The Ultimate Averaged Chart - The BBC Chart Re-Imagined

[Robbie]

A very strange chart run by Mel Torme.

[Robbie]

I am sure Monsieur Tibbs will be able to fit in all the words when the record appears!

In the USA these novelty records were played by Dr Demento in his networked radio show. He also lent his name to compilation albums; some were released over here although noone knew who he was. I remember a Best Of album; the Spike Jones track on there was 'Do you want to buy a bunny?'.

If you have an internet radio you can still hear his show, other novelty record stations - and even a 24 hour Goons station.

I remember Dr Demento from a show he hosted on AFN (American Forces Network) Europe in the late 1970s. He played a number of weird records, or at least that's how they sounded at the time to the young me. If I recall his show was on at 9pm on weekday nights with Wolfman Jack on an hour earlier at 8pm. It was the first time I'd heard of either DJ. I've just checked and Dr Demento is still around and is 80 year old.

[MrTibbs]

After floating around for weeks, then leaving the chart, re-entering last week Mel Torme suddenly takes a JUMP right into the middle of the top ten.
Similarly after starting slowly Slim Whitman's Serenade is now also making waves too.
As Tony Martin goes top three another two versions by Ronnie Carroll and Jimmy Parkinson are charting too.

[MrTibbs]

Greetings Pop Pickers

Here is the next Ultimate Averaged Chart for Week Ending August 4th 1956

Here are all '' the uppers, the downers, the just hanging 'arounders '

The Ultimate Averaged Chart - Week Ending August 4th 1956							NME	MM	RM	Total
Last	This		The Sound Survey			Stores	65	20	60	Points
Week	Week		The Top 30 Singles Chart					TOP	30	Scored
1	1	Why Do Fools Fall In Love - The Teenagers					1	1	1	4350
6	2	Whatever Will Be Will Be - Doris Day					2	5	2	4145
5	3	Walk Hand In Hand - Tony Martin					3	2	5	3960
14	4	A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl - Teresa Brewer					5	3	3	3930
2	5	I'll Be Home - Pat Boone					4	4	4	3915
17	6	Mountain Greenery - Mel Torme					9	11	7	3270
4	7	Hearbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley					6	6	12	3265
10	8	The Wayward Wind - Tex Ritter					8	10	9	3235
7	9	Bluebottle Blues / I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas - The Goons					10	13	6	3225
11	10	Who Are We - Ronnie Hilton					6	8	13	3165
3	11	All Star Hit Parade - Various Artists					13	7	8	3030
13	12	The Saints Rock'n'Roll - Bill Haley and His Comets					12	9	11	2875
12	13	The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant					14	19	10	2605
9	14	Experiments With Mice - Johnny Dankworth					15	13	14	2420
8	15	Hot Diggity - Perry Como					10	12	20	2405
23	16	Serenade - Slim Whitman					18	16	15	2105
19	17	Walk Hand In Hand - Ronnie Carroll					19	17	18	1840
28	18	The Faithful Hussar - Ted Heath					20		17	1555
15	19	Lost John - Lonnie Donegan					21		16	1550
25	20	Too Young To Go Steady - Nat King Cole					16	15		1295
21	21	Left Bank - Winifred Atwell					17			910
16	22	Moonglow And Theme From Picnic - Morris Stoloff					22	17		865
NEW	23	Walk Hand In Hand - Jimmy Parkinson							19	720
RE	24	I Want You I Need You I Love You - Elvis Presley					23			520
RE	25	Carousel Waltz - Ray Martin					24			455
RE	26	Hot Diggity - Michael Holliday					25			390
20	27	My September Love - David Whitfield					27			260
24	28	A Tear Fell - Teresa Brewer						19		240
18	29	Bad Penny Blues - Humphrey Lyttleton					28			195
27	30	The Birds And The Bees - Alma Cogan					29			130
30		Long Tall Sally - Pat Boone					30			65
		Songs For Swingin' Lovers (LP) - Frank Sinatra					26			325
22		Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent
26		Rock Island Line / Heartbreak Hotel - Stan Freberg
29		Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley

[Splodj]

the Goon credits are always fun. And yes I think thats about right.

I am sure Monsieur Tibbs will be able to fit in all the words when the record appears!

In the USA these novelty records were played by Dr Demento in his networked radio show. He also lent his name to compilation albums; some were released over here although noone knew who he was. I remember a Best Of album; the Spike Jones track on there was 'Do you want to buy a bunny?'.

If you have an internet radio you can still hear his show, other novelty record stations - and even a 24 hour Goons station.

[CatoFur]

he also did a parody of the cop shows at the time I liked - Saint George and the Dragnet I believe although I might have the title wrong.

Whitburn has it as "St. George And The Dragonet". Fun record.

