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NOW: NOVEMBER 25, 2017
THEN: NOVEMBER 24, 1958

Ladies and gentlemen, Jesse Coffey Productions presents in association with Billboard Media . . .

ON THE CHARTS

THEN AND NOW

(Also on Melodious Falcons)
Two weeks ago, "Mi Gente" sung by J Balvin & Willy William was at #8. Last week it was at #9. THIS TIME it's in #10:

Funny how it slipped down number by number.

Our essay on 1958 is from the Cruisin' 58 album. It's by Jerry Hopkins.

Rock and roll was going through some peculiar peregrinations in 1958. Its popularity continued to accelerate, but several stations (one of them in St. Louis, coincidentally) began celebrating "Record Breaking Week," during which deejays broke all the rock records in their station libraries to dramatize what was termed, prematurely, "the demise of rock and roll." Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" was pulling eight-million-plus viewers daily and Alan Freed was grossing more millions (in dollars) with a road show that included Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chuck Berry and the Diamonds. Yet, the phrase "rock and roll" itself was being avoided by talent agencies, promoters, even Freed himself. (He preferred "the Big Beat.") And...Elvis Presley was drafted into the Army.

As for the music, it was beginning to get a little "gingerbread-y" (after the Frankie Avalon hit of the same name), as "Bandstand's" voracious demand for personalities and songs turned Dick Clark into rock's Henry Ford. In Philadelphia - also known as Brotherlylovesville - dance crazes, hit records and super-stars were created almost daily, on ABC-TV at five.

The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Coasters and others continued their gratifying string of gutty, boisterous teenaged hits...there was a lot of excitement left...but rock and roll just wasn't quite what it had been.

It was a period of settling in on the international scene as well, a period of shifts and starts and stops. Nikita Khrushchev was named the new premier of the Soviet Union, Charles DeGaulle became the decade's second general to be elected a president, and there was a new Pope (John XXIII) in the Vatican. President Eisenhower, having recovered from a slight stroke, ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon, while Egypt and Syria became one nation. And as an atomic sub slipped under the North Pole, the U.S. launched its first satellite...and nuclear test ban talks began.

Other headlines in 1958: Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize in literature...the Yankees took the World Series over the Braves..."Gigi" got the best picture Oscar.

And in the midst of all this, Atco artist Bobby Darin was at #10 talking about the "Queen of the Hop":

Maybe it's fitting that I call this the 2017 version of American Bandstand. I dunno . . . NEXT!

Oh, and with the biggest gain in digital sales this week, we have Maroon 5 talking about "What Lovers Do", joining some group called SZA in the #9 spot:

And what do lovers do when they break up? They go to "Lonesome Town." Or at #9, that's at least where then-teen-idol Ricky Nelson went in 1958:

Welcome back to the top ten, Ed Sheeran. You're "Perfect" at #8:

It appears we have Elvis here too, from 1958, here's his #8 song for the week of that year gone through, "I Got Stung":

In 1958, Elvis was also at #7 with that record's other side, a ballad called "One Night":

That at least gave folks a two-tier to listen to during times when Elvis was in the army. You also probably already know that this single was on RCA Victor so I didn't need to remind you.

But we do need to remind you that "Feel It Still", an Atlantic issue by Portugal. The Man is at #7 right now.

Next, rapper Logic and co-horts Alessia Cara and Khalid have downed "1-800-273-8255" to #6 from #4 last week. Once again, try to picture a 1-800 number being on the charts years ago. It wasn't.

(MATURE SUBJECT MATTER. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK.)

#6 was occupied by a tune from the Playmates, their only top 10 hit, going "Beep Beep" on the eventually controversial Morris Levy record company, Roulette:

The singing trio, comprised of Chic Hetti, Donny Conn and Morey Carr, hailed from Waterbury, Connecticut.

Here next are the Imagine Dragons on the KIDinaKORNER and Interscope labels, contributing this week's #5 song, and last week's, "Thunder", which has had the biggest gain in airplay all week:

At #5 in 1958 was the classic tune sung by Tommy Edwards, "It's All In The Game" on MGM:

This was the only Top-10 hit composed by a Vice President of the United States and/or a Nobel Prize laureate until Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature award in 2016. It was based on "Melody in A Major," written by Charles G. Dawes, later Vice President of the United States under Calvin Coolidge. He was awarded one of the Nobel Prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize.

We saw Sam Smith with "Too Good at Goodbyes" at #9 last week. Now it went back to #4, its peak position.

Next we have a one hit wonder at #4 in 1958, Cozy Cole with "Topsy II" on Love Records; the master was purchased by US Decca for their Coral subsidiary:

In three out of its 19 weeks on the chart, the #3 song on this week's chart was the #1 song. Cardi B is the fifth female rapper to ever lead the Hot 100, and the second-ever to do so with a solo output after Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998. Let's dress this Atlantic star in "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)":

Now, the Teddy Bears with a Dove recording of "To Know Him Is To Love Him":

#2 is now a fourteen week chart staple, Camila Cabello's "Havana" with Young Thug in Cinemascope on the Epic and Syco labels:

And now we have the #2 song of November 1958, "Tom Dooley" from the Kingston Trio:

Now ladies and gentlemen, this week's #1 song.

THE
#1
SONG OF THE WEEK ENDING
NOVEMBER 25, 2017

It is still Rockstar, sung by the rapping sensation Post Malone featuring Epic recording artist 21 Savage. The single is on Republic.

Now for the 1958 #1:

THE
#1
SONG OF THE WEEK ENDING
NOVEMBER 24, 1958

The #1 song is "It's Only Make Believe" from yet another 1950s teen idol, Conway Twitty, from November 24, 1958. It is believed that Twitty wrote his part of the song while sitting on a fire escape outside his hotel room, to escape the summer heat, in Hamilton, Ontario. Twitty had come to Canada at the request of another American singer, Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, due to Hawkins saying to Twitty that Canada was the 'promised land' for music. It paid off. The song was said to have been a big hit in 22 different countries and sold over 8 million copies. The tune became a staple of country music, and Conway Twitty a country music legend.


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