Your Hit Parade

I was a regular watcher of "Your Hit Parade" from 1953 until it began to falter in 1956-57 with the birth of rock 'n' roll. The show featured the top seven songs of the week, not in numerical order. The number one song was always last on the agenda accompanied by much fanfare. The years I saw it, the four featured vocalists who sang the hits were Russell Arms, Dorothy Collins, Snooky Lanson, and Gisele MacKenzie. The program was very entertaining because a different story-type setup was used for each song. The creators were hard-pressed to keep up with different ways to present the songs, especially when one song might stay on the top seven for weeks. I recall "Melody of Love" being particularly challenging because how many ways can you illustrate such a title?

The viewer was never quite clear how the top seven songs were chosen. They never corresponded with the Billboard list or other such listings. The sponsors had announcer André Baruch read a long, detailed script to explain to viewers how scientifically the records were rated, including juke box and radio plays plus record sales. How "Your Hit Parade" determined all this was never revealed. The viewer got the idea that often a song that was easy to sing and to illustrate was chosen over one that was difficult.

Whatever method was used, rock 'n' roll hit "Your Hit Parade" hard. How could a crooner such as Snooky Lanson do justice to Elvis' "Hound Dog?" Though an attempt at humor was often used in the presentation of the rock 'n' roll hits, the audience would usually laugh at the singers rather than with them. The show's futile attempts to have their regulars perform rock 'n' roll was self-defeating. Those in TV land who rejected the new music wanted to hear the old standards. Those who accepted it, particularly teens, wanted to hear the music performed by the recording artists who had the hits. Needless to say, "Your Hit Parade" eventually surrendered and left the air.

Born as a Network weekly Radio Show in 1935 on NBC, YOUR HIT PARADE (NBC TV 1950-58, CBS TV '58-59) was a program that completely abandoned Radio in making its leap to Television. The TV program needed not only the vocalists, but sets, scenery, costuming, choreography and a host of all purpose singers and dancers, known as "The Hit Paraders & Dancers".

With the inclusion of all of the previously mentioned players, and the addition of the visual aspect; the show now staged elaborate acts built around the favourite song being sung. For it was the performance of what we now refer to as the Top 40, but only the top 10 of the list, that made up the show. They would also throw in a "Hit Parade Extra" or two in a program; the Extra being a song from the then current Top 40 Tunes List or one from a Year long gone by.

The opening and format changed little if any over the years. They would have the sound of an Auctioneer calling out his message in their usual rapid fire manner; followed by the much slowed exclamation of "SOLD, American!" Which made perfect sense as the Auction was for Tobacco, and the Sponsor was The American Tobacco Company, makers of Lucky Strike Cigarettes. The long time announcer, he of the so rich, dulcet toned and voluminous voice of Andre Baruch; which was just as much a part of the show as anything.

The shows format called on the tried and true method of the "Countdown"; although I'm not sure that this term was in common usage at the time of the Show's debut on the NBC Network. It surely did become a household word in a few years, what with the beginning of the Space Race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., circa 1957, maybe.

The staged production numbers were all rather rich and elaborate for a weekly show. Their inclusion turned it into an equivalent of a Broadway Revue. The numbers theme would be dictated by the theme in the Song being presented in a particular slot, and the degrees of elaboration would mainly depend on just where a particular song landed in their survey.

As for the Survey, the opening of the show carried an announcement of how and where the statistics are tabulated. They made mention of a songs popularity on the Nation's Juke Boxes, Radio requests and sale of Records and Sheet Music. Well, it sure sounded official to us; besides, how else were they to get their information, will you tell me that?

As is common with any long lasting series, YOUR HIT PARADE had quite a high number of cast changes over the years of its run. There were many featured Singers, who came and left during the nearly decade long run. The Foursome that we remember the best consisted of: Dorothy Collins, Snooky Lanson, Gisele MacKenzie and Russell Arms. Interestingly enough that team gave us 2 Canadian born (Miss MacKenzie & Mr. Arms) and 2 Americans (Miss Collins & Mr. Lanson). We had wondered if that was intentional in selling the Show North of the Border.

So that brings us to the End, so……(Everybody Sing!)

"So long for a while,

That's All the Songs for a While

So long from Your Hit Parade;

and the Music You've picked to be played,

So Long!"

(then*) "Dooya, Dooya,Doo Dah Dey!"

"Be Happy Go Lucky, Get lucky, Smoke Lucky Strikes;

Be Happy Go Lucky, Get Lucky Strikes Today!"

NOTE * That is what we Hit Paraders & Dancers call "a segue-way".

I recall that the music director of Your Hit Parade was John Scott Trotter, who I believe was the husband of one of the singers, Dorothy Collins. The sponsor was Lucky Strike. I think Russell Arms was replaced at one point and I believe Gisele Mackenzie had either a predecessor or successor. Dorothy Collins and Snooky Lanson were constants. The program was very entertaining (I was about 6 - 8 years old during most of its run)and there was all sorts of hoopla related to the main sponsor, Lucky Strike. I seem to remember a huge picture of the Lucky Strike, at least before the number one song, and the slogan "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco, LSMFT." (Kids used to make fun of the slogan as "Loose straps mean floppy tits. The adman who wrote it could laugh all the way to the bank.)