Thursday, December 23, 2021

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 23 December 1961

  At #2 this week, yet another jazz classic: Acker Bilk's 'Stranger On The Shore':



Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

17 December: 'The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) was founded by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo with the goal of eliminating white colonial rule in Southern Rhodesia (which would become, in 1965, Rhodesia and in 1979, Zimbabwe. The two would later become President and Vice-President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.'

18 December: 'At 5:15 am, Operation Vijay was launched by the Army and Navy of India, as 30,000 troops invaded the Portuguese colonies at Goa, Damao and Diu... collectively known as Portuguese India... By 5:00 in the afternoon, all but the capital had been taken. [19 December]: At 2:30 pm, Portuguese India's Governor-General Vassalo e Silva signed an unconditional surrender in front of Indian Army Brigadier General K.S. Dhillon, bringing an end to the colony to 451 years of Portuguese rule. Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli were incorporated into India as a single Union Territory. In 1987, Goa would become the 25th State of India.'

19 December: 'Indonesia's President Sukarno announced a military campaign that he called "Trikora" (Tri Komando Rakyat, or "Three Commands to the People"): (1) Take over the Netherlands' territory of West Papua and put an end to creation of a republic there (2) Take over the Netherlands' territory of West Irian; and (3) Mobilize all of Indonesia's resources for those purposes.'

20 December: 'UN General Assembly Resolution 1723 (XVI) was passed, declaring that the large-scale exodus of Tibetan people was linked to a violation of its human rights and the suppression of its culture and religion.'

21 December:  'At the U.N. military base at Kitona, in the Congo, Katangan President Moise Tshombe and Congolese Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula signed an 8-point agreement, bringing an end to Tshombe's attempt to create a separate nation out of the mineral-rich Congolese province.' Tshombe would later (in 1964) become 5th President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.


UK chart hits, week ending 23 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

Tower Of Strength

Frankie Vaughan

Philips

2

Stranger On The Shore

Acker Bilk

Columbia

3

Moon River

Danny Williams

HMV

4

Midnight In Moscow

Kenny Ball

Pye

5

Take Good Care Of My Baby

Bobby Vee

London

6

Johnny Will

Pat Boone

London

7

Toy Balloons

Russ Conway

Columbia

8

Let There Be Drums

Sandy Nelson

London

9

Walkin' Back To Happiness

Helen Shapiro

Columbia

10

I'll Get By

Shirley Bassey

Columbia

11

My Friend The Sea

Petula Clark

Pye

12

Take Five

Dave Brubeck

Fontana

13

When The Girl In Your Arms Is The Girl In Your Heart

Cliff Richard and The Shadows

Columbia

14

Big Bad John

Jimmy Dean

Philips

15

His Latest Flame / Little Sister

Elvis Presley

RCA

16

The Time Has Come

Adam Faith

Parlophone

17

I Love How You Love Me

Jimmy Crawford

Columbia

18

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

Neil Sedaka

RCA

19

So Long Baby

Del Shannon

London

20

I Understand

The G*Clefs

London


3 comments:

Bucko said...

Well there's one song in that chart that radio stations couldn't get away with playing now :-)

Bucko said...

I'm on the edge of my seat! :-)

Sackerson said...

It was worse in 1961 ! And Fleming wrote From Russia With Love in 1956.