Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In) by Teresa Brewer
Who can forget the jingle Maggi! Maggi! Maggi! ? If the packet of instant noodles takes two minutes to cook, Teresa Brewer took a couple of years to achieve fame with the spunky song (that inspired the jingle) Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In), which was a constant on the jukebox and became her signature tune (originally recorded by Etienne Paree), though she ended up recording nearly 600 songs and appeared several times on TV with personalities like Ed Sullivan, Perry Como and Tony Bennett.
Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole
Lyricists Ray Evans and Jay Livingston wrote three Academy Award-winning songs, one being Mona Lisa, which we know well because of Nat King Cole’s rendition. The song was written in 1950 for a film that’s now forgotten — Captain Carey, U.S.A. Originally titled ‘Prima Donna’, Evans’s wife, Wyn, preferred Mona Lisa. Before the film released, the songwriting duo went to meet Nat King Cole. Yet, Cole decided to record it, even though it was put out as a B-side.
Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page
Though originally released in 1948, it became a hit only after Patti Page recorded it in 1950. Composed by Pee Wee King, he often celebrated Tennessee and wrote at least four songs around it — Tennessee Polka, Tennessee Tears and Tennessee Tango —before getting inspired by Bill Monroe’s Kentucky Waltz, which ultimately led him to write the song in question, which Patti Page later recorded and went on to sell three million copies of.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry
Sure, we love Dean Martin’s version but Gene Autry’s efforts are equally amazing. Though it was meant to be a Christmas song for 1949, it gained popularity in the subsequent years with Bill Crosby’s version coming through in 1950. Johnny Marks, who wrote the song, became known in the music business as ‘Mr. Christmas of the music world’ and he went on to deliver several big holiday hits like Run Rudolph Run and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.
Hoop-Dee-Doo by Perry Como
Usually found on playlists featuring Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters, the man who needs to be credited for the gem is composer Milton Delugg whose songs were hits for many A-list artistes — Shanghai for Doris Day and Orange Colored Sky for Nat King Cole. Hoop-Dee-Doo was often played on The Gong Show to put losing contestants out of their misery mid-performance by striking a large gong.
The Cry of the Wild Goose by Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine’s version spent two weeks at number-one on the Billboard Most Played by Jockeys music chart in March 1950. The songwriter Terry Gilkyson went on to deliver a number of hits that remain evergreen — The Bare Necessities for Disney’s Jungle Book and songs he wrote with his group (Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders), like Marianne, Memories are Made of This and Greenfield.
There’s No Tomorrow by Tony Martin
Released in November 1949, the song had a run on the charts in 1950. But here’s what makes this an interesting number: Based on the Italian song O Sole Mio, the song’s success was eclipsed by the other number based on the same song -- It’s Now or Never by Elvis Presley, which remains a hit on streaming services.
Sentimental Me by The Ames Brothers
One of the most popular (and early) versions of the song is by The Ames Brothers and the record first reached the Billboard magazine charts on January 20, 1950 but Elvis Presley’s 1960 version was important as he needed an album that would cement his comeback to the top of the charts. While Side A had sentimental numbers, it was all uptempo on the flip side.