Number One Hits of 1960 - Part One Quiz

Answer: Hollywood Argyles

Created in the early 1930s by Vincent Hamlin, "Alley Oop" was a Stone Age comic strip character. The comic strip inspired songwriter Dallas Frazier to compose the song, "Alley Oop". Recorded by the Hollywood Argyles, the song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1960. Released around the same time, a version of "Alley Oop" by Dante and the Evergreens reached number fifteen on the Hot 100.

The record by the Hollywood Argyles made the top ten in Australia and prompted a Sydney newspaper to run the comic strip.

Answer: Jimmy Jones

Climbing to Number two on the Billboard Hot 100 "Good Timin'" was Jimmy Jones's second number two in 1960; his earlier release, "Handy Man" had been kept out of the top spot by "Theme From A Summer Place", Percy Faith's monster hit. "Good Timin'" made top ten in Australia and reached the coveted top spot on the UK charts.

Answer: The Shadows

The Shadows recorded "Apache' in 1960 on the recommendation of the composer, Jerry Lordan, who reportedly did not like the original version by Bert Weedon. The Shadows' version hit the British charts and went to number one and stayed on top for five weeks.

The record stayed on the charts for 19 weeks in Australia, peaking at number four. The record did not chart in the USA although in 1961 Jorgen Ingmann had a version make number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and this is the version most Americans of the era are familiar with.

There are many recorded versions of this song; a vocal version by Sonny James charted in 1961.

Answer: Elvis Presley

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was written in the mid 1920s and many recorded versions were released between 1927 and 1957. Elvis Presley recorded the song in April 1960. Released in November 1960, by the end of the month the record made it to Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. The record also made number one on the British and Australian Charts.

Answer: Percy Faith

Written by Max Steiner for the film of the same name, "The Theme from A Summer Place" was a number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks for Percy Faith and his Orchestra. This chart performance made it the biggest Billboard hit of the year.

The recording made it to number thirteen in Australia and number two in the UK. This recording was named Record of the Year for 1960 in the 1961 Grammy Awards.

Answer: Jim Reeves

Recorded by Jim Reeves in 1959, "He'll Have to Go" was by far his biggest hit and best-selling single release. The recording was number one in Australia, it made number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 in the UK. The record was number one on the Billboard Country Music Chart for fourteen weeks.

Answer: Brenda Lee

When "I'm Sorry" reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1960, Brenda Lee was only fifteen and this was her first number one hit. The song was written by Dub Allbritten and Ronnie Self who wrote a number of other hits for Brenda Lee. The recording made number twelve on the UK chart and was a top ten in Australia.

Answer: Marty Robbins

Like "He'll Have to Go", "El Paso" by Marty Robbins was a crossover pop hit, recorded on Marty's best-selling album, "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs". The recording of "El Paso" entered the charts in late 1959 and reached number one on the Billboard Country chart in early 1960, followed a week later by the number one slot on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was a top ten hit in the UK and made the number one position on the Australian charts.

Answer: Connie Francis

"Everybody's Somebody's Fool", was the first of three number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 for Connie Francis in the early sixties. The song performed well on the worldwide charts, making the number one spot in Australia and the top ten in the UK. Connie famously recorded the song in German and that version was a number one in Germany in 1960.

Answer: Ray Charles

Reportedly written about his sister, "Georgia on My Mind", was written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Stuart Gorrell in the early 1930s. The song was a hit for many artists through the thirties, forties and fifties. In 1960 Ray Charles included the song on his album, "The Genius Hits the Road". An executive at ABC records decided to release the song as a single and the record raced to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Willie Nelson made the top of the Billboard country chart with the song in 1978. Notwithstanding the many versions released through the years, "Georgia on My Mind" is mostly identified with Ray Charles. Ray Charles' version was a top ten hit in Australia and the UK.

Note: In my copy of Hoagy Carmichael's autobiography "Sometimes I Wonder" he claims "Georgia on My Mind" was written at the behest of bandleader and saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, about the state of Georgia. Since 1979 it is the state song of Georgia.