 45
Title:In Our Time
Artist:Nancy Sinatra
Writer:Lee Hazlewood
Label:Reprise
Release:October 1966
Eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, Nancy, started recording for her father's record label, Reprise, in 1961. Her first release was Cuff Links and a Tie Clip followed by many other single releases, all of which had only mediocre success. She teamed with songwriter, arranger and producer Lee Hazlewood in 1965 and early in the next year released These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. The disc topped the charts in the U.S.A., Great Britain and Australia and started a run of successful recordings.
feature 45
Title:Beach Time
Artist:Roger Smith
Writer:Bob and Dick Sherman
Label:Warner Bros.
Release:June 1960
Roger Smith began as a singer and guitarist before signing to Columbia Pictures in 1957. He married Australian model and film actress, Victoria Shaw in 1956 and they had three children. Smith switched to Warner Brothers in 1958, landing a starring role as Jeff Spencer in the TV series 77 Sunset Strip. He recorded Beach Time /Cuddle Up a Little Closer for Warner Bros. in 1959 and a follow-up single, The Love of Two /Tick, Tick, Tick.
feature 45
Title:This Ole House
Artist:Hal Mooney and His Orchestra
Writer:Stuart Hamblen
Label:Mercury
Release:March 1962
Hal Mooney was a New York born pianist who played in bands in the 1930s and backed a number of singers with his own orchestra in the 40s and 50s. In 1956 he joined Mercury Records as arranger and A&R man. He arranged and accompanied many recordings by Nina Simone, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. In 1961 he recorded a version of Stuart Hamblen's 1954 hit song This Ole House. In the 70s, Mooney became musical director for television shows including Kojak and Columbo.
feature 45
Title:I Had a Mule
Artist:The Limeliters
Writer:Bruce Phillips
Label:RCA
Release:August 1962
A trio formed in 1959 and took their name from a ski lodge, 'The Limelite' in Colorado where they performed. They recorded first for Elektra records, then changing to RCA they released three albums and four singles including A Dollar Down and Just an Honest Mistake. In 1962 they recorded their fourth RCA album, Through Children's Eyes, an album of children's songs and from it they released the single I Had a Mule, recorded live with a choir of 70 elementary school children from Berkeley, California.
feature 45
Title:Country Rock Polka
Artist:Jean Jacques Perrey
Writer:Prilly, Bouillon, Breuer
Label:Astor
Release:1970
Frenchman, Jean Jacques Perrey was a pioneer of electronic music, meeting Ondioline inventor George Jenny in 1952 and demonstrating the instrument throughout Europe. Perrey emigrated to America and after meeting Robert Moog in 1966, recorded the first album of Moog synthesiser music. One of the tracks, Baroque Hoedown has been used at Disneyland parades since that time. In 1970, Perrey released the LP Moog Indigo which contained the track, Country Rock Polka.
feature 45
Title:Care for Kids
Artist:Kids
Writer:Peter Best
Label:Albert Productions
Release:March 1979
The record label states: "Produced for the children of the world during the International Year of the Child". It was written and produced by South Australian film composer Peter Best with thanks to Phillip Adams, Alex Stitt and the I.Y.C Committees with special thanks to Linda George and Paul Meaney. This recording was accompanied by a radio and television campaign and made No.13 in Sydney in the first two weeks of May 1979.
feature 45
Title:When a Child Is Born (Soleado)
Artist:Johnny Mathis
Writer:F.Jay, Zacar
Label:CBS
Release:October 1976
Fred Jay wrote the lyrics to Zacar Dammicco's composition Soleado. There were many recordings of the song but the best known was the Jack Gold production for Johnny Mathis, first appearing on his album I Only Have Eyes for You. Mathis was one of the most popular singers of the fifties, best known for his singles Wonderful! Wonderful! and The Twelfth of Never.
hollyleaf
feature 45
Title:The Wayward Wind
Artist:Frank Ifield
Writer:Newman, Lebowsky
Label:Columbia
Release:February 1963
Frank Ifield was born in England, but grew up in Sydney, Australia. His appearance on 2GB's Amateur Hour led to a recording contract with EMI's Regal Zonophone label and a television show Campfire Favourites. In 1959 Frank flew to London and appeared on BBC TV. He gained a contract with Norrie Paramor of Columbia Records and was the first artist to have three consecutive No.1 songs in Britain. The Wayward Wind, a revival of Gogi Grant's 1956 hit was his third No.1 hit.
