Hits of '53: Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes

The year 1953 wasn't a banner one for pop music, neither in America nor in England. Of the year's biggest hits, few remained popular over the subsequent years; only Patti Page's "The Doggie in the Window," Dean Martin's "That's Amore," and Tony Bennett's "Rags to Riches" were familiar to most music fans 50 years later. Living Era's wrap-up of 1953 does suffer accordingly, and what is worse, it doesn't even include "The Doggie in the Window." Most of the gems to be found are instrumentals, and not all were hits in America -- since this is a British compilation, some allegiance to the U.K. charts was necessary. "April in Portugal (The Whisp'ring Serenade)" by Les Baxter and "The Song from Anna (El Negro Zumbón)" by Silvana Mangano provide a Latin flair, while Ray Anthony's "Dragnet (Theme)" and Frank Chacksfield's "Terry's Theme (Eternally)" give the compilation a spice of Hollywood drama. The biggest hits of the year were "Vaya con Dios (May God Be With You)" by Les Paul & Mary Ford and "The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)" by Percy Faith, both of which are here, as are other Hit Parade toppers such as "Till I Waltz Again With You" by Teresa Brewer, "I'm Walking Behind You" by Eddie Fisher, "You You You" by the Ames Brothers, and the country cover crossover "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" by Perry Como. (Two other covers, Joni James' "Your Cheatin' Heart" and Frankie Laine's "Hey Joe!," also appear here.)