What was the number one song in the UK on 11th September 1959?
By Hayley Beasley Dye
English singer, Craig Douglas was number one for 4 weeks with Only Sixteen.
At first, I panicked that this was going to be a slightly Yewtree-esque song, but luckily it’s about two 16 year olds. I found the song a bit dull, so I listened to the original Sam Cooke version (who I love) and much preferred it. Craig Douglas’s version is a much faster, upbeat version and I think this loses the melancholy that prevails in Cooke’s. Also, I found Craig’s voice prudish and lacking the soulfullness that Sam’s had. It’s not a song, I’m keen on and its mystery why this version was more successful in the UK.
Wikipedia
“Only Sixteen” is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in May 1959. The song was a top 15 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B Sides chart and also charted within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In the UK it was covered, and taken to No. 1, by Craig Douglas.
Lyrics
“Only sixteen, only sixteen
Only sixteen, only sixteen
Only sixteen, only sixteen
She was only sixten, only sixteen
I loved her so
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
I loved her so
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
We’d laugh and we’d sing, and do little things
That made my heart glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
That made my heart glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
Why did I give my heart so fast?
It never will happen again
‘Cause I was a mere lad of sixteen
I’ve aged a year since then
It never will happen again
‘Cause I was a mere lad of sixteen
I’ve aged a year since then
She was only sixteen, only sixteen
With eyes that would glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
With eyes that would glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
Why did I give my heart so fast?
It never will happen again
Coz I was a mere lad of sixteen
I’ve aged a year since then
It never will happen again
Coz I was a mere lad of sixteen
I’ve aged a year since then
She was only sixteen, only sixteen
With eyes that would glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
With eyes that would glow
She was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
That she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
And I was too young to know
That she was too young to fall in love
And I was too young to know
And I was too young to know
That she was too young”
The Playlist
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