THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 2 December 1961

  At #5 this week: Danny Williams with 'Moon River':

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

26 November: 'In the Avellaneda derby soccer match between Club Atlético Independiente and Racing Club de Avellaneda, the referee was forced to suspend play for six minutes due to fighting amongst the players. Four players from each team were sent off. The game ended in a 1–1 draw.'

(Photos)

28 November: 'After Morocco's King Hasssan II agreed to allow the Arab nation's Jewish minority to leave, the first group of 105 Jews was allowed to fly out to Israel. By the end of the year, 11,478 had left, and over the next two years, the 85,000 members of the community had emigrated.'

Also on 28 November: 'Nuclear test ban talks resumed in Geneva between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.S.R. Thirteen meetings were held over the next two months.'

29 November: 'The United States successfully placed a chimpanzee, Enos, into orbit around the Earth, clearing the way for the first American astronaut to break the pull of Earth's gravity. Enos lifted off from Cape Canaveral on board Mercury-Atlas 5 at 9:07 am, made two circuits of the globe, and was recovered safely at 12:28 pm in the Atlantic Ocean. After the successful flight, NASA announced that one of two men would become the first to be sent into orbit, settling on John Glenn or Donald "Deke" Slayton.'

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/enos-forgotten-chimp

30 November: 'U.S. President Kennedy, authorized Operation Mongoose, the secret funding of Cuban groups to overthrow Cuba's new revolutionary socialist government led by prime minister Fidel Castro. Brigadier General Edward Lansdale was put in command of the project, which had 4,000 operatives on its payroll between 1961 and 1963.'

Also on 30 November: 'The Soviet Union vetoed Kuwait's application for United Nations membership, in alliance with Iraq. After the Arab League withdrew its forces from the sheikdom, the Security Council, including the U.S.S.R., approved Kuwait's membership.'

1 December: 'The Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea raised the new Morning Star flag next to the Dutch tri-color, and was made the autonomous territory of West Papua, with partial self-government as a UN Mandate. In 1963, however, the UN turned the mandate over to Indonesia, which annexed West Papua in 1969 after a sham plebiscite.'

2 December: 'In a speech that began at midnight, Cuban revolutionary prime minister Fidel Castro declared "soy marxista-leninista y seré marxista-leninista hasta el último día de mi vida" ("I am a Marxist-Leninist and I will be a Marxist-Leninist until the last day of my life"). Castro confirmed that he would guide Cuba to becoming a Socialist state, and, in the long run, a Communist state, but added, "I'm saying this for any anti-communists left out there. There won't be any Communism for at least thirty years". However, he made clear that there would be only one political party, "The United Party of Cuba's Socialist Revolution", adding that "There is only one revolutionary movement, not two or three or four revolutionary movements." '

    Fidel Castro speaks on Marxism-Leninism: Dec. 2, 1961 [University of Florida Digital Library]:

https://ucf.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A5073

UK chart hits, week ending 2 December 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	Take Good Care Of My Baby	Bobby Vee	London
2	His Latest Flame / Little Sister	Elvis Presley	RCA
3	Big Bad John	Jimmy Dean	Philips
4	Tower Of Strength	Frankie Vaughan	Philips
5	Moon River	Danny Williams	HMV
6	The Time Has Come	Adam Faith	Parlophone
7	Walkin' Back To Happiness	Helen Shapiro	Columbia
8	Take Five	Dave Brubeck	Fontana
9	The Savage	The Shadows	Columbia
10	I'll Get By	Shirley Bassey	Columbia
11	When The Girl In Your Arms Is The Girl In Your Heart	Cliff Richard and The Shadows	Columbia
12	Midnight In Moscow	Kenny Ball	Pye
13	Runaround Sue	Dion	Top Rank
14	This Time	Troy Shondell	London
15	Hit The Road Jack	Ray Charles	MV
16	Mexicali Rose	Karl Denver	Decca
17	September In The Rain	Dinah Washington	Mercury
18	Stranger On The Shore	Acker Bilk	Columbia
19	Married	The Brook Brothers	Pye
20	Fool No.1	Brenda Lee	Brunswick