Chart entered : 21 February 1958
Chart peak : 27
Number of hits : 18
We move into 1958 now , beginning with a teen idol who was much bigger news in the States but still racked up a fair few hits over here.
Ricky ( Rick from 1961 ) was born into a musical family with his father Ozzie a successful big band leader and mother Harriet a singer. In 1941 the family moved to Hollywood where his parents started featuring in a radio sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet . As the show's popularity grew Ozzie took the reins as head writer and in 1949 was able to oust the professionals playing their children and bring in his own sons David and 8 year old Ricky instead. In 1952 it successfully crossed over onto television.
Ricky soon got into rock and roll, particularly Carl Perkins , as a teenager and his father got him a one single deal with Verve. In April 1957 he released his first single at the age of 16 , a cover of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin" backed by the doo-wop number "A Teenager's Romance". Both benefit from Verve's jazz sessioneers who provide the instrumental heft behind Ricky's strangely offhand, older-than-his-years vocals. Both sides, boosted naturally by exposure on the TV show, were enormous US hits. A second single "You're My One And Only Love" another doo-wop song featuring a nice sax break and uncredited female assistance made number 14.
Ozzie used his clout to end the association with Verve and move Ricky onto a lucrative five year deal with Imperial. The first single "Be Bop Baby" was a million seller. As a song it's so slight it could float off the turntable but it's got some nice guitar work.
His next single was this one which benefits from the input of his newly-acquired guitarist James Burton. It's a sprightly Holly-esque rockabilly number with a great bassline and the usual cool, diffident vocal from Ricky sounding hardly as heartbroken as the lyrics suggest.
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