Time Machine co-ordinates VILXIV50592159

Today, we "drive-in" to September 21st, 1959, to observe the birthday of... the Ford Falcon....

We had one much like this, but I believe it was a '64 or '65

...and the Plymouth Valiant...

As well as the conception (the bill creating it was passed in a package of bills) if not the creation, of the Food Stamp....

The Valiant would transform in '76 into, ironically, the Volare- which of course is the song that won the POTM last week!  Unfortunately, I'm not doing schtick in Italian Domenico Modugno had "other commitments" this week and won't be able to join us, but hopefully I can keep you entertained- and I have one good story and a 7D (Chris, don't you mean 6D? Not this week) that assure that!  Plus a new debut on the M10, the Label feature has a tremendous battle, and Cashbox is back in play!  Hop in, buckle up, and away we go!


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So yeah, we er, couldn't get Domenico in, but I did find out an interesting fact about him!  Apparently, he used the money earned from Nel Blu Di Pi... uhm, Volare, to buy a hot new Ferrari- and promptly wrecked it.  Which led our friend Allen Sherman to add a bit about the crash in his tune America's A Nice Italian Name...

I know a man who wrote a song, "Volare"

He gotta cash. A lotta cash.

He took-a da cash and bought a new Ferrari.

He made a crash. His fender smash.

Ouch!  So let's look at the 12 contestants from 34 stations we have lined up this week, starting with the one-vote-wonders...

And I'm going to start out with an Australian contestant, Rock'N'Rollin' Clementine (which was an interesting listen) by Col Joye and his Joye Boys.  Col was a pioneer in Australia- his song Oh Yeah Uh Huh was the first nationwide #1 in Australia!  He had a lot of hits down under and was noted for philanthropic endeavors.  And in a story that highlights the principles of both good guys sometimes finish first AND kids don't do this at home:

In 1990, while pruning a neighbour's tree with a chainsaw as a favour, Joye slipped and fell six metres onto brick paving below, striking his head and falling into a coma, as well as sustaining serious lower back and shoulder injuries. Initially given a poor prognosis, he eventually recovered to start performing and touring again in 1998, and in 2008 celebrated his 50th Anniversary in show business.

I would have given him the poor prognosis for going up the tree with the chain saw....

Anyway, we were low on 1-votes and high on 2-votes, so I'm going to do 'em together.  The Coasters got 2 for Poison Ivy, #13 on CB this week; Lloyd Price's I'm Gonna Get Married at #4 had but one, as did one of my favorite instrumentals, Santo and Johnny's Sleepwalk at #2.  Also with one vote is one of the biggest acts in Panel history- by numbers, anyway- the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's take on Battle Hymn of the Republic at #41.  The remaining 2s were Sandy Nelson's Teen Beat at #31, the very entertaining Caribbean by Mitchell Torock at #30, and Phil Phillips with Sea Of Love at #3.

That leaves us with four contestants to pick from- and warning, the winner had as many votes as the other three combined!  Choose from:

Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin at #5;
Mr Blue by the Fleetwoods at #46 and soaring, the week's biggest mover from 88 to 46;
Put Your Head On My Shoulders by Paul Anka at #11;
and this week's chart-topper, the Browns with The Three Bells!


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I have to apologize to Elvis Costello this week.  I was as close as I can physically come to having him inked in on the chart this week, when I heard this next song- and out he went, to make room for a young lady by the name of Anna Burch, who comes in at #9...

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1959 was a very even year for the Top Labels on the year's Hot 100 feature.  EIGHT labels had either 6 ( Mercury, RCA, Chancellor, MGM, and Imperial) or 5 (Arco, Columbia, and ABC-Paramount) songs chart.  But going by average placement, one of the fives beat the best of the rest by almost 6 spots!  The winner this time, with a 26.4 average chart position...

...ABC-Paramount!

And it was all Paul Anka (Lonely Boy at #7, Put Your Head On My Shoulder at #20, and It's Time To Cry at #51) and Lloyd Price (Personality at #9, I'm Gonna Get Married at #45) who did it!  Overall, that gives us 68 different labels in the first two years we've done this, and so far MGM's 13 is just ahead of RCA and Capitol with 12.


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Meet Sherman Edwards.  A prolific composer, he co-wrote with the late great Hal David the tune that took our 7D this week- Sarah Vaughn's Broken Hearted Melody.  Now, you might ask why it's a 7D and not a 6D this week, and the reason is one of those statistical oddities that I love so much.  You see, 17 of his comps charted on our hot 100- and 7 of 17 charted at a multiple of SEVEN.  Five of them actually charted AT #7 on Billboard- Broken Hearted Melody (#6 on CB), Dungaree Doll by Eddie Fischer with Hugo Winterhalter's Orchestra, Joanie Somers' Johnny Get Angry, and versions of Wonderful Wonderful by both Johnny Mathis AND the Tymes;  Elvis had Flaming Star hit #14; and the Fleetwoods took Outside My Window to #28!  I had no way of connecting one of his most familiar hits- See You In September- since the Tempos fizzled at 23 and the Happenings took it to #3.


But then I remembered- September is Latin for "SEVENTH month"....


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Stat Pack time!

So you already know about the big mover; the #59 in '59 was one of those CB "combined" chartings, this time for Conway Twitty and Carl Mann with competing covers of Nat King Cole's Mona Lisa.  Looking at it the Billboard way, Conway would finish at #29, and Mann at #24; each was better than the combined #31 on CB.

They had a three-way tie at #100 on Cashbox this week.  I find it amusing how they fell the same week(s) on Billboard.  The eventual biggest hit was Jimmie Rodgers with Tucumcari, which CB would stop at #32- it debuted at #88 on Billboard this week.  The second was the Fireballs with their instrumental Torquay; peaking eventually at #39 on CB, it wouldn't debut on BB until the next week when it came in at #87.  The lowest of the three was actually highest on BB this week- Johnny Ray's last charting hit, I'll Never Fall In Love.  Peaking at #76 in just a couple weeks on CB, it had already came on last week on Billboard at #99, jumped eighteen big notches this week to #81- and would fizzle out at #75 there.

Our British charting Panel picks were The Three Bells at #19 and I'm Gonna Get Married at #26.  I knew 7 of the UK 30, not including their #1, Craig Douglas's cover of Only Sixteen.  I knew 27 of 100 on the American chart.

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The remaining M10:

Dorothy slips from 6 to 10 in week #7 with Ain't Our Time To Die.

Cullen Omori ain't exactly climbing, but he ain't going away either- A Real You holds at #8.

Another 7-weeker is ELO's Buildings Have Eyes, sliding to 7 from 4 last week.

Eleanor Friedberger moves up 3 to 6 with Everything.  She should get married to someone with a shorter name- maybe if she ever got out of those darn PJs...

Or put the knife away.  That would be good, too...

Beach House has to settle for a #3 this time- Equal Mind slips to 5 this week.

The Jayhawks are at #4 with Come Cryin' To Me, up one spot.

Leon Bridges took 5 weeks on the shuffle just to get to 10, but when he moves, he shoots up 7 to #3 with Beyond.

Holding at #2- again- is Vanessa Carlton with Lonely Girls.

And that means a three time #1 for...

....Blackberry Smoke and One Horse Town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And your Panel winner, with 32.3 %  of the vote...

....Bobby Darin and Mack The Knife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Next week, we break into the 1960s again!  Be there!