feature 45
Title:Yellow River
Artist:Christie
Writer:J. Christie
Label:CBS
Release:July 1970
Englishman, Jeff Christie wrote Yellow River for 'The Tremeloes' but they decided not to release their version. Instead they asked Christie to record it with Michael Blakely, younger brother of a Tremeloes member, using the Tremeloes backing track. In Australia, Christie's version was subject to the 1970 commercial radio ban but the song made No.1 in Sydney (16th October 1970) sharing honours with versions by the local bands 'Autumn' and 'Jigsaw'.
feature 45
Title:The American Dance
Artist:The Belmonts
Writer:The Belmonts
Label:Viking
Release:May 1962
As a quartet with Dion as lead singer, The Belmonts had a number of hits in the late 1950s, including their smash hit of 1959, A Teenager in Love. In 1960, Dion decided to go solo and The Belmonts changed from Laurie to the Sabina label. In 1961, they recorded The American Dance, a tribute to 'The Twist', a dance popularised earlier that year by Chubby Checker. The single made the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No.75 on 20th January, 1962.
feature 45
Title:The Bully of the Beach
Artist:Sammy Salvo
Writer:John D Loudermilk
Label:Hickory
Release:September 1961
Sammy Salvo recorded two sides for an RCA Custom label in 1957. The release sold 10,000 copies, enough for a contract with RCA. His first RCA recording, released in November 1957, was a cover of Oh Julie. originally recorded by The Crescendos. Later Sammy recorded for Imperial, Dot and Hickory Records, releasing 5 singles on the latter label over three years. His release, The Bully of the Beach was one of the earliest Hickory releases in Australia.
feature 45
Title:The Swan
Artist:Dave Bridge
Writer:Pyotr Tchaikovsky
arr. Joe Halford, Dave Bridge
Label:His Master's Voice
Release:February 1963
Dave Bridge (1937-2017) was an Australian guitarist who had four Top 40 singles in Sydney in the early sixties. His first Skip to My Lou was the biggest but a close second was The Swan, a pop adaptation of the swan's theme, Scène from Tchaikovsky's ballet, Swan Lake (Opus 20). It made No.7 in Sydney, 6th April 1963.
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feature 45
Title:Judy, Judy, Judy
Artist:Johnny Tillotson
Writer:Pomus, Shuman
Label:London
Release:August 1963
Johnny Tillotson signed a contract with Cadence Records in 1957 and stayed with the label until late 1963 when he switched to MGM. His first U.S. release was Dreamy Eyes/Well I'm Your Man in 1958. His biggest hit came in 1960 with Poetry in Motion which made No.1 in the U.K. and in Australia. Tillotson had four singles on the Sudney Top 40, Judy, Judy, Judy being his last; it made No.11 on 4th October 1963.
feature 45
Title:The Nights Are Getting Brighter
Artist:Sunshine
Writer:Cash Backman
Label:Image
Release:December 1974
Sunshine was a group formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1968. They specialised in blues and progressive music and released Luke McCoy on RCA Victor after they appeared at the Myponga Music Festival in January 1971. Late in 1974 they recorded the Cash Backman composition The Nights Are Getting Brighter for the Image label. It was produced and arranged by Doug Trevor.
feature 45
Title:Tell All the World About You
Artist:Peggy Lee
Writer:Ray Charles, P.Mayfield
Label:Capitol
Release:August 1962
Singer and lyricist, Peggy Lee was born in North Dakota, U.S.A to Scandinavian parents. She joined Benny Goodman's Band in 1941 but left two years later to marry. Her 1948 release, Mañana sold 2 million copies and forced her out of retirement. She continued with Capitol Records and had hits Lover, Mr. Wonderful and Fever in the 1950s. In 1962 she recorded a version of Ray Charles' Tell All The World About You.
