DEAR JERRY: I grew up in a family of music lovers whose TV menu in the 1950s included Your Hit Parade. Every Saturday night we tried to guess what the Top 10 songs would be.
One peculiar thing I recall was when "Mister and Mississippi" was No. 2 week after week, yet never did reach No. 1. Was it the same on Billboard, a magazine I never saw until the early '70s when Tower Records started carrying it?
What are some other hits of the '50s that couldn't unseat whatever was No. 1, and had to settle for a peak position of No. 2 on Billboard?
Dawn Weston, Greenville, S.C.
DEAR DAWN: The Your Hit Parade survey was not just a televised version of the Billboard singles charts, so differences were quite common, especially in the '50s. If anything, their's was more like Cash Box in that the emphasis was on the song itself rather than an individual recording.
Such is the case with "Mister and Mississippi," which did indeed hold Your Hit Parade's No. 2 slot for five weeks in mid-'51.
Popularized by both Patti Page (Mercury 5645) and Dennis Day (RCA Victor 4140), "Mister and Mississippi" had the misfortune of being up against "Too Young," by Nat King Cole, and the 12-week lock it had on the No. 1 spot that summer.
Patti's "Mister and Mississippi" did sneak into Billboard's Top 10, but only for two weeks, and only at the bottom of the list.
Here then is my chronological recap of recordings from the vinyl era's first full decade, each with a minimum of 10 weeks in the Top 10, and a peak position of No. 2 on Billboard. There is at least one from each year.
Each entry is also followed by the chart-topper(s) that blocked it from the coveted No. 1 position:
1950: Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra with the Weavers "Tzena Tzena Tzena" - 13 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Mona Lisa" (Nat King Cole).
1951: Guy Mitchell "My Heart Cries for You" - 17 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "The Tennessee Waltz" (Patti Page).
1951: The Weavers with Terry Gilkyson "On Top of Old Smoky" - 17 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "How High the Moon" (Les Paul and Mary Ford).
1951: Frankie Laine "Jezebel" - 16 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Too Young" (Nat King Cole).
1952: Jo Stafford "Shrimp Boats" - 11 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Cry" (Johnny Ray).
1952: Rosemary Clooney "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)" - 10 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" (Vera Lynn).
1953: Frankie Laine "I Believe" - 19 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "The Doggie in the Window" (Patti Page).
1953: Les Baxter and His Orchestra "April in Portugal" - 17 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)" (Percy Faith Orchestra, with Vocalist Felicia Sanders).
1953: Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra "Ebb Tide" - 19 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Rags to Riches" (Tony Bennett).
1954: Dean Martin "That's Amore" - 19 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Oh! My Pa-Pa (O Mein Papa)" (Eddie Fisher).
1954: Archie Bleyer "Hernando's Hideaway" - 13 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Little Things Mean a Lot" (Kitty Kallen)
1955: Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra "Melody of Love" - 14 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Sincerely" (McGuire Sisters).
1955: Pat Boone "Ain't That a Shame" - 18 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2, first behind "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" (Bill Haley and His Comets), then topped by "The Yellow Rose of Texas" (Mitch Miller with His Orchestra and Chorus).
1956: Bill Doggett "Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)" - 14 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" (Elvis Presley).
1957: The Diamonds "Little Darlin'" - 14 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2, first behind "Round and Round" (Perry Como), then topped by "All Shook Up" (Elvis Presley).
1957: The Everly Brothers "Bye Bye Love" - 13 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Love Letters in the Sand" and "Bernardine" (Pat Boone).
1958: Bobby Day "Rock-in Robin" - 10 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "It's All in the Game" (Tommy Edwards).
1959: Ritchie Valens "Donna" - 10 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Stagger Lee" (Lloyd Price).
1959: Lloyd Price "Personality" - 10 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "The Battle of New Orleans" (Johnny Horton).
1959: Bobby Darin "Dream Lover" - 10 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "The Battle of New Orleans" (Johnny Horton).
1959: Paul Anka "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" - 13 weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 behind "Mack the Knife" (Bobby Darin).
IZ ZAT SO? Frankie Laine's "I Believe" may have been turned away from being No. 1 in the U.S., by a ferocious "Doggie in the Window," but it was completely different story in the UK.
"I Believe" racked up an astonishing total of 18 weeks at No. 1 on Britain's New Musical Express charts an all-time record unmatched by anyone on either side of the Atlantic.