#ruby murray

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 16th July

Goodness. First Joan Regan, then Ruby Murray. We're really on a throwback kick, it seems. Except while Joan's comeback hit had a lot to recommend it, this one... well, it's certainly a song that exists, and that's all I'll say about it.

Goodbye, Jimmy, Goodbye - Ruby Murray (peaked at Number 10)

If you saw the title of this song and thought "gee, this sounds old-fashioned and maudlin," well, congratulations. This song is indeed old-fashioned and maudlin, though honestly, that feels like it's underselling just how mawkishly sentimental this ballad is. It feels a lot like the 1950s songs about your lover going off to war - enough so that I assumed this was a cover of one of those songs. But no, while it is a cover, this song only dates back to 1959. And yeah, I know that people were still being drafted to go to war, at least in the US, so that probably gave the song some resonance there. But let's be real, lyrics about how I'll see you again, but I don't know when / Goodbye, Jimmy, goodbye, and asking him to give me a kiss for each tear and each sigh do sound very dated.

I also don't like the sound of this Jimmy, just for the record. I know that Ruby's all cut up about him leaving, but honestly, he sounds a bit of a dubious prospect. Or what else am I to make of lines describing how when he has travelled the land and the sea / He'll stop his roamin' and come home to me? It's only one line in the whole song, but it turns it from a song about a young lover reluctantly forced to leave his lady into a song about a man who's got the wandering bug, and has callously taken off, leaving his love moping behind. Poor show, all round. You can do better, Ruby!

Not that the song does much to get me invested in Ruby's plight. It's pulling out all the stops, lyrically, for sure. But the main effect this song has on me is a soporific one, because it's just unspeakably, awfully slow. A lurching country-styled waltz that's at least 50% made up of the line goodbye, Jimmy, goodbye, my eyes began shutting maybe 30 seconds into my first listen of this song, and it's not got any more interesting as I listened. I actually got tears in my eyes, this song was making more sleepy - I never knew you could literally get bored to tears, but there you go. Ruby even sounds bored, bless her. Even the harmonica that comes out at the end can't do anything to jazz it up. Yawn.

Huh. The song's been covered a whole bunch, but mostly by Nordic artists - there are a whole host of Swedish and Norwegian covers, going all the way through into the 1970s. How odd.

Well. This song exists. I can heartily recommend it, if you want to go to sleep, and also possibly depress yourself. If not, maybe one to give a miss. How on earth did this chart? What was the appeal? Did nobody involved suggest even a slight increase in tempo? Snails would find this song too slow. We last saw Ruby in 1955, and perhaps that's where she ought to have remained, if this is what she's putting out. Soz, Rubes. You are most definitely not going into my "favourite song of the bunch" playlist.

Most painfully slow song of the bunch: Goodbye, Jimmy, Goodbye

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 10th November

After quite an exciting three songs, we're back to something that could honestly have appeared at any time from 1952 onwards, going purely off the title. It's a strange thing that happens - even when a particularly iconic song comes along and pushes the boundaries of what the charts can do, you're still going to get hang-overs from older styles, often for quite some time. It's not like everyone stopped buying the sort of records they liked, after all.

I'll Come When You Call - Ruby Murray (peaked at Number 6)

I wondered when I saw the title here if this was going to be a route-A "I love you" song, or if it was going to take the more interesting "I'm so hung up on you that I'll come like a dog when you call, even if you don't care" path. That was actually mildly interesting, as a hypothetical. So of course, Ruby went for Option 1.

This is the definition of a basic, straightforward song. Ruby has somebody she really loves, and in true soupy ballad style she just has to sing aabout how I'll come when you call, / When you give me the word / With the speed of a bird / I will fly to your side. That's basically it, that's the whole song.

I hoped there would be some drama in the middle, but even there, things seem to be going swimmingly for Ruby and her sickeningly sweet beau, as she sings about how You'll hold me and kiss me, and then, hand in hand / We'll wander together in love's wonderland. Bleurgh.

