Whose Line Was It Anyway? UK Number One Hits 1955 Quiz

Answer: Dickie Valentine

Dickie Valentine was singing "Finger Of Suspicion" and it spent three weeks at number one on the UK chart in 1955. It never charted in the US. It was the first UK number one hit to be knocked off the top twice, by the same record.

Frankie Vaughan had a number 12 hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "Happy Days And Lonely Nights". It never charted in the US. Ronnie Hilton had a number ten hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "A Blossom Fell". It never charted in the US. David Whitfield had a number seven hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "When You Lose The One You Love". It reached number 62 on the US pop chart in 1956.

Answer: Italiano

"Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney was a UK number one for three weeks in 1955, removing "Finger Of Suspicion" from the top of the chart twice. It was a number nine hit on the US pop chart in 1954. The song was banned by ABC stations in the US because it was felt it didn't reach standards of good taste. Rosemary Clooney who died in 2002 was the mother of actor Miguel Ferrer and the aunt of actor George Clooney.

Answer: Ruby Murray

Ruby Murray sang "Softly Softly" and spent three weeks at number one on the UK chart in 1955. It never charted in the US. Ruby from Belfast N.Ireland, was the first singer to have five hits in the UK top 20 at the same time but never had a chart hit in the US.

Anne Shelton had a number 17 hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "Arrivederci Darling", it never charted in the US. Lita Roza had a number 17 hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "Hey There", it did not chart in the US. Doris Day had a number 17 hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "I'll Never Stop Loving You", it reached number 13 on the US chart.

Answer: Tennessee Ernie Ford

Tennessee Ernie Ford sang "Give Me Your Word" and had a UK number one for seven weeks in 1955. It did not chart in the US. It was the B-side of "River Of No Return" a number nine US country chart hit in 1954.

Frank Sinatra had a number two hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "Learnin' The Blues". It was number one for two weeks on the US pop chart. Al Martino had a number 19 hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "The Man From Laramie", it did not chart in the US. Veteran UK singer and radio broadcaster Jimmy Young had a number one for four weeks on the UK chart with a cover version in the same year. Dean Martin had a number three hit on the UK chart in 1955 with "Let Me Go Lover", it did not chart in the US.

Answer: Tony Bennett

It was Tony Bennett who had a UK number one for two weeks with "Stranger In Paradise" in 1955. It reached number two on the US pop chart in 1953.

The Tony Martin version reached number six on the UK chart in 1955 and number ten on the US pop chart in 1954. The Don Cornell version reached number 19 on the UK chart in 1955 but did not chart in the US. The Bing Crosby version reached number 17 on the UK chart but did not chart in the US.

Answer: Jimmy Young

"Unchained Melody" by Jimmy Young was number one for three weeks in 1955 but it did not chart in the US. Now Sir Jimmy Young OBE CBE, he became a british institution after serving in the RAF during WWII. He had many hits on the UK chart from the early '50s to 1964, he became a DJ with BBC Radio 1 in 1967 to 1973. Then he had a music/chat/current affairs programme (The JY Prog) on BBC Radio 2 from 1973 to 2002 when he was retired by the BBC aged 80 and was not happy about it. He was the first UK singer to have consecutive number one hits on the UK chart.

The Al Hibbler version reached number two on the UK chart and number three on the US pop chart in 1955. The Les Baxter instrumental version reached number ten on the UK chart and number one for two weeks on the US pop chart in 1955. The Liberace instrumental version reached number 20 on the UK chart but did not chart in the US.

Answer: Dreamboat

Alma Cogan (the girl with the laugh in her voice) was singing about her "Dreamboat" and had a UK number one for two weeks in 1955. It did not chart in the US.

Alma Cogan was a big star on British TV in the '50s and '60s in the days when top singers did not need chart hits and they seemed to be only incidental to their showbiz careers. Her London house parties were famous and her guests included Noel Coward, Cary Grant, Sammy Davis Jr, Ethel Merman, Roger Moore, Michael Caine and The Beatles (John Lennon nicknamed her Sara Sequin because of the '50s style dresses she was famous for). John and his wife Cynthia thought she was an old fashioned '50s singer on stage but in the flesh she was a beautiful, intelligent and sexy lady to the point that John's wife thought he and Alma were intimately involved. Paul McCartney first played "Yesterday" to Alma on the piano in her flat (apartment) to see if she thought it was already a published song. Alma had her first UK chart hit in 1954 and she was only eight years older than John Lennon when she died from cancer aged 34 in 1966.

Answer: Slim Whitman

Slim Whitman took "Rose Marie" to the top of the UK chart for 11 weeks in 1955. It did not enter the US pop chart but reached number four on the US country chart in 1954. That record 11 weeks on top of the UK chart stood for 36 years until Canadian Bryan Adams topped the UK chart for 16 weeks with "(Everything I do) I do it for you" in 1991.

Slim Pickens (real name Louis Burton Lindley Jr) was an American actor (the garbage truck driver Cowboy in "The Getaway" with Steve McQueen, the pilot Major 'King' Kong who rides the A-bomb down in "Dr.Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" with Peter Sellers and Taggart in "Blazing Saddles" with Mel Brooks). Slim Shady is a character in an Eminem song. Slim Dusty (real name David Gordon Kirkpatrick MBE) was a top Australian country singer who had a UK number three hit with "A Pub With No Beer" in 1959. It was the first Australian single to go gold and the first and only 78rpm single to be awarded a gold disc. He has also been awarded more gold and platinum albums than any other Australian artist.

Answer: The Johnston Brothers

The Johnston Brothers took "Hernando's Hideaway" to number one on the UK chart for two weeks in 1955. It did not chart in the US. Johnny Johnston formed the Johnston Brothers in 1949 with Denny Vaughan and Alan Dean. They had three UK top ten hits and some minor hits till 1957.
Johnny Johnston (born John Reine) later formed an advertising jingles company which came up with some well known TV jingles such as, "A million housewives every day pick up a can of beans and say, Beanz Meanz Heinz!" and "Keep going well, keep going Shell, you can be sure of Shell", sung by Bing Crosby no less.

Johnnie Ray had a number 11 hit on the UK chart with "Hernando's Hideaway" in 1955. It reached number 14 on the US pop chart in 1954. Archie Bleyer's version of "Hernando's Hideway" never charted in the UK but reached number two on the US pop chart in 1954. Debelah Morgan sampled Archie Bleyer's version on her 2000 hit "Dance With Me"

Answer: Bill Haley and His Comets

Bill Haley and His Comets took "Rock Around The Clock" (first released in 1954) to number one on the UK charts for three weeks in 1955 and two weeks in 1956. It was number one for eight weeks on the US pop chart in 1955.

"Rock Around The Clock" entered the UK chart on eight separate occasions from 1954 to 1974 spending 57 weeks on the chart. It entered the US pop chart in 1954, 1955 and 1974 and spent a total of 39 weeks on the chart. Sales of 15 to 40 million worldwide have been quoted from various sources but it is certainly in the top five selling Rock'n'Roll records of all time.