[MrTibbs]

Stan Freberg was huge in America. Have a listen to All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.

For me the best parody of All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth was Spike Jones and His City Slickers who had US number one with it over Christmas 1948. It really is very good.

[kingofskiffle]

Stan Freberg was huge in America. Have a listen to All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. Heard it for the first times as a small kid way before Mariah did all I want for Christmas is you and yet every time I hear hers I want to sing his lyric instead!

he also did a parody of the cop shows at the time I liked - Saint George and the Dragnet I believe although I might have the title wrong.

the Goon credits are always fun. And yes I think that’s about right. I’ve had the same issue trying to get the right artist credits for the database.

[Splodj]

I have probably got some of that spelling wrong - trying to read it off photos of the record.

[Splodj]

Ah well ... the subject of full artist credit brings us to the forthcoming Goons record.

The A side is 'featuring Major Dennis Bloodnok with Roland Rockcake und stizen Wholly Rockers'.

The B side is 'mit Maurice Ponke und seimen Orchestra Fromage'.

[Robbie]

NEW

26

Rock Island Line / Heartbreak Hotel - Stan Freberg

Don’t remember that combination. Were these instrumental versions?

I've not heard of Stan Freberg so had to look him up. It appears he was a big radio personality, an actor, a comedian and a musician among many other things. The two songs were parody songs.

https://www.45cat.com/record/cl14608

The above entry at 45.cat includes a youtube video for each song.

'Rock Island Line' is officially the B side. The artist credit for the song is Stan Freberg And His Sniffle Group!

[brian05]

NEW

26

Rock Island Line / Heartbreak Hotel - Stan Freberg

Don’t remember that combination. Were these instrumental versions?

[MrTibbs]

However please keep all your comments coming in between chart postings as these too help to keep the thread alive and interesting and encourage views. Thanks to you all who commented and liked above. Your commitment continues to be much appreciated as with all other followers of the thread too.

[MrTibbs]

Hi guys, worry ye not. I never intended to stop posting the UAC, the project means as much to me as it obviously does to all of you judging by your comments above. It's important to finish it to give a complete run between 1955 and 1969 so that was never in doubt.

The point I raised above was just my frustration at the drop off in daily visits to it. I probably was a bit unrealistic in my expectations that these years would generate as much interest as the later years. That said I also believed that the uniqueness of lining up the competing charts side by side was a first not to be found in any book and that alone would carry it as a contribution of historical musical interest even for those not interested in these early charts.

Kjell's point above is relevant in that we have already seen how little interest or even knowledge survives on the Sheet Music Chart of the 40's and early 50's and now the later 50's seems to be heading the same way and we are in danger of losing and forgetting our cultural and musical heritage if not kept to the fore.

[RokinRobinOfLocksley]

Keep on rockin' Brian...

[CatoFur]

I suspect as the country opens up post-Covid (until the next lockdown, anyway), people are spending less time on the internet, maybe only checking in weekly or monthly where it used to be daily. I know I've been off this site altogether for a few months, but it doesn't mean I won't be interested in catching up.
Anyway, it's about sharing what we have for the benefit of posterity. It doesn't matter a damn to me whether someone reads my words today, tomorrow, next year or a decade from now. Keep up the good work.

[kjell]

I follow this thread daily Brian and I know you’re posting every other day. There are interesting comments during the in between days. Your system of placing the main charts alongside each other is interesting and revealing, and I know from earlier discussions that you’ve found the best possible way to rank the different hits. What beats me is the fact that too few are interested in the music of the fifties. At 76 and being a music fan since my teens I’ve found that that moment in time has more interesting and varied music than that of today. By reading your thread more people will find a guide to the 50ies music. Do keep up this good work.

[Splodj]

Anyone know why Mountain Greenery has reappeared on all 3 charts?

I don't know, but it is one of those records that performed much better in the UK than USA. I assume that sales here were heavily dependent on exposure on the few record shows on the Light Programme like Family Favourites and Housewife's Choice. (I am ashamed to say I had not heard of Mel Torme until the film 'Top Secret'!)

The BBC were probably doing their best to promote UK artists, but few of these were making the charts.

Has I been a record buyer at this time I think I would be seeking out more Elvis records. But whereas RCA in the States had re-released all the Sun records, His Masters Voice over here had not. Clearly people like Lennon were able to get hold of these tracks but I assume they were imports.

(I realise HMV did release some Sun tracks on the first LP and, of these, Mystery Train as a single in Feb-57.)

[kingofskiffle]

I’d still post regardless of viewing figures. For myself I’ve been quite busy with work this week so get to look at the weekend (like now) more regularly.

do keep up the good work

[braindeadpj]

Anyone know why Mountain Greenery has reappeared on all 3 charts?

