Rock History

1970 – In 1970, The Beatles had their last original single, “The Long and Winding Road,” hit number 1. Since then, they’ve had moderate success with “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Back in the USSR” (1976), “The Beatles’ Movie Medley” (1982), “Twist and Shout” (1986, because of its inclusion in the movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Back to School), “Baby It’s You,” and “Free As a Bird” (both 1995) and “Real Love” (1996).

2003 – Chubby Checker, the ’60s rocker best known for “The Twist” and other variations on that theme, sues Aspex Eyewear, claiming they are using a soundalike singer in their TV commercials.

2003 -  Twisted Sister announce they are reforming to do a USO tour of military bases in Korea.

Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

1980 – Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, started a 15-week run at No.1 on the US album chart. The groups third US No.1, it went on to sell over 8 million copies.

The Wall is a rock opera presented as a double album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in late 1979. It was subsequently performed live, with elaborate theatrical effects, and made into a film.

Following in the footsteps of their previous albums, The Wall is a concept album — specifically, it deals largely with the theme of isolation from one’s peers. The concept was largely inspired by the band’s 1977 tour promoting the album Animals, with regards to an incident where Roger Waters’ frustration with the audience reached a point where Waters spat in the face of a fan who was attempting to climb on stage; this, in turn, led him to lament that such a wall exists. With its significantly darker theme, The Wall featured a notably harsher and more theatrical sound than their previous releases.

The Wall is a rock opera that centres on the character “Pink”. Largely based on Waters’ personal life, Pink struggles in life from an early age, having lost his father in war (“Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)”), abused by teachers (“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”), nurtured by an overprotective mother (“Mother”), and deserted by his wife later on (“Don’t Leave Me Now”) — all of which factored into Pink’s mental isolation from society, figuratively referred to as “The Wall”.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed The Wall as #87 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Recording history

In 1977, Pink Floyd were promoting Animals with their In The Flesh tour. On the final night of the tour in Montreal, Canada, Waters spat in the face of a fan who was trying to climb over the netting between the audience and the stage, and get up with the band. The incident later helped inspire Waters to develop the idea of The Wall. However, he returned for their live performances as a paid musician.

For “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)”, Pink Floyd needed to record a school choir, so they approached music teacher Alun Renshaw of Islington Green School, around the corner from their Britannia Row Studios. The chorus was overdubbed twelve times to give the impression that the choir was larger. The choir were not allowed to hear the rest of the song after singing the chorus. Though the school received a lump sum payment of £1000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible, and after choir members were tracked down by royalties agent Peter Rowan of RBL Music, through the website Friends Reunited, they claimed the money.

Originally released on Columbia Records in the U.S. and Harvest Records in the UK, The Wall was then re-released as a digitally remastered CD in 1994 in the UK on EMI. In 1997, Columbia Records issued an updated remaster in the United States, Canada, Australia, South America and Japan. For The Wall’s 20th Anniversary in April 2000, Capitol Records in the U.S. and EMI in Canada, Australia, South America and Japan re-released the 1997 remaster with the artwork from the EMI Europe remaster. The Wall was the first Pink Floyd album since 1967′s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn whose cover was not done by Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis. Instead, Gerald Scarfe designed the cover and gatefold sleeve. David Gilmour recalls Storm Thorgerson falling out with Roger Waters over issues such as the credit for the Animals sleeve design.

Concept and storyline

“Isn’t this where…we came in?”
Play sound
The last second of Outside the Wall and the first second of In the Flesh?
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The album’s overriding themes are the causes and implications of self-imposed isolation, symbolized by the metaphorical wall of the title. The album’s songs create a very loose storyline sketching events in the life of the protagonist, Pink. Pink loses his father as a child (Waters’s own father was killed in Anzio during World War II), is smothered by his overprotective mother, and is oppressed at school by tyrannical, abusive teachers, each of these traumas becoming “another brick in the wall”. As an adult Pink becomes a rock star, but his relationships are marred by infidelity and outbursts of violence. As his marriage crumbles, Pink finishes building the wall and completes his isolation from human contact.

