Search - Various Artists :: 20 Greatest Hits 1958

Somebody At Deluxe Better Check Their Reference Guides

09/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've reviewed compilations where they include a selection or two (or more) which were not hits by any stretch of the definition, and others where the songs included did not match the label. This one offers both!



First of all, Cannon Boogie was never a hit for Ace Cannon - in 1958 or any other year. At least not in North America. Secondly, I have NEVER seen a compilation that so completely misses the mark in terms of the year advertised. 20 Greatest Hits 1958???



Well, to be fair there are a few. Such as: The Stroll by The Diamonds (# 4 Billboard Pop Top 100/# 5 R&B in the early part of the year); One Summer Night by The Danleers (# 4 R&B/# 7 Top 100 in August 1958; Dede Dinah by Frankie Avalon (# 7 Top 100/# 8 R&B in March); Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay by Danny & The Juniors (# 16 R&B/# 19 Top 100 in August); and The Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley (# 1 Top 100 for SIX weeks/# 18 R&B in the fall. And, I suppose, one could make an argument for Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters which, although it peaked at # 1 Billboard Pop Hot 100/# 3 R&B in January 1959, did make its chart debut in December 1958. The same applies to Great Balls Of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis. Making its entry onto the charts in November/December 1957, it peaked at # 2 Top 100/# 3 R&B in January as well. That's seven out of the 20. The rest?



Several were definitely 1959 hits: Along Came Jones by The Coasters (# 9 Hot 100/# 14 R&B in June); Dedicated To The One I Love by The Shirelles (# 83 Hot 100 in July - but much more closely linked to its re-release showing in 1961 when it reached # 2 R&B/# 3 Hot 100); Red River Rock by Johnny & The Hurricanes (# 5 Hot 100 & R&B in September); Rockin' In The Jungle by The Eternals (# 78 Hot 100 in July); Bongo Rock by Preston Epps (# 14 Hot 100 in June); Lavender Blue by Sammy Turner (# 3 Hot 100/# 14 R&B in August); and Kansas City by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters (# 16 R&B/# 72 Hot100 in May).



There are even a couple of purely 1957 hits: Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu by Huey (Piano) Smith & The Clowns (# 5 R&B/# 52 Top 100 in July/August); and It Hurts To Be In Love by Annie Laurie (# 3 R&B/# 61 Top 100 in April/May), as well as 1960's Go, Jimmy, Go by Jimmy Clanton (# 5 Hot 100/# 19 R&B in January. But way, WAY off the 1958 mark are Get On Up, which was a # 3 R&B/# 11 Hot 100 for The Esquires in the fall of 1967, and Lonely Teardrops by Narvel Felts which made it to # 5 Country/# 62 Hot 100 in 1976!!!



Ordinarily I would assign maybe two stars to any CD with this many mistakes, but I have to admit that what is here is excellent quality and ALL originals, including a few bona fide hard-to-find selections such as Annie Laurie's It Hurts To Be In Love and The Eternals' Rockin' In The Jungle. Even Cannon Boogie, although not a "hit", is worth hearing. Why didn't they just call it 20 Great Selections From The Past and leave it at that?"