gold star for USAHOF

The Wayward Wind

The Wayward Wind
15 Jan
2016
Not in Hall of Fame
June 23 – August 3, 1956
Gogi Grant
The Wayward Wind



Huh?   I will put it out there that as much as much as I consider myself a long time disciple of the pop culture solar system, going into this I had no idea who Gogi Grant, or how to pronounce her name. Are they hard g’s or soft g’s, and who names their kid Gogi?[1]

As it turns out her parents didn’t either as Gogi Grant was born Myrtle Arinsberg, though she would adopt the name Audrey Brown when she began he recording career in 1952.[2]   Audrey Brown would become Audrey Grant, who would become Gogi Grant, when the head of RCA renamed her based on a restaurant he liked to frequent.

This also teaches us a valuable lesson in 1950’s Pop Culture; nobody named Myrtle Arinsberg is going to become a star, not that it would be that much easier today with that horrific name. But for sure, if you were going to try a career in movies or the music industry, Jewish sounding names was not yet palatable to the American public. This didn’t mean that you couldn’t be Jewish and succeed in pop culture, you just couldn’t sound like you were, or openly discuss it.[3] Sadly, Anti-Semitism was still very much alive and well in this time period.

As for Grant she would have a top ten hit in 1955 (“Suddenly, There’s a Valley”), and with “The Wayward Wind”, she would have her biggest hit of her career, and what would be the only number one song of her career. It would also be her last hit of any level.  

The song itself was fine for what was, Grant’s clear and pristine voice went well with the orchestra strings and in 1956 there were still a market for this kind of music, though as we know it wasn’t meant to last. That could be why this song which was sandwiched between the explosion of Elvis Presley’s success that she became forgotten so quickly.

The charts may not completely reflect it, but when you talk about 1956 in music it is the impact of Rock and Roll that is talked about first, second and third, and I don’t think I am going out on the proverbial limb saying that in 2056 it will be any different. Gogi Grant may have had a hit in 1956, but it was veined in a musical style that was being phased out and reflected a sound that anyone hearing today would not be one that people would think ’56 or later.

This is why you don’t hear anything about her today, and for that matter, didn’t hear much about her after 1957, and frankly her largest hit was a forgettable song. It was just in the right place, right time, and marketed by the right people to help make it a hit, though this is proof that a hit and even one that goes to the top does not a strong musical legacy make.

We will prove that often as this anthology continues.

Other Notable Songs that charted but did not go to number one in this time period: June 23, 1956 – August 3, 1956

6/30/56: Treasure of Love by Clyde McPhatter peaked at #16 and went to #1 on the R&B Chart.
6/30/56: Slippin’ and Slidin’ by Little Richard went to #31 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B Chart.
6/30/56: Hallelujah, I Love Her So by Ray Charles did not go to the Hot 100 but did go to #5 on the R&B Chart.
7/7/56: Ooby Dooby by Roy Orbison peaked at #59.
7/14/56: Boppin’ The Blues by Carl Perkins peaked at #70 on the Hot 100 and at #7 on the Country and Western Chart.
7/21/56: Ready Teddy by Little Richard went to #44 on the Top 100 and to #8 on the R&B Chart.
7/21/56: Fever by Little Willie John went to #24 on the Top 100 and to the top of the R&B Chart.
7/21/56: Please, Please, Please by James Brown did not chart in the Top 100 but reached #5 on the R&B Chart. It would be re-released in 1960 and make it to #105 on the Hot 100.[4]
7/28/56: Be-Bop-A-Lula by Gene Vincent peaked at #7 on the Top 100, #8 on the R&B Chart and #5 on the Country and Western Chart.[5]
7/28/56: Love, Love, Love by The Clovers peaked at #30 on the Top 100 and went to #4 on the R&B Chart.


[1] I never did get an answer to that question.
[2] Wait, Myrtle? Suddenly Gogi sounds so much better.
[3] Best example of the time was Tony Curtis, a major Hollywood star whose real name was Bernard Schwartz. That was a name that was not going to be a leading man in the 1950’s.
[4] It has to be stated at this point that James Brown never went to the top on the Mainstream Chart though would do so many times on the R&B Chart. All the more reason why in need to do a follow up book on R&B number ones.
[5] Gene Vincent did not go to the top either. It was a small shock for me to discover that this song did not make the top five.
Last modified on Tuesday, 19 January 2016 18:58
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Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

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