November 3, 1951: The 1st "Crossover" Hit Song

November 3, 1951: Tony Bennett succeeds himself at Number 1, as "Because of You" gives way to "Cold, Cold Heart."

It was the first exposure outside the South for the song's writer, Hank Williams. Hank called Tony and asked, "Tony, why did you ruin my song?" Hank had to assure him he was only joking: He loved it.

Born in Queens on August 3, 1926, Anthony Benedetto served in the U.S. Army, and saw combat near the end of World War II. "Because of You" was his 1st big hit. After "Cold, Cold Heart," he hit Number 1 again in 1953 with "Rags to Riches," and kept singing standards in the "Big Band" style, even as rock and roll took over, becoming a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In 1962, he recorded George Cory and Douglass Cross' song "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," and while it only reached Number 19 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, it became one of the most beloved songs of the 1960s, and his signature song.

In 1970, upon the advice of Columbia Records' Clive Davis, he recorded Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today! It flopped. He spent the 1970s going around record companies, and developed a cocaine addiction. His son Danny realized that they had the opposite problem: Tony could sing, but couldn't handle the business side of things; Danny had a head for business, but had no luck performing with his rock band. So Danny became Tony's manager, got him clean, and by 1986 was back with Columbia and recording successful albums.

Tony began the trend of older singers recording standards in "Great American Songbook" albums, including one of songs associated with Frank Sinatra in 1992, titled Perfectly Frank. Sinatra returned the compliment by calling Tony his favorite singer. He began recording with up-to-date performers like Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and, in his final records, Lady Gaga. He and Gaga, both New Yorkers of Italian descent, born 60 years apart, adored each other.

He never intended to retire, but had to in 2021, at the age of 95, as he had become frail and had begun decline into dementia, having trouble remembering lyrics as he was recording them. (UPDATE: He died on July 21, 2023, shortly before what would have been his 97th birthday.)

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November 3, 1951 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played on this day were these:

* Number 1 Tennessee beat North Carolina, 27-0 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Tennessee went undefeated in the regular season.

* Number 2 Michigan State had the week off. They finished the season undefeated, and claimed the National Championship. However, they were not yet members of the Big Ten Conference, and thus were not invited to any of the bowl games.

* Number 3 Illinois beat Number 15 Michigan, 7-0 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

* Number 4 Maryland beat Missouri, 35-0 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland. Maryland went undefeated in the regular season, and beat previously undefeated Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. Both Tennessee and Maryland were awarded the National Championship by some of the deciders at the time, but, with Tennessee having lost the Sugar Bowl to Maryland, their claim is bogus.

* Number 5 Georgia Tech were held to a tie by Duke, 14-14 at Grant Field in Atlanta. It would be the only blot on Tech's record that season.

* Number 6 Princeton beat Brown, 12-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton. Led by two-way back Dick Kazmaier, who was awarded the Heisman Trophy, Princeton finished the season undefeated, but this was beyond the years when Ivy League schools accepted bowl bids. 

* Number 7 University of Southern California, USC, beat Army, 28-6 at Yankee Stadium.

* Number 8 Baylor were upset by Texas Christian University (TCU), 20-7 at Baylor Stadium in Waco, Texas. Baylor were invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Georgia Tech, who claimed the National Championship. But, having a tie on their record, anyone recognizing them as such would have to contend with the perfect records of Maryland and Michigan State.

* Number 9 University of California are upset by the University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA, 21-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 10 Wisconsin beat Indiana, 6-0 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 11 Stanford beat Number 16 Washington State, 21-13 at the original Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California. Stanford went to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Illinois.

* Number 13 Notre Dame beat Navy, 19-0 at Municipal Stadium in Baltimore. Municipal Stadium was in the process of being converted into Memorial Stadium, as which it was dedicated when the Orioles debuted there on April 15, 1954.

* Number 14 Kentucky beat Number 19 Miami, 32-0 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky went on to beat TCU in the Cotton Bowl.

* In a cross-State rivalry, Utah beat Utah State, 28-20 at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah.

* And Rutgers beat Fordham, 13-7 at the old Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Baseball was out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Hawks, 68-66 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena. (Later nicknamed "The MECCA," it is now named the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena).

* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 70-69 at the Philadelphia Arena.

* The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Baltimore Bullets, 90-86 at the Baltimore Coliseum. The Olympians folded in 1953. The Bullets folded the next year, and the Baltimore Bullets that began play in 1963, now the Washington Wizards, have no connection to them.

* And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Rochester Royals, 93-74 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester, New York.

There were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would eventually support, traveled to Yorkshire, and beat Middlesbrough, 3-0 at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough.