List of UK top-ten singles in 1952

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1950s in music in the UK
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Vera Lynn achieved the best-selling single of 1952, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", although it only peaked at number ten. She had a further two top 10 singles this year: "The Homing Waltz", which reached number nine, and "Forget Me Not", which peaked at number five. Vera Lynn (1962).jpg
Vera Lynn achieved the best-selling single of 1952, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", although it only peaked at number ten. She had a further two top 10 singles this year: "The Homing Waltz", which reached number nine, and "Forget Me Not", which peaked at number five.
In November of this year, Al Martino secured the first ever number-one record in the UK Singles Chart with "Here in My Heart", which spent nine consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. Al Martino 1952.JPG
In November of this year, Al Martino secured the first ever number-one record in the UK Singles Chart with "Here in My Heart", which spent nine consecutive weeks at the top of the chart.

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] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. [2] [3] New Musical Express (NME) magazine published the United Kingdom record charts for the first time in 1952. [4] [5] [6] NME originally published only a top 12 (although the first chart had a couple of singles that were tied so a top 15 was announced) but this was gradually extended to encompass a top 20 by October 1954. [7] [8] [9] This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1952, as well as singles which peaked in 1953 but were in the top 10 in 1952. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced). [10]

Contents

Twenty-three singles were in the top ten in 1952. "Takes Two to Tango" by Louis Armstrong, [11] "Comes A-Long A-Love" by Kay Starr, [12] "Walkin' to Missouri" by Tony Brent [13] and "You Belong to Me" by Jo Stafford were all released in 1952 but did not reach their peak until 1953. [14] Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1952. Al Martino, Nat King Cole, Guy Mitchell [10] and Frankie Laine were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1952.

The first single to reach number-one in the United Kingdom was "Here in My Heart" by Al Martino; the song debuted at the top of the charts on 20 November 1952 and spent nine consecutive weeks in that position. [14] [15] It was the only single to top the chart that year. [7] [16]

Background

Multiple entries

Twenty-three singles charted in the top 10 in 1952, with nineteen singles reaching their peak this year. "Because You're Mine" was recorded by Nat King Cole and Mario Lanza and both versions reached the top 10.

Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1952. American singer Bing Crosby and Britain's Vera Lynn shared the record for most top 10 hits in 1952 with three hit singles each, the first artists to ever do so. In addition, all of these entries were in the chart at the same time. [10] "Forget Me Not" was the highest ranking that week at number 7 (it would eventually peak at number 5 the week prior to Christmas). "The Homing Waltz" reached number 9, one place higher than "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" at number 10. [17]

Bing Crosby's three entries included a version of the Christmas classic "Silent Night", released as "Silent Night, Holy Night". [18]

Al Martino was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "Here in My Heart". [19] Doris Day, [20] Frankie Laine [21] and Nat King Cole [22] were the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1952.

Chart debuts

Seventeen artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1952, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, five went on to record another hit single that year: Al Martino, Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Her Majesty's Forces and Nat King Cole. Bing Crosby and Vera Lynn both had two other entries in their breakthrough year.

ArtistNumber of top 10sFirst entryChart positionOther entries
Al Martino 2"Here in My Heart"1"Take My Heart" (9)
Jo Stafford 1"You Belong to Me" [A] 1—
Nat King Cole 2"Somewhere Along the Way"3"Because You're Mine" (6)
Bing Crosby 3"Isle of Innisfree"3"Zing a Little Zong" (10), "Silent Night, Holy Night" (8)
Guy Mitchell 1"Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po)"2—
Rosemary Clooney 1"Half as Much"3—
Vera Lynn 3"Forget Me Not"5"The Homing Waltz" (9), "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" (10)
Frankie Laine 2"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)"7"Sugar Bush" (8)
Doris Day 2"Sugar Bush"8"My Love and Devotion" (10)
Ray Martin and His Concert Orchestra 1"Blue Tango"8—
Mario Lanza 1"Because You're Mine"3—
Johnnie Ray 1"Faith Can Move Mountains"7—
Kay Starr 1"Comes A-Long A-Love" [B] 1—
Jane Wyman 1"Zing a Little Zong"10—
Mantovani 1"White Christmas"6—
The Four Lads 1"Faith Can Move Mountains"7—
Louis Armstrong 1"Takes Two to Tango" [C] 6—
Tony Brent 1"Walkin' to Missouri" [D] 7—

Songs from films

Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Because You're Mine" (from Because You're Mine ), [23] "Isle of Innisfree" ( The Quiet Man ) [24] and "Zing a Little Zong" ( Just for You ). [25]

Additionally, "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" was a version of the song from the film High Noon , originally recorded over the opening credits by Tex Ritter. [21]

Best-selling singles

Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1952. [26]

