Via our faithful chronicler we learn that on this day in 1961 (along with many other events of pith and circumstance) the single by Charles Weedon Westover (better known by his stage name Del Shannon, which he adopted reluctantly later in his career after his favourite car, the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, and a regular from the his first venue) began a four week run at the top of the Billboard charts. Like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, honing his instrumental skills whilst stationed in West Germany during the post war period, Del Shannon found a part time gig after returning stateside and was a rhythm guitarist for the Moonlight Ramblers at the Hi-Lo Club in Battle Creek, Michigan and found himself band-leader after the organiser was fired for consistent drunkenness, regrouping at the Big Little Show Band with the addition of keyboard artist and electronic music pioneer Maxfield “Max” Doyle Crook, the song’s signature bridge performed on a Musictron, an early synthesiser that predated the Moog and Univox of his own invention. Covered by Elvis, Bonnie Raitt, the Small Faces, it was an instrumental version released the following year by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra that made the lament about an unamicable break-up an international hit.
synchronoptica
one year ago: a treasury of weird words (with synchronoptica), AI running out of data to scrape plus the ISO’s Online Browsing Platform
seven years ago: filmmaker Miloลก Forman, a different meaning for heart-shaped plus Trump on the rampage
eight years ago: cherry blossom season, speech-recognition to screen asylum-seekers, the photographic-eye of Melania Trump plus political dynasties
nine years ago: finally getting iPhones, our tented house in the papers, lรจse-majestรฉ plus a stay at Elsinor
eleven years ago: a visit to Alzey