Pink’s mindset deteriorates behind his freshly completed wall, with his personal crisis culminating during an onstage performance. Hallucinating, Pink believes that he is a fascist dictator, and his concerts are like Neo-Nazi rallies where he sets his men on fans he considers unworthy, only to have his conscience rebel at this and put himself on trial, his inner judge ordering him to “tear down the wall” in order to open himself to the outside world, and apologizing to his closest friends who are hurt most by his self-isolation. At this point the album’s end runs into its beginning with the closing words “Isn’t this where…”; the first song on the album, “In the Flesh?”, begins with the words “…we came in?” – with a continuation of the melody of the last song, “Outside the Wall” – hinting at the cyclical nature of Waters’s theme.

The LP’s sleeve art and custom picture labels by Gerald Scarfe tied in with the album’s concept. Side one had a quarter of the wall erected and a sketch of the teacher. Side two saw half of the wall erected and a sketch of the wife. Side three had three-quarters of the wall erected and a sketch of the character of Pink, while side four had the wall completely erected and a sketch of the prosecutor. Bob Ezrin played a major part in taking Waters’s demo material and clarifying the storyline by writing a script, which even called for additional songs to complete the plot.

Film version

Pink Floyd The Wall (film)

A film version of The Wall was released in 1982 entitled Pink Floyd The Wall, directed by Alan Parker and starring Bob Geldof. The screenplay was written by Roger Waters. The film features music from the original album, much of which was re-recorded by the band with additional orchestration, some with minor lyrical and musical changes.

Originally the film was intended to be intercut with concert footage and a few of the live shows were actually filmed, but subsequently not used in the film at all. Footage from these concerts has appeared on different websites from time to time and on YouTube. However, an official release of this footage by Pink Floyd has not been authorized other than what was used in the documentary Behind the Wall.

Reception

Immensely successful upon release, The Wall quickly jumped to #1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S in its fourth week (it debuted at #53) and #3 in the U.K.. Its worldwide sales are estimated at 15 million copies (30 million units), and in the U.S. it has achieved 23 times platinum (for sales of 11.5 million double-disc sets; statistics mistakenly identifying The Wall as the best selling multiple-disc album of all-time in the U.S. and third best-selling album by any artist in the U.S. do not take into account that double albums count as two platinum sales), and is their second best-selling album in the U.S. after The Dark Side of the Moon. It was among the most popular albums of the early 1980s, to the extent that film director Alan Parker created a film based on it. The album had a string of hit singles, with “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2″ being their only song to hit #1 on the Billboard.

In addition to its commercial success, critical reception of The Wall was, and remains, mostly positive. Carlo Twist of Blender gave it 5 stars out of a possible 5, stating that, “For all its pomp and lofty ambition, there’s a streak of almost punk-rock venom within, not to mention some of the band’s best humping, thumping heavy rock.” The Wall would also be included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Post-split

After Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985, a legal battle ensued over the rights to the name “Pink Floyd” and its material. In the end, Waters retained the right to use The Wall and its material, as his name has been most closely associated with the album. This meant the sole ownership of all The Wall tracks except for the three Gilmour co-wrote the music for (“Young Lust”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell”) and images relating to The Wall on the later 1987–1990 and 1994 tours by the three-man Pink Floyd required payments to Waters.

Waters staged a concert performance of The Wall at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on 21 July 1990 both to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and as a fundraising effort for the World War Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief. This performance featured guest artists including Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper and Van Morrison. This performance also differed from previous shows in that some songs from the original album and Pink Floyd concert version were omitted, others were slightly modified, and one Waters solo song, “The Tide Is Turning” was substituted for “Outside The Wall” as the concluding song.

Track listing

All songs by Roger Waters except as noted.
Side one
#     Title     Writer(s)     Length
1.     “In the Flesh?”             3:19
2.     “The Thin Ice”             2:27
3.     “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)”             3:21
4.     “The Happiest Days of Our Lives”             1:46
5.     “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”             4:00
6.     “Mother”             5:36
Side two
#     Title     Writer(s)     Length
1.     “Goodbye Blue Sky”             2:45
2.     “Empty Spaces”             2:10
3.     “Young Lust”       Waters / David Gilmour     3:25
4.     “One of My Turns”             3:35
5.     “Don’t Leave Me Now”             4:16
6.     “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3)”             1:14
7.     “Goodbye Cruel World”             1:13
Side three
#     Title     Writer(s)     Length
1.     “Hey You”             4:40
2.     “Is There Anybody Out There?”             2:44
3.     “Nobody Home”             3:26
4.     “Vera”             1:35
5.     “Bring the Boys Back Home”             1:21
6.     “Comfortably Numb”       Gilmour / Waters     6:24
Side four
#     Title     Writer(s)     Length
1.     “The Show Must Go On”             1:36
2.     “In the Flesh”             4:13
3.     “Run Like Hell”       Gilmour / Waters     4:19
4.     “Waiting for the Worms”             4:04
5.     “Stop”             0:30
6.     “The Trial”       Waters / Bob Ezrin     5:13
7.     “Outside the Wall”             1:41

