Music

I really enjoy playing the piano - not necessarily practicing! I bought my first piece of popular sheet music in 1949. I think it cost 35 cents! The name of the song was "My Happiness."

"String of Pearls" and "In the Mood" were two of my favorites to jitterbug to. Glenn Miller's musical arrangements were great.

Some of the popular songs by year were: 1947 "Near You" 1948 "Buttons and Bows" from the Bob Hope movie "The Paleface" was a big hit for Dinal Shore 1949 Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra had a huge hit with "Ghost Riders in the Sky" 1950 Patti Page had a hit with "The Tennessee Waltz" 1951 "Cry" A song written by an amateur songwriter was a hit for Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads. Johhnie Ray had a hearing problem so it was amazing that he would have a hit record. 1952 "You Belong to Me" sung by Jo Stafford was a No. 1 hit; Dean Martin and Patti Page also had hits with it. 1953 "Vaya Con Dios" was a hit for guitarist Les Paul and his wife songstress Mary Ford. He was an amazing guitarist. 1954 "Little Things Mean a Lot" was a big hit for Kitty Kallen. 1955 "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" was a hit for Cuban band leader Perez Prado.

The guys and gals who sang these songs were well-scrubbed and rather straigh-laced. When the veterans came home after WWII, they yearned for a simpler time and the world was becoming more complex.

Growing up back then, we listened to the radio program, "Your Hit Parade," where they played the top-ranked songs.

Many different singers recorded some of the same songs. Some were big hits for more than one singer. We always had favorites and our favorites weren't always the #1 hits.

Nowadays we play CDs. Back the we had 78 RPM records, 45 RPMs and later 33 1/3 RPM records. After that there were 8-track tapes but I don't know anything about them.

Time passes and new things come into being. It is interesting to know that some of the popular songs of the 50s had been popular many years before - and some of them came around to popularity again many years later. "What's old is new again."