Tilting at Windmills: Time Machine co-ordinates VICXLXV65911557

Friday, January 15, 2021

Time Machine co-ordinates VICXLXV65911557

Well, we kind of land in the middle of things here in January 15th, 1957...

Oh yeah? What kinda things?

Well, two days ago, Wham-O made the first Frisbee... Yesterday, Humphrey Bogart passed away... And tomorrow, the early home of the Beatles, the Cavern Club in London, opened up!

Man, that's a shame about Bogey... Y'know, he and Bacall started the original Rat Pack, with Judy Garland, David Niven, and Frank...

I didn't until today... that's pretty neat! What isn't quite so neat is how we have you on only three weeks, 1957 time, since you were last here!

Don't tell me we gotta pick between Sonny and Tab on Young Love again?

No, but Mr. James and Mr Hunter will be in the finals! This week's chart is kinda messed up, so it'll be fun anyway, but I'd like to figure a way to get at least another week spread in these posts- make it a month different.

Well... How about, if next week you supposed to do 1958, right? So do 1985, blame it on Elvis having dyslexia, and then come back!

Say, that's not bad... although the dyslexia is more believable if I have it! Yeah! Let's do that! Next week will be 1985. But this week...

Say, how 'bout we kick it off with some music, maestro?

Sure thing! Here's our lone debut this week at #9- Introducing M10 rookie Lilly Hiatt!

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So why don't we start off with all the messed up stuff about this week's chart?

Fine by me! Lesseee here... One song that got a single vote was a tune by Micki Marlo called Little By Little. She never made it onto the Cashbox chart, but would debut in about 3 weeks on Billboard... the version that charted on CB, by Nappy Brown, would debut next week... so either way, someone jumped the gun!

Next, we have a song that just dropped off the Billboard chart- though another act, Ivory Joe Hunter WAS charting with it on CB- Since I Met You Baby by Mindy Carson! She peaked at #34 over next door. Ironically, Sonny James would take this to #1 country in a dozen years.

And just for a little context here, CB has the combined versions of Young Love at #12 this week, while the separated versions on BB have Sonny at 19 an' Tab debuting at 60.

Good job, my friend. Now this week we had a 15 song, 39 station Panel- and just like last year, Tab and Sonny are tied! The question being- are they tied for the top or not?

Well now, you'd tell us if we were having another run off like last time- wouldn't you?

NOT necessarily! Why don't you just go ahead and give us the OTHER finalists, besides Tab and Sonny!

Without a doubt! You can choose from Young Love A or B, as well as...

Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat (Day-O!) debuting at #31...

Russell Arms with Cinco Robles at #29...

The Tarriers and THEIR version of Banana Boat at #5...

Or Guy Mitchell's Singing The Blues at #1. Say, not a big week for the top ten, was it!

Nope, #1 and #5 were all that made it! Now, it's time for some unfinished business- my top ten Songs that were #1 on New Years Eve!

10- Cat's In The Cradle, Harry Chapin, the Cashbox #1 from 1975.

9- Walk Like An Egyptian, the Bangles, the 1987 BB #1...

8- The Tornadoes and Telstar from 1963.

7- Saturday Night, the Bay City Rollers, CB's 1976 topper.

6- David Seville with Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Christmas Song from 1959.

5- The Monkees and I'm A Believer from 1967.

4- Tennessee Ernie Ford and 16 Tons from 1956.

3- The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the Tokens from 1962, AKA my first NYE...

2- Simon and Garfunkel, The Sound Of Silence, the BB 1966 #1...

And my favorite of all the songs that were #1 on NYE, from 1971...

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Say, can I do that Overseas thing? You let Rod Stewart do it...

Yeah, well Rod's been knighted, though...

Wha-a-at? But I've got three stars on the Walk of Fame! My feet in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre! A lifetime achievement Grammy!

I'm just bustin' you, Dino! Go right ahead!

That wasn't very nice... I was gonna make you an honorary Rat Packer, but fergit it, now! Ah, well, here we go. The UK got a vote for Singing The Blues, but by Tommy Steele and the Steelmen. Guy Mitchell was #2... in fact he was in and out of the top- for 6 weeks, in the middle of which we are at- he was either #1 or 2 there.

The Canadians didn't have an official chart, but four outta six stations voted for Guy, too.

Australia had Johnny Ray's Just Walking In The Rain- although Guy would be at the top in March. I'm thinkin' we have us a great big hint here...

You COULD be right, Dino... But we have a couple of things to get out of the way first! One of which is this week's 6D!

Did you know Fleetwood Mac was named for an instrumental song? And no, you can't find it- I tried- but before founding the group, Peter Green was playing with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and John gave him some free studio time. One of the tunes he recorded was an instrumental that he named after the guys that made up his rhythm section on the session- drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. At first they were a play-anything blues band, but in the short time between Peter's emerging talent and the drugs that would short circuit him and others in the original band, he wrote some beautiful guitar pieces like Albatross, which went to #1 twice in the UK. Albatross, the story goes, was inspired by one of my top five all time instrumentals- Santo and Johnny's Sleepwalk, which was arranged by one Hutch Davie. And Hutch Davie wrote the 6D victim at #2- Jim Lowe's The Green Door. And... The Green Door may or may not have inspired recent issues of The Immortal Hulk...