Thursday brought the news that Vera Lynn has died aged 103. Her death means that everybody who had a hit in 1952, the first year of the singles chart, is no longer with us.
There were 15 records in the first ever charts in November 1952 and 3 of them were Vera Lynn records, making her the first artist to have had the most hits. By January 1953 she was joined by Nat 'King' Cole, Tony Brent and Al Martino on 3 and in April 1954 she was overtaken by Frankie Laine.
She would go on to score 9 hits, the last of which came in 1957 and she had a number one in 1954 with "My Son, My Son". The song she was perhaps most famous for was "We'll Meet Again", but this never charted as it came out in 1939.
The anniversary of VE Day this year renewed interest in the song and it looked like it was going to make the Top 40 from the chart update. This would have made Vera Lynn the artist with the longest Top 40 career, but it wasn't to be and was outside the Top 40 by the end of the week.
The earliest chart debutant still alive now is Joni James, who debuted in March 1953. The only other 1953 debutant who is still alive is Ray Anthony, who had his only hit in December 1953.
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