Posted by Mike Riccio on July 14, 2008 at 11:16:03:
In Reply to: Three or more DIFFERENT ARTIST(S) who had a hit with the SAME SONG in the SAME YEAR posted by Jim Surace on July 13, 2008 at 21:14:14:
The twist to this is the "three at one time"...
But how about FOUR versions of the same song on the chart at the same time...
Or how about...SIX versions of the same song at the same time!...
Well, read on, since I covered this topic once before...
Awhile back, I came up with the single chart week that had the most cover versions on the charts at the same time.
Many of those were TWO versions of the same song...
But there were also many that had THREE versions (or more!) at the same time.
The week was May 5, 1956...
Here are the songs from that week that had THREE versions...
Poor People of Paris: #3 by Les Baxter, #71 by Russ Morgan, #97 by Lawrence Welk
Blue Suede Shoes: #5 by Carl Perkins, #37 by Elvis, #78 by Boyd Bennett
Ivory Tower: #6 by Cathy Carr, #14 by Otis Williams, #16 by Gale Storm
Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic": #7 by George Cates, also #7 a tie with Morris Stoloff, #26 by the McGuire Sisters and #74 by Ralph Marterie
Why Do Fools Fall in Love: #11 listed merely as by "The Teenagers", #29 by Gale Storm and #30 by the Diamonds
Main Title ("Man with the Golden Arm"): With SIX versions! #26 by Richard Maltby, #36 by Dick Jacobs, #38 by Elmer Bernstein, #70 by Billy May (the man who gave us Dan Ingram's "Tri-Fi Drums" theme), #85 by Les Elgart, #89 by Buddy Morrow
Eddie My Love: #33 by the Fontane Sisters, #81 by the Chordettes, # 90 by the Teen Queens
Walk Hand in Hand: #42 by Toni Martin, #68 by Andy Williams, #74 by Denny Vaughn
Theme from "The Three Penny Opera" (Moritat): #52 by Dick Hyman, #93 by Richard Hayman and Jan August, #96 by Louis Armstrong
#46 - On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone (also charted by Eddie Fisher and Lawrence Welk)
If you're curious about ALL the other versions that were on the chart that week, some of them with two versions, here's my whole article for you.
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Since I've made note here of two of the great chart feats of all time (the Beatles dominance of the charts in April, 1964 and the "Twist" rage of March, 1962, after EXHAUSTIVE research I can't let the first week of May go by without recognizing the third of the three greatest examples of chart dominance in the history of the top 100 national charts.
And that is...the 41st Anniversary of the charts being taken over by "cover" versions.
Outside of the 1955 charts that routinely posted multiple versions of middle-of-the-road songs and the charts around Christmas week in 1955, the week ending May 5, 1956 is alone in featuring more cover versions on the chart than any other week in the modern chart era (taking all charts into consideration). And that week stands out with some great examples of the crossover from M.O.R. songs to rock, of the R&B influence on rock and roll, and of wonderful multiple versions of legitimate hits and many "lost" hits.
Boyd Bennett doing battle with "Blue Suede Shoes" against Elvis and Carl? Wow! The Flamingos version of "I'll Be Home"..."Ivory Tower" by Otis Williams and the Charms...Fats' "Bo Weevil" right there with Teresa Brewer...what gems!
That first week in May, 1956 placed 15 cover versions (all versions of the same song were ranked together) in the top CashBox Top 50 songs. On the Billboard Top 100, 16 cover versions (all versions were ranked separately) placed on the list.
With multiple versions of the same song, that means that 35 of 85 Cashbox songs and 45 of 100 Billboard songs were covers...or close to 44% of the hits of the day!
Click the link below to view the entire CashBox chart for the week.
The Billboard chart, not available online, featured the following songs.
Poor People of Paris: #3 by Les Baxter, #71 by Russ Morgan, #97 by Lawrence Welk
Blue Suede Shoes: #5 by Carl Perkins, #37 by Elvis, #78 by Boyd Bennett
Ivory Tower: #6 by Cathy Carr, #14 by Otis Williams, #16 by Gale Storm
Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic": #7 by George Cates, also #7 a tie with Morris Stoloff, #26 by the McGuire Sisters and #74 by Ralph Marterie
Why Do Fools Fall in Love: #11 listed merely as by "The Teenagers", #29 by Gale Storm and #30 by the Diamonds
Rock Island Line: #13 by Lonnie Donegan, #84 by Don Cornell
Long Tall Sally: #16 by Little Richard and #21 by Bob and Connie's favorite, Pat Boone
Standing on the Corner: #19 by the Four Lads and #51 by Dean Martin
Mr. Wonderful: #23 by Peggy Lee and #67 by Sarah Vaughn
Church Bells May Ring: #26 by the Diamonds and #78 by the Willows
Main Title ("Man with the Golden Arm"): With SIX versions! #26 by Richard Maltby, #36 by Dick Jacobs, #38 by Elmer Bernstein, #70 by Billy May (the man who gave us Dan Ingram's "Tri-Fi Drums" theme), #85 by Les Elgart, #89 by Buddy Morrow
Eddie My Love: #33 by the Fontane Sisters, #81 by the Chordettes, # 90 by the Teen Queens
Walk Hand in Hand: #42 by Toni Martin, #68 by Andy Williams, #74 by Denny Vaughn
Theme from "The Three Penny Opera" (Moritat): #52 by Dick Hyman, #93 by Richard Hayman and Jan August, #96 by Louis Armstrong
I Could Have Danced All Night: #56 by Sylvia Syms ("the world's greatest saloon singer" according to Frank Sinatra) and #99 by Rosemary Clooney
Innamorato: #72 by Dean Martin, #88 by Jerry Vale
The rest of the Top 10:
1) Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis
2) Hot Diggity - Perry
3) Poor People (see above)
4) Magic Touch - Platters
5) Blue Suede Shoes - (see above)
6) Ivory Tower (see above)
7) (tie) Moonglow (see above)
7) (tie) Moonglow (see above)
9) A Tear Fell - T. Brewer
10) Lisbon Antigua - Nelson Riddle
That's five out of the top ten that were cover versions and one more ("Lisbon...") that had a cover version by Mitch Miller that had already dropped off the chart.
Other songs on the Top 100 that week that had cover versions in the same general time period that either had already dropped off the chart or were yet to enter were:
#15 - I'll Be Home - Pat Boone (Flamingos charted on CashBox, not Billboard)
#18 - Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant (Later charted by Tex Ritter)
#21 - I'm in Love Again - Fats Domino (later joined by The Fontane Sisters!)
#46 - On the Street Where You Live - Vic Damone (also charted by Eddie Fisher and Lawrence Welk)
#58 - Graduation Day - Four Freshman (also by the Rovers in the following weeks)
That week also charted some GREAT non-cover versions:
#39 - R.O.C.K. - Bill Haley and the Comets
#53 - Slippin' and Slidin' - Little Richard
#57 - Little Girl of Mine - Cleftones
#63 - Corrine Corrina - Joe Turner
#65 - Saints Rock and Roll - Bill Haley
#80 - Money Honey - Elvis
#82 - Great Pretender - Platters
#85 - See You Later Alligator - the THIRD charted song by Bill Haley
For More, Be Sure to Click the Cash Box Chart Link Below!
Mike Riccio