thatnumber1sguy

[thatnumber1sguy]

Brandi tries to reassure Dustin that her pregnancy won't mean he is neglected.

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Darren learns of Cassandra's engagement to Don.

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Mortimer rants to Dina about Cassandra and Don's engagement.

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Cassandra tells Mary-Sue about the engagement. Mary-Sue is surprised but happy for her friend.

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Dustin is ANGRY. He doesn't know why he's angry and he doesn't care but he knows that trash can is gonna get it good.

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Mary-Sue suspects something is going on between Daniel and Kaylynn. She asks her husband about it but he tells her not to be ridiculous.

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Don proposes to Cassandra. Minutes before, Mortimer had warned him against marrying his daughter but clearly his plan had failed.

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That Was The Year That Was: 1953

...and a bit of 1952! For completions sake, we'll include Here in my Heart in this review, as it was the only song to chart in 1952!

Best song: I Believe by Frankie Laine. A song that offers hope and a decent build-up. What more could you ask for?

Worst song: i almost went for Answer Me because I'm still annoyed and puzzled by how that song managed to dominate the chart at the end of the year, but Broken Wings by the Stargazers pretty much beats it into submission. What a piece of whiny dirge!

Most Weeks in the Chart: I Believe by Frankie Laine. 18 weeks, folks! What a score to beat! And honestly, I can't argue with that.

Most Bizarre Song: She Wears Red Feathers by Guy Mitchell. Despite it not aging well in 2023, it still managed to win me round. Just don't think too hard about the lyrics. Honourable mention to How Much Is That Doggie in the Window which was an enjoyable listen but probably shouldn't have been a number 1!

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15. Frankie Laine - Answer Me

13th November 1953 - 11th December 1953

Thoughts I had before listening: This isn't the same song, is it? Oh no, Frankie Laine doesn't do opera, does he?? I'm not sure I can go through another rendition of this!

The bad news is, it's the same song. The good news? At least Frankie Laine manages to inject some feeling into it.

I wish I'd listened to this first. Truly I do. Because this is the superior version, there's no question about it. Under Frankie Laine, this FEELS like a prayer. His voice is smooth, the track in general has more 'get up and go' about it, and I particularly like towards the end of the song when he almost shouts the 'so' in 'Send her back SO I can start anew'. It really conveys the desperation he's feeling.

But it's just, after the last dismal effort, I'm in no mood to hear this again. And it means I'm going to be a lot more down on this track than it deserves. I was looking forward to more Frankie Laine, and I'm disappointed that the second-to-last time we hear him is here. We'll hear from him again in 1956 so maybe that will be better.

And what is up with this song?? People were obsessed with it! This goes on to be replaced by the David Whitfield version for a week before being replaced by THIS version again. And on the 11th December, both versions were jointly number 1 (which I don't remember ever hearing being a thing before so I assume this is a quirk of the early charts?).

Next up, a recap of 1953. And then we're into 1954, which will hopefully feature different songs, not just different artists covering Answer Me.

[thatnumber1sguy]

14. David Whitfield - Answer Me

6th November 1953 - 13th November 1953 11th December- 18th December

So, technically this is perfect. 'Technically' being the operative word here. If I was a singing teacher, I'd go ahead and tell David Whitfield that there's no point paying out for the lessons, he's got it (actually I wouldn't say that because in this scenario, I'm a singing teacher and I need the money. But I digress...). Unfortunately for David Whitfield, I am not a singing teacher, merely a listener. So I'm judging more on performance, emotion, that sort of thing.

Which leads me to...

Man, can we get some damn feeling into these words please?

It almost feels like the words are in the way, what with Whitfield enunciating perfectly, spitting the words out like he does, like he's too scared to deviate from the sheet music. I refuse to believe this guy would lower himself to pray to the Lord because I don't believe he is capable of religious feeling.

I'm sure there are crowds in 1953 who would find this inspiring, thought-provoking. Alas, in 2023, this really does sound old-fashioned.

Let's not end on a negative note though. This is arranged beautifully and I love the orchestration. It's just giving me too many Pavarotti singing Too Much Love Will Kill You vibes. Seriously, if you want an example of technically perfect awfulness, check it out. I refuse to link it, I hate it that much!

Moving on!

[thatnumber1sguy]

13. Frankie Laine - Hey Joe

23rd October 1953 - 6th November 1953

Our pal Frankie Laine is back! 1953 is shaping up to be his year!

And it's cool to hear him sing in a different style to the last song. But this is a bit too country for me. I like my country the way I like my curries - as mild as possible!

This is nowhere near as good as I Believe, and I wouldn't be surprised if listening to the previous song influenced buyers who expected more of the same. This is a decent enough offering but I can't help thinking some people might have been left disappointed.

I just had a look to see if we could expect to hear further from Frankie Laine. The good news is we have two more offerings, at least for the 1950s (we could have more but the page I checked only lists the 1950s singles and I don't want to give too much away for myself! :D). Including one more in 1953. Like I said, this is proving to be his year!

[thatnumber1sguy]

12. Guy Mitchell - Look at that Girl

11th September 1953 - 23rd October 1953

I can't help it, Guy Mitchell is growing on me!

The good news is, I can feel less guilty saying it here because his second song to reach number 1 contains no racist undertones! Hurrah!

His voice is light as a feather, oh-so-slightly crooning through the song, sung in a teasing sort of manner. I like the call-and-response section between him and his backing singers. And I like the nifty guitar solo in the middle. The first time a guitar solo has hit number 1! My only critique is that the backing singers feel a tad heavy, especially contrasted to Guy Mitchell's aforementioned light voice.

It doesn't sound like his songs are ever going to be a challenging listen. But honestly I like that! It's breaking up some of the monotony of the more crooning and even operatic songs!

