Showing posts with label Don't Be Cruel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don't Be Cruel. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Billboard: Top 200 Songs (1890-1958)

Billboard:

Top 200 Songs, 1890-1958

In 2018, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Hot 100, Billboard magazine published a list of the top 600 songs in the history of the chart (see here). However, that ignored the 60+ years of charts the magazine had done prior to that. This rectifies that situation by offering a list of the top songs from the pre-Hot 100 era.

See other chart-based lists here and specific Billboard lists here.

1. Elvis Presley “Don’t Be Cruel” / “Hound Dog” (1956)
2. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
3. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
4. Guy Mitchell “Singing the Blues” (1956)
5. Anton Karas “The Third Man Theme” (1950)
6. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (1942)
7. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
8. The Mills Brothers “Paper Doll” (1942)
9. Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
10. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)

11. Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (1920)
12. Vernon Dalhart “The Prisoner’s Song” (1925)
13. Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (1947)
14. The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra “Goodnight Irene” (1950)
15. Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” (1952)
16. Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)
17. Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940)
18. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
19. Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
20. George J. Gaskin “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897)

21. Byron Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” (1907)
22. Johnnie Ray & the Four Lads “Cry” (1951)
23. Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (1943)
24. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
25. Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra “Whispering” (1920)
26. Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Oh What It Seemed to Be” (1946)
27. Dinah Shore & Her Harper Valley Boys “Buttons and Bows” (1948)
28. Ted Weems with Elmo Tanner “Heartaches” (1947)
29. George J. Gaskin “After the Ball” (1893)
30. Les Paul with Mary Ford “Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)” (1953)

31. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
32. Al Jolson “Sonny Boy” (1928)
33. Byron Harlan “My Gal Sal” (1907)
34. Henry Burr “Beautiful Ohio” (1919)
35. American Quartet “Over There” (1917)
36. Perry Como “Till the End of Time” (1945)
37. Percy Faith with Felicia Sanders “Where Is Your Heart (Song from “Moulin Rouge”)” (1953)
38. American Quartet with Billy Murray “Casey Jones” (1910)
39. Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
40. Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell “Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)” (1941)

41. Tony Bennett “Because of You” (1951)
42. Arthur Collins “The Preacher and the Bear” (1905)
43. Henry Burr “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (For Her Daddy Over There)” (1918)
44. The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen’s Orchestra “Rum and Coca-Cola” (1945)
45. Guy Lombardo “The Third Man Theme” (1950)
46. Leo Reisman & His Orchestra with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers “Cheek to Cheek” (1935)
47. Al Jolson “April Showers” (1922)
48. Leo Reisman’s Orchestra with Fred Astaire “Night and Day” (1932)
49. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
50. Haydn Quartet “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” (1909)

51. Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
52. Bing Crosby with George Stoll’s Orchestra “Pennies from Heaven” (1936)
53. Harry MacDonough with Elise Stevenson (as Miss Walton) “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1909)
54. Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra with Franklyn Baur “Valencia (A Song of Spain)” (1926)
55. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
56. Bing Crosby with Lani McIntire & His Hawaiians “Sweet Leilani” (1937)
57. Nick Lucas “Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” (1929)
58. Vaughn Monroe’s Orchestra “Ballerina” (1947)
59. Elvis Presley “All Shook Up” (1957)
60. George Olsen with Joe Morrison “The Last Round-Up” (1933)

61. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
62. Byron Harlan “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1906)
63. Ted Lewis & His Band “In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town” (1932)
64. Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees “Stein Song (University of Maine)” (1930)
65. Len Spencer “Arkansaw Traveler” (1902)
66. Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
67. Glenn Miller Orchestra with Ray Eberle & The Modernaires “Moonlight Cocktail” (1942)
68. Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons” (1955)
69. Kay Starr “Wheel of Fortune” (1952)
70. Dan Quinn “The Band Played On” (1895)

71. Eddy Howard “To Each His Own” (1946)
72. Dan Quinn “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895)
73. The McGuire Sisters “Sincerely” (1955)
74. Elvis Presley “Love Me Tender” (1956)
75. George W. Johnson “The Laughing Song” (1891)
76. Perez “Prez” Prado “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” (1955)
77. Pat Boone “Love Letters in the Sand” (1957)
78. Danny & The Juniors “At the Hop” (1957)
79. Elvis Presley “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” (1957)
80. Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)

81. Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
82. Haydn Quartet “Bedelia” (1904)
83. Tab Hunter “Young Love” (1956)
84. Victor Orchestra “The Glow-Worm” (1908)
85. Eileen Barton “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” (1950)
86. George J. Gaskin “My Old New Hampshire Home” (1898)
87. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
88. Dinah Shore “The Gypsy” (1946)
89. J.W. Myer “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
90. The Four Aces “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” (1955)

