Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (July 2019)

Originally posted 7/22/2019. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the third set of song inductees. These are the ten biggest #1 pop songs of the pre-rock era (before 1955). Each of these songs spent 13 weeks or more on top of the Billboard pop charts. Not listed here are previous inductees “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby and “My Blue Heaven” by Gene Austin.

Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (1947) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Craig was a nearly fifty-year-old has-been orchestra leader when he wrote the melody for “Near You” for his grandchildren. The song topped the Billboard pop charts in 1947 for 17 weeks. It set a record that wouldn’t be surpassed until Lil’ Nas X hit #1 for 19 weeks in 2019 with “Old Town Road.” Read more.

The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Billy Reid was the first British songwriter to top the pop charts in the United States. He wrote “The Gypsy” for Welsh singer Dorothy Squires when she joined his group. It was a hit in the U.S. with five top-ten versions in 1946, but the biggest was by the African-American pop vocal group the Ink Spots, who spent 13 weeks at the pinnacle. Read more.

Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (1943) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Sammy Cahn launched a successful musical writing partnership with this Academy Award-nominated song TY featured in the 1942 film Youth on Parade. Bob Crosby introduced the song in the film, but the big hit was by Harry James’ Orchestra with Helen Forrest on vocals. Read more.

Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

“In the Mood” is “one of the best known musical themes of the World War II era” NRR and one of the big band era’s most recognizable songs. Tin Pan Alley composers Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged it based on “Tar Paper Stomp,” a 1930 song by Joseph “Wingy” Manone. After it passed through several others’ hands, Miller arranged it to include the famous tenor sax battle WK and it became the biggest hit of Miller’s career. Read more.

Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart wrote this in 1947 while riding in Stewart’s truck. King’s recording hit #3 on the country charts and versions by Cowboy Copas and Roy Acuff followed. However, when Patti Page, the best-selling female singer of the ‘50s, JA put her stamp on the song, it marked the moment when country went mainstream. LW With 13 weeks at #1 on the pop charts and sales of six million, it was one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the century. PM Read more.

Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (1920) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Over his career, Ben Selvin’s 2000+ recordings rank him above any other bandleader. PM His biggest hit, however, was an instrumental version of “Dardanella.” It was the first song to sell over 5 million copies, PM one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the 20th century, PM and the biggest-selling song in the first quarter-century of recorded music. SB Read more.

Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Alberto Dominguez originally wrote this for the marimba and then others adapted it as a jazz standard. WK When Artie Shaw, a bandleader and one of jazz’s finest clarinetists, recorded the song it became the biggest hit of his career, one of the biggest #1 songs in chart history, and the first million-selling song by a Mexican writer. TY The success helped “popularize Brazilian rhythms in jazz and pop music.” JA Read more.

The Weavers “Goodnight Irene” (1950) Inducted July 2019 as “Top 10 #1 Pop Songs of the Pre-Rock Era.”

Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter’s best-known song can be traced to African-American composer Gussie L. Davis, SS who first published the sentimental waltz in Cincinnati in 1886. JA By the early 1940s, the song was a mainstay in the folk community. The Weavers’ recording, complete with “violins and other orchestra touches provided by Gordon Jenkins,” SS divided folk purists but made for a monstrously successful commercial recording, hitting #1 in 1950, just months after Leadbelly’s death. Read more.

50 years ago: Jo Stafford's “You Belong to Me” hit #1 for first of 12 weeks

You Belong to Me Jo Stafford

Writer(s): Pee Wee King, Chilton Price, Redd Stewart (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 9, 1952 Peak: 112 US, 19 HP, 14 CB, 11 UK, 16 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 6.3 video, 15.49 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Miss Chilton Price was a songwriting librarian at WAVE Radio in Louisville. She wrote a handful of songs and showed them to Pee Wee King, who had composed “Tennessee Waltz.” One of the songs, “Hurry Home to Me,” was as “an American woman’s plea to a sweetheart serving overseas in World War II.” WK After showing it to King and Redd Stewart, who provided vocals for King’s Golden West Cowboys, the setting of the song was retitled “You Belong to Me” and the setting was changed. WK The once-wartime-themed song became more universal. The lyrics shared a story of the singer saying to a loved one, you “may travel all around the world and see many of the most famous sights,” TY but you belong to me. Price has said they had no part in writing the song, although Stewart’s son claims otherwise. SF It seems likely that King and Stewart tweaked the composition slightly, but mostly received songwriting credits for their work in publicizing the song. WK They’d provided a similar role for “Slow Poke,” a #1 song from 1951. Sue Thompson recorded a version of the song, as did Patti Page as the B-side of her #1 hit “I Went to Your Wedding.” The song was also recorded by Jo Stafford, who’d had more than twenty top-ten hits in less than a decade, including the #1 song “Candy” in 1945. PM However, “You Belong to Me” became the biggest hit of 1952 WHC and of her career. PM It also topped the U.K. chart, the first for a female singer there. SF Gene Vincent had a rock version with it in 1958 and the Duprees brought a doo-wop version back into the top 10 in 1962. Versions also appeared in the TV series Ally McBeal and in the movies Shrek (2001), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), and Grindhouse (2007). WK Resources: JA David A. Jasen. (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 221. SB Songbook1.wordpress.com SF Songfacts.com TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 152. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Pages 405-7. WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 73. WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 8/9/2012; last updated 11/12/2022.

50 years ago: Patti Page hit #1 for first of 13 weeks with “Tennessee Waltz”

Tennessee Waltz Pee Wee King

Writer(s):Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 3, 1948 Peak: 30 US, 3 CW, 13 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 0.13 video, 0.03 streaming

Tennessee Waltz Patti Page

First Charted: November 18, 1950 Peak: 113 US, 16 HP, 16 CB, 2 CW, 19 UK, 13 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, -- UK, 10.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 12.43 video, 16.02 streaming

Awards (King): Click on award for more details. Awards (Page):

About the Song: Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart played in a band called the Golden West Cowboys. Stewart was a singer and fiddler while King, who was born Julius Frank Kuczynski, brought accordion and brass into his music, which helped shape the merger of country and jazz in what has been called Western swing. While riding in Stewart’s truck one day in 1947, the pair scribbled out “Tennessee Waltz”, LW modeling it after “Kentucky Waltz” by Bill Monroe. In 1948, King’s recording of the song hit #3 on the country charts. Cowboy Copas’ recording hit the same peak and a version by Roy Acuff went to #12. However, when Patti Page, the best-selling female singer of the ‘50s, JA put her stamp on the song, it marked the moment when country went mainstream. LW With 13 weeks at #1 on the pop charts and sales of six million, it was the biggest hit of 1950 and one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the century. PM At the end of World War II, the “Swing Era” of big-band-oriented music had given way to the “Sing Era”, which was more dominated by individual vocalists. However, record companies didn’t generally entrust the singers to find their own material. They enlisted A&R men for the task. It was Jerry Wexler, the man who later produced Aretha Franklin, who saw the song’s potential. Page was a dance band singer with a voice reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald. LW Page’s recording was significant for the use of multi-tracking. Even though audiotape wasn’t used yet in recording, Page sang four-part harmony with herselfSadowskiDavid. SA The song’s success encouraged other performers to turn to country for cover material as well. In addition, the song inspired more state waltzes. JA King and Stewart’s composition became the official Tennessee state song in 1965. LW Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Pee Wee King DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Patti Page JA David A. Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 190. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 91. SA David Sadowski (1999). Haven’t Named It Yet: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Prehistory, 1926-55. TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Pages 136 and 148-9. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 631. First posted 11/18/2011; last updated 11/23/2022.