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Entire Story #1
The names Elvis and The Beatles typically conjure great
musical memories for most music lovers. Most music lovers are also aware, to some degree, of the importance of each to
The History of Rock & Roll. When asked about the first year of popularity for each act, most could guess (approximatley)
that 1956 was the year of Elvis and 1964 was the year of The Beatles.
However, when asked which act had the "bigger" first year, most
would probably say The Beatles because of their more recent, and somewhat fuzzy, memories of Beatlemania. After all,
Beatlemania gripped this country's teens and most of this country's AM radio stations' play lists for the entire year of 1964.
Well, here is the inside scoop (the actual chart data) so
that you can judge for yourself which act had the bigger debut year:
- Elvis charted 2 albums in 1956, both #1 albums (total of 15 weeks
at #1, which is 29% of the year) and both million-selling albums
- The Beatles charted 11 albums in 1964, three #1 albums (total of 30 weeks
at #1, which is 58% of the year) and 5 million-selling albums
- Elvis charted 4 EPs in 1956 (An Ep is an Extended Play single which typically
contains 4 songs instead of the usual 2)
- The Beatles charted 1 Ep in 1964
- Elvis charted 14 songs in 1956
- The Beatles charted 34 songs in 1964
- Elvis had five #1 songs in 1956, for a total of 25 weeks at #1 that year
(48% of the weeks in 1956)
- The Beatles had six #1 songs in 1964, for a total of 20 weeks
that year (38% of the weeks in 1964)
- Elvis had 5 songs in 1956 that each sold a million or more copies
- The Beatles had 9 songs in 1964 that each sold a million or more copies
- Elvis had 3 songs in 1956 that were each certified as selling at
least 2 million copies: a 2-million seller (Heartbreak Hotel), a 3-million seller (Love Me Tender) and a 4-million seller
(Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel)
- The Beatles have no songs in 1964 that were certified as selling at least
2 million copies
- Elvis has 3 songs from 1956 that are each in The Rock & Roll Hall
Of Fame
- The Beatles have 1 song from 1964 that is in The Rock & Roll Hall
Of Fame
- Elvis has 3 songs from 1956 that are each in The Grammy Hall Of Fame
- The Beatles have 1 song from 1964 that is in The Grammy Hall Of Fame
- Elvis charted 5 double-sided hit singles in 1956
- The Beatles charted 9 double-sided hit singles in 1964
- Elvis spent a total of 15 consecutive weeks at #1 from mid-August through early Dec
of 1956
- The Beatles spent a total of 14 consecutive weeks at #1 from early Feb through early
May of 1964
- Elvis charted 4 songs in 1956 that each topped all 4 of Billboard Magazine's Pop singles
charts
- The Beatles charted no songs in 1964 that topped all 4 of Billboard Magazine's Pop
singles charts
- Elvis charted 7 songs in 1956 on the Rhythm & Blues chart
- The Beatles charted no songs in 1964 on the Rhythm & Blues chart
- Elvis charted 11 songs in 1956 on the Country Music chart, with 5 of them peaking
at #1
- The Beatles charted no songs in 1964 on the Country Music chart
- Elvis had 9 songs on the same weekly record chart on Dec 19, 1956
- The Beatles had 14 songs on the same weekly record chart on April 11, 1964
When asked which foreign artist is credited with the first #1
US hit during the rock era, most would say The Beatles, with their multi-million selling double-sided single from early 1964, "I
Want To Hold Your Hand" / "I Saw Her Standing There." But, on August 18, 1958, Italian singer Domenico Modugno stayed at #1
for 6 weeks with his song, "Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu)."
Then on February 22, 1960, Canadian-born violinist
and band leader, Percy Faith topped the US singles chart for an amazing 9 weeks with "Theme From A Summer Place," making his
song the most popular instrumental single ever!
And then, on January 9, 1961, a German-born, muli-instrumentalist
band leader, Bert Kaempfert, topped the US singles chart for 3 weeks with his instrumental "Wonderland By Night."
On May 26, 1962, twenty months before The Beatles began
their domination of the 1964 US record charts and AM radio stations,
a jazz clarinetist from Somerset, England, scored a number 1 song with his instrumental ballad, "Stranger On The Shore."
Therefore, Mr. Acker Bilk was the first British act to set the stage for The British Invasion.
Ok, who was the next British act to top the US singles chart?
The Beatles? No! On December 22, 1962, the British instrumental band, The Tornadoes, peaked at number 1 with their
song, Telstar, which was their instrumental tribute to the recently launched Telstar satellite.
The final foreign act to score a number 1 song before The Beatles was
Kyu Sakamoto with his song "Sukiyaki," a song that was sung completely in Japanese. It hit number 1 on June 15, 1963,
and stayed there for 3 weeks.
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