1953 was a pivotal post-war year marked by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,
the first ascent of Mount Everest by Hillary and Norgay and the end of the Korean War.
Other significant events include Stalin's death and the discovery of DNA's structure.
Did they use Stalin's DNA?
The UK singles chart began on November 14th 1952,
compiled by Percy Dickins of the New Musical Express (NME).
The first-ever number one was 'Here in My Heart' by Al Martino.
Al's smash hit remained in top spot into 1953.
While various charts emerged in the 1950s, this NME chart is recognized
as the beginning of the official, weekly sales-based countdown.
In the US, the Billboard Hot 100 began on August 4th 1958,
with 'Poor Little Fool' by Ricky Nelson as the first number one.
I found an old data DVD which has all the UK No.1 hits from 1952 to 2004.
It was in the same cardboard box that yielded the previous Zappa post.
The files are 128 kbps MP3s (done in 2005 to fit it all on one disc)
This project was worked on by different people and there may be errors.
I recall someone had inadvertently used Van Halen's version
of 'You Really Got Me' instead of The Kinks for example.
I can rectify many but I can't be sure about all of the eras.
It is tempting (and good fun) to head for the years in the collection
which tally with your own first memories of getting into pop music
but I think it's also interesting to check out the year you were born.
It's like a tiny window on how the world was when you arrived.
In 1947 Melody Maker published the first chart based on sheet music sales.
Sheet music used to be a big deal.
That, along with publishing rights, was where the money lay.
It was the age of the songwriter.
Songs would be performed and recorded by numerous artists.
Having a hit was about making the most popular recording
rather than singing original material.
The 1953 chart shows David Whitfield's rendition of 'Answer Me'
was knocked off the top spot by Frankie Laine doing the same bloody song!
Frankie was on fire in 1953 with a trio of number ones.
'Answer Me' is a popular song, originally titled 'Mütterlein',
with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch.
'Mütterlein' was published on April 19th 1952.
English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, and the song was published
as 'Answer Me' in New York on October 13th 1953.
The song has been recorded by dozens of people over the years.
I'm not sure how many share my enthusiasm for the history of music
but this is cool to me and the low quality is actually quite apt
as it's a bit like listening to the radio back in the day.
So here's all the smash hits from 1953. A decade before I was born.
When Sir Billy Himalaya was still a young man
just back from his first tour of duty in Burma.
BTW There are a lot of great memorable songs that peaked at No.2.
I remember looking into making a compilation of those
but, alas, many of the early ones had simply vanished.
regards
Titus
