With the Diamond Jubilee concert line-up announced, including 60s legends Paul McCartney, Shirley Bassey and Cliff Richard, it is a great time to relive some of the songs of this classic era.
The 1961 British Hit Parade Parts 1 and 2 collectively present every recording to debut on the UK hit singles chart during 1961, drawing on the Record Retailer Top 50, as well as the New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Record Mirror charts. In the extensive booklet notes, record producer and music historian Stuart Colman guides us through the year’s hits and headlines.
The early months of 1961 saw The Avengers debut on TV, the UK opening of Frank Sinatra’s new project, Reprise Records, and The Beatles’ first-ever gig at the Cavern Club. In April, ITV unveiled Thank Your Lucky Stars, hosted by Pete Murray, and in May Spurs beat Leicester City to win the double. June brought the weddings of both Shirley Bassey and Petula Clark, as well as the defection to the West of Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.
Chart-toppers in the first half of 1961 included Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Elvis Presley), Sailor (Petula Clark), Walk Right Back (The Everly Brothers), Blue Moon (The Marcels), On The Rebound (Floyd Cramer), Runaway (Del Shannon), Well I Ask You (Eden Kane) and You Don’t Know (Helen Shapiro). Among the many other hits which are now regarded as golden oldies were You’re Sixteen (Johnny Burnette), Calendar Girl (Neil Sedaka), My Kind of Girl (Matt Monro), Will You Love Me Tomorrow (The Shirelles), Rubber Ball (Bobby Vee), Runnin’ Scared (Roy Orbison), Hello Mary Lou (Ricky Nelson) and Stand By Me (Ben E King).
The year also saw a proliferation of instrumental hits, with newcomers Nero & The Gladiators, Rhet Stoller, The Ramrods, The String-A-Longs and The Packabeats joining seasoned acts like Duane Eddy, Bert Weedon, The Shadows, The Ventures and The Piltdown Men in the charts. There was comedy aplenty, including Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren, Benny Hill, Anthony Newley and Tommy Cooper, while The Temperance Seven specialised in smile-inducing pastiches of the popular sounds of the twenties.
The summer of ’61 saw the birth of Diana Spencer, the future Princess of Wales, and East Germany closing the border between East and West Berlin. Autumn saw the first new episode of Tom and Jerry since 1957, and the Twist dance craze go global. In December, Cliff Richard’s third film The Young Ones premiered in London.
Back in July the first edition of regional music paper Mersey Beat had sold all of its 5,000 copies within a week: the shape of sounds to come.
Chart-toppers in the second half of 1961 included Johnny Remember Me (John Leyton), Kon-Tiki (The Shadows), Walkin’ Back To Happiness (Helen Shapiro), Moon River (Danny Williams) and His Latest Flame (Elvis Presley) and has there ever been a finer flipside than Little Sister? Among the many other hits which are now regarded as golden oldies were Cupid (Sam Cooke), Let’s Twist Again (Chubby Checker), Sea of Heartbreak (Don Gibson), Take Good Care of My Baby (Bobby Vee), Hit the Road Jack (Ray Charles), I’ll Get By (As Long As I Have You) (Shirley Bassey), Multiplication (Bobby Darin) and The Tokens’ The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh).
The trad jazz boom continued with hits for the bands of Acker Bilk, Bob Wallis, Kenny Ball and Terry Lightfoot. In December Bilk’s Stranger On The Shore commenced an extraordinary 55-week stay in the charts. There were no less than five different hit renditions of Sucu Sucu. Gene Vincent had his final UK hit, while artists making their chart debut included Jan & Dean, Dusty Springfield (in The Springfields) and Alvin Stardust (Shane Fenton & The Fentones).
The 1961 British Hit Parade collects together 12 CDs with more than 300 songs from artists such as Elvis Presley, Nat 'King' Cole, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Shirley Bassey, Buddy Holly, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and much, much more. For the full tracklisting of 1961 British Hit Parade Part 1 please click here, and for Part 2 click here.
We have five copies each of the 1961 British Hit Parade to give away, plus for one lucky winner we will also be including bonus box sets of the 1960 British Hit Parade Part 1 and 1960 Hit Parade Part 2.
How to enter this prize draw
For your chance to win these great CDs simpley e-mail your name, address and telephone number to prize.draws@saga.co.uk. Don't forget to specify which prize draw you are entering, in this case British Hit Parade.
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Terms and conditions
1. The prize is a CD box set of 1961 Hit Parade Part 1 and 1961 Hit Parade Part 2. We have five to give away, one each of Part 1 and Part 2 for each of five winners. One winner will also receive 1960 British Hit Parade Part 1 and 1960 Hit Parade Part 2.
2.The prize is non refundable and non transferable. No cash alternative will be offered. No alternative prize will be offered if unsuitable.
3.No purchase or transaction necessary for entry into the free prize draw.
4.Only one entry per household allowed.
5.Duplicates will not be accepted.
6.All entries must be received on or before the prize draw end date of midday March 9, 2012.
7.The draw will be officiated by the Website Editors.
8.The winner will be notified by email after the prize draw has taken place.
9.The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
10.The promoter reserves the right to use the winner's name in any post-event publicity.
11. The draw is promoted by: Saga Publishing Ltd, The Saga Pavilion, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3SE.
12. This prize draw is not available to retirees, employees, or their families of the Saga Group Limited and its subsidiary companies.
13.This prize draw is not available to retirees, employees, or the families of employees of Icon Home Entertainment Ltd or Premier PR.
14.This prize draw is open to residents of the UK who are aged 50 years or over.
15.The promoter reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time, for any reason and without explanation.
16. A full UK mainland address and telephone number must be provided for delivery purposes.
If you have any questions concerning this prize draw, please write to: The Promoter, Saga Publishing Ltd, The Saga Pavilion, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3SE. The name of the winner will be available on request by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the same address (available approximately 60 days after the prize draw end date).