#117: I’m Confessin’ by Frank Ifield
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CJAD
Peak Month: October 1963
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #33
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #58
YouTube: “I’m Confessin’”
Lyrics: “I’m Confessin’”
Frank Ifield was born in Coventry, England, in 1937. His parents were Australians, and the family moved back to Australia in 1948 aboard the RMS Orion. The family settled 30 miles outside of Sydney. It was a rural district and young Frank listened to hillbilly music while milking the family’s cow. He was given a guitar in 1949 by his grandmother and was self-taught. Ifield also taught himself to yodel, by imitating country stars. At the age of 13, he performed his version of Bill Showmet’s “Did You See My Daddy Over There?” and appeared on local radio station 2GB’s talent quest, Amateur Hour. This track was issued as his first single, in 1953. By November of that year, he appeared regularly on Brisbane radio station 4BK’s Youth Parade, playing guitar and singing.