The Top Hits of 1956 - Vol 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hound Dog

"Hound Dog" was written in 1952 by a pair of 19 year olds, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, at the behest of bandleader Johnny Otis who wanted a song to showcase the talents of the band's singer, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. It took them about a dozen minutes to compose and upon its release, became a smash hit on the R&B chart, Number One for seven weeks. Ironically, Lieber and Stoller would go on to compose several Presley hits. When they composed this one, they had never heard of him... no one had!

Although Elvis Presley was aware of Thornton's record, the version he was most attracted to was the one he heard in a Las Vegas lounge as performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. He incorporated his own rendition into his act, singing it live on the Milton Berle and Steve Allen TV shows. Audience reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that the RCA label insisted that he record it despite his reluctance to do so. With this song, "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don't Be Cruel", Elvis literally carried the R&R genre on his back during its formative years in the mid-1950s.

"Hound Dog" was accorded B-side status when it was released as the flip to "Don't Be Cruel", perhaps because of Presley's reticence to record it. At the time, as the A-side, "Don't Be Cruel" seemed to be garnering most of the acclaim in terms of recognition and charting honors. I think that over time, "Hound Dog" is now regarded as Presley's signature song between the two.

Answer: I Walk the Line

Johnny Cash was one of the many talented recording artists discovered by Sam Phillips for his Sun Label. A couple of Cash recordings were fairly significant hits on the Country chart in 1955 but "I Walk the Line" not only was a six week chart topper on the Country chart, it crossed over to Billboard's Top 100 chart, peaking at Number 17. Based on chart performance, it was ranked at Number 78 for 1956 largely due to a commendable 22-week chart run.

Thereafter, Cash's deep baritone/bass voice was a steady fixture on Billboard's Country and Gospel charts for the next thirty years with 15 of his recordings having sufficient universal appeal to be Top 40 hits on the Hot 100 chart as well.

His biggest hit was "A Boy Named Sue" which peaked at Number Two in 1969, a song penned by humorist Shel Silverstein. Cash died in 2003.

Answer: On the Street Where You live

The beauty of mid-1950s radio was that you could hear a rock & roll song followed by crossover country and western hit which is then followed by a song from Broadway. This quiz personifies that eclectic variety with its first three questions.

All your choices were songs from the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady" but "On the Street Where You Live" is now generally conceded to be the most popular song, if not the best, from that production. The play debuted on Broadway on March 15, 1956 and ran for a then record of 2,717 performances before closing on September 29,1962. The song was sung on stage by John Michael King playing the role of Freddy Eynsford-Hill, a young member of the aristocracy who becomes smitten with Eliza Doolittle (Julie Andrews) after encountering her at the horse races in Ascot. When it was previewed by audiences before its Broadway debut, the song did not garner the favourable audience response that was expected. Feedback revealed that the Eynsford-Hill character was underdeveloped in the play and the audience couldn't relate to him. The role was subsequently beefed up and the song became a fan favorite.

Vic Damone began his career as a nineteen-year-old in 1947 and worked in all components of the entertainment industry... radio, stage, nightclubs, movies, you name it. He retired following a stroke in 2001 but survived to the age of 89 before passing in 2018. This was his biggest charting success at Number Four, edging a competing version by Eddie Fisher that stalled at Number 18. Damone's version was ranked as the 37th biggest Billboard hit of 1956.

Answer: Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)

"Glendora" was a Como hit in 1956 but only managed to reach Number Eight on the Hot 100 while "Catch a Falling Star" and "Kewpie Doll" were two of his 1958 hits. "Hot Diggity" was ranked as the 23rd biggest hit of 1956 based on Billboard chart performance.

Let's do a brief chronology of Como's life and career.

Born 1912, Canonsburg, PA.
1926 - leaves school and becomes a full time barber to help support his family. Sings to his customers.
1933 - quits his barber shop to sing in Freddy Carlone's Orchestra; marries wife Roselle.
1936 - joins the much more famous Ted Weems Band.
1942 - tiring of the constant travel, decides to go solo to spend more time with his growing family; has own radio show broadcasting nationally.
1943 to 1954 - becomes a major star with 11 Number One hits out of exactly 100 charting releases.
1948 - among the first entertainers to have his own TV show which remains highly rated for the next 20 years.
1955 to 1973 - popularity endures during the "rock era" with three Number One and 29 Top 40 hits.
1967 - weekly TV show ends. In semi-retirement, commences a series of TV specials, generally around Christmas time and other holidays for the next 20 years. Golfs and fishes!
1987 to 1995 - occasional guest appearances on selected programs, then retirement. Roselle dies in 1998 after 65 years of marriage.
2001 - Como passes away six days before his 89th birthday. In every respect, he was a model of celebrity decorum, free of scandal, a credit to his community and Catholic faith.

