Previous Feature 45s — Page 13

American singer, songwriter and bandleader, Bobby Vinton rose to popularity as a vocalist in 1962 with his first hit single, Roses Are Red (My Love) and released an album of the same name three months later. He had a string of hits in Australia until 1964 and returned to our charts in the early 1970s. His own composition, Those Little Things was the flipside of Blue on Blue which made No.9 in Sydney on 2nd August 1963.

A Red Bird recording from Nashville, Tennessee sung by an Elvis 'sound-alike', Jimmy Rice accompanied by a chorus and some Spanish brass. It was one of his two single releases for the label in the first half of 1965. Prior to Spanish Perfume/The Grass Is Always Greener he recorded two sides for Louis Prima's record label in 1964: What's the Reason Why and Just Say Goodbye.

West Indies born, Emile Ford gained popularity in the U.K in 1959 when he and his group, The Checkmates, recorded an old 1916 composition, What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For as the B side of their Pye Nixa single release, Don't Tell Me Your Troubles. It topped the British charts on 18th December 1959 and stayed at No.1 for 6 weeks. In Sydney, it made No.1 on 12th March 1960.

Ronnie Brent hailed from Tennessee and in the early 1950s joined a bluegrass group, 'The Holston Valley Ramblers'. In the late 50s, he pursued a solo career in the rockabilly style. After little success with two vocal releases, My Sweet Verlene and Shirley Ann, he tried an instrumental, Cowboys and Indians for Lou Krefetz's 'Colt 45' record label. Still with little success in music, Ronnie became a poultry processor in 1963.

Charles Aznavour was born in Paris to Armenian immigrants and started performing at age nine. He began songwriting in the late 1940s and in the early 50s was a warm-up act for Edith Piaf who encouraged him to pursue a singing career. His best known composition is arguably Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier encore). Not until the 70s did he chart in Australia: The Old Fashioned Way reached No.26 on 18th November 1973.

A quartet from Weybridge, Surrey UK, the Nashville Teens formed in 1962 and like many pop groups at the time, they performed on the continent where they occasionally backed Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. In 1964 Mickie Most became their record producer and they recorded a revival of John D. Loudermilk's song Tobacco Road. It was a Top 10 hit in Britain and a big hit in Australia making No.4 in Sydney on 30th September 1964.

The Teen Starlets was a studio group specialising in movie themes of the early 1960s. This song was from the movie Spinster also known as Two Loves, set in New Zealand and starring Shirley MacLaine as a teacher of maori children along with her two lovers played by Laurence Harvey and Jack Hawkins. The song was written by legendary writer Walton Farrar and the Polish composer Bronislaw Kaper.

Rosemary Clooney started her recording career by singing duet with her younger sister Betty but this was a different sister act. She recorded He'll Be Coming Down the Chimney with her 12 year-old half-sister Gail Stone. The song was adapted from a 19th century negro spiritual by Abner Silver and lyricist Ray Alfred who wrote many big hits including the lyrics for The Rock and Roll Waltz.

Inspired by the Kingston Trio, a Sydney-based folk group, The Tolmen formed in 1961 and became popular on Australian television performing satirical and topical songs. Their only single, Don’t Book Me, Officer was written by Johnny Devlin about the introduction of parking meters in Sydney. Later they released two 7-inch extended plays: Namatjira and Pieces of Folk.

Noeline Batley sang on a number of live radio programs before she started recording. Her debut at age 5 was on 'Youth Parade' (2UE, Sydney) in 1949. Ten years later she was signed to Festival Records for the Rex label. Her first single, Starry Eyed flopped but Barefoot Boy written by a 16 year-old French migrant, Helen Grover became a No.4 hit in Sydney on 12th November, 1960.

An Australian quintet, 'Autumn' formed in 1969 and began recording for EMI. After the failure of their first release they changed to Chart Records, an independent local record label. Their cover version of Yellow River became a No.1 hit in 1970 and the following single release, Looking Thru the Eyes of a Beautiful Girl, an Irish song written by Tommy Swarbrigg, made No.3 on 17th Jan 1971.

Barry Sisters was a female duo formed in Sydney in the 1940s. They started recording for the Rodeo label in 1954 and later switched to Pacific Records. They appeared on many radio and television programmes and began recording for Pye in 1960. They joined the Allen Brothers on No Hesitation and followed with their own performance, Fly Away, Peter; Fly Away, Paul.

Lionel Long was born in Sydney and was a popular folk singer on radio and television in the 50s and 60s. His first singles were released by Columbia in 1958 but he had more success with LP records. Botany Bay was a song about transportation of convicts to Australia; it made prediction no.8 for the 2UE Top 40 on 28th October 1961.