Even with the vague prospect of trouble later on in the song, Ruby remains steadfast, singing about how she'll come to her lover Be ti stormy or fair, / For what will I care / If I'm close by your side! It's the sort of celebration of domestic bliss and loyalty and sticking with your partner that I find terribly sweet and compelling in real life, and (always, though not often) horribly dull in songs. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy things are working out for Ruby, but this song is not thrilling me.

It's not doing anything horribly wrong, at least. We're slow, but the tune jumps about and shakes its dynamics up just enough to stay interesting. The instrumentation, while not inspired, is delicate and pretty enough, and we get a nice swell at the end, without risking it all on a Big Old Ending. All very Disney princess, very clean, very safe. And you can't deny that Ruby can sing. So perhaps this record does what it meant to do, you know? I'd certainly slow dance gamely along to it, if somebody else put it on at the tail endi of a wedding, or whatever.

You see, I'm going to have to vote for this song, now, as my favourite song of the bunch. I sometimes eschew that to name a song "worst song of the bunch" or something similar, and this song definitely doesn't merit that treatment. But putting this digestible and pleasant bit of nothingness alongside Rock Around the Clock does feel a little bit silly. Ah well, 'tis the nature (and sometimes the beauty) of the charts.

Most solidly fine song of the bunch: I'll Come When You Call

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 14th July

No, we are not covering Taylor Swift in this post, despite the name of one of our tracks (I think the other track would make a banger Taylor Swift title, too, but that's by the by). Sorry, Swifties!

Evermore - Ruby Murray (peaked at Number 3)

We start with some shifting, flowing violins, which sets us up well for an opening line about how As the river constantly / Flows forever to the sea / As the waves beat on the shore / I shall love you evermore.

It's not the worst opening ever, though I have some questions about the need for "constantly" and "forever" in the line. Like, it's a bit of a tautology, surely, including both of those words? I know it makes the line scan, but still...

It's pretty, though, and while the "I'll always love you" genre feels a bit tired nowadays, these 1950s songs have a certain earnestness that I've found charming. It's a romantic song about how Ruby and her lover are happy together and will stay together forever and -

Though you say you can't pretend / That you are more than just a friend / I shall always hope and pray / That you'll love me in the end.

Oh dear, Ruby.

I was so willing to give this song a pass, but this is just tragic. Ruby is declaring her undying feelings for a person who not only doesn't like her back, but sounds like they've gone out of their way to be nice but clear about it. This sounds like some textbook good communication from Ruby's love interest, and instead of taking them at their word, Ruby's pining hopelessly after them. And I know that feelings are feelings, and she might legit feel like that, but there's something very pathetic about it.

Also something a little bit stalkerish. Whoever they are, they don't like you, and Ruby's refusal to just get over it is definitely weird. I don't know, I would feel very weird being the recipient of this song. I don't know, I just don't think delcaring your passive but undying love is a great way to get anyone's attention.

Tragic, and not in a good way.

Cool Water - Frankie Laine & The Mellomen (2)

Ooh, I think I've heard this one before? Looking it up, I'm seeing a song by the same name by Marty Robbins, which I've definitely listenend to, so maybe it's the same song? In which case, I'm expecting a Western kind of vibe - the track I'm thinking of dates back to 1936 and is apparently a bit of a Western classic.

Yes, it is indeed the same song, and in quite a nice version, too. The Mellomen do a bit more here than they did in Where Will the Dimple Be, but not much more. Instead, Frankie's the star of the show, in what turned out to be a surprisingly mellow tune.

We start with some backing singers intoning the title in the background. They keep this up throughout the song, periodically just chanting "water" or "cool clear water" and hitting a magnificently low note to end the whole thing. If you can't tell, I like it a lot - a good use of backing singers.

On top of that, we then get some strummy guitar, bells and a lovely bit of trumpet and flute. All very lush and soundtrack-esque, and a great set-up to the story Frankie's about to start telling, which tells of a man travelling through a barren waste, along with a companion only called Old Dan. A quick Google suggests Old Dan is a mule, but I missed this completely for my first few listen-throughs and just assumed Dan was a travelling companion. Oops!

