See also
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1954.
These are the songs that reached number one on the Top 50 Best Sellers chart in 1954 as published by Cash Box magazine.
Cashbox was a music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996, and iconic brand. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived as Cashbox Magazine, an online-only weekly chart that occasionally publishes special print issues.
| Issue date | Song | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| January 2 | "Oh My Pa-Pa (O Mein Papa)" | Eddie Fisher, Eddie Calvert |
| January 9 | ||
| January 16 | ||
| January 23 | ||
| January 30 | ||
| February 6 | "Stranger in Paradise" | Tony Bennett, The Four Aces, Tony Martin |
| February 13 | "Oh My Pa-Pa (O Mein Papa)" | Eddie Fisher, Eddie Calvert |
| February 20 | ||
| February 27 | "Stranger in Paradise" | Tony Bennett, The Four Aces, Tony Martin |
| March 6 | "Secret Love" | Doris Day |
| March 13 | ||
| March 20 | ||
| March 27 | ||
| April 3 | ||
| April 10 | "Wanted" | Perry Como |
| April 17 | ||
| April 24 | ||
| May 1 | ||
| May 8 | ||
| May 15 | ||
| May 22 | ||
| May 29 | ||
| June 5 | "Little Things Mean a Lot" | Kitty Kallen |
| June 12 | ||
| June 19 | ||
| June 26 | "Three Coins in the Fountain" | The Four Aces |
| July 3 | "Little Things Mean a Lot" | Kitty Kallen |
| July 10 | ||
| July 17 | "Three Coins in the Fountain" | The Four Aces |
| July 24 | "Little Things Mean a Lot" | Kitty Kallen |
| July 31 | ||
| August 7 | "Sh-Boom" | The Crew Cuts, The Chords |
| August 14 | ||
| August 21 | ||
| August 28 | ||
| September 4 | ||
| September 11 | ||
| September 18 | ||
| September 25 | "Hey There" | Rosemary Clooney, Sammy Davis Jr. |
| October 2 | ||
| October 9 | ||
| October 16 | ||
| October 23 | ||
| October 30 | ||
| November 6 | ||
| November 13 | ||
| November 20 | "I Need You Now" | Eddie Fisher |
| November 27 | ||
| December 4 | "Mr. Sandman" | The Chordettes |
| December 11 | The Chordettes, The Four Aces | |
| December 18 | "Let Me Go Lover" | Joan Weber |
| December 25 | "Mr. Sandman" | The Chordettes, The Four Aces |
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1954.
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band, founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group placed nine singles in the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten. The single Rock Around the Clock became the biggest selling rock n roll single in the history of the genre.
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average number of goals scored per game. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated Hungary 3–2 in the final, giving them their first title.
Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and he is the son of former footballer Ferenc Puskás Senior. A prolific forward, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup where he was named the tournament's best player. He won three European Cups, 10 national championships and 8 top individual scoring honors. In 1995, he was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS.
Victor John Angelo Raschi was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the top pitchers for the New York Yankees in the late 1940s and early 1950s, forming the "Big Three" of the Yankees' pitching staff. He was nicknamed "The Springfield Rifle".
The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league.
Sakarya is a province in Turkey, located on the coast of Black Sea. The Sakarya River creates a webbing of estuaries in the province.
The 1954 Formula One season was eighth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1954 World Championship of Drivers and a number of non-championship races. The World Championship of Drivers was contested over a nine race series which commenced on 17 January and ended on 24 October 1954. The championship was won by Juan Manuel Fangio who drove, and won races, for both Maserati and Mercedes-Benz over the course of the series. Argentine drivers gained the first two positions in the championship with José Froilán González placing second to his compatriot Fangio.
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
"That's All Right Mama" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. It is best known as the debut single recorded and released by Elvis Presley. Presley's version was recorded on July 5, 1954, and released on July 19, 1954 with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side. It was ranked number 113 on the 2010 Rolling Stone magazine list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
William J. George was an American football player. He played professionally as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL).
"Smile" is a song based on an instrumental theme used in the soundtrack for Charlie Chaplin's 1936 movie Modern Times. Chaplin composed the music, inspired by Puccini's Tosca. John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added the lyrics and title in 1954. In the lyrics, based on lines and themes from the film, the singer is telling the listener to cheer up and that there is always a bright tomorrow, just as long as they smile. "Smile" has become a popular standard since its original use in Chaplin's film.
"The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" is a popular song written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. The lyrics suggest that this "naughty lady" driving the whole town crazy is an attractive young woman who "throws those come-hither glances at every Tom, Dick and Joe" and "when offered some liquid refreshment never says no"; but the last line reveals her to be an infant "nine days old".
The ISSF World Shooting Championships are governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation. World Shooting Championships began in 1897, after the successful 1896 Summer Olympics, and although the ISSF was not founded until 1907, these early competitions are still seen by the organization as the beginning of a continuous row of championships. By this logic, the 2006 competition in Zagreb was called the 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships. These championships, including all ISSF shooting events, are held every four years since 1954. For the shotgun events only, there is an additional World Championship competition in odd-numbered years. These extra competitions are not numbered. In running target, there will be World Championships in Olympic years.
The St. Jakob Stadium was a football stadium in Basel, Switzerland and the former home of Swiss club FC Basel. It was built in 1954, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several important matches, including a 1954 FIFA World Cup semi-final and four Cup Winners' Cup finals.
The 1954–1955 season was the 75th season of competitive football in England, from August 1954 to May 1955.
50 Years of Hits is a country album by George Jones who was signed to Starday Records in 1953, released his first singles in 1954, and had his first hit with "Why Baby Why'" in 1955.
"Santa Baby" is a 1953 Christmas song written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, sung originally by Eartha Kitt. The song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany's.
Harold "Prince Hal" Edward Patterson was a star American college basketball player at the University of Kansas, and a professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Patterson is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and in 2006, was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#13) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.
"Release Me", is a popular song written by Eddie "Piano" Miller and Robert Yount in 1949. Four years later it was recorded by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters, and with even better success by Patti Page (1954), Ray Price (1954), and Kitty Wells (1954). Subsequently, Jivin' Gene [Bourgeois] & the Jokers recorded the tune in 1960, and that version served as an inspiration for Little Esther Phillips, who reached number one on the R&B chart and number eight on the pop chart with her big-selling cover. The Everly Brothers followed in 1963, along with Jerry Wallace (1966), Dean Martin (1967), Engelbert Humperdinck (1967) who was number one on the UK Singles Chart and many others in the years after.
The Lancia D50 was a Formula One racing car designed by Vittorio Jano for Lancia in 1954. The car's design made use of many innovative features, such as the use of the engine as a stressed chassis member, the off-centre positioning of the engine to allow a lower overall height, and pannier fuel cells for better weight distribution and aerodynamics. Six of the cars were built, and two of them are displayed in Italian museums.