feature 45
Title:Nick-Nack Paddy Whack
Artist:Johnny Chester
Writer:arr. J Chester
Label:W&G
Release:April 1963
Melbourne's first rockstar, Johnny Chester began in 1959 with The Jaywoods, later known as The Chessmen. In 1961 he began recording for the W&G label, and the children's old favourite, Nick-Nack Paddy Whack was his eighth single release. He was a support act for overseas artists including The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and The Beatles. Later he moved towards country music and gained popularity across Australia with his best selling hit The World's Greatest Mum in 1973.
feature 45
Title:Handsome Guy
Artist:Dick Lory
Writer:Smith
Label:Liberty
Release:March 1962
American singer songwriter, Dick Lory recorded for the Dot, Argo and Columbia record labels before moving to Liberty records in 1960. His first recording was Angels in the Sky in 1954 and a cover version by The Crew-Cuts became a million seller, launching Lory as a successful songwriter. In 1962 he recorded a song written by James Marcus Smith (also known as P. J. Proby), entitled Handsome Guy which was a Top 40 hit in Australia, making No.8 in Sydney on 19th May 1962.
feature 45
Title:Blue Moon
Artist:The Marcels
Writer:Rodgers, Hart
Label:Pye
Release:March 1961
Blue Moon was a single lifted from the initial Marcels album. The Marcels who formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, PA recorded it with a doo-wop style. The single release sold a million copies earning the group a gold record. It made No.4 in Sydney on 29th April 1961. Originally the song was popular in the mid thirties recorded by Connee Boswell with Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart claiming composer credit.

See also---I Wanna Be The Leader.
feature 45
Title:I Can Help
Artist:Billy Swan
Writer:Billy Swan
Label:Monument
Release:November 1974
In 1958, American singer and songwriter, Billy Swan wrote and recorded his composition Lover Please; three years later it was a hit for Clyde McPhatter. In 1968 he produced Polk Salad Annie for Tony Joe White but still he had not had a hit himself. That changed in 1974 when he recorded I Can Help which took him only 20 minutes to write. It went to No.1 in the U.S, Canada and Germany and it made No.6 in Sydney on 2nd February 1975.
feature 45
Title:Hey, Betty Martin
Artist:Mitch Miller and the Gang
Writer:Lomax, Cavanaugh
Label:CBS Coronet
Release:September 1959
Mitch Miller was an accomplished oboeist before he began as A&R man of Mercury Records in 1949 producing his first major hit, Mule Train with vocalist, Frankie Laine. In 1950 he took up with Columbia Records and worked with Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, Johnnie Ray and others. He had a number of hits of his own including the best-selling Yellow Rose of Texas in 1955. Later he recorded Hey, Betty Martin, a song written by Alan Lomax and Jessie Cavanaugh based on a children's folk song.
feature 45
Title:Ginny Come Lately
Artist:Brian Hyland
Writer:Peter Udell, Gary Geld
Label:Ampar
Release:29 March 1962
Brian Hyland began recording with Kapp Records in 1959 and his biggest hit came in the following year with Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. In 1961 he signed with ABC Paramount and turned out a number of singles including Sealed With a Kiss, Warmed Over Kisses and Ginny Come Lately which made No.21 in Sydney on 2nd June 1962. Later he had a hit on Philips with Bobby Russell's composition, The Joker Went Wild.
feature 45
Title:One More Cup
Artist:Billy Joe and the Checkmates
Writer:M Gordon
Label:London
Release:July 1963
The group was the brainchild of Lew Bedell, a Texas-born son of Ukraine immigrants who founded Era and Doré Records in the 1950s. He convinced Ernie Freeman and his band to record Percolator (Twist) under the name Billy Joe and the Checkmates. It was a smash hit and it was followed by many releases under the same pseudonym by various studio musicians. Later One More Cup was released with staccato marimba similar to Percolator.
feature 45
Title:Summertime Blues
Artist:The Sands
Writer:Cochran, Capehart
Label:Polydor International
Release:8 April 1965
The Sands was an Australian group who recorded for the Polydor International label. They released three singles, the first of which was How Blind You Can Be coupled with Summertime Blues followed by another rock and roll oldie, Livin' Lovin' Wreck and finally White Christmas, the Irving Berlin hit of the forties. The Sands' version of Summertime Blues was listed for five weeks on Sydney's Top 100 singles chart, peaking at No.64 on 14th May 1965.
