| 1950s in music in the UK |
| Events |
|---|
See also: Lists of UK top 10 singles and Lists of UK top 40 singles
The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] Until 2004 the chart was only based on the sales of both physical singles with airplay figures excluded from the official chart.[2][3]
This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during 1954, as well as songs which peaked in 1953 and 1955 but were in the top 40 in 1953. The entry date is when the song appeared in the top 40 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
One-hundred and two singles were in the top forty this year. Eighteen singles from 1953 remained in the top 40 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, or re-entered during the year. "Chicka Boom" and "Cloud Lucky Seven" by Guy Mitchell, "Let's Have a Party" by Winifred Atwell, "Oh Mein Papa" by Eddie Calvert and "Rags to Riches" by David Whitfield first charted in 1953 but did not reach their peak until 1954. "Heartbeat" by Ruby Murray, "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango" by Alma Cogan, "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney & The Mellomen, "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes, "Mr. Sandman" by Dickie Valentine, "No One But You" by Billy Eckstine, "Piano Medley No. 114" by Charlie Kunz, "Shake, Rattle and Roll" by Bill Haley and His Comets", "The Finger of Suspicion" by Dickie Valentine with The Stargazers" and "Veni-Vidi-Vici" by Ronnie Hilton.
Twenty-three artists had multiple entries in the top forty in 1954, with Frankie Laine having the most entries (7). Songs that reached the top ten this year are featured here but also included in their own article.
Top-forty singles
edit- Key
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Single peaked in 1953 but still in chart in 1954. |
| ♦ | Single released in 1954 but peaked in 1955. |
| Single peaked at number-one in 1954. | |
| Entered | The date that the song first appeared in the chart. |
| Peak | Highest position that the song reached in the UK Singles Chart. |
| Entered (week ending) |
Weeks in top 40 |
Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached (week ending) |
Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singles in 1953 | ||||||
| 22 October 1953 | 14 | "Answer Me (Mutterlein)" ‡ | David Whitfield | 1 | 12 November 1953 | 2 |
| 29 October 1953 | 18 | "Swedish Rhapsody" ‡ | Mantovani and His Orchestra | 2 | 10 December 1953 | 2 |
| 10 | "Poppa Piccolino (Papaveri e papere)" ‡ | Diana Decker | 2 | 17 December 1953 | 1 | |
| 5 | "Dragnet" ‡ | Ted Heath and His Music | 9 | 3 December 1953 | 1 | |
| 5 November 1953 | 17 | "Answer Me (Mutterlein)" ‡ | Frankie Laine | 1 | 19 November 1953 | 8 |
| 12 November 1953 | 15 | "Chicka Boom" | Guy Mitchell | 4 | 4 February 1954 | 1 |
| 9 | "Wish You Were Here" ‡ | Eddie Fisher | 8 | 26 November 1953 | 1 | |
| 26 November 1953 | 6 | "Crying in the Chapel" ‡ | Lee Lawrence | 7 | 17 December 1953 | 1 |
| 3 December 1953 | 6 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" ‡ | Jimmy Boyd | 3 | 10 December 1953 | 1 |
| 5 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" ‡ | The Beverley Sisters | 6 | 17 December 1953 | 1 | |
| 10 December 1953 | 2 | "Dragnet" ‡ | Ray Anthony and His Orchestra | 7 | 10 December 1953 | 1 |
| 15 | "Let's Have a Party" | Winifred Atwell | 2 | 21 January 1954 | 1 | |
| 4 | "Swedish Rhapsody" ‡ | Ray Martin and His Concert Orchestra | 4 | 24 December 1953 | 3 | |
| 17 December 1953 | 5 | "Ricochet" ‡ | Joan Regan with The Squadronaires | 8 | 17 December 1953 | 1 |
| 11 | "Rags to Riches" | David Whitfield | 3 | 14 January 1954 | 3 | |
