#1: Rockabilly Party by Hugo and Luigi

City: Saint-Jerome, PQ
Radio Station: CKJL
Peak Month: July 1957
Peak Position in Saint-Jerome ~ #2
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Rockabilly Party”
Lyrics: N/A

Hugo Peretti was born in New York City in 1916 in an Italian-American family. Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Borscht Belt in update New York. He graduated to playing with orchestras, then partnered with his cousin Luigi Creatore. Luigi Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, also to an Italian-American family. His father, Giuseppe Creatore, was an orchestra bandleader. Luigi was drafted into the United States military in WWII. Once the pair teamed up, they cowrote “Wimoweh” (along with four other cowriters) which was a #4 hit for The Weavers in 1952. They also cowrote Sarah Vaughan’s #14 hit in 1955 “Experience Unnecessary”. They also produced a number of hits for Jimmie Rodgers including “Honeycomb”, “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling In Love Again”, “Secretly”, “Bombombey”, “Are You Really Mine” and other hits for .

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#32: She’s On A Mountain by Five Guys Named Moe

City: Burnaby, BC
Radio Station: CFML
Peak Month: October 1990
Peak Position in Burnaby ~ #14
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #27
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ no chart
YouTube: “She’s On A Mountain”
Lyrics: N/A

Five Guys Named Moe is a band formed in Waba, Ontario, which is a small town 45 minutes northwest of Ottawa. Their music is characterised by its diversity, drawing on pop, jazz and country influences. They showcased brilliant harmonies as a feature of their performances. The group consisted of Jonathan Evans on guitar and vocals, Meg Lunney on piano and vocals, Tom McKay on bass guitar and vocals, and the one native Scotlander, Graeme Murray on drums and vocals. If you’re counting, Five Guys Named Moe had four bandmates. Jonathan, Tom and Meg were students at the University of Ottawa.

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#2: Linda Lu by Ray Sharpe

City: Saint Jerome, PQ
Radio Station: CKJL
Peak Month: October 1959
Peak Position Saint Jerome ~ #9
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #27
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #46
YouTube: “Linda Lu”
Lyrics: “Linda Lu”

Ray Sharpe was born in 1938 in Fort Worth (TX). He learned guitar, influenced by Chuck Berry recordings. In 1956, he formed his own trio named Ray Sharpe and the Blues Whalers, with piano player Raydell Reese and drummer Cornelius Bell. They became popular playing rock and roll in Fort Worth clubs. Early in 1958, Artie Glenn (the writer of “Crying in the Chapel” which became a number-one R&B hit for the Orioles in 1953) gave Ray the opportunity to record two demos, both self-penned songs. Glenn sent copies of the demo to various people, including Lee Hazlewood and Lester Sill. They invited Sharpe to come to Phoenix for a session on April 2, 1958. His recording career started when Lee Hazelwood produced his single, “That’s the Way I Feel” / “Oh, My Baby’s Gone” on the Hamilton label. Both Duane Eddy and legendary session musician and rhythm guitarist Al Casey were in the studio with Ray Sharpe for his debut recording.
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