Singles

* “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”/”One of My Turns” – Harvest HAR 5194; released 16 November 1979 (UK, U.S., France and Italy )
* “Run Like Hell”/”Don’t Leave Me Now” – Columbia 1-11265; released April, 1980 (Holland, Sweden and US)
* “Comfortably Numb”/”Hey You” – Columbia 1-11311; released June, 1980 (US and Japan)

Personnel

* Roger Waters — vocals, bass guitar, co-producer, synthesiser, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, sleeve design
* David Gilmour — guitars, vocals, co-producer, bass guitar, sequencer, synthesiser, clavinet, percussion
* Richard Wright — piano, organ, synthesiser, clavinet, bass pedals
* Nick Mason — drums, percussion

with

* Jeff Porcaro — drums on “Mother”
* Lee Ritenour — Rhythm Guitar on “One of My Turns” and Acoustic Guitar on “Comfortably Numb”
* Joe Porcaro — Marching Snare drum on “Bring the Boys Back Home”
* Bleu Ocean — Marching Snare drum on “Bring the Boys Back Home”
* Freddie Mandel — Hammond Organ on “In The Flesh?” and “In the Flesh”
* Bobbye Hall — Percussion
* Ron di Blasi — Classical guitar on “Is There Anybody Out There?”
* Larry Williams — Clarinet on “Outside the Wall”
* Trevor Veitch — Mandolin
* Frank Marrocco — Concertina
* Bruce Johnston — Backing Vocals
* Toni Tennille — Backing Vocals
* Joe Chemay — Backing Vocals
* Jon Joyce — Backing Vocals
* Stan Farber — Backing Vocals
* Jim Haas — Backing Vocals
* Fourth Form Music Class, Islington Green School, London — Backing Vocals
* Bob Ezrin — co-producer; Orchestra Arrangement; Keyboards
* Michael Kamen — Orchestra Arrangement
* James Guthrie — Co-Producer; Engineer; Percussion; Synthesiser on “Empty Spaces” (in collaboration with David Gilmour), Sequencer; Drums on “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” (in collaboration with Nick Mason), remastering producer
* Nick Griffiths — Engineer
* Patrice Queff — Engineer
* Justin Dimma — Engineer
* Darren McIntomney — Engineer
* Rick Hart — Engineer
* Robert Hrycyna — Engineer
* Gerald Scarfe — Sleeve Design
* Doug Sax — Mastering and Remastering

CHARTS

Singles

Awards

Grammy Awards

1975 – On this day Bob Dylan records an appearance on the TV special The World of John Hammond, saluting the A&R man who signed him to Columbia. He sings “Hurricane,” “Oh Sister,” and “Simple Twist of Fate.”

1971 – The great King Curtis (“Soul Twist”) is stabbed to death in New York. As well as playing for the Coasters and blowing on his own hits, Curtis led Aretha Franklin’s band the Kingpins.

1962 – The Isley Brothers hits #2 on the R&B chart and #17 on the pop chart with “Twist and Shout”.

1962 – Chubby Checker tops the singles charts with “The Twist.” Chubby Checker went back to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Twist’. The song first went to No.1 in Sept 1960 and became the only record in American chart history to top the charts on two separate occasions.

“The Twist” is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twist dance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side (to “Teardrops on Your Letter”) but was a minor hit. The song, and the dance the Twist, was popularized in 1960 when the song was covered by Chubby Checker. His single became a smash hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19, 1960 (one week), and then setting a record by being the only single to reach number one in two different chart runs when it resurfaced and topped the chart again on January 13, 1962 (two weeks).

