Previous Feature 45's Page 17

The song was written by a Scotsman, Johnny Curtis shortly before he died. It was a No.1 hit in South Africa for 'Cornelia' and recorded in Australia by Sylvan Louis Bonett under the pseudonym 'Matt Flinders'. It made No.5 on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 10th December, 1969.

Recorded for Gerry Granahan's 'Caprice' label, Janie Grant's Triangle made No.29 on Billboard in May 1961 and Prediction No.65 for the 2UE Top 40 dated 20th May, 1961. Janie also recorded the original version of Tell Me Mama which was successfully covered by British singer, Christine Quaite.

Recorded in 1964 by The Dixie Cups on their debut album and released as a single the following year. 'Jock-a-Mo' was a battle chant used by Red Indians and 'Iko Iko', a victory chant. The Dixie Cups learned the song from their grandmother. It was later found to be similar to a song written by James Crawford a decade earlier.

Tina Robin began recording in the 1950s and was a popular television entertainer. Later she joined Mercury records and was also a session singer for Carol King and Jerry Goffin. She recorded one of their compositions, Play It Again which reached No.95 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Canadian pianist Frank Mills recorded Music Box Dancer in 1973 for an album and it was later released as B side of The Poet and I single. The title came to him while he was mending his daughter's music box. It became a million seller and made No.6 on 2UE's Top 40 dated 23rd May, 1979.

Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin's theme to the American TV series Rawhide which premiered on Australian TV in July 1959. It was recorded for the show by Chicago-born Frankie Laine who had been a consistent hit maker since 1946 and enjoyed great popularity in Australia. The recording made No.20 on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 7th November 1959.

An English group formed in 1963 but had no hit record until 1975. Living Next Door to Alice was their first charted hit in Australia making No.1 on the 2UE chart on 4th May, 1977. The had six more Top 40 entries over a two year period.

Best known for their 1958 hit At the Hop, Danny and the Juniors from Pennsylvania U.S.A. recorded a Christmas single for Swan Records in 1960. Candy Cane, Sugary Plum was backed with O, Holy Night.

From Gisborne, New Zealand, Julie Nelson (real name, Marion Banks) was a 14 year-old school student when she recorded this Christmas song with The Satins and the orchestra of Don Ball. Sticky Beak the Kiwi was written by Neil Roberts and the Anzac Gypsies (aka. Cazna Gyp).

'Daddy Cool' was a quartet from Melbourne, formed in 1970. The first release was the Sparmac single Eagle Rock written by the lead singer Ross Wilson. The song was featured on a postage stamp and it inspired Elton John to write Crocodile Rock. It made No.1 on the 2UE chart dated 15th June, 1971.

Mike Curb scored music for a number of films in the 1960s. His hit song Burning Bridges was used as the theme for the film Kelly's Heroes which starred Clint Eastwood. The song was a No.1 hit in South Africa and New Zealand and also topped the 2UE Top 40 in Sydney on 27th November, 1970.

Cuban-born orchestra leader Pérez Prado was known as 'The King of the Mambo' in the early 50s. His Mambo No.5 was popular in 1950 and a cha-cha version of Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White topped our hit parades in 1955. His composition Patricia was No.1 in Sydney on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 26th September, 1958.

Sue Thompson's tribute to writer John D. Loudermilk who recorded the song and made it a hit in 1961. He also wrote four big hits for Sue Thompson in the early 60s namely Norman, Sad Movies, James (Hold the Ladder Steady) and Paper Tiger.

Born in England and emigrated to Australia in 1963, Tony Barber was a member of Billy Thorpe's Aztecs before going solo in 1965. His first single, Someday was first released on the short-lived Everybody's label in November 1965 and reissued on Spin. It made No.11 on the 2UE chart dated 30th March 1966.

British actor Digby Wolfe came to Australia in 1959 to host TV programs and act in stage plays. In 1964 he moved to America and was given a voice part in the movie 'Father Goose' starring Cary Grant and Leslie Caron. Digby sang Pass Me By, the main theme from the movie.

Tommy Roe's revival of a British hit of 1957, written and recorded by Russ Hamilton. Tommy Roe had two Billboard hits in 1962, namely Sheila and Susie Darlin'. His double-sided release Rainbow/Town Crier was not a Top 40 hit in any country but it did appear at No.3 prediction for the 2UE chart dated 2nd February, 1963.

This Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen song, That Old Black Magic has been recorded by numerous singers since it was written in 1942. Bobby Rydell recorded an uptempo version which made No.21 on Billboard in 1961. Rydell's version made no.9 on Sydney's 2UE chart dated 22nd July, 1961.

Col Joye was born in Sydney and was one of the pioneers of rock and roll in Australia. His first hits date back to 1959, scoring three No.1 records that year. Heaven Is My Woman's Love made No.3 on the 2UE Top 40 dated 24th June 1973.

Hutch Davie is best known for his composition Green Door which became a hit for Jim Lowe in 1957; Davie was the pianist on the recording. In 1961 he recorded an instrumental version of Paul Lincke's The Glow-Worm composed in Berlin for the 1902 operetta 'Lysistrata'. A vocal version with English words by Johnny Mercer had been a hit for 'The Mills Brothers' in 1952.

