Number One Hits of 1959 - Part 2 Quiz

Answer: Jane Morgan

"The Day That The Rains Came" was a number one on the British charts for Jane Morgan in 1959. Jane had many hits in France during the late 1940s and early 1950s with songs written for her by Gilbert Becaud and Charles Trenet. In fact "The Day That The Rains Came" was a French song written by Gilbert Becaud as "Le jour oł la pluie viendra". "The Day That The Rains Came" reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and did not chart in Australia.

Answer: Elvis Presley

A double sided hit for Elvis Presley. "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" better known as "A Fool Such As I" reached number one in the UK and Australia, while peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The flipside "I Need Your Love Tonight" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, number nine on the Australian charts but shown as a double A side on the British charts reached number one. "I Need Your Love Tonight" was written specially for Elvis by Sid Wayne and Bix Reichner. Sid Wayne with his usual partner Ben Wiseman wrote many songs for Elvis. "A Fool Such As I" was originally recorded in the early 1950s by country legend Hank Snow, and has since been recorded by a variety of artists.

Answer: Frankie Avalon

Frankie Avalon had his first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Venus", which held the top spot for five weeks. The record was number one in Australia and a top twenty in the UK. English star Dickie Valentine also scored a top twenty with the song during 1959.

Answer: Bobby Darin

"Dream Lover" written and recorded by Bobby Darin as a follow up to his 1958 hits "Splish Splash" and "Queen of the Hop", reached number one on the British Pop Charts. The song made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number seven and the top ten on the Australian charts peaking at number two. Bobby Darin charted frequently between 1958 and 1964. Bobby also acted in many movies during this period and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in "Captain Newman M.D.".

Answer: Adam Faith

Adam Faith recorded "What Do You Want" in 1959 and it became his biggest hit, spending twenty weeks on the UK charts, three of them at number one. Adam Faith had 14 records in the UK charts between December 1959 and the end of 1962. Ten of these releases made the top ten.

When the beat groups took over the charts in 1963 Adam started to favour acting and appeared in a couple of movies in the mid 1960s. Good performances followed, especially the highly regarded mini series "Budgie", in which he played the title character.

Answer: Santo & Johnny

"Sleepwalk" or "Sleep Walk" was a number one hit for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 for brothers, Santo and Johnny Farina. These New York born Italian Americans charted again in 1959 with "Tear Drop". "Sleep Walk" hit number two in Australia and number 21 in the UK charts.

Answer: The Fleetwoods

"Come Softly to Me" was the first number one hit for The Fleetwoods. The Fleetwoods were the first mixed gender group to have a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The record was a top twenty chart hit in Australia and reached number five on the UK chart.

The song was covered in 1959 by Englishman Frankie Vaughan who also reached the top ten on the British pop chart. I had a copy of the Frankie Vaughan single which lists the artist/s as Frankie Vaughan and the Kaye Sisters, released in Australia on the HMV label.

Answer: Johnny Horton

Johnny Horton had been recording for some years and had achieved minor successes on the Billboard Country Charts when he covered the Jimmy Driftwood song, "The Battle of New Orleans". This record made number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on The Australian chart.

In the UK it only reached the top twenty, although a tongue in cheek live version by Lonnie Donegan climbed to number two. Johnny Horton had other hits, such as, "North to Alaska" and "Sink the Bismark", however none were ever as big a hit as "The Battle of New Orleans".

Answer: Paul Anka

Paul Anka's second number one hit on the Billboard chart came in 1959 with "Lonely Boy".

"Lonely Boy" made the top ten in the UK and Australia.

Paul's first number one was "Diana" in 1957 and he would wait fifteen years for his next number one when he teamed in 1974 with Odia Coates for "You're Having My Baby". Paul wrote all his hits and many songs he wrote were successful with other singers, such as Frank Sinatra with "My Way"(English lyrics by Paul Anka) and "She's A Lady" for Tom Jones.

Answer: Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard scored his second number one on the British pop chart with "Travellin' Light" in late 1959.
Cliff Richard placed over 125 singles on the British charts between 1958 and 2000. Fourteen of those chart entries reached number one with a further 45 making the top ten making him the most successful act on the British charts. Why this man with his backing band, The Shadows, have not been nominated for entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a mystery.