91. George J. Gaskin “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” (1900)
92. Gogi Grant “The Wayward Wind” (1956)
93. Blue Baron & His Orchestra “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon” (1949)
94. Gene Austin “Ramona” (1928)
95. Dean Martin “Memories Are Made of This” (1955)
96. John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897)
97. The Everly Brothers “Wake Up Little Susie” (1957)
98. Nat “King” Cole “Mona Lisa” (1950)
99. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920)
100. Harry MacDonough “Down by the Old Mill Stream” (1911)

101. Harry MacDonough & Grace Spencer “Tell Me Pretty Maiden” (1901)
102. Steve Porter “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1900)
103. Henry Burr “Love Me and the World Is Mine” (1906)
104. Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters “Don’t Fence Me In” (1944)
105. Vaughn Monroe “There! I’ve Said It Again” (1945)
106. Charles Harrison “Peg O’ My Heart” (1913)
107. Roger Williams “Autumn Leaves” (1955)
108. Leo Reisman & Harold Arlen “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
109. Lucy Isabelle Marsh “The Glow-Worm” (1908)
110. Bing Crosby with John Scottt Trotter’s Orchestra “Swinging on a Star” (1944)

111. Kitty Kallen “Little Things Mean a Lot” (1954)
112. Sam Cooke “You Send Me” (1957)
113. Vera Lynn with Ronald Shaw’s Orchestra “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart” (1952)
114. American Quartet “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1914)
115. The Platters “My Prayer (Avant de Mourir)” (1956)
116. John Philip Sousa with Harry MacDonough & S.H. Dudley “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
117. Buddy Clark “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
118. Al Dexter & His Troopers “Pistol Packin’ Mama” (1943)
119. Perry Como “Wanted” (1954)
120. Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” (1945)

121. Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1941)
122. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (1910)
123. Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
124. Ada Jones & Billy Murray “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1909)
125. Frank Sinatra “Oh, What It Seemed to Be” (1946)
126. Patti Page “The Doggie in the Window” (1953)
127. Billy Murray “Harrigan” (1907)
128. Russ Morgan & Skylarks “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon” (1949)
129. Kay Starr & the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra “Rock and Roll Waltz” (1955)
130. Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)

131. Bert Williams “Nobody” (1906)
132. Arthur Collins “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
133. Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction” (1940)
134. Peggy Lee “Manana Is Soon Enough for Me” (1948)
135. Dan Quinn “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1896)
136. The Andrews Sisters “Shoo-Shoo Baby” (1943)
137. Frankie Laine with Jud Conlon’s Rhythmaires “That Lucky Old Sun” (1949)
138. Paul Anka “Diana” (1957)
139. Dan Quinn “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1893)
140. Wayne King “Goodnight Sweetheart” (1931)

141. Eddy Howard “Sin (It’s No Sin)” (1951)
142. Peerless Quartet “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1911)
143. The Crew-Cuts “Sh-Boom” (1954)
144. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
145. The Three Suns “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
146. Len Spencer “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
147. Les Baxter “The Poor People of Paris” (1956)
148. Heidelberg Quintet “By the Beautiful Sea” (1914)
149. Paul Whiteman “Three O’Clock in the Morning” (1922)
150. Frankie Masters “Scatter-Brain” (1939)

151. Bing Crosby “Only Forever” (1940)
152. Jere Mahoney “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” (1900)
153. Jere Mahoney “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1900)
154. Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Rumors Are Flying” (1946)
155. The Platters “The Great Pretender” (1955)
156. Billy Jones “Yes! We Have No Bananas” (1923)
157. Debbie Reynolds “Tammy” (1957)
158. The Ames Brothers “You, You, You” (1953)
159. Henry Burr “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” (1909)
160. Ed Gallagher & Al Shean “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean” (1922)

161. Perry Como “If (They Made Me King)” (1951)
162. Pat Boone “April Love” (1957)
163. Tony Bennett “Rags to Riches” (1953)
164. Nat “King” Cole “Nature Boy” (1948)
165. Freddy Martin & Jack Fina “Piano Concerto in B Flat” (1941)
166. The Chordettes “Mr. Sandman” (1954)
167. Dick Haymes & the Song Spinners “You’ll Never Know” (1943)
168. Nicholas Orlando’s Orchestra “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
169. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen “Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)” (1944)
170. Sonny James “Young Love” (1956)

