Thursday, October 07, 2021

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 07 October 1961

At #3 this week is Helen Shapiro's 'Walking Back To Happiness':



Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

2 October: 'French President Charles de Gaulle delivers a televised address in France and French Algeria, outlining his plans to allow Algerian residents to determine their own future, and pledges to work toward the creation of a "strictly Algerian" security force. He also states that, if necessary, he will again invoke the national emergency powers that he has allowed to expire two days earlier.'

https://fresques.ina.fr/de-gaulle/fiche-media/Gaulle00073/allocution-du-2-octobre-1961.html

3 October: 'The Dick Van Dyke Show, starring Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam, was shown for the first time, making its debut at 8:00 pm EST on CBS. Although the show would go on to become very popular, the initial telecast, competing against Bachelor Father (ABC) and Laramie (NBC) attracted so few viewers that it was not even among the Top 70 most popular programs that week.' 
The Hollywood Reporter's reviewer called it right, though: 'Probably the most encouraging start of any new comedy series in the past 12 months, this debut had most all the necessary ingredients that add up to a winner.' https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dick-van-dyke-show-first-816638/
    This episode can be seen here in colour: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=SEO----&v=675922793030189

5 October: 'Maurice Papon, the Paris Chief of Police, issued a religion-specific curfew against all "Muslim Algerian workers" within the jurisdiction of his prefecture, even though they were considered citizens of France. The curfew order decreed that the Muslims were "advised most urgently" to stay indoors between 8:30 pm and 5:30 am. A protest by 30,000 of the affected persons twelve days later led to the Paris massacre of 1961.'

6 October: As the Berlin Wall continues to be erected, 'The "Schießbefehl" (literally, "order to shoot") was formally issued by General Heinz Hoffmann, the Minister of National Defense for East Germany, spelling out the rules for shooting anyone who attempted to escape from the German Democratic Republic. After a shouted warning and the firing of a warning shot, guards were ordered to fire their weapons at persons clearly planning "to violate the state frontier."'

UK chart hits, week ending 07 October 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

Michael Row The Boat

The Highwaymen

HMV

2

Wild In The Country / I Feel So Bad

Elvis Presley

RCA

3

Walkin' Back To Happiness

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

4

Kon*Tiki

The Shadows

Columbia

5

Johnny Remember Me

John Leyton

Top Rank

6

Jealousy

Billy Fury

Decca

7

You'll Answer To Me

Cleo Laine

Fontana

8

Wild Wind

John Leyton

Top Rank

9

Sucu Sucu

Laurie Johnson

Pye

10

You Don't Know

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

11

Together

Connie Francis

MGM

12

Get Lost

Eden Kane

Decca

13

Hats Off To Larry

Del Shannon

London

14

Reach For The Stars / Climb Every Mountain

Shirley Bassey

Columbia

15

Granada

Frank Sinatra

Reprise

16

Muskrat

The Everly Brothers

Warner Brothers

17

Michael Row The Boat / Lumbered

Lonnie Donegan

Pye

18

Bless You

Tony Orlando

Fontana

19

Hard Hearted Hannah / Chilli Bom*Bom

The Temperance Seven

Parlophone

20

Sea Of Heartbreak

Don Gibson

RCA


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