Answer: Be-Bop-A-Lula

"Ballad of a Teenage Queen" was a Number 17 hit for Johnny Cash in 1956. "Be-Bop Baby" and "Little Bitty Pretty One" were hits in 1957, the former a Number Three for Ricky Nelson and the latter a Number Six for Thurston Harris.

Music critics of the era noted that Gene Vincent, in comparison to Presley, was just as energetic in his performances with a similar stage presence. A little more inclined to rock-a-billy as opposed to Presley's slant towards rock & roll, Vincent only had two more top 40 releases, a double sided release that peaked at Number 13 in 1957 and a Number 23 hit a year later. It's hard to decipher how his career became derailed but most rock historians point to a motorcycle crash in 1955 that shattered one of his legs as a likely contributor. Wracked with pain for most of his life, he coped with cocktails of drugs and booze, a combo that rarely encourages positive productivity. He moved to England in 1960 in an attempt to resuscitate his flagging career but instead, he was involved in the same car accident that claimed the life of his colleague and friend, Eddie Cochran. Returning to the U.S. in the mid 1960s, his personal and professional struggles continued and ultimately, he succumbed to a perforated ulcer in 1971 at the young age of 36.

Answer: Canadian Sunset

The son of a jazz pianist, Eddie Heywood was a sideman with several jazz bands in the 1930s. In 1941, he played piano on Billie Holiday's classic "God Bless the Child" and served as the orchestra leader for Ella Fitzgerald in the late 1940s. He had a charting hit himself in 1945 with a nifty rendition of "Begin the Beguine". He doubled that output in 1956 with two of his compositions and recordings, "Canadian Sunset", of course, at Number Two and another dreamy little piece entitled "Soft Summer Breeze" that peaked at Number 11. Both recordings were listed among the top 100 hits of 1956 based on Billboard chart statistics, the former at 12th, the latter at 43rd. He would have no other successes for the balance of his career, neither as a performer or composer and after a long period of ill health, passed away in 1989, aged 73.

When Heywood's recording entered the charts, lyricist Norman Gimbel quickly went to work creating a lyric for the piece and within two months, Andy Williams' recording started its climb up the Top 100 chart, the first top 40 hit of his long career. Williams' hit was ranked 44th for 1956. Among Gimbel's other lyrical compositions were Dean Martin's big hit in 1954, "Sway", "The Girl From Ipanema" and, as a co-lyricist, "Killing Me Softly With His Song".

Incidentally, "Moonlight in Vermont" was a hit in 1945, while your other two options were instrumental hits in the 1960s for Bert Kaempfert.

Answer: Long Tall Sally

He was the first "wild man" of rock, a frenetic performer, the model for those inclined to follow like Jerry Lee Lewis and James Brown. Rock ballads? No chance! For those reasonably unfamiliar with his life story, rich in vicissitudes, his bio is worth a gander.

"Tutti Frutti" was his debut Billboard hit, reaching Number 17 earlier in 1956. Pat Boone covered it and much to Little Richard's chagrin, Boone's version at Number 12 out-charted his. For "Long Tall Sally", he and his producer agreed to sing it at such a pace that Boone wouldn't be able to catch up with his sanitized, perfect diction cover. It worked. Boone's version fell two rung's shy of Little Richard's Number Six placement and Boone never challenged him again.

Altogether, Little Richard only had nine top 40 Billboard hits, the last in 1958. He abandoned rock and roll at his prime to become a Minister of the Church and although he returned to the studio in 1964, the sounds had changed thanks to the British Invasion and like so many other 1950s artists, his day was done. For the rest of his life, except for a period from 1978 to 1984 when he returned to evangelism, he was a popular concert draw and maintained a steady touring schedule until the dawning of the new millennium when health issues slowed his pace.

As this quiz was being composed, Little Richard succumbed to bone cancer, passing away on May 9, 2020, aged 87.

