Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 10, 2017

DEAR JERRY: The information you provided on Britain's No. 1 songs that never clicked in America was splendid.

Using the same period, can you analyze it in reverse? How many of our chart-topping tunes didn't appear on the UK charts?
—Daniel Milholland, Syracuse, N.Y.

DEAR DANIEL: I suspected we'd get a request to, shall we say, play the flip side . . . and so we shall.

The format is the same, with our 1950s and '60s No. 1 hits that did not chart in the UK. Also indicated is whether a British cover version charted.

1953:
Teresa Brewer - "Till I Waltz Again With You" (Coral 60873)
No charted UK cover version

Percy Faith & His Orchestra - "The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)" (Columbia 39944)
No charted UK cover version

Perry Como - "No Other Love" (RCA Victor 5317)
No charted UK cover version

The Ames Brothers - "You You You" (RCA Victor 5325)
No charted UK cover version

Stan Freberg - "St. George and the Dragonet" (Capitol 2596)
No charted UK cover version

Tony Bennett - "Rags to Riches" (Columbia 40048)
UK cover by David Whitfield reached No. 9 (Columbia 3729)

1954: None

1955:
Georgia Gibbs - "Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower)" (Mercury 70572)
No charted UK cover version

Roger Williams - "Autumn Leaves" (Kapp 116)
No charted UK cover version

1956:
Nelson Riddle - "Lisbon Antigua" (Capitol 3287)
No charted UK cover version

1957:
Perry Como - "Round and Round" (RCA Victor 6670)
UK cover by Jimmy Young reached No. 30 (Decca 10875)

Johnny Mathis - "Chances Are" (Columbia 40993)
No charted UK cover version

1958:
The Silhouettes - "Get a Job" (Ember 1029)
No charted UK cover version

The Chipmunks (Alvin, Theodore & Simon) With the Music of David Seville - "The Chipmunk Song" (Liberty 55168)
No charted UK cover version

1959:
Dave "Baby" Cortez - "The Happy Organ" (Clock 1009)
No charted UK cover version

Wilbert Harrison - "Kansas City" (Fury 1023)
No charted UK cover version

The Fleetwoods - "Mr. Blue"
UK cover by Mike Preston reached No. 12 (Decca 11167)
UK cover by David MacBeth reached No. 16 (Pye 15231)

1960:
Larry Verne - "Mr. Custer" (Era 3024)
UK cover by Charlie Drake reached No. 12 (Parlophone 4701)

1961:
Bert Kaempfert - "Wonderland By Night" (Decca 31141)
No charted UK cover version

Lawrence Welk - "Calcutta" (Dot 16161)
No charted UK cover version

Bobby Lewis - "Tossin' and Turnin'" (Beltone 1002)
No charted UK cover version

Joe Dowell - "Wooden Heart"
The only UK hit was Elvis Presley's original version, that was No. 1 in 1961 (RCA Victor 1226), and No. 2 in 2005 (Sony/BMG/RCA 82876 666612)

The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman" (Tamla 54046)
No charted UK cover version

1962:
David Rose and His Orchestra - "The Stripper" (MGM 13064)
No charted UK cover version

Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers - "Monster Mash" (Garpax 44167)
UK single didn't chart when first issued in 1962 (London 9597)
A 1970 reissue (London 10320) also failed to chart, but peaked at No. 3 when reissued in 1973

1963:
Steve Lawrence - "Go Away Little Girl" (Columbia 42601)
UK cover by Mark Wynter reached No. 6 (Pye 15492)

Little Peggy March - "I Will Follow Him" (RCA Victor 8139)
No charted UK cover version

Little Stevie Wonder - "Fingertips - Part 2" (Tamla 54080)
No charted UK cover version

1964:
Bobby Vinton - "Mr. Lonely" (Epic 9730)
No charted UK cover version

1965:
Gary Lewis and the Playboys - "This Diamond Ring" (Liberty 55756)
No charted UK cover version

The Beatles - "Eight Days a Week" (Capitol 5371)
Not a single in the UK

Herman's Hermits - "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (MGM 13341)
Not a single in the UK

Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" (MGM 13367) Not a single in the UK

The Beatles - "Yesterday" (Capitol 5498) Not a single in the UK

1966:
Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sounds of Silence" (Columbia 43396)
UK cover by the Bachelors, as "The Sound of Silence," reached No. 3 (Decca 12351)

SSgt Barry Sadler - "The Ballad of the Green Berets" (RCA Victor 8739)
No charted UK cover version

The Young Rascals - "Good Lovin'" (Atlantic 2321)
No charted UK cover version

The Association - "Cherish" (Valiant 747)
No charted UK cover version

Johnny Rivers - "Poor Side of Town" (Imperial 66205)
No charted UK cover version

1967:
The Buckinghams - "Kind of a Drag" (U.S.A. 860)
No charted UK cover version

The Association - "Windy" (Warner Bros. 7041)
No charted UK cover version

Lulu - "To Sir With Love" (Epic 10187)
No charted UK cover version

Strawberry Alarm Clock - "Incense and Peppermints" (Uni 55018)
No charted UK cover version

1968:
Archie Bell and the Drells - "Tighten Up" (Atlantic 2478)
No charted UK cover version

Hugh Masekela - "Grazing in the Grass" (Uni 55066)
No charted UK cover version

The Rascals - "People Got to Be Free" (Atlantic 2537)
No charted UK cover version

1969:
Tommy James and the Shondells - "Crimson and Clover" (Roulette 7028)
No charted UK cover version

Henry Mancini - "Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet" (RCA Victor 0131) No charted UK cover version

IZ ZAT SO? Here are some quirky takeaways encountered during this week's research:

Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City" was issued in the UK (Top Rank 132), but it never charted, nor did any other rendition of that "Kansas City."

What they did play was Little Richard's "Kansas City" (London 8868), that has only the title in common with Harrison's hit.

Though not indicated on the label, it really is a medley of "Kansas City" and another Little Richard tune, "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey," a 1958 single (London 8560). This is the same medley found on the 1965 U.S. album, "Beatles IV."

Little Richard's "Kansas City" peaked at No. 26 in the UK, not great but much better than it did in the States.

On May 18, 1959, when Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City" was No. 1 on Billboard, Little Richard's "Kansas City" (Specialty 664) held the No. 95 spot on the Hot 100. The next week it dropped off the chart.

In America, both "Come Softly to Me" and "Mr. Blue" were unanimous No. 1s (on all national charts), and million-sellers. "Come Softly to Me" was also a Top 10 hit in the UK, but astonishingly "Mr. Blue" fell through the cracks. It did not chart, though two covers, by Mike Preston and David MacBeth, reached the Top 20. None of this makes any sense.

Simon and Garfunkel's UK single of "The Sound of Silence" (CBS 201977) did not chart, though a cover by the Bachelors did, using the same title.

We have yet to see a 1966 copy by Simon and Garfunkel, from any other country (and we've looked at many), with "Sound" instead of "Sounds."

Finally, the Beatles and Herman's Hermits each had two No. 1 hits in the U.S., with tracks not issued as singles in Britain:

The Beatles- "Eight Days a Week" and "Yesterday" Herman's Hermits - "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"


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