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Hey, Dino!
Yeah, Chris, whazz happenin'?
You like a good boxing match, buddy?
You betcha! The hits, the sweat, the action... say, where's my stunt double, I'm gettin' a little hot!
Hey, don' worry, my brother, because we have a top card this week in the Time Machine POTM race... two versions of the SAME song went to OVERTIME!
So whaddya do? Go extra inning or sumpthin'?
Naw, they have a run-off, my friend. And we're at Blog ringside for all the action!
Well, who's a-fightin? This I wanna see!
It's a big one, Dino! Here on our stage, witness the titanic struggle between...
Sonny James... and Tab Hunter, doing Young Love!
Them?? This is a lightweight bout....
Why? They each had as many number ones as YOU did...
Yeah? How many other top tens did they have?
Well...
Yeah, "well..."!
Okay, so it's just a step above a one-hit wonder bout. But, they both hit #1 on Cashbox, as well as the Billboard DJ's chart, so it's still quite a feat for them both to go the distance- and then some!
Okay, I'll give ya that. So what am I supposed to do around here?
Well, howsabout letting the folks know what day and year we're in, and what happened today.
I don' wanna. JUST kidding, ha ha! Lessee here... oh, I really don wanna do this...
Why, what... oh. Time Machine has a tradition of showing up around bad plane crashes, and this is one of the worst. On January 31st, 1957, A Douglas DC 7B on its first test was struck by one of a pair of also-testing USAF F-89J interceptor fighter jets. The radio operator on the fighter bailed, but the pilot went down with the plane. The DC airliner broke apart over a school in Pacoima, CA, a junior high, with kids outside at recess. Three were killed immediately when the plane blew up and all four engines buried themselves into the playground. It was an incredible story you can read about here.
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| LA Times |
Man, that's the kinda story that'll sober ya right up...
I know, pal, I know. But let's return to light hearted banter and fun- let's try having you tell us a bit about the other contestants?
Okay, so we got one, two...seven contestants from 15 stations, so ya did a bit better than last time! Sonny and Tab got 5 votes each the first time 'round, so if ya do a little math, that means the rest of 'em got one vote each. That bunch was Guy Mitchell's Singin' The Blues at #1 on Cashbox, Fats had Blueberry Hill at #6, Elvis debuted at #25 with Too Much...
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| As in, "It's too much to expect ta get a word in edgewise with you two lushes... |
Let 'er rip...
So I'm lookin' at the Cashbox chart for this here week, and it's got two separate entries for Harry and for the Tarriers at #3... but Young Love has one entry for Sonny AND Tab! What gives?
Well, the way I understand it, Cashbox's normal policy at the time was to have any same song as one entry, showing all the acts doing it, most popular listed first, and the weeks each act got chart votes. But, they reasoned, the Tarriers' song was titled "The Banana Boat Song", and Harry's was titled "Banana Boat (Day-o)" which made it different- until THIS week, when they decided to put them in the same NUMBER, but under the two different names. The next week, someone said, "Hey, this is stupid!", and so the Tarriers went from 3 to 5, and Harry went from 3 to 7.
Good God, Jerry, I need a drink! (pours, drinks, pours again) Anyway, the only other song was Ol' Blue Eyes with Your Love For Me, a song that don' hit the main charts until 3 weeks from now! An' there ya go!
Not bad! So now, let me intro our one M10 debut this week. Americans might only know them for West End Girls back in '84, but they've been around all this time! By this morning, their new lp Hotspot has likely debuted at #1 in the UK, and their single comes in at #7 here- they are the Pet Shop Boys...
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Well, fine, I don' wanna dance either! Whazz next?
Next, I'm gonna tell you about our 6D victim this week- starting with the connection between Clint Holmes' Playground In My Mind and Shelly Fabres' Johnny Angel.
Now, how are THEY connected?
I'll tell you. They were both written by one Lee Pockriss, and Lee co-wrote Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny...
...yella polka-dot bikini, tha' she wore for the firs' time ta-day...
He was a co-writer with Paul Vance, who also co-wrote Johnny Mathis's What Will Mary Say. He co-wrote that with Eddie Snyder, who co-wrote...
I know, I know! Strangers in the night... exchanging glances...
Yep, and he co-wrote that with Charlie Singleton, who co-wrote the English lyrics for the song at #4 without any Panel votes... Pat Boone's Don't Forbid Me!
Hey, innit that a seven D... or is it eight?
It don't matter. Here, tell 'em about this coinkydink!
So, it seems that the only other song that Chris an' the beautiful Laurie could do their 'crazy covers' act with was the song that was #1 by one guy in the UK, and #21 by another guy here! The song was Garden Of Eden, an' it was a one hit wonder named Joe Valino what hit with it here. But our boy got himself in a bit of hot water... while the song was going up the charts, a former girlfriend accused him of makin' her get an abortion, he got sentenced to 17 month on the pen, and the song, at #12 by that point, got yanked right off the shelves. Meantime, Frankie Vaughn hit #1 in England. Darn shame, Joe!
Well, with that lead in, It's a good time for our picks on these two songs. First, let's go to the title bout:
Chris: Sonny, easy. Tab sounds so flat.
Laurie: Sonny has the better vocal.
'sfunny, because in the 14 weeks they were both on the Billboard charts, Sonny won the first five weeks- sticking at #3 in their sales chart- and Tab got all the rest, including 6 at #1!
I had to scratch my head at that one, too. So on the Garden Of Eden:
Chris: I really didn't care too much for either, though Frankie beat Joe.
Laurie: For me, too.
Funny thing is, I got telling myself, that Sinatra could have done this better, and wondered if he'd ever done it. Looks like he didn't, but one person that did surprised me. He was going by 'Paul Raven' at the time, but we all know him as our second favorite pedophile... Gary Glitter!
Hey, time's a-wastin' here, son!
Don't I know it! So let me clobber the M10 really fast...
Black Starling slips 5 to #10...
Shelter Song slips 6 to #9...
Poor White Reaper! They sit at #8 for a third week with Might Be Right...
Nada Surf moves So Much Love up 4 to #6...
Huey and the boys reverse course, moving back up 2 to #5 with While We're Young...
In The Afternoon slides 2 to #4...
Caroline Rose up 6 fast ones to 3 with Feel The Way I Want...
Agnes Obel slides up into the 2-slot with Broken Dreams...
And for a song that joined just 2 others in taking as many as 7 weeks to hit the top, it becomes the first to spend THREE weeks there...
...Tennis and Runner!
So who won the darn fight? Did I pass out an' miss sumpthin'?
No, you're good I'm just getting to it! It seems with only two exceptions, if Sonny was on your chart, Tab wasn't and vice versa! But one of those exceptions tipped the battle, and the winner of our run-off by a 2-1 vote was...
Sonny James!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good thing fer you! Tab wouldn't a been too happy with you two for bashin' his version, an' he's pretty buff....
P-shaw! I'd just sic Pat Boone in his leathers after him! But not to worry, stop by next week for Sonny and 1958!
These post either make me feel young or old
ReplyDelete"Pat Boone in his leathers" had me laughing out loud. I remember that ridiculous metal album he did. ☺ I was too young in 1957 to remember the songs, but I love Dino. He was one of a kind and is sorely missed. Isn't "Only The Lonely" a Roy Orbison song? I guess Sonny and Tab got there first.
ReplyDeleteTwo different songs, this was Young Love. You can't replicate the Big O, though King Leg and JD Souther gave it good shots.
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