[thatnumber1sguy]

11. Mantovani - The Song from Moulin Rouge

14th August 1953 - 21st August 1953

This is our first instrumental, something I hadn't reckoned with when starting this project, and my first thought was 'this is from a soundtrack'. Strangely enough, it's from Moulin Rouge, although the version in the film had lyrics.

This is a thoroughly nice (and this time I mean 'nice') piece conducted by Mantovani which brings to mind little French cafes on a Saturday afternoon. In general, instrumentals will either work for me (as in, they evoke some sense of what the song is about) or they don't. This one did.

I don't know if I've heard it before. I listen to a lot of soundtracks, and I'd heard of Mantovani, so it's possible but it's not one I remember, and it's not one I imagine will stick with me. It doesn't feel special enough to be a number 1 but what do I know?

[thatnumber1sguy]

10. Eddie Fisher with Sally Sweetland - I'm Walking Behind You

26/06/1953 - 03/07/1953

Well could you stop walking behind me, Eddie Fisher? You're giving me the creeps!

This is a perfectly nice song if by 'nice', you mean 'dull and safe'. Eddie can be relied upon to croon at a super-slow speed, we have Sally Sweetland providing some pointless operatic harmony.

You know what? I'm boring myself just typing this. This is dull, dull, dull. It's not dirge, but damned if it'll ever inspire any strong feelings in me.

[thatnumber1sguy]

9. Frankie Laine - I Believe

24th April 1953 - 26th June 1953, 3rd July 1953 - 14th August 1953 21st August 1953 - 11th September 1953

And another song I know! I promise I'll stop pointing that out once that becomes more common.

This was a surprise though, in that I wasn't expecting to know this song. 'I Believe' is a vague enough title that it didn't ring any bells until I started listening to the music. And then it took me back. I love when music does that!

I first heard this through singing with the choir at primary school. This would have been number 1, I'm guessing, during my teacher's childhood (RIP Mr Gentry, who passed away sadly just before he was due to retire ten years ago), and I've heard cover versions since, specifically one that builds up the song even more than good old Frankie Laine does here. Which, admittedly, I was missing (I have no idea which cover that might be, Wikipedia lists loads, including - spoiler alert - a cover that will hit number 1 in the 90s which I'm sure we'll get to in about four years).

Frankie Laine does a good job though, staying just the right side of crooning to give us a very listenable version, which starts off unassuming and builds slowly to a wonderful crescendo. And I love the lyrics, especially 'I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word'. A song for the religious and agnostics alike!

Like the last song, I was curious about the origins, thinking the song itself might have been older than the version listed here, but again I was surprised. It was commissioned by someone called Jane Froman, who wanted a song that offered hope during the troubled times of the Korean War in 1952. This ended up being the first hit song introduced on television which is a pretty nifty record to have!

Back to Laine's version, this was the biggest-selling song of the year (a fact I'll try and mention each year. Here in my Heart was obviously the biggest-selling song of 1952 but since it was the ONLY song to chart in 1952, that's not quite as impressive! :D) and ties with Here in my Heart at 9 weeks. It then re-entered the charts later on in the year for a further six weeks, and then again for another three weeks! Clearly people needed a bit of hope, and it makes sense. Post World War 2 (and with the Korean War going on, not to mention tensions with Russia which would only escalate from here), I sense the British populace were hoping for peace, for a better life, for music better than the Stargazers (I promise I'll stop picking on them soon!). That's what they got here, and I'm not surprised that it stayed at the top for so long.

[thatnumber1sguy]

8. Lita Roza - (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?

Finally, a song I know! And this most certainly isn't dirge!

I don't know for sure how I know this. I think it's one of those songs you come across early on in your childhood, and it gets stuck there. I seem to think it might have been on a tape (remember those, people of a certain age and over?) of nursery rhymes we had in the car when I was little, but I couldn't be certain.

What I didn't know was that this was a piece from the 1950s. I would have thought it was older but nope, Wiki tells me it was first recorded at the beginning of 1953 for Patti Page.

We're focused on the Lita Roza version though, as that's the song that topped the charts. And man, what a relief to hear something like this after the Stargazers did their best to drive me to drink! The song is a joy, I loved the 'woof woof' sound effect after the main line, and Lita Roza has a calm assured voice that has assuaged my headache!

I suppose you could argue about whether Guy Mitchell's 'She Wears Red Feathers' was a novelty song (Wiki says no, I say yes) but there seems to be no argument here. This is the best kind of novelty song, one you simply can't help but enjoy, and not in a 'so bad, it's good' way. It's brought a smile to my face, and I love a happy song, and heck, I haven't grown up yet, despite being almost 30 (gulp!) so big round of applause from me.

And talk about diversity! I worried in my first post that the 1950s charts would sound the same. There's definitely a sound going on (crooning followed possibly by swing/jazz so far!) but we're bouncing around the genres enough to keep it interesting. I wonder what's next?

[thatnumber1sguy]

7. The Stargazers - Broken Wings

10th April - 17th April 1953

We have our first group! And do they introduce group efforts with a bang, a truly unforgettable song that will stay with us to the end of time?

No they don't.

My god, this is such a heavy, ponderous song. I have a bit of a headache after listening to it. We have backing that sounds like the orchestra have been chugging it back beforehand and have got depressed drunk, and the singers themselves are no better.

Yes, they can sing. But honestly, I wish they wouldn't. What a whiny piece of dirge this is. In my opinion, a lot of today's music qualifies as dirge, thanks in part to one mister Ed Sheeran, the king of dirge. But even he pales in comparison to this piece. It feels like a dreary hymn sung in a church that can't fix the heating on a bitingly cold winter's day.

Guy Mitchell, come back! All is forgiven!