| 24 December 1953 | 21 | "Oh Mein Papa" | Eddie Calvert | 1 | 14 January 1954 | 9 |
| 3 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" ‡ | Billy Cotton and His Band | 11 | 24 December 1953 | 3 | |
| 16 | "Cloud Lucky Seven" | Guy Mitchell | 2 | 18 February 1954 | 1 | |
| Singles in 1954 | ||||||
| 14 January 1954 | 11 | "Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold)" | Frankie Laine | 2 | 21 January 1954 | 6 |
| 21 January 1954 | 2 | "The Creep" | Ken Mackintosh | 10 | 4 February 1954 | 1 |
| 28 January 1954 | 4 | "Oh! My Papa" | Eddie Fisher | 9 | 28 January 1954 | 1 |
| 26 | "The Happy Wanderer (Der fröhliche Wanderer)" | The Obernkirchen Children's Choir | 2 | 25 March 1954 | 5 | |
| 11 | "That's Amore" | Dean Martin | 2 | 25 February 1954 | 1 | |
| 4 February 1954 | 1 | "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" | Frankie Vaughan | 11 | 4 February 1954 | 1 |
| 11 February 1954 | 10 | "Tennessee Wig Walk" | Bonnie Lou | 4 | 18 February 1954 | 4 |
| 5 | "Man (Uh-huh)"/"Woman (Uh-huh)" | Rosemary Clooney & José Ferrer | 7 | 25 February 1954 | 2 | |
| 18 February 1954 | 2 | "Ebb Tide" | Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra | 9 | 18 February 1954 | 1 |
| 3 | "Skin Deep" | Ted Heath and His Music | 9 | 25 February 1954 | 1 | |
| 25 February 1954 | 15 | "Don't Laugh at Me ('cause I'm a Fool)" | Norman Wisdom | 3 | 15 April 1954 | 1 |
| 3 | "The Cuff of My Shirt" | Guy Mitchell | 9 | 25 February 1954 | 1 | |
| 15 | "The Book" | David Whitfield | 5 | 1 April 1954 | 2 | |
| 15 | "I See the Moon" | The Stargazers | 1 | 18 March 1954 | 6 | |
| 4 March 1954 | 1 | "Sippin' Soda" | Guy Mitchell | 11 | 4 March 1954 | 1 |
| 11 March 1954 | 4 | "Skin Deep" | Duke Ellington | 7 | 11 March 1954 | 1 |
| 18 March 1954 | 1 | "Moonlight Serenade" | Glenn Miller | 12 | 18 March 1954 | 1 |
| 25 March 1954 | 14 | "Changing Partners" | Kay Starr | 4 | 15 April 1954 | 3 |
| 3 | "Changing Partners" | Bing Crosby | 9 | 8 April 1954 | 1 | |
| 9 | "Bell Bottom Blues" | Alma Cogan | 4 | 8 April 1954 | 1 | |
| 1 April 1954 | 2 | "Granada" | Frankie Laine | 9 | 15 April 1954 | 1 |
| 8 April 1954 | 29 | "Secret Love (from Calamity Jane)" (#1) | Doris Day | 1 | 22 April 1954 | 9 |
| 15 April 1954 | 18 | "Such a Night" | Johnnie Ray | 1 | 6 May 1954 | 1 |
| 1 | "The Happy Wanderer" | The Stargazers | 12 | 15 April 1954 | 1 | |
| 22 April 1954 | 10 | "The Kid's Last Fight" | Frankie Laine | 3 | 6 May 1954 | 2 |
| 1 | "Tenderly" | Nat King Cole | 10 | 22 April 1954 | 1 | |
| 5 | "Bimbo" | Ruby Wright | 7 | 13 May 1954 | 1 | |
| 6 May 1954 | 5 | "A Dime and a Dollar" | Guy Mitchell | 8 | 6 May 1954 | 2 |
| 12 | "Friends and Neighbours" | Billy Cotton and His Band featuring The Bandits | 3 | 27 May 1954 | 5 | |
| 13 May 1954 | 1 | "Make Love to Me" | Jo Stafford | 8 | 13 May 1954 | 1 |
| 20 May 1954 | 8 | "Someone Else's Roses" | Joan Regan | 5 | 10 June 1954 | 2 |
| 8 | "The Gang That Sang Heart of My Heart" | Max Bygraves | 7 | 3 June 1954 | 2 | |
| 10 June 1954 | 11 | "(Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely" | The Four Knights | 5 | 1 July 1954 | 1 |
| 15 | "Wanted" | Perry Como | 4 | 24 June 1954 | 2 | |
| 16 | "Wanted" | Al Martino | 4 | 29 July 1954 | 3 | |
| 17 June 1954 | 10 | "The Little Shoemaker (Le Petit Cordonnier)" | Petula Clark | 7 | 29 July 1954 | 2 |
| 24 June 1954 | 25 | "Cara Mia" | David Whitfield with Mantovani and His Orchestra | 1 | 8 July 1954 | 10 |
| 1 July 1954 | 15 | "Idle Gossip" | Perry Como | 3 | 26 August 1954 | 1 |
| 8 July 1954 | 23 | "Little Things Mean a Lot" | Kitty Kallen | 1 | 16 September 1954 | 1 |
| 15 July 1954 | 1 | "Young at Heart" | Frank Sinatra | 12 | 15 July 1954 | 1 |