Ritzi was a quartet from Lancashire, U.K. consisting of guitarists Phil Free and Pete Hughes and percussionists Mick Carrol and Pete Long. They had one hit in 1975, Too Much Fandango. The recording made No.19 on the Sydney Top 40 chart on 29th January, 1976 and appeared for 14 weeks.

The Chiffons was a female vocal quartet formed in New York in 1960. They recorded as The Chiffons for the Laurie label and as The Four Pennies for the Rust label. Their first release in 1963, He's So Fine (as The Chiffons) sold a million copies prompting them to drop the name Four Pennies. They followed with Lucky Me, One Fine Day and A Love So Fine which made Prediction 8 for the 2UE Top 40 on 4th October 1963.

Barry Mann was better known as a songwriter than a singer. His first hit composition came with the Diamonds 1959 recording of She Say (Oom Dooby Doom). In 1961 he had his own hit Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp). He followed with Little Miss U.S.A. making prediction 19 for the 2UE Top 40 chart of 16th December, 1961.

The American Hula Hoop craze swept the world in 1958, inspired by bamboo hoops used in physical education classes in Australian schools. Carl Maduri and James Testa wrote the song and Georgia Gibbs introduced it on her first Roulette release. Gibbs began recording for Coral in 1950 but a change to Mercury Records delivered her big hit, Kiss of Fire in 1952. The Hula Hoop Song was in the predictions for Sydney's Top 40 chart in November 1958.

Beginning in 1957 as 'The Chesters' their initial release in America was Lift Up Your Head for the Apollo label. Their first record as 'The Imperials' was Tears On My Pillow with lead singer "Little Anthony"; it sold a million copies. In Sydney it made No.34 on the 2UE Top 40 on 24th October 1958. Singles also popular here, yet uncharted, were Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop (1960) and Goin' Out of My Head (1964).

Students from the same fraternity house of the University of Washington, Seattle formed a quartet in 1957, 'The Brothers Four'. They landed a contract with Columbia in 1959. Their first release Chicka Mucka Hi Di had only moderate success but the second, Greenfields sold a million copies. In 1961 they arranged Frog Went a-Courtin', a 16th century British folk song, calling it Frogg. It made No.25 in Sydney on 8th July 1961.

American soul singer, Timi Yuro was signed to Liberty Records in 1959 and in 1961 she recorded a remake of Roy Hamilton's Hurt. In December 1961 she toured Australia at the request of Frank Sinatra as his support artist and her single Smile was released to coincide with her visit. In 1962 she recorded the Clyde Otis composition What's a Matter Baby which was mixed by Phil Spector.

The song was written by Huey Smith and Johnny Vincent and was first released by Frankie Ford in 1958 with Smith's backing track. Many versions of Sea Cruise were recorded including those by Cliff Richard, Herman's Hermits, Dion, The Hondells, The Beach Boys, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Johnny Rivers version was a mild hit in the U.S.A. and Canada. Two years later Rivers recorded a live version on his Last Boogie in Paris album.
See Cupid

Guitarist, Duane Eddy began recording in 1955 after meeting record producer Lee Hazlewood. In 1958 Rebel-'Rouser was a hit, the first of three Billboard hits to make the Top 10. Theme from Dixie was Duane Eddy's instrumental arrangement of Dan Emmett's famous minstrel song of the 1850s, about the southern states of the U.S.A. It made Prediction No.7 for Sydney's 2UE Top 40 Chart dated 13th May 1961.

The Edsels had already disbanded when New York disc jockeys, inspired by The Marcel's similar-sounding hit revival of Blue Moon, started playing Rama Lama Ding Dong. The disc was originally issued in 1958 and was largely ignored. As a result of airplay three years later, the record made No.21 on Billboard in June 1961. One radio station in Sydney gave it a chance; it peaked at No.28 on the '2GB Big 60' dated 1 July 1961.

Lead guitarist Henry Bellinger and rhythm guitarist Johnny Lageman formed the surf-rock duo, The Duals in Los Angeles in 1961. They had a hit with Stick Shift; leased to New York's Sue label it made No.25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1961. It would be almost 43 years before any royalty payment was received, coming through after Bellinger's death.

The Zombies was a British band formed in 1961 in Hertfordshire. Their only Top 40 hit in England was their first single, She's Not There which the band's keyboard player, Rod Argent composed in less than one week. It made No.1 on Cashbox, No.12 in Britain, and No.7 in Sydney on 18th Nov 1964. In 1969 they had another hit in Australia, viz. Time of the Season. The Zombies were inducted into 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' in 2019.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world. Formed more than 170 years ago, their weekly radio programme has been on air for almost 92 years. In 1959 they recorded Battle Hymn of the Republic a song written during the American Civil War which they sang live at President Reagan's inauguration parade in 1981. The recording made No.5 in Sydney on 17th October 1959.