Answer: True Love

"True Love" was composed by Cole Porter for the film "High Society", featuring Crosby and Kelly in the leading roles supported by Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and Celeste Holm. It was a modernized musical remake of 1940's "The Philadelphia Story" starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart and suffered in comparison to that all-time classic.

The movie was a compendium of firsts and lasts. "True Love" would be Porter's final composition to chart on Billboard's Top 100 chart. It would be Bing Crosby's final top 10 hit on that chart although he would have a Number 25 hit the following year with his rendition of "Around the World in 80 Days". Of course, "White Christmas" always made charting appearances for three or four weeks around the Yule season until 1962. It was the first recording of Grace Kelly's to chart and her last. By the time the movie was released that year, she was already married to Prince Rainier and residing as a Princess in Monaco. Her days as an entertainer were over! Of note, the song would be accorded Gold Record status and, of course, she was given one. Her contribution? Singing the lines quoted in the question just once in harmony with Crosby, perhaps a total of 15-20 seconds!

Answer: Singing the Blues

"Singing the Blues" was composed in 1956 by Melvin Endsley, published the same year and was initially recorded by Marty Robbins. His version topped the Country and Western Billboard chart for an amazing 13 weeks and while it was slowly inching its way up the Top 100 chart, Guy Mitchell's version was released and quickly overtook it on its way to Number One. Robbins' version eventually stalled at Number 17 on the Top 100 chart while Mitchell's version went on to a ten-week run at Number One.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., another heated battle was shaping up for the Number One spot on that chart in January 1957. Mitchell topped the chart for the first week of the year but Tommy Steele's version ousted it the next week. Mitchell reclaimed the top spot for another week before falling from the perch for good. On neutral ground, Australia, it took a while but in March of 1957, Mitchell claimed the Number One spot there for six weeks. It was a worldwide juggernaut!

Answer: alligator

The song closed with a suitably rhyming pièce de résistance:

"See you later alligator, after 'while crocodile
See you later alligator, so long, that's all, goodbye"

The song was written by a Cajun from Louisiana, Robert Guidry, and he recorded it himself in 1955 under his stage name, Bobby Charles. It failed to chart, however.

Haley and The Comets' cover was rock and roll personified, as all their songs were. It reached Number Six on the Top 100 chart and was ranked 45th for the year. It would be their final top 10 hit and by 1958, the group would have no further top 40 hits either. Hard rockers such as Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard were the new stars while other, more sophisticated rock and roll artists like the Everly Brothers, Paul Anka and Buddy Holly emerged. Within ten years, the band was a nostalgic "oldies" band but remained a popular tour draw, especially in Europe, until Haley's demise in 1981 at the age of 55.

Answer: Hey! Jealous Lover

It looks like Frank's latest squeeze had ideas that he was cheating on her and this was his argument to the contrary. Probably worked, too!

During the 1950s after the onset of the rock era in 1955, Sinatra was holding his own quite admirably. He would have five top ten hits during this period, commendable by any standard! They were the Number One "Learnin' the Blues" and the Number Five "Love and Marriage" in 1955, "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" at Number Seven joined our quiz answer in 1956, then "Witchcraft" rounded out the decade at Number Six in 1958. That would be a good career for most mortals!

Answer: Transfusion

Based on his experiences as a former truck driver, Jim Drake, using the handle Nervous Norvus, recorded "Transfusion" to point out the consequences of dangerous practices such as driving through a stop sign, passing on a hill, driving impaired, etc. Each verse ends with squealing tires and a car crash, the driver vowing never to break the rules of the road again and requesting a blood transfusion using the same type of jive-rhyming mentioned in "See You Later, Alligator": "Slip the blood to me Bud", "Shoot the juice to me Bruce", "Pass the crimson to me Jimson", "Pass the claret to me Barrett", "Pump the fluid in me Louie", and "Put a gallon in me Alan". Clever and humorous!

Many radio stations banned the song feeling that Drake was making light of these driving transgressions. Missing the point of the parody, they neglected to consider these lines at the end:

"Oh, barnyard drivers are found in two classes
Line-crowding hogs and speeding jackasses
So remember to slow down today!"

As Nervous Norvus, Drake had one more minor hit in 1956, the Number 24 "Ape Call" and that ended his recording career. He spent the rest of his days recording demo records for aspiring entertainers at his Oakland studio until his passing at the age of 56 in 1968.

