#15 - Frankie Laine - Answer Me

When? 11 November 1953 - 4th January 1954
Number of weeks? 8
What else was going on? Hugh Hefner publishes the first issue of Playboy, the very first colour TV sets go on sale, Tangiwai rail disaster in New Zealand claims the lives of 151 people

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David Whitfield's version of this song nearly killed this blog, I have to be honest. But after a year off, I come back with refreshed ears ready to tackle Frankie Laine's version of Answer Me. Right off the bat the one thing that strikes me is how much I prefer Laine's vocal. His tone is so warm compared to Whitfield's rendition which left me extremely cold. It's not hard to see why the UK was chomping at the bit to buy Frankie's records during this year.

Even Laine's probably more technically flawed but endearing vocal, however, can't bring me around to liking this song. The lyrics are still maudlin, and whilst the crescendo at the end of the track lifts things a bit, I still find this one extremely heavy going. The record buying public, however, clearly disagreed with me vociferously. I do wonder what people were actually digging in their pockets for though. Was it this song (the fact that it propelled Whitfield's version to the top twice might suggest so)? Or was it continued support for the Frankie Laine juggernaut which had so dominated this first full year of the singles chart? Either way, for better or worse, Answer Me is the second official UK Christmas Number 1 in chart history. I'm just glad I won't have to sit through any more versions in the course of this journey!

What happened next? It will be another three years of number 1s before we encounter Frankie again. Between the beginning of 1954 and 1956 he was far from quiet on the charts, knocking up a total of 13 charting singles in that time.

#13 - Frankie Laine - Hey Joe

When? 20th October - 2nd November 1953
Number of weeks? 2
What else was going on? Dwight Eisenhower reinforces the US commitment to expanding its nuclear arsenal

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Download Hey Joe from amazon.com

Frankie returned to the top spot for the second time in 1953 with a significantly more jaunty and upbeat number than I Believe. "Hey Joe" certainly doesn't win any prizes for demonstrating prescient feminist enlightenment ("Hey Joe, where d'ya find that purdy girly?/Where'd ya get that jolly dolly?/How'd ya rate that dish I wish was mine"). Indeed, this is about as sophisticated as the lyrics get. The song nominally tells the story of the singer falling out with his friend Joe over Joe's new girlfriend. It's not exactly deep and meaningful stuff.

But... It is fun. It rumbles along quite nicely and Laine's quick-fire lyrical delivery in the verses, juxtaposed with his elongated "Heeeeeeeeeeey Jooooooooe"s works quite nicely and it's a fairly infectious song. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is absolutely sublime and is, in itself, a great piece of musicianship which lends what is quite a throwaway song (at least lyrically) a bit of musical gravitas.

A world away from the melodrama of I Believe, Hey Joe demonstrates the versatility which no doubt was a strong part of Laine's appeal, and which say him dominate the number open spot in '53.

What happened next? Well, to put it simply, Frankie took a one-week vacation from the top spot before returning to pole position as part of one of the strangest sequences of number ones in history.

#9 - Frankie Laine - I Believe

When? 21st April - 22nd June 1953; 29th June - 10th August 1953; 18th August - 7th September 1953
Number of Weeks? In total, 18, but the three seperate reigns lasted for 9 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 weeks respectively
What else was going on? Cambodia receives independence, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climb everest, Queen Elizabeth II is crowned, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed, The Korean War ends

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Download I Believe from amazon.com

This is, without a doubt the, biggest hit in the history of the UK number 1 in terms of sheer longevity. If, the next time you're at a pub quiz, you get asked which song had the most weeks at the UK number 1, here is your answer (Bryan Adams, of course, has the highest number of consecutive weeks at the top). It really isn't difficult to see why this song refused to let go of the top spot. Laine's record-breaking/setting performance is indebted to a certain Jane Froman, a singer and actress who, in the early 50s had her own TV show across the Atlantic. Froman commissioned "I Believe" to be written amidst the tumult of the Korean war in order to try and still a note of optimism in her audience. "I Believe" therefore is the very first song to have been introduced via television. What happened from that point on, is, as they say history. "I Believe" never reached the top spot in the USA, stalling at number 2, but in the UK, it absolutely dominated the charts in 1953 and is our chart's first true megahit.

And, I have to say, deservedly so. The later version by Robson and Jerome (number 1 #730) should not be allowed to taint the memory of this fantastic performance. Yes, the lyrics are perhaps a little twee, but they're not without their power. Something so simple as "I believe that every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows" has a real gravitas when Laine delivers it. And I know that it's becoming a real cliche in this blog to praise the singer's voice, but Laine's vocal is absolutely captivating. His voice has a really rick texture to it and its technical flaws add to, rather than detract from, the emotional resonance of his delivery. Add that to the fact that this is very much a paradigmatic power ballad which absolutely nails the art of building a crescendo, you've got the recipe for an incredible song. One thing which also struck me about Laine's performance: the very end of the song, when he delivers the powerful final note, he seems to cut it short, almost like his voice "cuts out" and it gives the impression that he's actually choked up by the words he's singing. It's a small point, but it really helps hammer home the song. 

I'd urge anyone to try and listen to this song without prejudice as far as they can. For a modern listener, we've grown up with the power ballad; there's very little which we haven't heard before. For my money, this is at the pinacle of that genre, and it's an absolutely phenomenal record. I'd definitely urge people to give this a listen. After all, the entire British record-buying public can't be wrong for eighteen weeks, can they?

What happened next? Frankie is another early chart-superstar, as he would amass 26 top twenty hits which span the decade. As for this blog, we'll encounter Frankie another three times, and twice more this year!