Top-ten singles

Key
SymbolMeaning
♦Single released in 1952 but peaked in 1953.
(#)Year-end best-selling single.
EnteredThe date that the single first appeared in the chart.
PeakHighest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart.
Entered
(week ending)		Weeks
in
top
10		SingleArtistPeakPeak reached
(week ending)		Weeks
at
peak
20 November 195216"Here in My Heart" [E] Al Martino 120 November 19529
16"You Belong to Me" ♦ [F] Jo Stafford 122 January 19531
6"Somewhere Along the Way" [G] Nat King Cole 320 November 19521
11"Isle of Innisfree" Bing Crosby 318 December 19523
10"Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po)" Guy Mitchell 227 November 19521
9"Half as Much" Rosemary Clooney 327 November 19523
6"Forget Me Not" [H] Vera Lynn 518 December 19521
3"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" [I] Frankie Laine 720 November 19522
7"Sugar Bush" [J] Doris Day & Frankie Laine 820 November 19523
2"Blue Tango" [K] Ray Martin 820 November 19521
2"The Homing Waltz" [L] Vera Lynn 920 November 19522
1"Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" (#1)1020 November 19521
27 November 195222"Because You're Mine" Mario Lanza 311 December 19523
1"Take My Heart" Al Martino 927 November 19521
2"My Love and Devotion" Doris Day 1027 November 19522
11 December 195214"Comes A-Long A-Love" ♦ [M] Kay Starr 129 January 19531
1"Zing a Little Zong" Bing Crosby & Jane Wyman 1011 December 19521
25 December 19523"White Christmas" Mantovani 625 December 19522
3"Because You're Mine" [N] Nat King Cole 625 December 19522
3"Faith Can Move Mountains" [O] Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads 725 December 19522
2"Silent Night, Holy Night" Bing Crosby 825 December 19522
10"Takes Two to Tango" ♦ Louis Armstrong 629 January 19531
7"Walkin' to Missouri" ♦ [P] Tony Brent 715 January 19531

Entries by artist

The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1952, including singles that reached their peak in 1953. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1952 is also shown.

EntriesArtistWeeksSingles
3 Vera Lynn 8"Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", "Forget Me Not", "The Homing Waltz"
Bing Crosby 8"Isle of Innisfree", "Silent Night, Holy Night", "Zing a Little Zong"
2 Al Martino 7"Here in My Heart", "Take My Heart"
Doris Day 6"My Love and Devotion", "Sugar Bush"
Frankie Laine 7"High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)", "Sugar Bush"
Nat King Cole 6"Because You're Mine", "Somewhere Along the Way"

Notes

See also

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2005). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 14. ISBN   1-904994-00-8.
  3. ↑ "New singles formats to save the charts". BBC News. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "The Story of the Single". BBC News. 23 March 2001. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "'The Godfather' singer Al Martino dies". NME . 14 October 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Key dates in the history of the Official UK Charts (archived)". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Top 10 chart starts to sound a little off-key". The Yorkshire Post . 17 January 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "First ever top 12: 14 November 1952". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  9. ↑ "First ever top 20: 01 October 1954". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 "The first ever Official Singles Chart – revisited!". Official Chart. Official Charts Company1. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Takes Two to Tango – full Official Chart History". Official Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Vacher, Peter (6 November 2016). "Kay Starr obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Walkin' to Missouri – full Official Chart history". Official Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  14. 1 2 Hall, James (5 July 2015). "The ten chart battles that changed music". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  15. ↑ Myers, Justin (23 March 2018). "The songs that spent the longest at Number 1". Official Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Announcing the first record Hit Parade" (PDF). NME . 14 November 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  17. ↑ "Forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn 'oldest living artist to make it into the top 20'". The Telegraph. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  18. ↑ Myers, Justin (2 December 2017). "66 SharesFacebook66TwitterEmailReddit 02 December 2017 Festive songs that never made Christmas Number 1". Official Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  19. ↑ "Al Martino: Obituary". The Telegraph. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "Doris Day: A Hollywood Legend Reflects on Life". NPR. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  21. 1 2 Severo, Richard (7 February 2007). "Frankie Laine, 93, the Hit-Making Crooner Who Used His Voice 'Like a Horn,' Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  22. ↑ Porter, Gregory (22 November 2017). "Crooner, inspiration, father I never had: Gregory Porter on his hero Nat King Cole". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  23. ↑ Salazar, David. "On This Day: Watch All of Mario Lanza's Vocal Performances From His 8 Films". OperaWire. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  24. ↑ Mulraney, Frances (7 February 2018). "Songs in The Quiet Man: The amazing soundtrack to Irish America's favorite movie". IrishCentral. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  25. ↑ Macfarlane, Malcolm. "Bing Crosby – By By Day". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  26. ↑ Myers, Justin (9 January 2016). "The biggest song of every year revealed". Official Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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