In 1988, the song “The Twist” became popular once again, due to a new recording of the song by The Fat Boys featuring Chubby Checker. This version reached number two in the United Kingdom and number one in Germany.

Checker re-recorded the song numerous times. An updated 1982 recording (from his album The Change Has Come) was retitled “T-82″, and in the 1990s, he recorded a country version. In the late 1970s, he recorded a new version that, except for the sound mix and some minor arrangement changes, was identical to the 1960 original; as a result this later version is often misidentified on compilations as the original recording. Checker also recorded variations on the theme, such as “Let’s Twist Again (Like We Did Last Summer)” to keep the craze alive (although “Let’s Twist Again” was and has remained more popular than “The Twist” itself in the United Kingdom).

Accolades

According to Billboard Magazine, “The Twist” held the honor of being #1 on Billboard’s list of “The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs” in the first 50 years of the Hot 100 chart.

The song is ranked #451 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song is featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack released May 1, 2007.

Quotations

* “Come on, baby, let’s do the twist!”
* “Take the world by the hand and do the twist!” – line from The Fat Boys’ version

Editions

* USA: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: “Teardrops on Your Letter” b/w “The Twist” 1959
* USA: Chubby Checker: “The Twist” b/w “Toot” Parkway 811; 7/60
* USA: Chubby Checker: “The Twist” b/w “Twistin’ USA” Parkway 811; 11/61

Lyrics:

Come on baby let’s do the twist
Come on baby let’s do the twist
Take me by my little hand and go like this
Ee-oh twist baby baby twist
Oooh-yeah just like this
Come on little miss and do the twist

Yeah you should see my little Sis
You should see my my little Sis
She really knows how to rock
She knows how to twist
Come on and twist yeah baby twist
Oooh-yeah just like this
Come on little miss and do the twist
Yeah rock on now
Yeah twist on now
Twist.

1961 – Chubby Checker sings “The Twist” on TV’s “Ed Sullivan Show.”

Chubby Checker sings his 1960 No. 1 hit, “The Twist,” on Ed Sullivan’s variety show. His appearance boosted sales of the record, which became increasingly popular until January, when the song hit No. 1 again, making “The Twist” the only record ever to top the charts twice. The song is still considered one of the most successful singles of all time, having stayed in the Top 100 charts for 39 weeks.

1961 – Runaround Sue (Dion) was a hit on this day in rock history!

Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter who blended elements of doo-wop, pop, and R&B styles.

Early years

Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx. As a child, he used to accompany his father, a vaudeville entertainer, on tour, and developed a love of country music – particularly Hank Williams – and the blues and doo-wop stars he heard in local bars and on the radio. His singing abilities were honed on the street corners of Crotona Avenue, where he rounded up other local singers inventing a cappella licks, and in local clubs.

In early 1957 he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, who had just formed Mohawk Records. They recorded him with a vocal group, The Timberlanes, and released a single “The Chosen Few”, arranged by Hugo Montenegro, which became a minor regional hit.

Career

With the Belmonts, 1957-1960

See main article Dion and the Belmonts

Schwartz also signed up Dion’s friends, The Belmonts, named after nearby Belmont Avenue. Their breakthrough together came in early 1958, when “I Wonder Why” made #22 on the national US charts, followed up with “No One Knows” and “Don’t Pity Me” which were also chart hits.

This success won Dion and the Belmonts a place on the “Winter Dance Party” tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. On February 2, 1959, after playing in Clear Lake, Iowa, Dion decided that he could not afford the $36 cost of a flight to the next venue. The plane crashed, and Holly and the other stars were killed, still the tour continued with Jimmy Clanton and Bobby Vee being added to the bill as replacements. Dion and the Belmonts continued to perform until the end of the tour.

In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts’ next single, “A Teenager in Love”, was released, making #5 in the US pop charts and #28 in the UK. Their biggest hit, “Where or When”, was released in November 1959, and reached #3 on the US charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked in to hospital for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens. Further single releases for the group that year were less successful. There were musical and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, and in October of 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. The main reason was because of his heroin addiction.

