In late 1955, Columbia issued Ruby's 9th single - Slowly With Feeling / The Very First Christmas Of All - and following the string of huge hits she'd had that year it seemed certain that this single would follow the others into the charts. They were both strong songs and I remember thinking at the time that she would have a double sided hit to round off the year. Those of you who own a copy of one of the Guinness British Hit Singles books will know that it wasn't to be and that neither song charted (although 'The Very First Christmas Of All' did make it to No.13 in the Best Selling Sheet Music chart).
The record chart used by Guinness for that period was the one published by New Musical Express, but recent research by one of the contributors to the 50s Nostalgia website 'Whirligig' has revealed that although Ruby's record was unplaced in the NME chart, 'The Very First Christmas Of All' entered the Record Mirror chart on 10.12.1955 and remained for a period of 4 weeks, peaking at position No.9.
Here's a link to the message which lists this and many other 50s hits that charted only in the RM lists. http://p197.ezboard.com/fwhirligigtvfrm ... =995.topic
My thanks to the researcher 'Vicky' who made this discovery and shared her findings with 'Whirligig' members, and for confirming that Ruby's missing hit, really did chart after all - in one of the music papers at least.
Brian
The Hit That Missed
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Brian Henson
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:27 am
- Location: Ilford, Essex, UK
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Gerald Lawrence
- Posts: 696
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 2:48 am
- Location: Kenilworth, UK
Thank you for this link, Brian - I have just posted a reply to it on the Whirligig website.
It was, as you say, Ruby's ninth single, and I guess with it being released in November 1955, Columbia were aiming at the Christmas market for this release. With the report stating that it entered on the 10th December and stayed for 4 weeks, I guess the bosses at Columbia were fairly pleased with their work. I got my copy as a 78 rpm record, wrapped up as a Christmas present from my dear Mum and Dad. (It was no easy task wrapping such a present, to (a) disguise it, and (b) prevent it from getting broken!) Sadly, some time in the last 50 years, it suffered from a crack appearing, and older viewers of this website will recall that, following a plea for a copy, I put an mp3 file of the cracked version in the song library. Hence I was so pleased when we were able to get this song, and its lovely backing which I played more and more as Christmas receeded, onto the Golden Anniversary Collection. For the last two years, I have written to Terry Wogan in the run up to Christmas to try to get "The Very First Christmas Of All" played in his Christmas Records section of his programme, but so far with no luck. Perhaps some of you would like to help me this year......
At the risk of being accused of mixing chart listings from different sources, I can say that this adds another four weeks to the end of Ruby's fantastic chart run in 1955, however with a gap of just one empty week after "I'll Come When You Call" left the charts. Those of you who are following the News page on this website will already know that to date, 50 years ago, Ruby has had an unbroken presence in the Top Twenty since she entered the charts with "Heartbeat", and this presence was to last 52 weeks.
It was, as you say, Ruby's ninth single, and I guess with it being released in November 1955, Columbia were aiming at the Christmas market for this release. With the report stating that it entered on the 10th December and stayed for 4 weeks, I guess the bosses at Columbia were fairly pleased with their work. I got my copy as a 78 rpm record, wrapped up as a Christmas present from my dear Mum and Dad. (It was no easy task wrapping such a present, to (a) disguise it, and (b) prevent it from getting broken!) Sadly, some time in the last 50 years, it suffered from a crack appearing, and older viewers of this website will recall that, following a plea for a copy, I put an mp3 file of the cracked version in the song library. Hence I was so pleased when we were able to get this song, and its lovely backing which I played more and more as Christmas receeded, onto the Golden Anniversary Collection. For the last two years, I have written to Terry Wogan in the run up to Christmas to try to get "The Very First Christmas Of All" played in his Christmas Records section of his programme, but so far with no luck. Perhaps some of you would like to help me this year......
At the risk of being accused of mixing chart listings from different sources, I can say that this adds another four weeks to the end of Ruby's fantastic chart run in 1955, however with a gap of just one empty week after "I'll Come When You Call" left the charts. Those of you who are following the News page on this website will already know that to date, 50 years ago, Ruby has had an unbroken presence in the Top Twenty since she entered the charts with "Heartbeat", and this presence was to last 52 weeks.
Gerald
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John Edwards
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:17 am
- Location: Kearsley Bolton Lanc's
Hello Gerald,
I have just joined the site after being preasured by my mate John Kendall (JK). He said that I should tell my little tail to you. My late wife and I always went to the midnight service on christmas eve, and I have carried on doing so. Christmas eve 2002 I went along as usual and to my supprise and enjoyment, the organist started to play, "The Very First Christmas Of All". I got up and went to him and said "Harold, I've not heard that played for years". Harold said he did not remember the tune and that the music was in a pile he had. In the middle of January 2003, I recorded the song on cassette, naturally by Ruby, and gave it to Harold. I never give it any more thought. Christmas eve 2003, I was there as usual. During the service, the choir sung a solo, and guess what:- "The Very First Christmas Of All". It was really nice to hear it again, especially in church by the choir. I've been a fan of Ruby's since "Evermore". Ruby was a unique artist.
I have just joined the site after being preasured by my mate John Kendall (JK). He said that I should tell my little tail to you. My late wife and I always went to the midnight service on christmas eve, and I have carried on doing so. Christmas eve 2002 I went along as usual and to my supprise and enjoyment, the organist started to play, "The Very First Christmas Of All". I got up and went to him and said "Harold, I've not heard that played for years". Harold said he did not remember the tune and that the music was in a pile he had. In the middle of January 2003, I recorded the song on cassette, naturally by Ruby, and gave it to Harold. I never give it any more thought. Christmas eve 2003, I was there as usual. During the service, the choir sung a solo, and guess what:- "The Very First Christmas Of All". It was really nice to hear it again, especially in church by the choir. I've been a fan of Ruby's since "Evermore". Ruby was a unique artist.
Regards, John.
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Gerald Lawrence
- Posts: 696
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 2:48 am
- Location: Kenilworth, UK
Hello John, and let me welcome you to the site as JK usually does this job for us!
What a delightful tale you have to tell about "The Very First Christmas of All". When I wrote to Terry Wogan, I tried to convince him to play it on the grounds that the words just might remind people of the real reason for Christmas - it seems like your church has the same thoughts about it. I do hope they continue to play it for you.
It seems to have generated stories of its own, because a couple of years ago, two fans who are cousins contacted me to see if they could get hold of a copy of the song, because they remembered family days just before Christmas at which presents were wrapped with Ruby singing it in the background. Does anybody else have a story to tell that links them with this particular song?
Please write in and let us know.
What a delightful tale you have to tell about "The Very First Christmas of All". When I wrote to Terry Wogan, I tried to convince him to play it on the grounds that the words just might remind people of the real reason for Christmas - it seems like your church has the same thoughts about it. I do hope they continue to play it for you.
It seems to have generated stories of its own, because a couple of years ago, two fans who are cousins contacted me to see if they could get hold of a copy of the song, because they remembered family days just before Christmas at which presents were wrapped with Ruby singing it in the background. Does anybody else have a story to tell that links them with this particular song?
Please write in and let us know.
Gerald