Either way, Frankie and Dan are both thirsty, plodding along with throats burned dry / And souls that cry for water. Which is just some very effective description. It's almost making me feel thirsty, so I can only imagine how Frankie's feeling.

This leads into my favourite bit of the track, the chorus, where the speed picks up and Frankie sings to Dan, urging him to Keep a moving, Dan / Don't listen to him, Dan / He's a devil, not a man / He spreads the burning sand with water. I don't know who "he" is, but in some ways the ambiguity makes the song even better. Suddenly, it's a song about a cowboy completely unravelling in the desert, hallucinating strange figures and talking to his mule about it. And the contemptuous vehemence with which he spits devil out only adds to the intrigue.

Unfortunately, the critical spirit doesn't last - in the next few lines, the music swells and Frankie's suddenly singing about a big green tree and how the water's waiting there for you and me. Which is basically the mode the song ends in, with Frankie wandering, likely delusional, into the desert in search of water that may or may not exist. His fate is left unclear, creating a sort of horror that's hidden under all the pretty instrumentation and smooth backing vocals. Like, does Frankie actually survive his trek? Nobody knows!

I think it's this lyrical and musical dissonance that I like. That and the Western vibes, which I generally enjoy, when they come up. They're rarely boring, at least, and they usually range from okay to excellent. Frankie's bringing a sort of understated class to this particular Western tune, and the Mellomen are certainly a welcome addition (though I still don't know why they're getting credited for it!)

Well, I think there was a clear highlight here. You should listen to Cool Water. It's a cool song, pun entirely intended, and it's got a lovely chill vibe to it. Good music for before bed.

Favourite song of the bunch: Cool Water

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 24th March

And I'm back once again, this time with a single-song week. And it's a song we've seen before, in multiple guises. This one has versions by Teresa Brewer and Dean Martin, and while it was a while ago that I listened to them, I remember liking both. So, will it be a hat-trick for the song?

Let Me Go, Lover! - Ruby Murray (peaked at Number 5)

Yes, this is immediately very familiar, despite me taking a break between listening to it last time. I guess it's quite a gentle, predictable tune - I'm certainly able to hum along nicely, even the first time I'm listening back to it.

It's got the same soft, lilting cadence as the other versions of the song, but perhaps a bit more string fanciness and twiddly bits? Certainly, the introduction has notes bouncing about between multiple violins, or possbily even different string instruments, which is a cool effect, if a bit unnecessary.

It's the same song as it was the last two times, all about a lover who doesn't care particularly for Ruby, but who wants her to keep loving them. She doesn't necessarily put in the most emotional performance, given that, though she's certainly not the worst offender I've come across on this blog, on that front.

And hey, maybe a less emotional delivery suits the idea of a love that's unrequited to the extent where it's just become a slightly banal slog. I could get behind that - the idea that Ruby's so tired of being in love with this person that she just wants out? It's a stretch, but quite an interesting one.

Too bad I don't think I particularly like Ruby's voice. It's not the worst, but it's got a bit of a wobble on some notes that I find a bit disconcerting in this recording.

We also get my favourite: a bit of old-timey electric guitar! Not enough of it, if you ask me, and it's very slow, but it does its job admirably and does sell me on the whole affair, just a little bit.

Yeah, this is fine. I think that mostly speaks to my enjoyment of the song more generally - there are a few songs out there that are like that, and that I will like, whoever's covering them (House of the Rising Sun being one that springs to mind, for example, or Mack the Knife). This isn't quite at that level, but it's a nice song, with a good concept, so you're set, whoever's doing the cover. Actually, I'd even buy into a modern cover of this, though you'd have to change the vibe a bit, maybe add a beat and speed it up a little? Hmmm....