Solo stardom, 1960-1964

By the end of 1960, Dion had recorded and released his first solo album, Alone with Dion, and the single “Lonely Teenager”, which rose to #12 in the US charts. The performer name on his solo releases was denoted simply as “Dion” without the last name. Follow-ups “Havin’ Fun” and “Kissin’ Game” had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with new vocal group the Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The record, “Runaround Sue”, stormed up the charts, reaching #1 in the US charts in September 1961, and #11 in the UK, where he also toured.

For the next single, the record company promoted the A-side, “The Majestic”, but it was the B-side, Maresca’s song “The Wanderer”, which received the radio plays and again rose swiftly up the charts, reaching #2 in the US charts in December 1961 and #10 in the UK. As a classic oldie, it made the UK top 20 again in 1976.

By the end of 1961, Dion was a major star, with a worldwide touring schedule, and an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film Twist Around the Clock. He followed up with a string of hit singles – “Lovers Who Wander” (#3), “Little Diane” (#8), “Love Came To Me” (#10) – all making the top 10 in 1962. Several of these were written or co-written by Dion. He also had successful albums with Runaround Sue and Lovers Who Wander.

At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records, the first rock-and-roll artist ever signed to that label. The first Columbia single, Leiber and Stoller’s “Ruby Baby”, was a big hit, reaching #2, and “Donna the Prima Donna” and “Drip Drop” both reached #6 in the charts in late 1963. (Dion also recorded an Italian version of “Donna the Prima Donna” using the identical backup vocals.) His other Columbia releases were less successful, and problems with his addiction and changing public tastes caused him to enter a period of commercial decline.

Changing fortunes, 1964-1968

Following a European tour, Dion returned to the USA and was introduced to classic blues music by Columbia’s John Hammond. To the consternation of his management, he began recording more blues-oriented material, including Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Spoonful”, but these releases – some produced by Tom Wilson, with Al Kooper on keyboards – were not commercially successful.

In 1966, Dion briefly reunited with the Belmonts for the album Together Again on ABC Records. Again, this bombed, despite one classic self-penned song, “My Girl The Month Of May”. Although by this stage Dion’s career appeared to be nearing an end, he retained enough credibility to be, along with Bob Dylan, one of the only two pop artists featured on the album cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.

In April 1968, Dion experienced what he identified as a powerful religious experience. After getting clean from drug use, he approached Laurie Records for a new contract, and they agreed on condition that he record the song “Abraham, Martin and John”, written by Dick Holler (also the writer of The Royal Guardsmen’s “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron”) in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and those of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy during the summer of 1968. The success of this song – later recorded by many others including Marvin Gaye – which reached # 4 in the US charts and #1 in Canada, resuscitated Dion’s career.

The mature period, 1968-1986

For the next few years, Dion’s music became radically different, moving to more contemplative and mature material. He released several albums essentially as a singer-songwriter, to critical acclaim but moderate sales, moving to the Warner Brothers label in 1969.

There followed a one-off live reunion show with the Belmonts at Madison Square Garden in 1972, released on album. This was followed in 1975 by the album Born To Be With You, produced by Phil Spector. The album was a commercial failure, but has been subsequently praised by such artists as Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Pete Townshend of The Who.

In 1978 Dion released an album drawing on many of his teenage influences, Return of the Wanderer, another critical success and commercial failure. In December 1979 he experienced a life-changing religious experience. Thereafter, his recordings for several years were in a contemporary Christian vein, in which he released a number of albums on the Dayspring label reflecting his religious convictions.

Recent work

In 1987 Dion agreed to do a concert of his old hits at Radio City Music Hall in New York. This helped free him to celebrate both his past and his future, and led to a series of special appearances, including a fundraiser for homeless medical relief. There he shared the stage with fans such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, all of whom cited Dion as one of their prime influences.

In 1988 Dion’s autobiography (co-authored by Davin Seay) titled The Wanderer: Dion’s Story was published. In the following year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the induction speech being given by Lou Reed.

In 1989 he returned to secular rock music with the album Yo Frankie, and since then has released several albums with contemporary rock artists. His Déjà Nu album in 2000 found him covering Bruce Springsteen, a major follower over the years. Dion joined Springsteen onstage in Miami in 2002 for a performance of “If I Should Fall Behind” from Deja Nu.

He joined Scott Kempner of the Del-Lords and Mike Mesaros of The Smithereens in a short-lived band called Little Kings. A live album was later released, but not widely circulated or promoted.

