Charts, Cross-Overs, and Old Pros

Back in the day... There were tons and gobs and gaggles of new songs being released every week... So what was a hit???... And what was not???... Easy... Just check the charts... Except...Now we run into a bit of a conundrum... Which chart??? There were tons and gobs and gaggles of charts... Billboard' Top 100 was (and still is) far above the national icon... But that was subdivided into Pop... Rock... Country... R & B... And who knows what else... Not to mention that Billboard was further divided by sales and airplay... Bandstand had a Top 10... And all the radio stations had their own... WIBG (99.9 on your dial, but number 1 in your heart) had its own top 99... And then there was this very important chart... The jukebox chart... That was the one that determined what you listened to when you were doing what you did most... Hanging out at the sweet shop or DINER... Ah...The DINER...

  

  Our number one was the South Grove... It was built on what would be called "wet lands" now... Your basic Jersey swamp.. They just filled it in and moved in a diner...With a twist... The front facade was that of a ship... We called it (lovingly) The Boat.... As the story goes... Because it was on this swamp... It started to list... Yep.. The Boat started to sink... But it was a great place... Most nights they would refill your quarter cup of coffee countless times as long you kept feeding the jukebox... And made sure you played a request or two for the waitress.. And she knew you were good for a decent tip... But I digress...Sometimes a song would cross-over... Be on two or even three charts simultaneously... And that was a good thing... If you were in the car with your folks, and you managed to talk them into letting you put WIBG on the radio... Just as they had about had it, and were ready to change the dial... One of the cross-overs from Pop would come on... Whew... Saved again... Some artists had a real knack for knocking off cross-over hits... Old pros... The real professionals like Sinatra and Tony Bennett just kept on truckin' thru it all... And a new old pro... Bobby Darin... It seemed like every song he released hit the Pop and Rock charts...Let's head over to The Boat, grab eight or ten cups of coffee, and listen to some cross-overs...