The Australian cover version of Martha Sharp's composition which was first recorded by Sandy Posey in the U.S.A. Judy Stone was born in Sydney and began on radio in 1956, later to appear on many television shows. In 1961 she recorded her first single, You're Driving Me Mad for Festival Records. She had two Top 10 hits, I'll Step Down and 4,003,221 Tears From Now before Born a Woman made No.3 on 5th October 1966.

Johnny Nash was born in Texas and began singing on American TV in 1953. Although he is probably best known for his later hits, Hold Me Tight and I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny's recording of The Teen Commandments with Paul Anka and George Hamilton IV was his first Top 40 hit in Sydney (1959). World of Tears was written by Phil Spector and Terry Phillips and Bob Mersey conducted the orchestra.

There have been many versions of Baby Face since the composer, Benny Davis recorded it as a vocalist with Jan Garber and His Orchestra in 1926. Bobby Darin recorded his version in Los Angeles on 31st October 1961 at the end of his contract with Atco. It was not a Top 40 hit in Australia nor in the U.S.A. but it made No.40 in the U.K. on 12th December 1962.
See If a Man Answers and Mack the Knife.

Adam Wade began recording in 1959 for the Coed label, his first two singles making the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100. Early in 1961 he had three consecutive Top 10 hits on the charts. In Sydney, The Writing on the Wall made Number 29 on 19th August 1961 and followed his bigger hit, Take Good Care of Her. On both recordings he was accompanied by George Paxton Orchestra and Chorus.

An up-tempo country version of Errol Garner's jazz instrumental hit of 1955, Misty later had words supplied by Johnny Burke. Ray Stevens' version made No.14 in America, No.2 in Britain and in Sydney on 3rd July 1975, it made Number 7. Ray Stevens had a long career in recording dating back to 1957. Notable were his novelty hit of 1962, Ahab the Arab and Everything Is Beautiful in 1969.

Beginning in 1954 as a Disney TV series in America, the story of Davy Crockett became a film in 1955 starring Fess Parker and it started a craze around the world. The Tennessee Ernie Ford version of the theme song was originally released in Australia as a 78rpm disc and topped our hit parades just before Christmas 1955. This 45rpm single with the original coupling was issued six years later.

Rusty Draper began singing on radio in Oklahoma in the 1930s and was signed to Mercury Records in 1952. He won a gold disc for one million sales of Gambler's Guitar. He is best remembered in Australia for The Shifting, Whispering Sands which topped the hit parades in May and June 1956 and also for Freight Train in 1957. His later release, The Luck of the Irish failed to chart.

Written by Jeff Barry, Cliff Crofford and Artie Resnick and recorded by Gene McDaniels in 1961, Chip Chip made No.2 in Sydney on 31st March 1962 and followed McDaniels' previous hit Tower of Strength. McDaniels was born in Missouri (USA) and began recording for Liberty in 1959. He had eight hits on Billboard before turning to song writing in the 1970s.
--See Spanish Lace--.

American singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon started recording in 1956 and writing songs which were hits for other artists including When You Walk in the Room and Come and Stay With Me. Her first Top 40 hit was What the World Needs Now Is Love written by Burt Bacharach. Later she charted with her composition Put a Little Love in Your Heart; it made No.21 in Sydney on 8th October 1969.

The Colonel Bogey March was written by F.J. Ricketts in 1914 under the name Kenneth J. Alford. In 1957, Malcolm Arnold wrote a counter march for the film The Bridge On The River Kwai which starred William Holden. The tune made No.3 in Sydney, 30th March 1958. Leader of the band, Jack Marshall was a producer for Capitol Records and composed music for many films and television shows.

Lou Christie began recording as a session vocalist before his home-made record The Gypsy Cried became a hit on Billboard. He followed with a Top 10 Two Faces Have I and after 2 years in the army he returned with a No.1 Lightning Strikes. In 1969 he released I'm Gonna Make You Mine with Linda Scott on backing vocals; a cover version of the song originally recorded by the group 'Camel Drivers'.
See Guitars and Bongos.

A quartet from New Rochelle (NY) with Bill Parilla (lead guitar), Jerry Funicello (drums), Danny DeCosa (sax) and Karl Hammel (voc) was managed by songwriter Jimmy Krondes. In 1961 they released their first and only record Bounty Hunter, an instrumental with Karl Hammel's whistling. The group disbanded and Hammel shortly had a solo hit with the Paul Evans and Jimmy Krondes song, Summer Souvenirs.

Four brothers from Massa-chusetts formed a vocal quartet and began recording as 'The Ames Brothers' in the 1940s. They had a number of hits in the early 1950s; the biggest sellers in Australia were You You You, The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane and Pussy Cat. In 1959 they recorded Tom Glazer's composition, Now Hear This. It failed to chart in the U.S.A. and Australia.

Don Lane was born in New York and came to Australia to host a television show for six weeks, first appearing on 11th February 1965. He decided to stay longer and became the most popular national television host, winning a Gold Logie Award in 1977. He recorded a small number of singles for various labels from 1967 to 1980; You're Everything and We Were Lovers Then were listed on our charts, the latter reaching No.30 on 24th January, 1971.

This was the first recording by 'The Capris', a quintet from New York. When the recording flopped they disbanded, but a late night disc jockey in New York City decided to keep playing it. After two years and three different record labels, it became a national hit in the USA, making No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 27th February, 1961. The group made a few more records, including Where I Fell in Love, Tears in My Eyes and Limbo.

Jim Sweeney, singer, composer and guitarist was born in Nashville, Tennessee of West Indies descent. He began recording in 1946 as 'The Five Bars', then in 1950 under his own name. In 1954 he cut a demo of Without You which influenced Elvis Presley and he wrote a number of songs for Marty Robbins. His first Coronet release in Australia was The Midnight Hour in May 1958. It was his own composition as was his later release, The Buzzard and the Owl.

British singer and songwriter, Billy Fury was born in Liverpool in 1940 and at the age of 15 he formed his first band. He released his first record in 1959, Maybe Tomorrow / Gonna Type a Letter. Fury is best known for his cover version of Halfway to Paradise, an American song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. All I Wanna Do Is Cry is the flipside of When Will You Say I Love You? which made No.3 in Britain in June 1963.

Originally an album track by ABBA, Honey Honey was recorded early in 1974 by the British studio band, Sweet Dreams. The vocalist was Polly Brown who was a founding member of 'Pickettywitch'; she left the group in 1972 for a solo career. At the same 1974 session, she recorded a disco hit Up in a Puff of Smoke which was a hit in America. In Sydney, Honey Honey made No.29 on 12th January 1975.

The song was written by Randy Sparks for the 1966 film The Singing Nun starring Debbie Reynolds who was an actor, dancer and singer, starring in many movies, including Singin' in the Rain in 1952. Her 1957 recording, Tammy became a million seller. The single issue of Brother John was coupled with an English language version of Dominique, also sung by Reynolds in the film and made famous by The Singing Nun (Sœur Sourire) in 1963.

Please Teacher Let Me Have My Apple Back is an Australian composition by Stephen Russell and Cliff Howard and was one of the hits that New Zealander, Johnny Devlin had during his years in Australia. Johnny was joined by The Bradley Sisters and the Dare-Devils and it was his ninth hit to be listed on the 2UE Top 40; it made No.26 on 22nd July 1961.

Girls Can Tell was one side of the follow-up single to the Dixie Cups first and million selling single Chapel of Love. Both songs were composed by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. The Dixie Cups was a trio of two sisters and a cousin from New Orleans. They were the first artists to record for Leiber and Stoller's Red Bird record label.

Jimmy Clanton's younger brother, Ike Clanton was a singer and a bass guitarist and played in the bands of Duane Eddy and John Fred. In 1959, Ike released his first single for Ace records, Land of Dreams. In 1962 he changed to the Mercury label, releasing Sugar Plum followed by The Champ / Makin' Up. He was joined by the Merry Melody Singers for the latter two titles and they were produced by Buck Ram.

Written in 1959 by Travis Edmonson of the folk duo 'Bud and Travis'; their version was released early in 1960. New Zealand duo Bill and Boyd recorded the song for their 1964 album Songs for a Cloudy Summer Afternoon. A year later it was released as a single on the Philips label and it received some airplay on Sydney radio. For more see Chulu Chululu

Written and performed by the harpist Robert Maxwell and his Orchestra under a pseudonym, this instrumental was dedicated to the pony that was a gift to President Kennedy's daughter from vice-president LBJ. It was used as a theme for Big Sam Kronja's 'Party Time Requests' on Sydney's radio 2UE. The flipside was sung by Little Jo Ann, My Daddy is President. For more on Robert Maxwell see Little Dipper.

Kenny Chandler began in the late 1950s in a vocal trio, 'Kenny, Frank and Ray'. In 1961 Kenny released Drums, his first recording as a solo artist. Produced by Brooks Arthur, the recording boasted a 40-piece orchestra and a choir of 16 voices, but it failed to make Billboard's Hot 100. Two years later Chandler made the Hot 100 with Heart, a Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil composition also recorded by Wayne Newton.

Nini Rosso was a popular jazz trumpeter in Italy in the 1950s. He became well known in England in 1963 with Concerto Disperato, a self composition, but it was his 1965 smash hit, Il Silenzio that brought him world-wide fame. In 1969 he recorded a tune in a tijuana-brass-style with the title Roulette. It was a hit in Germany and other parts of Europe.