EDDIE CALVERT- “Oh Mein Papa”
(8th January 1954)
If I was being crass (never!) I’d say this was a dance record - steady beat, cycling melody, simple repeated lyrical hook. And it is a dance record: a lazy, slow, respectable sort of dance record. The entry of the organ at 1′30″ is the most ‘fifties-evocative’ thing I’ve heard yet - except it evokes an imagined 50s, learned from Hi-De-Hi and English murder mysteries, last dances in the Hawaiian ballroom and the gentle tap of heel on lacquer. I cannot imagine any circumstances in which anyone today would want to or get to hear this record unless they were embarked on some idiotic scheme like this one. 4
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FT's koganbot on September 28th, 2006
[ed: was this meant to be a stork?]
FT's Doctor Mod on October 14th, 2006
19 February 1954:
Doctor Mod’s third birthday, the first in California. (”Mein Papa” was still in Hawaii, though, so I imagine we had a good time.)
Lena on October 19th, 2006
For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s an idiotic scheme, though 1953/4 does look pretty brutal…
R. A. Neill on March 17th, 2007
A forgotten classic from the Man with the Golden Trumpet(even if he later grew to hate it). For me it is pure nostalgia. It was released two days before my eighth birthday, and was one of the most frequently played tracks on the Radio at that time(must have been the BBC Light Programme). I have not heard it for years, but have never forgotten the sound of that trumpet. I’m glad to hear that it has been re-released on CD.
The fact that it was the first ever number 1 to be recorded at Abbey Road gives it a special place in pop history.
intothefireuk on November 10th, 2007
Another Germanic flavoured piece complete with piercing trumpet (which seems to rather stray towards Spain) and quivering organ. A less exciting piece of music would be difficult to find (although the 50s is a very good place to start). It is, apparently, a mostly instrumental version of a song mourning the death of a beloved Father. Which could explain why, in post war Britain, it struck a chord with a nation, still in mourning for it’s lost loved ones.
Keith W on March 21st, 2008
I’m 34, and this is the first of the UK No 1s. that I actually like. It’s been doing the rounds in my random playlists for a few years now. It’s a nice enough tune, I reckon, which is more than the previous number ones had.