Jasper Cini, known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and jazz singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and became known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.
British Hit Singles & Albums was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of the Guinness breweries, Guinness Superlatives. Later editions were published by HiT Entertainment. It listed all the singles and albums featured in the Top 75 pop charts in the UK. In 2004 the book became an amalgamation of two earlier Guinness publications, originally known as British Hit Singles and British Hit Albums. The publication of this amalgamation ceased in 2006, with Guinness World Records being sold to The Jim Pattison Group, owner of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. At this point, the Official UK Charts Company teamed up with Random House/Ebury Publishing to release a new version of the book under the Virgin Books brand. Entitled The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles, it was first published in November 2008 with a separate albums book and second edition being published over the next couple of years.
"Answer Me" is a popular song, originally titled "Mütterlein", with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch. "Mütterlein" was published on 19 April 1952. English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, and the song was published as "Answer Me" in New York on 13 October 1953. Contemporary recordings of the English lyric by Frankie Laine and David Whitfield both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1953.
"Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" is a country song about a man away from home who is worried that his paramour may unwittingly stray from their relationship. It was written by Winston L. Moore and published in 1952. The song has been recorded in many different styles by many performers, with Perry Como's version hitting number 1 in both the US and UK.
"The Song from Moulin Rouge", sub-titled "Where Is Your Heart", is a popular song that first appeared in the 1952 film Moulin Rouge. It became a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart when recorded by Mantovani. The music for the film was written by Georges Auric; the original French lyrics were by Jacques Larue, with the English words by William Engvick. The Auric-Engvick song was published in 1953.
"I'm Walking Behind You" is a popular song which was written by Billy Reid and published in 1953. The recording by American singer Eddie Fisher was a No. 1 hit in both the US and UK Singles charts, but it had previously been recorded by Reid's former partner, Dorothy Squires, who had a hit with the song in the UK.
"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" or "Cerezo Rosa" or "Ciliegi Rosa" or "Gummy Mambo", is the English version of "Cerisiers Roses et Pommiers Blancs", a popular song with music by Louiguy written in 1950. French lyrics by Jacques Larue and English lyrics by Mack David both exist, and recordings of both have been quite popular.
"You're Breaking My Heart" is a popular song, which was first published in 1948. Though credited to Pat Genaro and Sunny Skylar, the song is an English version of the famous Italian song "Mattinata" written by Ruggero Leoncavallo at the beginning of the 20th century; that song had lapsed into the public domain in the United States by the time this English song was set to its tune.
"Comes A-Long A-Love" was a hit single for American singer Kay Starr. The song was released in 1952 and was written by the former Tin Pan Alley songwriter Al Sherman. The melody was adapted from the final part of the overture to Gioachino Rossini's opera Semiramide. "Comes A-Long A-Love" was the last hit song Sherman would write, before handing the reins over to his sons, Bob and Dick Sherman, who were just beginning their songwriting careers. The song was first published on June 9, 1952.
"Outside of Heaven" is a popular music song written by Sammy Gallop and Chester Conn. A recording by Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter's orchestra and chorus was made at Manhattan Center, New York City, on July 19, 1952, produced by Winterhalter. It was issued by RCA Victor with the catalog number 20-4953 and by EMI Records on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10362.
"My Son, My Son" is a traditional popular music song written by Gordon Melville Rees, Bob Howard and Eddie Calvert in 1954. A recording of the song by Vera Lynn reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in November that year. It was Lynn's only UK number one hit on the official chart, a feat she achieved long after the period she became most associated with as the Forces' Sweetheart in World War II. However, there was no official singles sales chart in the UK at that time, so her recordings of songs which she has subsequently become more familiar with, such as her 1939 signature song, "We'll Meet Again", did not feature on any contemporary charts.
"Because You're Mine" is a song written by Nicholas Brodszky with lyrics by Sammy Cahn taken from the 1952 musical film of the same title. It was recorded by Mario Lanza and Nat King Cole in two different versions, which were both released as singles in 1952. In the US, Lanza's record reached No. 7 in the Billboard charts and Nat King Cole's version achieved the No. 16 position. The Mario Lanza recording also reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart, spending 24 weeks within the top 12, and was Lanza's only UK Top 12 hit. The Nat King Cole recording was included on his album Top Pops, placed three spots lower and spent three weeks on the chart. The Mario Lanza recording was one of his three million-selling singles.
"The Homing Waltz" is a song that was written by Johnny Reine and Tommie Connor, and recorded by Vera Lynn in 1952. It charted at a peak position of number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
"Take My Heart" is a song that was released by Al Martino in 1952. It peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, spending one week in the top 12. In the U.S., the song reached number 12 during an eight-week stay.