The first Beach Boys hit for 20 years, the song was a collaboration between Mike Love (of The Beach Boys), John Phillips, Scott McKenzie and Terry Melcher. The Beach Boys recording was used in the 1988 film 'Cocktail'. It made No.1 on Billboard and also No.1 on the ARIA chart in Australia dated 8th January 1989.

Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recorded the song Do You Want to Know a Secret which had been written and recorded by 'The Beatles' for their first album. Kramer's version made No.2 in Britain. The misprint of the title on the Australian and NZ single releases came from the master recording.

Based on a 1934 calypso song from Trinidad, If You Wanna Be Happy was a Billboard No.1 and went on to be a million seller for Jimmy Soul. It made No.39 on Sydney's 2UE Top 40 chart dated 5th July, 1963. Jimmy Soul was an American singer from North Carolina; he died of a heart attack aged 45.

A 17th century English folk song, Lavender Blue was revived for the 1948 Disney film So Dear to My Heart. Burl Ives sang it in the film and Dinah Shore took it to the top of the Australian hit parades in December 1949. Sixteen years later it was recorded by a Sydney group 'Bobby Thomas and the Beaumen'. It made No.10 on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 12th January 1966.

American singer Bobby Darin began in 1958 with rock n roll songs. By the early 60s he had settled into an easy listening style, reviving many old standards. 18 Yellow Roses was a self composition included on an album of the same name. The single release was Top 10 in the USA and in Sydney it made No.21 on the 2UE Top 40 dated 12th July, 1963.

Barry Stanton was born in England and with his family, he migrated to Australia at age 7. He signed to the Lee Gordon label in 1960; his first single revived Roy Hamilton's 1957 hit Don't Let Go. Johnny O' Keefe wrote his first Top 40 hit, Don't You Worry 'Bout That. It made No.12 on 29th October, 1960.

Jacques Brel's 1961 song Le Moribond was rewritten by Rod McKuen as Seasons in the Sun. Under this title it was first recorded by The Kingston Trio. Ten years later it became a worldwide hit for Canadian singer Terry Jacks. It topped the 2UE chart on 14th April, 1974.

After only eight months in the recording industry, guitarist and singer Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash caused by bad weather over Iowa. He wrote the song Donna about his high school sweetheart. It made No.2 on Billboard and No.8 on the 2UE chart in Sydney on 16th May 1959.

American singer, Andy Rose began recording in 1958 and had a mild hit (No.69 on Billboard) with Just Young later that year. After a number of unsuccessful follow-ups he released A Rose and a Thorn. It made No.35 on Sydney's 2UE Top 40 on 24th December, 1960.

Classical musicians from a number of European Orchestras got together after WWII with conductor Fernand G. Terby to record classical albums on 78 rpm discs. In the 50s and 60s they recorded a number of 12 inch vinyl pop music albums under the name "The Brussels New Concert Orchestra". Jo van Wetter's Hawaiian Calypso was recorded for a 1962 album and it was also released on a 7 inch single.

Johnny Rivers started recording in 1960 but it was not until 1964 that he had his first Billboard hit. He topped Billboard with Poor Side of Town in 1967. He had only four Top 40 hits on Sydney, the last being his recording of the Joe South song These Are Not My People. It made No.33 on the 2UE Top 40 chart on 23rd April, 1969.

Warpaint is an American song composed and recorded by Barry Mann in 1960. It was recorded in England by Geoff and Ricky Brook (The Brook Brothers) with accompaniment provided by Tony Hatch. It made No.5 in Britain on 10th May, 1961 and in Sydney it was Prediction No.35 for the 2UE Top 40 on 27th May, 1961.

The Australian band 'Jigsaw' formed in 1968 in Melbourne and took the name from an album by The Shadows. Recording for an independent label they were able to avoid the 1970 record ban and had a No.1 record with Yellow River. Later, they recorded the 1970 German hit Mademoiselle Ninette and it reached No.14 on the 2UE Top 40 on 2nd November, 1972.

An Australian instrumental quartet, 'The Taymen' formed in Adelaide in 1961 and took the name from their bass guitarist Watson Tay. The following year they recorded an instrumental version of The Wayward Wind which was a huge vocal hit for Gogi Grant in 1956. Not a hit in Sydney, 'The Taymen' version made No.20 on Adelaide's 5AD Top 40 late in 1962.

Peggy Lee wrote the theme for the MGM film 'Tom Thumb' which starred 23-year-old Russ Tamblyn as Tom. The film was made in England and was the 8th most popular film of 1959. It was shown in Sydney during the May school holidays at the St James Theatre. Earlier, Russ Tamblyn had appeared as 'Gideon' in the 1954 musical film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

When I Get Thru With You followed Patsy Cline's previous hits: I Fall to Pieces, Crazy and She's Got You. It made No.53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in Sydney it was listed as Prediction No.40 for 2UE's chart dated 23rd June, 1962. Harlan Howard wrote the song and it was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee for Decca.

