UK Singles Chart: 1961

When I was reviewing 1960 I said it was probably the most stereotypical 50s sounding year to date. Well 1961 is probably the most actual 50s sounding year to date with plenty of traditional pop thrown in for good measure.

The most notable thing about the evolution of the chart music in 1961 is the rise of instrumental music. There were two instrumental number ones this year, "Kon-Tiki" by the Shadows and "On the Rebound" by Floyd Cramer. The lead instrument in "On the Rebound" was the piano with Floyd Cramer having previous success as a session pianist for well known artists such as Elvis Presley. There were also many guitar based instrumentals from lesser known groups which you could be forgiven for thinking its a Duane Eddy or Shadows tune.

The biggest success story of 1961 though was Elvis Presley who reached 38 singles and clocked up another four number ones bringing his total to 9. Included his number ones of the year was "Wooden Heart" which was his best UK hit in my opinion.

This year saw the chart debut of Gene Pitney. First of all in January the Gene Pitney penned "Rubber Ball" charted for Bobby Vee, The Avons and Marty Wilde. There was also the Gene Pitney penned "Hello Mary Lou" which was a hit for Ricky Nelson in June. He also made his chart debut as an artist in March with "I Wanna Love My Life Away". Despite him being a songwriter, this would be the only UK hit he would have as an artist which he would write himself.

Another chart debutant known for their high pitched voice this year was Del Shannon. He reached number one in June with his debut hit "Runaway". He would follow up with two more top 10 hits later on in the year with "Hats off to Larry" and "So Long Baby". It was also the year the Shirelles made their chart debut with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" which would be their only top 10 hit.

This is now the tenth year of the charts and the 1952 chart debutants who had hits this year were Max Bygraves and Nat King Cole, though Max Bygraves would have to wait several more years until he would have his next hit. Of the 1953 debutants, the Ted Heath Orchestra had their first hit in 3 years with "Sicu Sicu" which would be their last ever hit. Ted Heath himself would be 61 by the time of this release so not bad going. We also see the return of Dorothy Squires with "Say it With Flowers". This was only her second single, her first being "I'm Walking Behind You" in 1953 and she would wait several more years until her third single.

Out of the 1954 debutants, there were hits for Frankie Vaughan, Alma Cogan and Frank Sinatra. All three artists had hits every year between 1954 and 1961, a record at the time. This would be the last year we'd see Alma Cogan in the charts, but Frankie Vaughan and Frank Sinatra would be back. Further to that, Frankie Vaughan scored a number one this year with "Tower of Strength". There was one more 1954 debutant who had hits this year, Petula Clark who also had a number one this year with "Sailor". Another 50s artists of note to still be having hits is Lonnie Donegan long after the skiffle craze was over.

We had one new nationality on the charts in 1961. This was Danny Williams from South Africa who had the Christmas number one with Moon River.

So not quite the swinging sixties yet, how will 1962 fare? Find out in a couple of weeks.