In January 2006, he released Bronx in Blue, an album of blues and country standards, which was critically acclaimed and nominated for a Grammy. In November 2007 he issued a follow-up in similar vein, Son of Skip James.

As a practicing Catholic, Dion pursues prison ministry and reaches out to men going through addiction recovery. He now lives in Boca Raton, Florida

* 1959: Presenting Dion & The Belmonts
* 1960: Wish Upon a Star With Dion & The Belmonts
* 1961: Alone With Dion
* 1961: Runaround Sue #11
* 1962: Lovers Who Wander #12
* 1962: Love Came to Me
* 1963: Dion Sings to Sandy’ (and all his other gals)’ #115
* 1963: Ruby Baby #20
* 1963: Donna the Prima Donna
* 1967: Dion & The Belmonts – Together Again
* 1968: Dion #128
* 1969: Wonder Where I’m Bound
* 1970: Sit Down Old Friend
* 1971: You’re Not Alone
* 1971: Sanctuary #200
* 1972: Suite For Late Summer #197
* 1973: Dion & The Belmonts – Reunion, Live at Madison Square Garden #144
* 1975: Born to Be With You
* 1976: Streetheart
* 1978: Return of the Wanderer
* 1980: Inside Job
* 1981: Only Jesus
* 1984: I Put Away My Idols CCM #37
* 1984: Seasons
* 1985: Kingdom in the Streets
* 1986: Velvet & Steel
* 1989: Yo Frankie #130
* 1990: Fire in the Night (recorded 1979)
* 1992: Dream on Fire
* 1993: Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas
* 2000: Déjà Nu
* 2003: New Masters
* 2005: Live New York City
* 2006: Bronx in Blue #2 Blues Lps.
* 2007: Son of Skip James #4 Blues Lps.

Chart singles
Release date     Title     US record label     Chart Positions
US Charts     AC     UK Singles Chart     Black Singles Chart
Dion and the Belmonts
1958     “I Wonder Why”     Laurie     22
1958     “No One Knows”     Laurie     19             12
“Don’t Pity Me”     Laurie     40
1959     “A Teenager in Love”     Laurie     5         28
“A Lover’s Prayer”     Laurie     73
“Every Little Thing I Do”     Laurie     48
“Where or When”     Laurie     3             19
1960     “Little Miss Blue”     Laurie     96
“When You Wish Upon a Star”     Laurie     30
“In The Still of the Night”     Laurie     38

Dion
“Lonely Teenager”     Laurie     12         47
1961     “Havin’ Fun”     Laurie     42
“Kissin’ Game”     Laurie     82
“Somebody Nobody Wants”     Laurie     103
“Runaround Sue”     Laurie     1         11     4
“The Wanderer”     Laurie     2         10
(also 16, 1976)
“The Majestic”     Laurie     36
1962     “Lovers Who Wander”     Laurie     3             16
“Little Diane”     Laurie     8
“(I Was) Born to Cry”     Laurie     42
“Love Came to Me”     Laurie     10             24
“Ruby Baby”     Columbia     2
1963     “Sandy”     Laurie     21
“This Little Girl”     Columbia     21
“Come Go With Me”     Laurie     48
“Be Careful of Stones That You Throw”     Columbia     31
“Lonely World”     Laurie     101
“Donna the Prima Donna”     Columbia     6             17
“Drip Drop”     Columbia     6
1964     “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”     Columbia     113
“Shout”     Laurie     108
“Johnny B. Goode”     Columbia     71
1968     “Abraham, Martin and John”     Laurie     4
“Purple Haze”     Laurie     63
1969     “From Both Sides Now”     Laurie     91
1970     “Your Own Back Yard”     Warner Bros.     75
1971     “Sanctuary”     Warner Bros.     103
1989     “And The Night Stood Still”     Arista     75     16
1990     “Sea Cruise” (From “Ford Fairlane”)             28

1960 – The Philadelphia Orphan’s Court tells hit-maker Chubby Checker that his allowance will be raised from $150 to $200. Checker, only 19, is still a ward of the court, despite having a huge hit with “The Twist.”

1960 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “The Twist,” Chubby Checker. The song is the only one to go to No. 1 in two separate runs (it hits again in 1962) and stays on the Hot 100 for 38 weeks. The song is first recorded by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters.