Once again I am fortunate in being able to present exactly what was being played in a "chart week" more than fifty years ago.
Today it is the chart for the week-ending
Sunday 3rd. of May 1959 as issued by Sydney radio station
2UW in their
Fabulous Fifty Top Tunes (photo of actual chart below).
The list that follows features exactly those songs being played, and records being sold across Sydney, 54 years ago and has been taken from the chart for that week.
Unfortunately some tracks just are not available but that consists of only 5 songs from a total of 70, so I am able to present the vast majority of those hits.
I cannot include all 65 in a three-hour program so what cannot be broadcast in this show will be carried over to Monday 6th. May.
Here is the list, in No.1 down to No.50, then follows the Best New Releases (10) and Up-And-Coming (10):-
FABULOUS TOP FIFTY
- Venus - Frankie Avalon
- Donna - Richie Valens
- All American Boy - Bill Parsons
- Tall Paul - Annette Funicello
- Bigger Than Texas - Jo-Ann King
- Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price
- Problems - the Everly Brothers
- The Little Space Girl - Jesse Lee Turner
- Gotta Travel On - Ray Melton - AUSTRALIAN!
- Goodbye Baby - Jack Scott
- Sixteen Candles - the Crests
- The Ballad Of Paladin - Johnny Western
- Pink Shoelaces - Dodie Stevens
- Nola - Billy Williams
- Blah, Blah, Blah - Nicola Paone
- Morning Side Of The Mountain - Tommy Edwards
- Rip It Up - the Everly Brothers
Tomboy - Perry Como (No copy was found)- Light Of Love - the Danleers
- A Fool Such As I - Elvis Presley
- Lucky Lady Bug - Billy & Lily
- The Blob - the Five Blobs
- Come Prima - Tony Dallara
- Philadelphia, USA - the Nu Tornados
- Ambrose (Part 5) - Linda Laurie
- Charlie Brown - the Coasters
- French Foreign Legion - Frank Sinatra
- Go To The Mardis Gras - Professor Longhair
- I Got Stung - Elvis Presley
- Don't Take Your Guns To Town - Johnny Cash
- House Of Bamboo - Andy Williams (the B-side of the next song)
- Hawaiian Wedding Song - Andy Williams (the A-side of the previous song)
- Petite Fleur - Chris Barber's Jazz Band
- Story Of My Love - Conway Twitty
- Yellow Bird - the Mills Brothers
- Madrid - Nat "King" Cole
- The Girl On Page Forty-Four - the Four lads
- Maybe Someday - the Young Lions
- I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
- Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - the Platters
- My Happiness - Connie Francis
- (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings - Paul Anka
- Waltzing Matilda - Jimmie Rodgers
Hibiscus - Artist not known. No information available.- Night Train - the Stars
- The Children's Marching Song - Cyril Stapleton
- May You Always - the McGuire Sisters
- I Could Have Danced All Night/I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face - Ray Conniff
- The World Outside - the Four Aces
- A House, A Car And A Wedding Ring - Mike Preston
BEST NEW RELEASES
- Bye Bye Baby - Col Joye AUSTRALIAN!
- Come Softly To Me the Fleetwoods
- Luther Played The Boogie - Johnny Cash
Sweet Violets - the Rover Boys (No copy was found)Hip Hop - Ray Charles (No copy was found)- Valley Of Love - the Harry Simeone Chorale
- Guitar Boogie Shuffle - the Virtues
- As Time Goes By - Johnny Nash
Dancing In The Streets - the Ames Brothers (No copy was found)- Only Love Me - Steve Lawrence
UP-AND-COMING
- If I Didn't Care - the Platters (the charted Connie Francis version not found)
- I'm Never Gonna Tell - Jimmie Rodgers
- It's Just A Matter Of Time - Brook Benton
- The Lonely One - Duane Eddy
- I Got A Wife - the Mark IVs
- Ther Must Be A Way - Joni James
- Let's Love - Johnny Mathis
- I'm So Ashamed - Peter Sellers (Yes, that's correct...Peter Sellers!)
- Star Love - the Playmates
- Trade Winds - Billy Vaughn
So please join me at
2:00 PM this Friday, the 3rd. of May 2013, for a nostalgic trip back to Sydney (and, I am sure, the rest of Australia at that time) as we re-live the sounds of the hits from exactly 54 years ago!