feature 45
Title:By the Light of the Silv'ry
Moon
Artist:Jimmy Bowen with the
Rhythm Orchids
Writer:Madden, Edwards
Label:Roulette
Release:October 1958
Jimmy Bowen started the Triple-D label in Texas with Buddy Knox in 1956. They not only shared a backing group, 'The Orchids' but also the first single with Party Doll (Buddy Knox) on the A-side and I'm Sticking With You (Jimmy Bowen) on the B-side. The masters were later bought by Roulette and released as separate singles. Bowen revived the 1909 song By the Light of the Silv'ry Moon in 1958 and he was later hired by Frank Sinatra as a producer for Reprise Records.
feature 45
Title:Summer Nights
Artist:Marianne Faithfull
Writer:Henderson, Strike
Label:Decca
Release:August 1965
Marianne Faithfull recorded her first record, a Rolling Stones composition As Tears Go By when she was 17 years old and it made No.9 in Britain. She had three more Top 10 hits within the year: Come and Stay With Me, written by Jackie deShannon, This Little Bird and Summer Nights. Later, she concentrated on recording albums and on a career in movies. She had a few successful LP's in the late 1970s and early 1980s and she received a number of awards in Europe for her roles in films.
feature 45
Title:Brenda
Artist:Glen Campbell
Writer:Billy Page
Label:Top Rank
Release:19 January 1962
Glen Campbell formed a band in 1958 and cut a few sides for Ceneco Records. Later he joined 'The Champs' instrumental group, and a large group of session musicians based in Los Angeles, 'The Wrecking Crew'. Campbell released his first solo single for the Crest label, Turn Around, Look at Me / Brenda in 1961; it was listed as high as prediction 14 for Sydney's 2UE Top 40 on 20th January 1962. His biggest hits were to come in the late 60s and 70s.
feature 45
Title:Bring Back the Good Times
Artist:Gerry Monroe
Writer:Reed-Stephens
Label:Chapter One
Release:28 September 1972
Probably best known for his revival of the old Gracie Field's hit Sally, Gerry Monroe had four more Top 40 hits in Britain in the early 1970s. He was discovered by songwriter Les Reed on a British TV talent show and was signed to Chapter One Records. In Australia he had two hits, It's a Sin to Tell a Lie which made No.3 and Bring Back the Good Times which made No.28 in Sydney on 11th March 1973, almost six months after its release.
feature 45
Title:Oh, Boy!
Artist:The Crickets
Writer:West, Tilghman, Petty
Label:Brunswick
Release:January 1958
Vocalist and lead guitarist Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan formed a quartet which became known as 'The Crickets' in 1957. Their first recording for the Brunswick label was That'll Be the Day and it was followed by Oh, Boy! There were a number of 'Crickets' releases with Buddy Holly vocals, manager and producer Norman Petty keeping them separate from Buddy Holly's solo recordings.
feature 45
Title:Sorry (I Ran All the Way
Home)
Artist:The Impalas
Writer:Zwirn, Giosasi
Label:M-G-M
Release:June 1959
Discovered by songwriters Artie Zwirn and Aristides Giosasi in 1958, the Impalas were a quartet from New York. Disc jockey Alan Freed arranged a deal with Cub Records, subsidiary of MGM, they recorded Zwirn and Giosasi's song Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) and the record sold over 1 million copies. An album followed but no further hits and they disbanded in 1961.
feature 45
Title:Love Is a Ball
Artist:Billy Eckstine and Damita Jo
Writer:M. LeGrand, R. Adler
Label:Philips
Release:May 1963
The title song from the film starring Glenn Ford and Hope Lange. American bandleader and vocalist Billy Eckstine teamed with fellow Mercury recording artist Damita Jo; the record went to No.23 on Sydney's Top 40 (24th June 1963) and remained on the chart for 8 weeks. Damita Jo had a hit in 1960, I'll Save the Last Dance for You but it had been almost 12 years since Billy Eckstine was on our hit parades with I Apologise.
