So here it is, the first number one ever. It comes from Italian-American crooner Al Martino. Aside from being the first to grace the top chart spot, Martino stretched his acting abilities by playing Italian-American crooner Johnny Fontane in the Godfather films (you know the horse head scene? That act of subtle intimidation was to aid Johnny Fontane in getting a film role). Right, enough film trivia, on to the song.
It's a nice little number that I've rather enjoyed over repeated listening. Al has a belter of a voice, and though the over-the-top rising string intro promises something quite brash and dull, I was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of the song and what I can only poorly describe as its 'nice' instrumentation. As a song about a lonely but besotted bloke it has a decent air of romance but also just the right amount of fear, insecurity and a hint of forlorn hope. Well, that's my view, but maybe I'm focusing on the wrong thing here. Overall, pretty decent. I'd have a slow dance to it. Apparently lots of other people thought the same as it stayed in the top spot for 9 weeks, a consecutive run only topped by 5 other records since.
When: 14th November 1952
How long: 9 weeks
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