The station that was WKBH on 1410 AM in La Crosse, Wisconsin was sold in 1971, at which time its call letters changed to WIZM, which it has been ever since. Currently that station is news and talk. The WKBH call letters were revived in 1984 at 1570 AM and currently belong to a religious broadcaster. Here’s what the original WKBH was playing on September 17, 1962.

#10 – Bent Fabric, "Alley Cat": Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, better known as Bent Fabric, was a Danish pianist who had a hit in his own country in 1961 with "Omkring et flygel" ("Around A Grand Piano"). For international release, he renamed it "Alley Cat," and it went to #2 in Australia, #7 in New Zealand, and #49 in Germany. In the US, it reached #2 on the Easy Listening chart, #7 on the Hot 100, and #4 in Canada. The song won a Grammy for Best Rock & Roll Recording in 1963. It was the title track for Fabric’s 1962 album.

#9 – Burl Ives, "Call Me Mr. In-Between": From Burl’s 1961 album It’s Just My Funny Way Of Laughin’. It "peaked at No. 3 on the Country Singles Chart, No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary Singles Chart, and No. 19 on the Pop Singles Chart," per Wikipedia.

#8 – Marty Roibbins, "Devil Woman": Not to be confused with Cliff Richard’s 1976 hit. Robbins wrote this and used it as the title track for his 1962 album. It was his seventh single to reach #1 on the Country chart, where it remained for eight weeks, and reached #18 on the Hot 100.

#7 – The Four Seasons, "Sherry": Written by Bob Gaudio, who originally called it "Jackie Baby" for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. It reached #1 in the US, #2 in Canada, #3 in Australia, and #8 in the UK.

#6 – Patti Page, "The Boys’ Night Out": A song that has a lot to say in the less than two minutes it runs. It was the theme song for the 1962 movie, written by Jimmy VanHeusen and Sammy Cahn.

#5 – The Springfields, "Silver Threads And Golden Needles": A song by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes that was originally recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The Springfields’ version reached #20 on the Hot 100, the first time a British group reached the Top 20 in the US.

#4 – Elvis Presley, "King of the Whole Wide World": Written by Bob Roberts and Ruth Batchelor, it was in the soundtrack for Elvis’s 1962 movie *Kid Galahad. It was the lead song on an EP released concurrent with the movie, and only reached #30 on the Hot 100, probably because his song "She’s Not You" was released around the same time.

#3 – Dickie Lee, "Patches": Not to be confused with Clarence Carter’s 1970 hit. Barry Mann and Larry Kolber wrote the song, and due to the supposedly racy implications of the lyrics many radio stations refused to play it. Nevertheless, it reached #6 on the Pop chart, #10 on the R&B chart, and was certified Gold.

#2 – Bobby Vinton, "Rain Rain Go Away": A song by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne that has nothing to do with the nursery rhyme. Bobby, who knew the song wasn’t #1 material, nevertheless took it to #12 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Pop Standard singles chart.

#1 – Nat King Cole, "Ramblin’ Rose": A song by Joe and Noel Sherman, Nat took this to #2, kept from the top spot by The Four Seasons and "Sherry."

Back tomorrow with a legendary Chicago station for L! (I bet you can guess what it is…)

This is also a Top Ten Tuesday entry…

WJJD was the original Top 40 station in Chicago. They switched to Top 40 music from Country in 1956, and after WLS started playing Top 40 music in 1960 they switched to an adult standards format before going back to country. They’re now WYLL, a 50,000 watt religious broadcaster. Anyway, let’s see what was on the charts on my first birthday…

#10 – The Del-Vikings, "Come Go With Me": Written by C. E. Quick, the bass vcalist for the group, and Norman Wright sang lead. It was released shortly after they signed with Dot Records and reached #4 on the national chart.

#9 – Terry Gilkyson & Easy Riders, "Marianne": Back in the ’50’s it was not uncommon to have the same song done by multiple acts on the chart at the same time. In this case, The Hilltoppers also had done a version of "Marianne," and, as was the custom back then, WJJD listed them as also being at #9. It was written by calypso singer Roaring Lion. Gilkyson’s version of the song went to #4, while The Hilltoppers’ cover went to #3.

#8 – Tommy Sands, "Teenage Crush": Chicago-born actor and singer Tommy Sands sang this song on Kraft Television Theater in January 1957, where he was billed as "The Singing Idol." The appearance helped boost the song to #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on Cash Box. He had been married to Nancy Sinatra from 1960 to 1965, after which his career took a nosedive (rumors had it that Nancy’s father had something to do with that, although all parties denied it).

#7 – Buddy Knox, "Party Doll": "Party Doll" was Buddy’s first and most successful single, reaching #2 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart. He had one other Top 20 hit, "Hula Girl," later that year.

#6 – Eddie Cochran, "Sittin’ In The Balcony": The song was written by John D. Loudermilk and recorded by him as Johnny Dee, so both were on the WJJD chart at #6, although Cochran was the only one with a hit. Cochran’s reached #18 on the Hot 100 and #7 on the "Most Played By DJ’s" chart.

#5 – Ferlin Husky, "Gone": One of the early Country stars, Ferlin Husky reached #4 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Country chart with this song.

#4 – Charlie Gracie, "Butterfly": "Butterfly" was rocker Charlie Gracie’s first song on Cameo Records and his most successful record, reaching #1 on the Hot 100 and #12 in the UK.

#3 – Jimmy Bowen, "I’m Stickin’ With You": Jimmy wrote this song with Buddy Knox, and originally it was the B side of Knox’s "Party Doll." It reached #9 on the R&B chart and #14 on the Pop chart.

#2 – The Diamonds, "Little Darlin’": a Canadian quartet who had 16 Billboard hits in the ’50’s and ’60’s. This rose to #2 on the Hot 100 and R&B charts and #3 in the UK.

#1 – Perry Como, "Round And Round": Perry was still a major force on the Top 40 throughout the ’50’s and ’60’s and into the early ’70’s. "Round and Round" reached #1 nationally and was certified Gold.

Back with K tomorrow!

During April, my Monday A to Z posts will serve double duty as my Monday’s Music Moves Me posts.