feature 45
Title:Everyday
Artist:Tina Robin
Writer:Hardin, Petty
Label:Coral
Release:March 1958
Tina Robin was discovered while singing at a wedding, early in 1957 by songwriter Buddy Kaye. He suggested she enter a TV musical quiz programme as a contestant. She won $30 000 and was later signed to Coral records. Engagements to perform at The Copacabana (NYC) and Caesar's Palace (Las Vegas) followed and appearances on the TV shows of Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen. In the U.S.A in December 1957 she released a cover version of Buddy Holly's Everyday.
feature 45
Title:(A Little Boy Called) Smiley
Artist:Red Perksey and his Orchestra
Writer:Clyde Collins
Label:Pacific
Release:October 1956
Red Perksey was a singer, composer and trumpeter from Paris who came to Australia in 1951. He organised a band and they began recording for the Pacific label with a local hit, In My Petite Taxi in 1953. Smiley, featuring vocalist Ray Dickson was written for, but not used in the film starring Chips Rafferty and nine-year-old actor, Colin Peterson as 'Smiley'. Making No.9 on our hit parades in November 1956, the initial release was a 10-inch 78 rpm disc.
feature 45
Title:Nashville
Artist:Ray Stevens
Writer:Ray Stevens
Label:M-G-M
Release:October 1973
Ray Stevens cracked the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 with Jeremy Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills and again in 1962 with Ahab the Arab, another track from the same album, 1837 Seconds of Humor. In the 1970s he topped the charts twice with Everything Is Beautiful and The Streak and for 3 weeks in November and December 1973 his tribute song, Nashville was No.38 on Sydney's Top 40.
See Turn Your Radio On and
Scratch My Back.
feature 45
Title:Good Looking Boy
Artist:Patsy Ann Noble
Writer:Johnny Devlin
Label:His Master's Voice
Release:September 1961
Patsy Ann Noble was born in 1944 in Sydney and performed on radio as a child. She made her recording début in 1960 with I Love You So Much It Hurts and followed with Busy Lips. She was a regular on Brian Henderson's Bandstand and in July 1961 she recorded Good Looking Boy as a B-side. It became her first and only Top 40 hit; listed for nine weeks, it made No.16 on the 2UE Top 40 on 16th November, 1961. Later known as Trish Noble, she turned to acting and had some success overseas on film and television.
See Sour Grapes.
feature 45
Title:Get Your Daddie's Car Tonight
Artist:Lorrae Desmond
Writer:Adler, Allen
Label:Parlophone
Release:September 1960
Best known for her hits, Hold My Hand and I Can't Tell a Waltz From a Tango, Lorrae Desmond from Mittagong, New South Wales travelled to England in 1954 to appear on stage, screen and television. She recorded Get Your Daddie's Car Tonight before returning to Australia to star in her own variety show on ABC-TV. Later she appeared on television in Homicide and Number 96 and in 816 episodes of the long-running television soap opera, A Country Practice.
feature 45
Title:Silver Bird
Artist:Tina Rainford
Writer:Renate Vaplus
Label:CBS
Release:January 1977
Tina Rainford was a singer from Berlin, Germany who began her career in 1963 under the name Peggy Peters. In 1967 she recorded duets with her husband under the names Pete und Tina Rainford and in 1976 she recorded Silver Bird in the Windrose Studio in Hamburg. There was an English version and a German version, the latter selling well in Europe and the English language version was a hit in the U.S.A. on the Billboard Country charts and also in Sydney, Australia where it made No.11 on 26 October 1977.
feature 45
Title:I Belong With You
Artist:Laurie Allen and Bobby Bright
Writer:Laurie Allen
Label:Go!!