Answer: Standing on the Corner

The Four Lads graduated from Toronto, Ontario's St. Michael's Choir School in 1950, the same institution from which The Crew Cuts graduated two years later. While performing at a New York City nightclub in 1951, they caught the eye of Mitch Miller who signed them to sing back-up for Johnnie Ray on a couple of songs that became huge hits, "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried". Thereafter, they were on their own and captured the public's attention with "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" a Number 10 hit in 1953.

The mid-1950s were their glory years with three big hits in succession; two Number Two's with "Moments to Remember"and "No, Not Much" and the Number Three "Standing on the Corner". The growing influence of rock and roll and folk music rendered vocal quartets like The Four Lads passé by the end of the decade. The group hung on until 1977, were resurrected in 1984 with new personnel and persist to this day, in 2020, on the oldies circuit.

"Standing on the Corner" was written by Frank Loesser for the Broadway musical "The Most Happy Fella".

Answer: Why Do Fools Fall in Love?

This is how the four separate releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" fared in 1956.

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were first out of the blocks, their release cracking the Top 100 on February 11. It peaked at Number Six and was ranked 40th for the year based on Billboard stats.

The Diamonds' version first charted on February 18th. It was their debut hit and made it to Number 12 on the Top 100 chart. It was ranked 71st for the year.

Gale Storm hit the charts on March 3rd with her release and it worked its way up to Number Nine with a year end ranking of 62nd.

Finally, Gloria Mann, an artist who had a couple of decently performing hits in 1955, saw her rendition chart on March 10th. It only managed to reach Number 59 before fading off the chart after just five weeks. It would be her final "hit".

This would be the biggest hit for Lymon and the Teenagers. Lymon was only 13 years old when the record was cut and by the middle of 1957, he went solo. Already addicted to heroin, he never had any further hits and died tragically of an overdose in 1968 when he was just 25. Other than two other charting hits before Lymon left, The Teenagers also failed to achieve charting success for the rest of their time together, which was rather lengthy. Led by original member Herman Santiago, they apparently are still active as of 2019.

Gale Storm had Six top ten hits from 1955 to 1957 but gave up her recording career at her husband's urging. She was in her mid-thirties at the time with young children and her own TV show and he felt that was quite enough for her to cope with.

The Diamonds would go on to have a long career in the entertainment business. With 28 alumni members over the years, The Diamonds are still touring as of 2020. Originally from Canada, their two biggest hits were the Number Two "Little Darlin'" in 1957 and the Number Four "The Stroll" in 1958.

Answer: Step on his shoes

"Blue Suede Shoes" was written and recorded by Carl Perkins and it was to be his only big hit. A Gold Record, it spent four weeks at Number Two on the Juke Box chart, peaked at Number Four on the Top 100, and all together had sufficient chart action to rank as the 31st biggest hit of 1956. Despite all that, most casual music fans consider it a Presley song despite his cover only peaking at Number 20 on any Billboard chart.

Perkins was the son of a poor Tennessee sharecropper and learned to play guitar on a makeshift instrument his father built for him. By the time he was 14 in 1946, he was playing music professionally at night with his brothers and picking cotton during the days. When he heard the Rock-a-Billy style of music coming out the Sun studio in Memphis, he knew where his future lie.

One night, after hearing a dancer admonish his partner for stepping on his suede shoes during a dance he was performing at, he was reminded of a story Johnny Cash had earlier told him about a sergeant he had in the military who also took inordinate pride in his suede shoes. The muses took over and before he could get to sleep, he wrote the song.

When released, it was an immediate hit and Perkins was asked to perform it live on the Perry Como Show. He was a passenger in a vehicle driving up to the gig with his bandmates when it crashed into a truck and he was seriously injured. While in hospital recovering, he saw Presley sing the song on the Milton Berle Show and due to that exposure, Presley ultimately became identified with the song more than Perkins was!

Perkins had a few hits on the C&W charts after that but his career was on the rails and by 1964, he was on the verge of throwing in the towel. Convinced by Chuck Berry to join him on a tour of the U.K., he was astonished at the reverence the Brits had for his music. While there, he became friends with the Beatles and they would go on to record three of his compositions, most notably "Matchbox".

Revitalized, he returned to the U.S. and went on to tour the nostalgia circuit for many years until incapacitated with throat cancer, the disease that would take his life in January 1998 at the age of 65.