Thursday, September 30, 2021

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 30 September 1961

  At #6 this week is Billy Fury's 'Jealousy':


Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

25 September: "Wisconsin became the first state in the United States to require the installation of seat belts as standard equipment in motor vehicles, as Governor Gaylord Nelson signed into law a bill directing that all 1962 and later model cars and trucks were required to include the safety belts before they could be sold. In the first six months that the law was in effect, all but one belt wearer had survived a car accident in the state." 
    See also: https://www.wpr.org/surprisingly-controversial-history-seat-belts and the invention of the modern three-point seat belt by Volvo's Nils Bohlin: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/three-point-seatbelt-inventor-nils-bohlin-born

26 SeptemberThe U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) came into being, per the Arms Control and Disarmament Act, Pub.L. 87–297, 75 Stat. 631. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements."
    As of April 1, 1999, ACDA was abolished and its functions merged into the Department of State.


27 September: The first episode of cartoon series Top Cat airs on USA's ABC network TV. See it here:

29 September: "Minutes after Fidel Castro announced that he was going to "clean up" Havana, the last casinos in Cuba were closed. At the time of the revolution, there had been 25 gambling casinos. Five were left, all in government operated hotels, at the time of the order."
UK chart hits, week ending 30 September 1961 (tracks in italics have been played in earlier posts)

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

1

Kon-Tiki

The Shadows

Columbia

2

Johnny Remember Me

John Leyton

Top Rank

3

Wild In The Country / I Feel So Bad

Elvis Presley

RCA

4

Michael Row The Boat

The Highwaymen

HMV

5

You Don't Know

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

6

Jealousy

Billy Fury

Decca

7

Get Lost

Eden Kane

Decca

8

Reach For The Stars / Climb Every Mountain

Shirley Bassey

Columbia

9

Hats Off To Larry

Del Shannon

London

10

Together

Connie Francis

MGM

11

You'll Answer To Me

Cleo Laine

Fontana

12

Michael Row The Boat / Lumbered

Lonnie Donegan

Pye

13

Walkin' Back To Happiness

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

14

Cupid

Sam Cooke

RCA

15

Sea Of Heartbreak

Don Gibson

RCA

16

Granada

Frank Sinatra

Reprise

17

Halfway To Paradise

Billy Fury

Decca

18

Ain't Gonna Wash For A Week

The Brook Brothers

Pye

19

That's My Home

Acker Bilk

Columbia

20

I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door

Eddie Hodges

London


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