The publication of the first-ever Billboard Scorching 100 is an event well-known to devotees of Ricky Nelson. When the journal revealed that historic first checklist for August 4, 1958, the pop idol, nonetheless solely 18, stood proudly at No.1 with “Poor Little Fool.”
Regardless of his youth, the star from Teaneck, New Jersey had already had 5 earlier chart singles, which had yielded 9 separate titles on the bestsellers with their double-sided success. 4 of the 5 A-sides (“A Teenager’s Romance,” “Be-Bop Baby,” “Stood Up,” and “Believe What You Say”) had been High 5 hits, and several other official B-sides had been huge favorites too, particularly “I’m Walking.”
“Poor Little Fool” had made its chart debut on July 7, when Billboard nonetheless had no fewer than three weekly surveys of the preferred hits of the week. The 50-title Greatest Promoting Pop Singles In Shops confirmed Nelson’s new launch debuting at a strong No.18, the identical place at which it debuted on High 100 Sides. It was but to indicate on the 25-strong Most Performed By Jockeys, but it surely burst onto that checklist per week later at No.8. We image Ricky’s 1958 EP Unchained Melody, additionally that includes “Poor Little Fool.”
No.1 on two charts directly
What’s not all the time remembered is that whereas Billboard dropped the Most Performed By Jockeys and High 100 Sides charts when it launched the Scorching 100, it retained Greatest Promoting Pop Singles In Shops for one more two months. “Poor Little Fool” led that checklist on August 4 and 11, simply because it did the Scorching 100.
The music was written by the advantageous rock’n’roll songwriter Sharon Sheeley, when she was simply 15, within the mid-Fifties. Legend has it that she actively pursued Nelson to document it. After “Poor Little Fool” was successful, she grew to become Eddie Cochran’s girlfriend and co-wrote his timeless “Somethin’ Else,” amongst different songs.
Purchase or stream “Poor Little Fool” on the Ricky Nelson album.