171. Len Spencer “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1892)
172. John York Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1891)
173. Charles Hart & Lewis James “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
174. Enrico Caruso “Over There” (1918)
175. The Victor Military Band “Poor Butterfly” (1917)
176. Red Foley “Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy” (1950)
177. Patti Page “I Went to Your Wedding” (1952)
178. The Mills Brothers “The Glow-Worm” (1952)
179. Ben Selvin “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” (1919)
180. Peerless Quartet “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier” (1915)

181. Steve Porter “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1898)
182. J.W. Myers “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895)
184. Tex Williams “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette” (1947)
185. Mina Hickman “Come Down Ma Evening Star” (1903)
186. Tommy Dorsey with Edythe Wrightt “The Music Goes ‘Round and ‘Round” (1935)
187. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “Sunday, Monday or Always” (1943)
188. Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
189. Rosemary Clooney “Hey There” (1954)
190. Len Spencer “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1897)

191. American Quartet “Moonlight Bay” (1912)
192. Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” (1902)
193. Al Jolson “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (1918)
194. Billy Murray “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
195. Guy Lombardo & Carmen Lombardo “Red Sails in the Sunset” (1935)
196. Glenn Miller & Marion Hutton “The Woodpecker Song” (1940)
197. Jimmie Rodgers “Honeycomb” (1957)
198. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
199. Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913)
200. Byron Harlan & Frank Stanley “Blue Bell” (1904)

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First posted 8/4/2018; last updated 12/1/2022.

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Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Elvis Presley: The Top 100 Songs

First posted 8/18/2012; updated 1/5/2020.

Elvis Presley

image from goldderby.com

Singer Elvis Aron Presley was born 1/8/1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He died in Memphis on 8/16/77 of heart failure caused by prescription drug abuse. Often called “The King of Rock and Roll,” his role as the pioneering artist of the genre made him the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music.

His family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13. He began his recording career there in 1954 at Sun Records. On 11/22/55, he signed to RCA Victor in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed Elvis for more than two decades. In 1956, he starred in Love Me Tender, his first of 31 feature films. He served in the U.S. Army from 3/24/58 to 3/5/60. He married Priscilla Beaulieu on 5/1/67; divorced on 10/11/73. Their only child, Lisa Marie (born 2/1/68), married Michael Jackson on 5/26/94; divorced in 1996.

Six of his songs (“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Suspicious Minds,” and “It’s Now or Never”) are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999. His Sun Sessions collection is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.)

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Don’t Be Cruel (1956) #1 US, CW, RB
2. Heartbreak Hotel (1956) #1 US, CW
3. Hound Dog (1956) #1 US, RW
4. Jailhouse Rock (1957) #1 US, CW, RB, UK
5. Suspicious Minds (1969) #1 US
6. Love Me Tender (1956) #1 US
7. All Shook Up (1957) #1 US, CW, RB, UK
8. It’s Now or Never (1960) #1 US, UK
9. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (1960) #1 US, UK
10. That’s All Right (1954)
11. Can’t Help Falling in Love (1961) #1 AC, UK
12. Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (1957) #1 CW, RB

DMDB Top 5%:

13. Mystery Train (1955)
14. In the Ghetto (1969)
15. Return to Sender (1962) #1 UK
16. Stuck on You (1960) #1 US
17. Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I (1958) #1 UK
18. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (1956) #1 US, CW
19. Surrender (1960) #1 US, UK
20. Burning Love (1972)

21. Good Luck Charm (1961) #1 US, UK
22. Don’t (1957) #1 US
23. The Wonder of You (1970) #1 AC, UK
24. Too Much (1956) #1 US
25. Blue Moon (1954)
26. Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
27. A Little Less Conversation (JXL remix, 2002) #1 UK
28. One Night (1957) #1 UK
29. Crying in the Chapel (1960) #1 AC, UK
30. Kentucky Rain (1969)

DMDB Top 10%:

31. Hard Headed Woman (1958) #1 US
32. Any Way You Want Me (1956)
33. My Way (live, 1973)
34. You’re the Devil in Disguise (1963) #1 UK
35. A Big Hunk O’ Love (1958) #1 US
36. Wooden Heart (1960) #1 UK
37. Marie’s the Name His Latest Flame (1961) #1 UK
38. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (1958) #1 RB
39. Little Sister (1961) #1 UK
40. Way Down (1976) #1 CW, UK

41. I Need Your Love Tonight (1958)
42. Viva Las Vegas (1963)
43. Always on My Mind (1972)
44. She’s Not You (1962) #1 UK
45. Blue Christmas (1957)
46. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (1970) #1 AC
47. My Boy (1974) #1 AC

DMDB Top 20%:

48. Rock-A-Hula Baby (1961) #1 UK
49. Ain’t That Loving you Baby (1958)
50. Don’t Cry Daddy (1969)

51. Hurt (1976)
52. Frankie and Johnny (1965)
53. T-R-O-U-B-L-E (1975)
54. Moody Blue (1976) #1 CW
55. I Got Stung (1958) #1 UK
56. I Beg of You (1957)
57. Guitar Man (1967) #1 CW
58. Promised Land (1973)
59. Doncha Think It’s Time (1958)
60. Blue Moon of Kentucky (1954)

61. You’ll Never Walk Alone (1967)
62. Bossa Nova Baby (1963)
63. Love Letters (1966)
64. Follow That Dream (1962)
65. I’m Yours (1961) #1 AC
66. I’ve Lost You (1970)
67. One Broken Heart for Sale (1963)
68. I Feel So Bad (1961)
69. Blue River (1963)
70. If I Can Dream (live, 1968)

71. I Really Don’t Want to Know (1970)
72. Tell Me Why (1957)
73. Loving You (1957)
74. Puppet on a String (1965)
75. Love Me (1956)
76. Clean Up Your Own Back Yard (1968)
77. Playing for Keeps (1957)
78. I Was the One (1956)
79. U.S. Male (1968)
80. Treat Me Nice (1957)

81. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (live, 1970)
82. Separate Ways (1972)
83. Such an Easy Question (1962) #1 AC
84. Baby Let’s Play House (1955)
85. What’d I Say (1963)
86. Wild in the Country (1961)
87. My Wish Came True (1957)
88. Such a Night (1960)
89. I Forgot to Remember to Forget (1955) #1 CW
90. If You Talk in Your Sleep (1974)

91. Until It’s Time for You to Go (1971)
92. Kissin’ Cousins (1964)
93. Memories (live, 1968)
94. Unchained Melody (1977)

Not in DMDB Top 20%:

95. I’m Leavin’ (1971)
96. An American Trilogy (1972)
97. I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby (1974)
98. All That I Am (1966)
99. Do the Clam (1965)
100. Good Rockin’ Tonight (1954)

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Friday, August 18, 2006

50 years ago: Elvis Presley hit #1 with “Don’t Be Cruel”/ “Hound Dog”

Don’t Be Cruel

Elvis Presley

Writer(s): Otis Blackwell/Elvis Presley (see lyrics here)

Released: July 13, 1956

First Charted: July 27, 1956

Peak: 111 US, 2 HP, 16 CB, 18 HR, 110 CW, 15 RB, 24 UK, 12 CN, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 10.0 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 37.06 video, 21.09 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Elvis made chart history in 1956 when “Don’t Be Cruel,” backed by “Hound Dog,” topped the chart for 11 weeks. Joel Whitburn, the go-to chart historian for Billboard magazine with his Record Research books, says it is the only single in history to have both sides go to #1. He backs up the claim by pointing out that “Hound Dog” hit the charts first and had the initial buzz, but that airplay began to favor “Don’t Be Cruel.” SF

The single was also the first to top Billboard’s pop, rhythm & blues, and country & western charts. WK Not only was it the biggest song of 1956, CPM but the biggest hit of the rock era for the next 36 years, when Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” finally bested it. In terms of chart success, there has never been a more successful double-sided hit in history.

Presley recorded “Don’t Be Cruel” on July 2, 1956 at RCA’s New York City. He’d already done “Hound Dog” that day and, after a break for lunch, he started sifting through demos for something else to record. He was struck by the song “Don’t Be Cruel,” written by R&B performer Otis Blackwell, whold’ written “Fever” for Little Willie John. He’d given “Cruel” to the Four Lovers (later the Four Seasons), but encouraged them not to record it after Elvis showed interest. SS

Presley reworked the arrangement on piano, changing the music and lyrics, just as he had done with other Blackwell compositions. WK “The King lays back and lets his supporting cast show their stuff: Bill Black with a virtual bass solo at the top, D.J. Fontana popping the backbeat, the Jordanaires crooning like rock’s first barbershop harmony team, Scotty Moore sketching in some guitar here and there.” DM On top of it all, Elvis invented a new style for himself when he decided to slap the back of his guitar for extra percussion. RS500

Sam Phillips, Presley’s former producer, was floored when he heard the song, saying that the first time he heard it on his car radio he had to pull over. TC Phillips said later, “they have finally found this man’s ability.” TC

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First posted 7/13/2014; last updated 3/26/2023.

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