Release:August 1964
Laurie Allen and Bobby Bright formed a vocal duo in 1963 after leaving the Melbourne-based group 'The Roulettes'. Laurie had sung with the group as early as 1958 but English-born Bobby had been a solo artist in Adelaide. In the winter of 1964 they were invited to record Laurie's song I Belong With You for the newly formed label Go!! The single, the first for the label, gained popularity over a few months and eventually made No.1 in Melbourne in April 1965 and No.15 in Sydney on 26th May 1965.
feature 45
Title:(Make With) The Shake
Artist:The Mark IV
Writer:Mascari, Wenzlaff
Label:Leedon
Release:April 1958
This recording was the second of two made by Cosmic Records of Chicago for the Mark IV. In Australia, Lee Gordon launched his Leedon label with it in April 1958. The Mark IV was a quartet formed from members of The Rhythm Makers. Three of them attended the same high school in Chicago and later they met the fourth member Lee McGeary when they were performing in a Chicago night club. Late in 1958 The Mark IV signed with Mercury Records and had Top 40 success with I Got a Wife. Two singles followed: Move Over Rover and Mairzy Doats.
feature 45
Title:There's No Fool Like a Young Fool
Artist:Tab Hunter
Writer:Sherwood, Shane
Label:Warner Bros.
Release:June 1959
Tab Hunter was a popular film star in the early fifties who was given a chance to become a recording star by Dot records in 1956. He had two major hits Young Love and Ninety-Nine Ways before Jack Warner launched the Warner Bros label in 1958. A rock and roll version of the old song, Apple Blossom Time and a follow-up, There's No Fool Like a Young Fool were the only hits among several single releases issued by Warner Bros over two years.
feature 45
Title:Walk Don't Run '64
Artist:The Ventures
Writer:John Smith
Label:Liberty
Release:June 1964
Johnny Smith, gained inspiration from Sigmund Romberg's chord progressions for his 1954 composition Walk Don't Run. Six years later it became a smash instrumental hit for The Ventures, a quartet from Tacoma WA (USA). In 1964, they revamped it with a different drummer, calling the new version Walk Don't Run '64. It made No.8 on Billboard and was their third best charting single, only surpassed by the 1960 version and the theme for the TV series Hawaii Five-O in 1969.
feature 45
Title:Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)
Artist:The Lennon Sisters
Writer:Loudermilk
Label:London
Release:September 1961
The Lennon Sisters were a quartet from Los Angeles who debuted on Lawrence Welk's TV show in 1955 and had a hit record in 1956, Tonight You Belong to Me. When they recorded this John D. Loudermilk song in 1961 they were a trio; Dianne Lennon had married and left the group. Their recording with Billy Vaughn's Orchestra made No.1 in Japan but only No.56 on Billboard (9 Oct 1961), Sue Thompson's version reaching No.5 the following week.
feature 45
Title:Cheeta (Teach Me How to Do The Monkey)
Artist:Harry and The Croc-O-Dolls
Writer:R.Anthony, R.Thompson
Label:RCA
Release:November 1963
A mid-1963 dance craze 'The Monkey' was made popular by r&b songs: The Monkey Time (Major Lance) and Mickey's Monkey (The Miracles). This later recording, Cheetah (Teach Me How to Do The Monkey) tried to cash in on the craze using the name of Hollywood's famous monkey from the 'Tarzan' movies. The recording was made in Philadelphia PA by 'Harry and the Croc-O-Dolls' for the RCA label and failed to chart.
feature 45
Title:Kiss Me Now
Artist:Johnny Young and Kompany
Writer:Martin
Label:Clarion
Release:December 1966
Johnny Young and Kompany was a group from Western Australia who had a big national hit in 1966 with the double sided single Step Back / Cara-Lyn. The following single on Clarion was When Will I Be Loved / Kiss Me Now; it made No.10 in Sydney on 1st February 1967. Kiss Me Now was written by Bill Martin and was originally recorded by 'Tommy Quickly and the Remo Four' in England (1963). It was first recorded in Australia by 'The Rajahs' early in 1964.