Sarah Vaughan was born in New Jersey and began recording in the 1940s. Her first commercial success was Black Coffee in 1949 and in 1959 she peaked with Broken Hearted Melody. Mary Contrary was written in 1960 by an American, Jack Wolf Fine and an Englishman, Edward Lisbona. Sarah Vaughan recorded it for Mercury later that year.

Written by Bobby Pickett and Leonard Capizzi, Monster Mash was a spoof of the 1962 dance craze, 'The Mashed Potato'. It was declined by record companies until Gary Paxton released it on his 'Garpax' label in July 1962. It made No.1 on Billboard for 2 weeks (20th and 27th October) but despite much airplay it was not a hit in Sydney until its re-release in 1973 (No.1, 14th October).

La Bamba, a traditional folk song from 17th century Mexico was recorded in 1939 by 'El Jarocho' from Veracruz. Twenty years later it was internationally popular when Ritchie Valens recorded it in U.S.A. In 1965, 'The Ventures' recorded an instrumental version in the "à Go-Go" style, popular at the time.

Movie star, television star and singer, Paul Peterson had a number of Billboard hits in the early 1960s. In 1968 he recorded the R. Dean Taylor song A Little Bit for Sandy and it became his first Top 40 hit in Australia making Sydney's 2UE chart at No.17 on 20th November 1968.

American country singer and songwriter, Jean Pruett had little early success when she was signed to RCA records in 1963. Little Black Book was the second RCA single release. In the early 70s she had a few hits on the U.S. country music charts but in 1973 she had an international hit with her single Satin Sheets.

Faron Young, a country singer from Louisiana U.S.A. began recording for Capitol records in 1952. His biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was Hello Walls in 1961. In Sydney he had a big hit with It's Four in the Morning in 1972. The Yellow Bandana made No.4 on U.S. country charts and was nearly a hit in Australia (Prediction No.42 for the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 9th March, 1963).

Danish pianist and composer Bent Fabric composed this tune under the pseudonym Frank Björn. The Danish title Omkring et flygel means 'Around the Piano' but the title became Alley Cat when the disc was released world-wide. It became a million seller, was a Top 10 hit on Billboard and made the No.1 spot on the 2UE chart dated 20th October, 1962.

Although they had a number of single hits, English band 'The Moody Blues' was best known for albums, 18 of which went gold or platinum and 70 million were sold across the world. An American song, Go Now! was their first single, topping the English charts, and Top 10 in Ireland, Canada and the USA. It made No.14 in Sydney on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 17th March, 1965.

Melbourne-born Diana Trask moved to the U.S.A. in 1958 and became a regular on Mitch Miller's TV program, 'Sing Along with Mitch'. In 1960 she recorded the Hal David/Burt Bacharach song Long Ago Last Summer; it peaked at No.39 on the 2UE Top 40 dated 10th September, 1960.

The English group Procol Harum formed early in 1967 and they recorded their debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale in April of that year. It was a No.1 hit in several countries including Australia. It topped the Sydney 2UE chart on 5th July, 1967.

The song Move Two Mountains was written by Berry Gordy Jr. for Marv Johnson. A cover version was recorded by Sydney group, 'Bix Bryant and The Raiders' for Rex records; it was their first release. Neither version of the song was a Top 40 hit in Sydney.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote this satire of "westerns" as seen through the eyes of a television viewer. The Coasters recorded it in 1959, taking it to No.9 on Billboard. Ten years later Ray Stevens' version made No.27 on Billboard and No.6 on Sydney's 2UE Top 40 dated 27th August, 1969.

The easy listening version of this country song was recorded by Jack Jones. It topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for 1 week in April 1965. The song was written by Don Rollins in 1961 for Jimmie Gray. While it was not a Top 40 hit in Sydney, the Jack Jones version made the charts in other states of Australia.

The Routers was a quintet of (mainly) instrumentalists from California. The bass guitarist was Scott Engel who later joined the Walker Brothers as Scott Walker. Leon Russell and Hal Blaine were also involved with the group. Sting Ray appeared at a peak of No.31 on the 2UE Top 40 prediction list in June 1963 but climbed to No.14 on the 2SM Top 100 chart on 26th July in the same year.

Jefferson was once a member of a British quintet, 'The Rockin' Berries' where he sang falsetto and played guitar from 1961 to 1968. When the group disbanded he went solo. Baby, Take Me in Your Arms was not a hit in England but it did well in America and Canada. In Sydney it made No.33 on the 2UE chart dated 11th March, 1970.

American girl group, The Shirelles released their first record on Decca in 1958 and then joined Scepter Records in 1959. They topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the Gerry Goffin and Carole King song Will You Love Me Tomorrow. They recorded Foolish Little Girl early in 1963 and it climbed to No.4 on Billboard (25th May 1963).

The song was an English language version of Drupi's 1973 European hit, Vado Via. Osmosis was probably a South African studio group. She was only a hit in Africa and Australia where it made No.2 on the 2UE Top 40 chart dated 21st April, 1974. Another English language song with the same melody was a hit in New Zealand in 1975 viz. Words by Tony Christie.