mono hits of the 1950s that are M.I.A.

Most of us put together our own custom collections, and one of mine is the complete #1 hits of the 1950s, my own merged Billboard/Cashbox chart. Thanks to Pat's book, I've managed to collect almost all of them in their original mono hit versions, but here are four I've never found in mono on any CD:

Patricia - Perez Predo
Why - Frankie Avalon
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty

And of course, as recently discussed on BSN, the 45 version of "The Chipmunk Song" is M.I.A. on CD. The 45 used a different vocal take on the first few lines of the song. The tip-off is that, in the first line on the 45, the Chipmunks take a breath after each "Christmas." On all stereo and (E) versions, including the mono version in Hip-O's "Santa's Greatest Hits," the first line is sung through without a breath.

It seems hard to believe that in all these years, the original mix has never appeared on CD anywhere.

MusicTrax wrote: "Battle of New Orleans" in mono is on: Golden Age of American Rock ‘N’ Roll - Country Edition ~ Ace (UK) CDCHD-845 --Marc W.

Marc,

This track is Stereo on my copy...

Bob

Thanks, Mark and everyone. I'll investigate these.

(Now... how about the mono Connie Francis "My Happiness"???) :D