[Graham76man]

While I might be the first to criticise these charts, that doesn't mean you should give up doing them just because there are less viewing them. Yes it's only the 1950's and as old as I am I wasn't around even as a baby back then. So there's likely not many people that are into the music of the 1950's on UKMIX. But you can't quit for some stupid reasons as low viewing figures. If you did, I'm certain somebody else would finish them and then take the credit for it. That's happened before.
You should see my blog viewing figures they are up and down like crazy. Last week I had more visitors from the USA than the UK, which surprises me. In third place Germany. And you wouldn't think they would be into the UK charts or the other things on my blog.

You just have to your own thing and dam the figures and critics!

[braindeadpj]

You're only updating every other day that's gonna half the number of visitors. It's still a worthwhile project for numerous reasons, not least that you placing the charts side by side and generating an average a la the BBC but with the added twist of a store count. It's definitely not a stale topic. The problem (not that there really is one) may be that its 65 years ago meaning that people that were around then are in their 70s and 80s now and so less likely to be on the internet. While you have Elvis and Cliff starting to take off, many people still may not be able to relate to the songs as much and so you're primarily get the chart aficionados more than the casual reader. Still worth continuing. Please don't stop!

[MrTibbs]

Wow that's a new low for me, 66 views in a day and I once thought 100 was bad a few months ago. 150 used to be the norm. Where am I going wrong it's a lot of work for a handful of views. Maybe the topic has become stale.

[MrTibbs]

Not content with 'stealing' the glory from Fats Domino and The Flamingos Pat Boone now covers and takes Little Richard's Long Tall Sally into the chart. Little Richard will have the last laugh though though as his original version will be the much bigger hit next year.

Dot records were notorious for 'covering' such originals though with Gale Storm, The Fontaine Sisters and The Hilltoppers also recently guilty of this.

[MrTibbs]

Greetings Pop Pickers

Here is the next Ultimate Averaged Chart for Week Ending July 28th 1956

Here are all '' the uppers, the downers, the just hanging 'arounders '

The Ultimate Averaged Chart - Week Ending July 28th 1956							NME	MM	RM	Total
Last	This		The Sound Survey			Stores	65	20	60	Points
Week	Week		The Top 30 Singles Chart					TOP	30	Scored
1	1	Why Do Fools Fall In Love - The Teenagers					1	1	1	4350
2	2	I'll Be Home - Pat Boone					2	2	3	4145
3	3	All Star Hit Parade - Various Artists					6	5	2	3885
5	4	Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley					4	3	5	3875
9	5	Walk Hand In Hand - Tony Martin					5	4	6	3730
13	6	Whatever Will Be Will Be - Doris Day					3	8	7	3720
4	7	Bluebottle Blues / I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas - The Goons					8		4	3615
7	8	Hot Diggity - Perry Como					7	6	12	3200
6	9	Experiments With Mice - Johnny Dankworth					11	12	8	3060
11	10	The Wayward Wind - Tex Ritter					10	7	11	3045
12	11	Who Are We - Ronnie Hilton					9	9	13	2950
8	12	The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant					12	11	10	2895
14	13	The Saints Rock'n'Roll - Bill Haley and His Comets					13	16	9	2790
18	14	A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl - Teresa Brewer					15	13	15	2360
10	15	Lost John - Lonnie Donegan					14	20	14	2345
15	16	Moonglow And Theme From Picnic - Morris Stoloff					16	13	18	2115
RE	17	Mountain Greenery - Mel Torme					20	15	16	1935
17	18	Bad Penny Blues - Humphrey Lyttleton					20		18	1495
NEW	19	Walk Hand In Hand - Ronnie Carroll					19	18		1040
19	20	My September Love - David Whitfield					17			910
21	21	Left Bank - Winifred Atwell					18			845
29	22	Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent							17	840
RE	23	Serenade - Slim Whitman					29		20	790
16	24	A Tear Fell - Teresa Brewer							20	660
23	25	Too Young To Go Steady - Nat King Cole					23			520
NEW	26	Rock Island Line / Heartbreak Hotel - Stan Freberg					24			455
28	27	The Birds And The Bees - Alma Cogan					25			390
26	28	The Faithful Hussar - Ted Heath					26			325
RE	29	Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley						16		300
NEW	30	Long Tall Sally - Pat Boone					27			260
		I'm In Love Again - Fats Domino					28			195
22		Portuguese Washerwoman - Joe 'Fingers' Carr					30			65
		I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas - The Goons						10
		Bluebottle Blues - The Goons						19
		Songs For Swingin' Lovers (LP) - Frank Sinatra					22			585
20		Hot Diggity - Michael Holliday
24		No Other Love - Ronnie Hilton
25		I Want You I Need You I Love You - Elvis Presley
27		The Faithful Hussar - Louis Armstrong