See Mrs. Willoughby.
feature 45
Title:Pink Petticoats
Artist:The Big Bopper
Writer:J.P.Richardson
Label:Wing
Release:September 1961
Originally released in Australia early 1959 on the Mercury label 5-track 'Chantilly Lace' E.P., Pink Petticoats was issued later as a single on Mercury's Wing label. J.P. Richardson started in radio and was signed to Mercury Records in 1957. At first he recorded as Jape Richardson but later he used the name The Big Bopper by which he was known on radio. His first hit in Australia was "Purple People Eater" Meets "Witch Doctor" but the flipside Chantilly Lace became more popular.
feature 45
Title:Pineapple Princess
Artist:Annette with The Afterbeats
Writer:Bob Sherman, Dick Sherman
Label:Disneyland
Release:September 1960
Annette, began as a mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club TV show and in 1956 she reluctantly sang How Will I Know My Love for a serial on the same TV show. The song was later re-recorded by her and released as a single. It was written by Bob and Dick Sherman who also wrote Tall Paul, a single hit in 1959 and Pineapple Princess for her 1960 album, Hawaiianette which was also released as a single.
feature 45
Title:That's How It Goes
Artist:George Maharis
Writer:R.Allen, W.Merrell
Label:Epic
Release:October 1963
Born in New York to Greek immigrants, George Maharis studied acting and commenced in television in 1953. His most memorable role was as Buz Murdock in the TV series Route 66. In 1962 he became a recording artist for Epic records and revived the songs After the Lights Go Down Low, Teach Me Tonight and (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66. In 1963 he recorded the Ray Allen and Wandra Merrell composition That's How It Goes.
feature 45
Title:Pretty Blue Eyes
Artist:Steve Lawrence
Writer:Randazzo,Weinstein
Label:W&G
Release:December 1959
Steve Lawrence already had a number of popular releases before Pretty Blue Eyes. He appeared on Sydney's hit parades early in 1957 with a version of Party Doll and returned later in the year with Can't Wait For Summer. In 1959 he made the Top 40 with Only Love Me, the English version of an Italian song, Dalla strada alle stelle. This week's Feature 45, Pretty Blue Eyes made No.11 in Sydney on 13th February 1960.
--See--Footsteps and
Come Back Silly Girl.
feature 45
Title:Inky Dinky Spider (The Spider Song)
Artist:The Kids Next Door
Writer:Murray Wecht
Label:Kapp
Release:October 1965
Recorded for Kapp's 4 Corners of the World label, this nursery rhyme song was performed by a group of studio musicians put together by the record producers Morris Wecht and Pierre Maheu, inviting Mary Sinclair to perform the lead vocal. It was a one-hit-wonder late in 1965 and made No.84 in the U.S.A. In Sydney, it reached No.18 on 10th November 1965 and remained on the Top 40 for 8 weeks.
feature 45
Title:Bonnie, Please Don't Go
Artist:Kevin Johnson
Writer:Kevin Johnson
Label:Sweet Peach
Release:January 1971
Australian singer and song writer, Kevin Johnson started his recording career with ATA records in 1967 and switched to the Sweet Peach label two years later. His first Top 40 success came in 1971 with Bonnie, Please Don't Go which made No.2 in Sydney on 18th April 1971 after 11 appearances and a rollercoaster ride up the charts. In total it appeared for an impressive 22 weeks. His only other Top 40 entry was Rock and Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life).
feature 45
Title:Chulu Chululu
Artist:Bill and Boyd
Writer:Cate, Robertson
Label:Philips
Release:June 1964
Bill Cate and Boyd Robertson, from Wellington, New Zealand began recording in 1960. Their cover version of Corinna Corinna was popular in New Zealand in 1961 but it was their own arrangement of a traditional Fijian song, Chulu Chululu, recorded live at Rotorua's Soundshell early in 1964 that started an international career. In 1967 they had another Top 40 hit, If I Were a Rich Man but their biggest was Santa Never Made It Into Darwin recorded after cyclone Tracy hit that city, Christmas 1974. For more see Cloudy Summer Afternoon.
feature 45
Title:Don't It Make You Feel Good
Artist:The Overlanders
Writer:Marvin, Welch
Label:Astor
Release:October 1964
The Overlanders was a British vocal trio initially pursuing a folk music career. They signed to Pye records in 1963 and broadened the repertoire, at first having moderate success in the U.S.A. with a version of Yesterday's Gone. Their revival of The Shadows' Don't It Make You Feel Good flopped in England but it became a major hit in Australia for the Astor label, making No.7 in Sydney on 2nd December, 1964. A year later they finally had a hit in England with a cover version of the Beatles song Michelle.