Number One Hits of 1959 - Part 4 Quiz

Answer: Emile Ford and the Checkmates

Originally recorded in the early part of the twentieth century, the song, "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?", was used in the 1945 move "Nob Hill" starring George Raft and Joan Bennett. Again, in 1945, it was used in the Betty Hutton film "Incendiary Blonde", where she played the legendary singer/actress, Texas Guinan.

In late 1959, Caribbean-born Emile Ford with his band The Checkmates recorded the song. Their rock styled with a little doo wop rendition stayed on the UK charts for 17 weeks, six of those at number one.

This record was the last UK number one of the 1950s and the first of the 1960s. The record also hit number one in Australia.

Answer: Col Joye & The Joy Boys

"Oh Yeah Uh Huh" was the third of Col Joye's number ones in 1959. Credited to Col Joye and the Joy Boys, Col and his band had hit number one earlier in 1959 with "Bye Bye Baby" and "Rockin' Rollin' Clementine". The unique sound on "Oh Yeah Uh Huh" was created by John Bogie playing the rhythm on a typewriter.

The Joy Boys, who had success with instrumentals, originally contained Col's brothers Keith and Kevin, lead guitarist Dave Bridge, later replaced by Englishman Norman Day, Johnny Bogie on drums and Laurie Erwin on saxophone. Col and his brother Kevin formed ATA where they developed local talent like the Bee Gees, promoted tours by overseas acts (Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s) and artist management.

Answer: Elvis Presley

Another million seller for Elvis Presley. "I Got Stung", released as the b-side, was written by perennial Elvis collaborator, Aaron Schroeder, with David Hill. The song went to number one on the UK chart, number eleven in Australia and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

The flip side, actually released as the a-side, was "One Night" which made number one in the UK, number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 in Australia. "One Night" was written by Dave Bartholomew, his wife Pearl King and Anita Steinman and originally recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1955.

Answer: Russ Conway

Russ Conway managed two number one hits in 1959, "Roulette" and "Side Saddle". "Side Saddle" was written by Conway who was extremely popular in the UK from 1957 through 1962. Indeed, Russ Conway placed no less than 22 singles on the UK pop chart in that period.

Answer: Lloyd Price

"Stagger Lee" as recorded by Lloyd Price in 1958 climbed to number one on the Billboard pop chart in early 1959. Lloyd Price had a number of R & B and Pop hits, especially in Australia where he was quite popular. "Stagger Lee" made the top ten in Australia and led to the release of his earlier hit "Lawdy Miss Clawdy".

His biggest hit in Australia was "Personality" which stayed at number one for five weeks in June and July 1959, (see my quiz "Number One Hits of 1959 - Part One). In the UK "Stagger Lee" made the charts but did not climb very high.

Answer: Frankie Avalon

Frankie Avalon had scored a big hit earlier in 1959 with "Venus"; his follow up single "Why" also grabbed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The song made the top twenty in both Australia and the UK. "Why" had the distinction of being the last number one of the 1950s on the US singles chart and the first of the 1960s.

Answer: Della Reese

Della Reese only reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Don't You Know?" but Cashbox listed the song as number one for two weeks hence its inclusion here. Della had a long musical career and released over forty albums in the period 1957 - 2006. She was frequently seen on TV as a guest artist and for nine seasons played Tess in CBS's "Touched By An Angel". Della passed away in 2017 at the fine old age of 86.

Answer: Paul Anka

Paul Anka had reached number one in 1957 with "Diana" as a sixteen year old and earlier in 1959 with "Lonely Boy". Late in 1959 he reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Cashbox chart with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" kept out of the top spot by Elvis Presley.

In a chart career of sixty years Paul Anka has had 55 songs on the Hot 100, fourteen of these top tens and three number ones and three number twos. "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" made number seven in the UK and number 20 in Australia.

Answer: The Kingston Trio

The Kingston Trio hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Tom Dooley", the story of the eternal triangle. The Kingston Trio's chart success in the USA, for the period 1958-1962, was second only to Elvis Presley. In this period they released eleven albums all of which made the top ten on the Billboard Album Chart, five of these hit number one.

Answer: The Fleetwoods

The Fleetwoods' second number one of 1959, "Mr Blue" was a worthy follow-up to their earlier number one "Come Softly to Me". The song did not chart very well in the UK but made the top ten in Australia.