Thursday, June 17, 2021

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 17 June 1961

This week's Number One: Elvis sings 'Surrender':
  

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

11 June: Phil Hill brings the winning Ferrari 250TRi/61 home at the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Hill co-drove with Belgian long distance specialist Olivier Gendebien.
https://klemcoll.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/the-winner-arrives/
 

12 June: German-speaking separatists blow up 37 electricity pylons in the South Tyrol region of Italy (photo sourcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_Fire

14 June: UK Government announces that new push-button 'panda' pedestrian crossings
will start to replace 'zebra' crossings in the following year (source: BBC)


15 June: East German Communist First Secretary says there is no plan for a Berlin Wall.
Construction begins on 13 August.

16 June: Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, in Paris with the Kirov Ballet and about to fly with them to Britain, is told by KGB agents to accompany them back to Moscow instead. He breaks away from them, runs to two French policemen and asks for political asylum.

UK chart hits, week ending 17 June 1961

Htp: Clint's labour-of love compilation https://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/61chart.htm

Surrender

Elvis Presley

RCA

1

Runaway

Del Shannon

London

2

The Frightened City

The Shadows

Columbia

3

Hello Mary Lou / Travellin' Man

Ricky Nelson

London

4

But I Do

Clarence 'Frogman' Henry

Pye

5

More Than I Can Say

Bobby Vee

London

6

Pasadena

The Temperance Seven

Parlophone

7

You'll Never Know

Shirley Bassey

Columbia

8

I Told Every Little Star

Linda Scott

Columbia

9

Halfway To Paradise

Billy Fury

Decca

10

Temptation

The Everly Brothers

Warner Brothers

11

Have A Drink On Me

Lonnie Donegan

Pye

12

What'd I Say

Jerry Lee Lewis

London

13

Well I Ask You

Eden Kane

Decca

14

Pop Goes The Weasel / Bee*Bom

Anthony Newley

Decca

15

Runnin' Scared

Roy Orbison

London

16

Don't Treat Me Like A Child

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

17

On The Rebound

Floyd Cramer

RCA

18

Little Devil

Neil Sedaka

RCA

19

Wooden Heart

Elvis Presley

RCA

20

3 comments:

Bucko said...

What an awesome top 20. I was born in the wrong era

Sackerson said...

I think not, Bucko - thanks to recording technology, it can all be played again !

Bucko said...

True. But there's not many places to dance to it :-)