| 22 July 1954 | 19 | "Three Coins in the Fountain" | 1 | 23 September 1954 | 3 | |
| 29 July 1954 | 9 | "Rachmaninoff's 18th Variation on a Theme By Paganini (The Story of Three Loves)" | Winifred Atwell | 9 | 2 September 1954 | 2 |
| 5 August 1954 | 6 | "Three Coins in the Fountain" | The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts | 5 | 19 August 1954 | 1 |
| 19 August 1954 | 15 | "My Friend" | Frankie Laine | 3 | 30 September 1954 | 2 |
| 2 September 1954 | 8 | "The Black Hills of Dakota (from Calamity Jane)" | Doris Day | 7 | 2 September 1954 | 2 |
| 5 | "Little Things Mean a Lot" | Alma Cogan | 11 | 2 September 1954 | 2 | |
| 9 September 1954 | 21 | "Hold My Hand" | Don Cornell | 1 | 14 October 1954 | 5 |
| 16 September 1954 | 14 | "Smile" | Nat King Cole | 2 | 7 October 1954 | 3 |
| 8 | "Gilly, Gilly, Ossenfeffer, Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" | Max Bygraves | 7 | 30 September 1954 | 2 | |
| 6 | "West of Zanzibar" | Anthony Steel and The Radio Revellers | 11 | 30 September 1954 | 1 | |
| 30 September 1954 | 3 | "The Story of Tina" | Ronnie Harris | 12 | 30 September 1954 | 2 |
| 7 October 1954 | 7 | "Sway (Quien Sera)" | Dean Martin | 6 | 21 October 1954 | 1 |
| 8 | "The Story of Tina" | Al Martino | 10 | 7 October 1954 | 3 | |
| 9 | "Sh-Boom" | The Crew-Cuts | 12 | 7 October 1954 | 2 | |
| 11 | "If I Give My Heart to You" | Doris Day with The Mellomen | 4 | 18 November 1954 | 1 | |
| 11 | "If I Give My Heart to You" | Joan Regan | 3 | 2 December 1954 | 1 | |
| 14 October 1954 | 2 | "Make Her Mine" | Nat King Cole | 11 | 14 October 1954 | 1 |
| 9 | "There Must Be a Reason" | Frankie Laine | 9 | 28 October 1954 | 1 | |
| 18 | "This Ole House" | Rosemary Clooney | 1 | 2 December 1954 | 1 | |
| 21 October 1954 | 14 | "My Son, My Son" | Vera Lynn and Frank Weir | 1 | 11 November 1954 | 2 |
| 16 | "This Ole House" | Billie Anthony | 4 | 4 November 1954 | 1 | |
| 4 | "Am I a Toy or a Treasure" | Kay Starr | 17 | 21 October 1954 | 1 | |
| 28 October 1954 | 6 | "How Do You Speak to an Angel" | Dean Martin | 15 | 28 October 1954 | 1 |
| 16 | "Rain, Rain, Rain" | Frankie Laine & The Four Lads | 8 | 4 November 1954 | 3 | |
| 4 November 1954 | 10 | "I Need You Now" | Eddie Fisher | 13 | 9 December 1954 | 1 |
| 11 November 1954 | 1 | "Wait for Me Darling" | Joan Regan & The Johnston Brothers | 18 | 11 November 1954 | 1 |
| 1 | "Endless" | Dickie Valentine | 19 | 11 November 1954 | 1 | |
| 18 November 1954 | 10 | "Santo Natale (Merry Christmas)" | David Whitfield | 2 | 9 December 1954 | 5 |
| 17 | "No One But You" ♦ | Billy Eckstine | 3 | 20 January 1955 | 2 | |
| 1 | "A Sky Blue Shirt and a Rainbow Tie" | Norman Brooks | 17 | 18 November 1954 | 1 | |
| 25 November 1954 | 2 | "Sh-Boom" | Stan Freberg with The Toads | 15 | 25 November 1954 | 1 |
| 2 December 1954 | 8 | "Let's Have Another Party" | Winifred Atwell | 1 | 9 December 1954 | 5 |
| 14 | "I Still Believe" | Ronnie Hilton | 3 | 23 December 1954 | 3 | |
| 9 December 1954 | 16 | "Heartbeat" ♦ | Ruby Murray | 3 | 3 February 1955 | 1 |
| 11 | "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango" ♦ | Alma Cogan | 6 | 27 January 1955 | 1 | |
| 23 December 1954 | 4 | "Let's Get Together No. 1" | The Big Ben Banjo Band | 6 | 23 December 1954 | 2 |
| 1 | "Papa Loves Mambo" | Perry Como | 16 | 23 December 1954 | 1 | |
| 8 | "Veni-Vidi-Vici" ♦ | Ronnie Hilton | 12 | 3 February 1955 | 1 | |
| 23 December 1954 | 15 | "The Finger of Suspicion" ♦ | Dickie Valentine with The Stargazers | 1 | 13 January 1955 | 3 |
| 14 | "Shake, Rattle and Roll" ♦ | Bill Haley and His Comets | 4 | 27 January 1955 | 2 | |
| 8 | "Mr. Sandman" ♦ | The Chordettes | 11 | 13 January 1955 | 1 | |
| 12 | "Mr. Sandman" ♦ | Dickie Valentine | 5 | 10 February 1955 | 1 | |