Favourite song of the oh-yeah-single-song-weeks-are-a-thing-aren't-they bunch: Let Me Go, Lover

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 3 March 1955

Another single-song week, and we have officially reached March! I've also realised just how many female-led songs we've had recently. I talked about them in last week's post, but it's struck me again, just how many there are at this point - certainly more than there was back in 1952 when the charts were just starting out. Plus, they already seem to be a slightly chirpier, cheerier breed than the class of 1952.

Happy Days and Lonely Nights - Ruby Murray (peaked at No. 6)

More Ruby Murray, I think as I click onto this song - it's not a terrible prospect, but it's not thrilling me, either? I'm not surprised as I click to see that this is a cover, too. Does Ruby just do covers of American songs? She seems to do pretty well with them, so it's obviously a model that works, but I'd love to see what she does when given free rein.

That said, I also do enjoy the intro to this one. It's got my favourite 1950s instrument - old-school electric guitar - plus a bunch of jazzy chords. And imagine my delight when this continues on into the rest of the song! It's jazzy guitar all the way down!!

All this creates quite a jolly vibe, which is interesting, because it's not actually a very happy song. Ruby's supposed to be heart-broken, singing about how "Since the parting of the ways / You took all my happy days / And left me lonely nights". So her love has left her, and now she's lonely - and yet, she doesn't sound particularly sad about it. In fact, the whole song sounds way too chipper and upbeat for the lyrics of the song.

I'm not necessarily complaining, because I really do like the notes the guitar is hitting, and I also appreciate the triplet rhythms. There's something wistful about it, even if it's not properly sad - there's a touch of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, perhaps, in the soaring chords and particular cadences of it.

There's also something rather timeless about it - not because I think it's a classic, or anything, but because it doesn't have an obviously 1950s sound. It's hard to place, and I could imagine an only-slightly re-vamped version doing the numbers in the 1960s or even 1970s or 1980s. It would be on the cheesier end of the pop spectrum, but I could see it.

"You taught me how to love you / Now teach me to forget" is such a mid-00s emo band lyric, and I love it. How melodramatic can you get? Accompanied by the rinky-dink vintage guitar, it's gloriously over-dramatic.

I was roundly bemused by this song. I think its because I tend to listen to music first and lyrics second, so by the time I got to looking at what Ruby was singing, I was already firmly in the "jolly whimsical romp" mood, and found it hard to take the song at its word. Oh well.

Favourite weirdly happy-sad song of the bunch: Happy Days and Lonely Nights

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 3 February 1955

Another two songs, both with some fairly generic titles compared to last week. That doesn't mean they're bad, per se, but I swear we've already had a song called Give Me Your Word (?). Ah, well, it looks like they at least both reached number 1, which, while not a guarantee of quality, is probably a guarantee that they're at least memorable.

Softly, Softly - Ruby Murray (peaked at No. 1)

Okay, perhaps what I said about being memorable was a little hasty. I'm writing this quite close to bedtime, and the overall effect of this song is pretty soporific. It's slow and seems to slow down as it goes down. Add to that the lullaby-like "softly, softly" refrain, and you've got a recipe for snoring.

It's not boring per se, but it's very deliberately gentle and inoffensive. I can imagine grandmothers everywhere finding this perfectly palatable - from the instrumentation, to the sentiment, to Ruby's very clear, generically British-sounding enunciation. It's genuinely a shock to learn that she was Northern Irish - not a touch of Belfast here!

There's a touch of Doris Day to the lyrics - in particular, it reminded me of If I Give My Heart to You as Ruby exhorts her love to "Handle me with gentleness / And say you'll leave me never". The only difference is that Doris has a slightly livelier style. I can't imagine this feeling quite so slow or gentle if Doris were singing it, even if it literally went at the same pace. She'd bring out the vulnerability of it all, or a sense of having been burnt already. Which I don't really get here, to be honest. It's not bad, but it's a much gentler, softer affair than it could have got off with being.

