Time Machine co-ordinates VII4275557

Yes, I KNOW we were supposed to be in 1956- where nothing happened on May 5th- but instead we went to May 5th, 1957- where apparently nothing happened either.  And here I was going to spend scads of time on the 60th anniversary of whatever had a 60th anniversary NEXT week.  Instead, I have a little bit about the subject:

Conway Twitty's first charting record turns 60 today- I Need Your Lovin', which incidentally is the #57 in '57 as well.  Two stars that made their debuts in '57 had their NOT first hit debut today- Buddy Knox, whose first was Party Doll, debuted his second, Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep.  And Mickey and Sylvia, who scored first with Love Is Strange, had their third hit- Dearest.  It joined the rest of their career in not reaching the top 40.

So maybe slipping up was a good thing....

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So this is the brand new 1st episode of Volume Seven of Time Machine, succeeding the 17-week reign of Volume Six.  And we start the new Martin Era 2.0 theme by going back 5 years and 11 days before my own birth, a week in which I still knew 15 of the top 60 tunes!  Let's see how you do with the Panel list... but FIRST...

How about we open with a new single from an old hand at singing.  In fact, this dude was 24 in 1957, and in February he had his first, albeit non charting, record, called No Place For Me (a bit ironic there).  This week a song from the 84-year old's brand new lp God's Problem Child comes in at #10.  Here is- Willie Nelson.






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So on to this week's Panel, where we had 14 stations give us 8 songs- and a three way tie after the FIRST round of voting- and a TWO way tie after the second!  That's right, this election went to which song had the most #3 votes- and one of the contenders is going for a second term in office in just three weeks...

The list, please?

That contender for another term, that dude at #1 on Cashbox for the fourth week of an 8 week run, that King of Rock'n'Roll, Elvis with All Shook Up.

Nat King Cole with a song he didn't chart, but the theme of a movie of the same name about a French Foreign Legion fighter in Vietnam, called China Gate.

Johnny Mathis, who was at 43 and climbing with It's Not For Me To Say.

Oddly enough, we have another big name with a non-charting hit- this time it's Harry Belafonte, who is just starting his climb with Banana Boat (Day-o), but the one that got a panel vote was from his 1954 first lp, Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites.  That song?  John Henry.

The #2 song on Cashbox, the Diamonds and Little Darlin'.

Perry Como with the #4 this week, Round And Round.

The late great Chuck Berry with School Day, the CB #6.

And Pat Boone with Why Baby Why, the current national #9.

Now you can do the math and figure that Harry, Nat, and Johnny are not good candidates to make it into round two.  More help than that I will not be until I let you in who made the first runoff.


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Finding a pic of POTM Kim Wilde back in the day (No, back when she was making hits, not back in '57 when she was still 3 years and 6 months from persondom) in which she is smiling is a near impossible task, but what I did dig up might cheer her up.  It seems that her daddy Marty was also a star of some level.  While he never scored big here- a pair of hits that peaked in the 40's- he had 6 top 10's and 11 UK top 40's.  Most of them, as was the usual way things happened back then- were covers of bigger US hits.  He took Dion's Teenager In Love to #2 in England, Sea Of Love (originally done by Phil Phillips and later covered by the Honeydrippers and by Del Shannon) to #3, and Rubber Ball (an all timer for me from Bobby Vee) to #9.  Later on this year of 1957, he'd cover Jimmie Rodgers' Honeycomb, but wouldn't chart.

Got that head on hand thing going on back then, too

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Okay kids, here's where you find out who made it to the second round!  If you voted for:

Elvis (natch)
Chuck Berry
or The Diamonds, you are still alive!  Each got 3 votes in the main election, but who will make it through round two?

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Next up, another singer that longtime M10ers will remember.  She hit #1 with 2 Poor Kids, and #3 with Superficial Love, and this week she returns with a song from her new lp Safe Haven.  At #9 on the M10 this week, Ruth B:






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Our 6D victim this week- and I really oughtta get one I can do a proper 6D with soon- is the song that sat at #3 but got no Panel love, the Dell-Vikings with Come Go With Me.  Not only was it a big hit then, but became a renewed hit later on, appearing on the soundtracks of 1973's American Graffiti, 1982's Diner, and 1986's Stand By Me- as well as a great cover by the Beach Boys, who took it to #18 in 1982.  AND, allegedly, it was the song John Lennon was playing - though he didn't know all the words and was making stuff up- when Paul McCartney first laid eyes on him.  Weird wild stuff!

And, just to keep track, in the UK the top song was skiffle king Lonnie Donegan's Cumberland Gap- a folk song on some heavy steroids there!  I see after listening late last week, I noted next to this song, "Ernest T Bass on 5 HR energy".  If you don't get the reference, your make up work consists of acquainting yourself with the Andy Griffith Show.  Which, when you think about it, is some pretty good homework!  The highest in the UK to chart here this week was the aforementioned Banana Boat at #60 here and #2 there; the highest here to chart there was Fats Domino's I'm Walkin' (Pity's sake, go watch some Happy Days!) which was #8 here and #26 there.


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And through to the final round- the Diamonds and Elvis!  Each got 3 #2s, while Chuck drops out with just one.  Now can you get it right?


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The rest of the M10:

Chicano Batman falls 4 spots in its 7th week with the former #1 Passed You By, #8.

Styx moves up a tough 3 to #7 with Gone Gone Gone.

Orwells at #6, up 2, with They Put a Body In The Bayou.

Flogging Molly up a spot to #5 with The Hand Of John L Sullivan.

So too Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit with Hope The High Road, to #4.

And I REALLY had a tough time with the top 3, so...

Holding at #3, Old 97's and Good With God.

Holding at #2, Melody's Echo Chamber and You Won't Be Missing That Part Of Me.

And holding at #1-

...Real Estate with Serve The Song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is only the third time a song has held the #1 slot in it's 7th week on the chart.  The others?  Strawberry Runners and When We Were Good, and Sweet's Peppermint Twist from a few weeks back.  HOWever, it should be noted that The Shacks had Strange Boy at the top in its 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 8th weeks on the chart, so not quite a record... but darn close.

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And who, pray tell, won run off number two?

...yes of course it was Elvis, with All Shook Up finally beating the Diamonds 4-1 in the last round.  Be here for next week, when we'll go to 1958 if I have to sue my time mechanic to get there!