| 16 | "Mambo Italiano" ♦ | Rosemary Clooney and The Mellomen | 1 | 20 January 1955 | 3 | |
| 4 | "Piano Medley No. 114" ♦ | Charlie Kunz | 16 | 20 January 1955 | 1 | |
Entries by artist
editThe following table shows artists who achieved or more top 40 entries in 1954, including songs that reached their peak in 1953 or 1955. The figures include both main artists and featured artists, while appearances on ensemble charity records are also counted for each artist.
| Entries | Artist | Country of origin | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Frankie Laine |  United States
|
Answer Me (Mutterlein), Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold), Granada, My Friend, Rain, Rain, Rain, The Kid's Last Fight, There Must Be a Reason |
| 5 | David Whitfield |  United Kingdom
|
Answer Me (Mutterlein), Cara Mia, Rags to Riches, Santo Natale (Merry Christmas), The Book |
| Guy Mitchell | United States
|
A Dime and a Dollar, Chicka Boom, Cloud Lucky Seven, Sippin' Soda, The Cuff of My Shirt | |
| 4 | Joan Regan | United Kingdom
|
If I Give My Heart to You, Ricochet, Someone Else's Roses, Wait for Me Darling |
| 3 | Alma Cogan | Bell Bottom Blues, I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango, Little Thing Means a Lot | |
| Dean Martin | United States
|
How Do You Speak to an Angel, Sway (Quien Sera), That's Amore | |
| Dickie Valentine | United Kingdom
|
Endless, Mr. Sandman, The Finger of Suspicion | |
| Doris Day | United States
|
If I Give My Heart to You, Secret Love, The Black Hills of Dakota | |
| Eddie Fisher | I Need You Now, Oh Mein Papa, Wish You Were Here | ||
| Nat King Cole | Make Her Mine, Smile, Tenderly | ||
| Perry Como | Idle Gossip, Papa Loves Mambo, Wanted | ||
| Rosemary Clooney | Mambo Italiano, Man (Uh-huh)/Woman (Uh-huh), This Ole House | ||
| The Stargazers | United Kingdom
|
I See the Moon, The Finger of Suspicion, The Happy Wanderer | |
| Winifred Atwell |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
Let's Have a Party, Let's Have Another Party, Rachmaninoff's 18th Variation on a Theme By Paganini (The Story of Three Loves) | |
| 2 | Al Martino | United States
|
The Story of Tina, Wanted |
| Billy Cotton and His Band | United Kingdom
|
Friends and Neighbours, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | |
| Frank Sinatra | United States
|
Three Coins in the Fountain, Young at Heart | |
| Kay Starr | Am I a Toy or a Treasure, Changing Partners | ||
| Mantovani and His Orchestra |  Italy
|
Cara Mia, Swedish Rhapsody | |
| Max Bygraves | United Kingdom
|
Gilly, Gilly, Ossenfeffer, Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea, The Gang That Sang Heart of My Heart | |
| The Mellomen | United States
|
If I Give My Heart to You, Mambo Italiano | |
| Ronnie Hilton | United Kingdom
|
I Still Believe, Veni-Vidi-Vici | |
| Ted Heath and His Music | Dragnet, Skin Deep |
Notes
editSee also
editReferences
editGeneral
- "Six decades of singles charts". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
Specific
- ^ "The Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ Roberts, David (2005). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 14. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
- ^ "New singles formats to save the charts". BBC News. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
External links
edit- 1954 singles chart archive at the Official Charts Company (click on relevant week)
- [1]
| UK singles | |||||
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| UK albums | |||||
| Genre charts |
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| Other charts |
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| Related | |||||