There really aren't many lyrics to this one, either - I'm looking at them, and they're shockingly thin on the ground. Really, it's a verse and a few lines of chorus that seem to have exactly the same tune and half of the same lines. Literally half the lines in the whole thing are "Softly, softly turn the key / And open up my heart". Which is a fine metaphor, I guess. It does the job and doesn't hang around too long.

Huh. Apparently this song was a French number originally, called "La Tamise et mon jardin" ("the Thames and my garden"), and was only adapted into English by an exec at the BBC. So at least it's a homegrown British affair, not some translation of an American original. And you know what, I can admire that.

Give Me Your Word - Tennessee Ernie Ford (1)

Well, after a homegrown British artist and song, Tennessee Ernie Ford has about the most American name possible. The song is pretty American too, though not as American as the other Tennessee Ernie Ford song that I know off the top of my head.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, we've got Give Me Your Word, which, true to its title, starts big and dramatic with a massive string ramp-up. I feel like when we're getting into "solemn vow" territory, you kind of have to go big or go home. And Ernie definitely commits to the former.

Once the big old string intro is over, we get a dramatic, deep voice, proclaiming to his lover that they should "Give me your word / Your love will never die". It's quite the performance, all forceful and passionate, and its perfectly underscored by some rather classical-sounding piano and some strings lifted straight from a James Bond soundtrack. It's great, very melodramatic.

And then, once your attention is suitably grabbed, we drop into a warmer, slightly less intense rhythm with some bass going on. It's a little more chill, but the lyrics do not let up, with Ernie imploring his love to "Give me one hope to guide me" and other such intense clichés.

It's not quite explicitly steamy at any point, but I feel like lines like "Give me your lips / And let your lips remain" are certainly skirting a line. If nothing else, it's definitely hinting at some proper making out, which isn't something we've come across yet. So there's that, I guess. I mean, I could be reading too much into it, but I like the idea that we've hit our first song about snogging already, in 1955.

We seem to be then building to a classic Big Old Ending. In particular, Ernie hits the word "Alwaaaaaays" with enough vigour to sell it, before dropping down for "give me your word". It's terribly effective, especially after such a big opening, since it sort of flips how songs usually work. You open with a closing line, and that lets the song sort of peter out gracefully, with an orchestral swell and a glorious timpani roll, fading then into a thrill of flutes and a hazy sort of resolution that's lovely to listen to. More songs should end with a quieter line and then this sort of hazily unfinished cadence - genuinely! I think it's neat, what can I say?

Well, there's a clear winner for me this time round. As much as I love the narrative whereby the homegrown British favourite beats out the big, American, glitzy song, I just can't overlook the quality and sexy instrumentation in Ernie's song. So...

Favourite song of the bunch: Give Me Your Word

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 23 December 1954

Go on, then. Let's finish the year in style. I have to say, the songs here look pretty fun. And none look explicitly Christmassy - I guess David Whitfield's all we're getting this year. Can't say I mind that.

Let's Get Together No. 1 - The Big Ben Banjo Band (peaked at No. 6)

So many things jumped out at me here, almost immediately. First, it sounds like a Winifred Atwell album. Clearly an attempt to wrangle some of the same popularity, since we've hit the festive party season. Second, it also has that intriguind "No. 1" on it, which is curious. Was this released along with a No. 2? Why not just come up with a new title? Third, "The Big Ben Banjo Band"?!

Given all this, I'm braced for something bizarre and silly, and to be fair, this record does deliver, but it takes its time about it. The whole track is a bit of a journey, actually, and a long journey: 6 whole minutes of what I can only assume is a Winifred Atwell-style medley, in which the pace frequently speeds up and slows down without warning, hitting you in the face with a fast bit out of nowhere.

There are banjos throughout, but they're not really the focus at the start - it's all about the brass band - and to be honest, this sounds like something from the 1920s. There's a slow section with an accordion and what sounds like a mandolin and a trumpet. Nice enough, but nothing stunning.

