Straight-backed and strident march ordering a returning soldier back to his lovin’ duties with Anne. A shoo-in for No.1 in 1946 I’d have thought, but ten years later it sticks out like a teddy boy in a bearskin hat. (More anachronism fun […]

“Que Sera, Sera” is a slippery little song – its fresh optimism seems to conceal something a shade darker (the sentiment could as easily front a glum shrug as a carefree grin), but in the lyric only good things do seem to happen, so[…]

I like the vim and sharpness of this song. I like the vocal tricks the record uses – the “dum-ba-ba-dum” doo-wop intro is an instant hit; Lymon’s long high “why” is heart-melting. I love the way Lymon rushes the ve[…]

It’s my belief that no pop song with a ‘spoken bit’ can be all bad, though Pat Boone does his best to test my resolve with a lifeless, dreary epistolary ballad, good in 1956 for a grope and a smooch perhaps, but good in 2003 for not[…]

My MP3 copy of this is all glitched up, but this is a bit of a trial to listen to in any case. Journeyman Brit crooner Hilton brings little in terms of character to this ballad, so the arranger tries to add a smidgen of interest via drum crashes and […]

Winifred attacks the piano with her usual demented glee, this time with a bit of quasi-operatic humming to liven things up further (or is it a Theremin? I’d put nothing past her.) A bit of research tells me that this is an instrumental version […]

‘There in the night was a wonderful scene / Mom was dancing with Dad to my record machine / And while they danced only one thing was wrong / They were trying to waltz to a rock and roll song!’ The chorus premise tells you everything you n[…]

The Dreamweavers knew – absolutely knew – their song was a hit, but nobody wanted to record it. At this distance we can only guess as to why – too sad, perhaps? Too defeatist? Too old-fashioned? So the group did something remarkable[…]

The Rat Pack glorification of hard-drinkin’ Dino means that even conformist outings like this get compiled and recycled repeatedly as totems of a seedy glamour. If you knew nothing about Dean Martin the man, though, you’d hear this for wh[…]

What makes a hit? Gimmicks, among other things. Pop records have always provided their fair share of ‘water-cooler moments’ – “Have you heard that one?” – and it helps if they have a couple of good lines, or a soun[…]