#atozchallenge Top Ten: KBBB (1600 AM, Borger TX), 8/4/58

A to Z Challenge 2 Minutes

I found KBBB in Borger, Texas on a search of the ARSA database, but couldn’t find any information on it on either Wikipedia or the FCC database. A Internet search found this page in a book on the history of Hutchinson County, Texas, which went from 1876 to 1980. Apparently it had a sister station, KDKQ-FM, and it was still a going concern as of 1980, but a look at Bizapedia tell us that it was voluntarily dissolved, with no clue as to when. Anyway, they were doing Top 40 in 1958, from which this survey was taken.

  1. The Diamonds, “Happy Years”: This Canadian vocal quartet had a huge year in 1957 with “Little Darlin'” (#2), “Silhouettes” (#10), and “The Stroll” (#4) all reaching the Top 10. By 1958, they had cooled considerably. “Happy Years” reached #73 in the US.
  2. Doris Day, “Everybody Loves A Lover”: “Everybody Loves A Lover” was written by Richard Adler (who with his late partner Jerry Ross wrote the music for the 1957 film The Pajama Game) and Robert Allen. Doris took it to #6.
  3. Peggy Lee, “Fever”: The old Little Willie John song got the sultry treatment by Miss Peggy, who was backed by bassist Joe Mandragon and drummer Shelley Manne, who played the drums with his fingers. Finger snaps were provided either by Miss Peggy, guitarist Howard Roberts, or the producer, Dave Cavanaugh. It went to #8 on the Hot 100.
  4. The Kalin Twins, “When”: Harold and Herbert Kalin, better known as Hal and Herbie, were songwriters who wrote “Good Timin'” for Jimmy Jones and “I’m Alive” for the Hollies, among others. Their management discovered a tape of “When,” written by Paul Evans and Jack Reardon, in a pile of other submissions and decided to issue it as a single. It topped the UK singles chart and reached #5 on the Hot 100 and sold 2 million copies. Their second single, “Forget Me Not,” reached #12 in the US.
  5. Robin Luke, “Susie Darlin'”: Robin Luke, who is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, never envisioned music as a career. He earned his Ph. D. in marketing at the University of Missouri-Columbia and taught marketing at Old Dominion University, the University of the Virgin Islands, and Missouri State University, heading the department at Old Dominion and Missouri State. “Susie Darlin’,” written for his five-year-old sister, reached #5 on the Hot 100, #23 in the UK, and earned a Gold disc.
  6. Buddy Knox, “Somebody Touched Me”: Buddy knox had scored a #2 hit in 1957 with “Party Doll.” “Somebody Touched Me” made it to #22.
  7. Eddie Cochran, “Summertime Blues”: Eddie’s biggest hit, reaching #8 in the US and #18 in the UK and Australia. Two years later, Eddie died in a car accident in the UK while he was on tour, after which his song “Three Steps To Heaven” reached #1 in the UK.
  8. The Elegants, “Little Star”: The Elegants were a doo-wop group from South Beach, Long Island. “Little Star” was their only hit, but a big one: it spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and earned a Gold disc.
  9. Ricky Nelson, “Poor Little Fool”: The son of Ozzie and Harriet scored his biggest hit to date with “Poor Little Fool,” reaching #1 on the Hot 100 (the first #1 on the newly-created Hot 100), #3 on the Country chart, #4 in the UK, and #10 in Australia.
  10. Jimmy Clanton, “Just A Dream”: The “Swamp Pop R&B Teenage Idol” from Raceland, Louisiana reached #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart.

See you with "C" tomorrow!

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

27 thoughts on “#atozchallenge Top Ten: KBBB (1600 AM, Borger TX), 8/4/58”

  1. Pingback: #atozchallenge 2021: A Reflection – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. I love Doris Day. I have been such a fan since I was a kid and saw Calamity Jane on TV.

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  3. Pingback: The “Happy Easter” Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  4. I knew perhaps half of these, including Poor Little Fool, Fever (a classic), and Summertime Blues. I loved Ricky Nelson as a singer, although I don’t remember ever watching Ozzie and Harriet.

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  5. Can’t remember ever hearing Fogerty’s Centerfield or The Diamonds’ Happy Years before; But I did wear out my 45’s of Ricky Nelson’s Poor Little Fool and Jimmy Clanton’s Just A Dream. (Yup, hit my teens by then!)

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  8. I played Borger at least once in the eighties. I can’t recall if they had a radio station when I was there, but I wasn’t really listening to much radio back then. Borger is a pretty isolated place–not one where I would want to live. A while back I used to follow a rather strange but interesting blogger from Borger of whom I’ve lost contact with. I should check to see if he is still blogging. Can’t even remember his name now, but I know I referred to him at least once on my blog.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. I was also two at the time. If I hadn’t been listening to a lot of oldies radio I probably wouldn’t recognize any of them, either. Which sometimes is a good thing. It’s kind of how I got started doing this…

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  11. John,

    Bodacious playlist! I was born a three years after these songs made the Top 40 Hits. I really liked “Little Star” by The Elegants and it might be my first time hearing it.

    Stop by to see my latest Looney Tunes A-Z Art Sketch series, Bugs Bunny on Curious as a Cathy. Happy A2Zing, my friend!

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