You're just about getting comfortable when there's a change and we get some bargain-basement Winifred Atwell for a bit. Seriously, it's her piano style, but slow, which makes it a heck of a lot less charming and less impressive. But this is all luring you into a false sense of security, because at the 2:40 mark -

BANG! Sudden fast banjos our of literally nowhere! It's the most thrilling, schizo part of this track, and it switches us back into a jazzy mode that's good fun for, oh, about a minute, before we're back to slow. It's fun while it lasts, though.

What I'm noticing here is mostly that it's clearly trying to cash in on Winifred Atwell's success - the band itself was put together by Norrie Paramor, who seems to have been a producer who worked with literally everybody notable at this point in the UK, and it seems to have been put together specifically to make this hit. The worst thing is, it's not actually very good at it - while Winifred's changes between songs are seamless, and while none of her songs outstay their welcome, the same very much cannot be said here. It's harmless, but it's just... not quite as good.

The Finger of Suspicion - Dickie Valentine and the Stargazers (1)

Dickie Valentine is such a cool stage name. Unlike Ronnie Hilton, Richard Bryce made a good choice, here, changing it. He manages to capture a very American sort of cool, you'd never guess he was a stagehand from Marylebone.

To his credit - or his writers' - this is also a cool name for a song - it all sounds very film noir. I'm imagining some sort of crime of passion, a detective investigating, accusations flying. Dramatic stuff!

Of course, once we get into it, the "crimes" are pretty tame stuff, but the metaphor's still nice. We hear from Dickie, for example, that "Someone broke into my heart and stole a beat or two" and that "Someone took away my sleep and never left a clue". It's about being in love, you see - which is cute. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny - isn't the point that you know who you have a crush on? So you really shouldn't have to be investigating it, Dickie.

There's one rather sinister moment that I don't think it meant to sound quite as ominous as it does, where Dickie describes how, once she's caught and sentenced, "I'll take and lock her charms forever in my arms." Which... I don't know, it's just a little creepy. But that's modern sensibilities speaking, I'm sure. And it's such a smooth, fly-by line that I can't really fault it.

We then get a really lovely brass interlude, followed later on by - even better - a bit of electric guitar work! I really like the sound of 1950s electric guitar, it's super cool, so this made me smile. The sound of the whole song is great, actually, in a sleepy, warm kind of way. Lots of brass, plus those smooth, sweeping backing singers, and Dickie's voice, which manages charm without accidentally veering into smarm.

The only thing I can nitpick about are a few awkward lines that were clearly put in there for the rhyme and not because they really work as lines. What else can we do with lines like "Then who is bound to be the guilty, who?" It's clunky, but in context, it works just fine.

Heartbeat - Ruby Murray (3)

Well, Ruby's back, with what I have to say is quite a zippy tune. It's not the most memorable thing we've heard here, but there are some lovely touches, from the slight bluesy edge to her voice, to the light little violin echoes we get after her lines. She has a voice for country music, but it doesn't go heavy on the country here, and the result's pleasant enough.

The main idea in the lyrics is that Ruby's excited by her love approaching, and her heartbeat is rising, and so we get lyrics like "Hear it, hear it / Hear my heartbeat / Pounding, pounding / Like a drum". A cardiologist's nightmare, but quite a sweet metaphor.

It sounds quite sweet, but there's also quite a simmeringly hot undercurrent here - how else do we interpret Ruby telling her love to "Take me, touch me / Make me thrill"? Or, for that matter, lines bemoaning "what will happen to me / If something doesn't happen soon". Nobody is explicitly turned on, or anything, but there's definitely a hint of seduction, behind Ruby's innocent tone.

There's also a very sexy descending chromatic chord pattern that's almost James Bond - it's the coolest part of what is otherwise, despite the lyrics, quite a tame song. Honestly, I just think you should get descending chromatic motion in more songs generally, it's such a good sound!

And that's that. Three songs that your average person in 2024 probably hasn't ever heard. I can't say you're missing out hugely, but none of them were terrible. There was one obvious front-runner, too, which makes my favourite nice and easy. And with that, we're into 1955!

Favourite song of the bunch: The Finger of Suspicion

[konvoluted]