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.

April 21, 1947: Hank Williams Records "Move It On Over"

April 21, 1947: Hank Williams records "Move It On Over." It becomes his 1st hit record, and some people even call it "the first rock and roll record."

Hiram Williams (no middle name) was born on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama. By 1937, he had dropped out of school to sing country songs on an Alabama radio station. At that time, he started calling himself Hank, because he thought, "It sounded more like a hillbilly and Western star than 'Hiram.'" World War II delayed his rise: A back injury gave him a medical deferment, but his entire band got drafted.

On April 21, 1947, 6 days after Jackie Robinson re-integrated baseball, Hank went into Castle Recording Laboratory, on the 2nd floor of the Hotel Tulane, at 206 8th Avenue North in Nashville, where he had made his first professional recordings the year before, and recorded "Move It On Over."

The song tells of a man who defied his wife's wish that he not go out drinking, so she locks him out, and he has to sleep in the doghouse. The expression, "in the doghouse," meaning someone is angry with you, was already in common use. So he's saying, "Move it on over" to the family dog: "Move over, little dog, 'cause the big dog's movin' in."

The song has an electric guitar solo, so it retroactively gets placed on lists of songs considered "the first rock and roll record." However, the song is driven by violins, or rather "fiddles" as they say in country music, not guitars. The main part of the song, though not the chorus, would be adapted -- probably consciously -- by songwriter Jimmy Myers for "Rock Around the Clock," recorded by Bill Haley, which became the 1st rock and roll song to hit Number 1, in 1955. Haley also covered "Move It On Over" in 1957.

By that time, Hank Williams was dead, a result of substance abuse. His flight to a show in Ohio on New Year's Day 1953 was canceled due to fog, he got a driver, who found him dead in the back seat shortly after midnight. He was not yet 30 years old. He has thus been called "the first dead rock star."

On May 26, 1949, Hank's son was born in Shreveport, Louisiana: Randall Hank Williams, known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. My father, a big country music fan despite having lived his entire life in New Jersey, told me that Hank Williams' greatest contribution to country music was Hank Williams Jr.

On January 6, 1953, 5 days after Hank Sr. died, his daughter was born in Montgomery, with the name Antha Belle Jett. She became a country singer under the name Jett Williams. On December 12, 1972, in Nashville, Hank Jr. became the father of Shelton Hank Williams, who performs "psychobilly" or "cowpunk" music under the name Hank Williams III. On March 12, 1981, in Cullman, Alabama, Hank Jr. became the father of Holly Williams, also a country hitmaker. And in 1991, Hank III became the father of Coleman Williams, who calls himself simply "IV," the Roman numeral for 4, pronounced like "four."

A much harder, louder version of "Move It On Over" was done in 1978 by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

The Hotel Tulane was demolished in 1956. An office building is now on the site.

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April 21, 1947 was a Monday. Rock star Iggy Pop was born. Football was out of season. The NBA, still known as the Basketball Association of America, was conducting the Finals of its 1st season. The next day, the Philadelphia Warriors beat the Chicago Stags to clinch the title. The NHL season was wrapped up 2 days earlier, when the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, beating the Montreal Canadiens.

And there were only baseball games played that day -- and yet, both Chicago teams played. The White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. And the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Hank Wyse pitched a 3-hit shutout. Lennie Merullo went 4-for-4 with ab RBI.

Both of these were day games. Each of these ballparks would be the last in its League to put up permanent lights: Briggs Stadium in 1948 -- it was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961 -- and Wrigley Field in 1988.

January 1, 1953: The Death of Hank Williams

January 1, 1953: Hank Williams dies from his excesses. The King of Country Music has thus occasionally been called "the first dead rock star."

Hiram Williams (no middle name) was born on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama. By 1937, he had dropped out of school to sing country songs on an Alabama radio station. At that time, he started calling himself Hank, because he thought, "It sounded more like a hillbilly and Western star than 'Hiram.'" World War II delayed his rise: A back injury gave him a medical deferment, but his entire band got drafted.

On April 21, 1947, 6 days after Jackie Robinson re-integrated baseball, Hank went into Castle Studio in Nashville, and recorded "Move It On Over." It was his 1st hit, and some historians have called it "the first rock and roll record." A much harder, louder version was done 30 years later by George Thorogood.

More hits followed. In 1948: "I Saw the Light" and "Mansion On the Hill." In 1949: "Lovesick Blues" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." In 1950: "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living" and "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." In 1951: "Cold, Cold Heart," which would be covered by Tony Bennett and make both men big stars outside the South; "Hey, Good Lookin'"; and "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle."

And in 1952 alone: "Honky Tonk Blues," "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," "Settin' the Woods On Fire," "You Win Again" and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive."

That last song was still Number 1 on the country charts as the calendar year came to a close. He was certainly acting as if he believed it. That back injury I mentioned? It kept bothering him, and, as we would say today, he self-medicated, becoming addicted to alcohol and painkilling pills. He missed so many scheduled shows at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville that he was fired.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1952, Hank was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia. He never showed up. This time, though, it wasn't his fault: The Nashville airport was closed due to an ice storm. He hired a college student, aptly named Charles Carr, to drive him, but by the time they reached Knoxville, Tennessee, it was clear that there was no chance they could make it in time, so Carr called the Auditorium and let them know.

So Hank, already drunk, and having taken a sedative and received an injection of morphine, told Carr to take him to the location of his next concert, a New Year's Day show in Canton, Ohio. When they crossed the State Line into Bristol, Virginia, shortly after midnight, making it January 1, 1953, Carr found an all-night restaurant, and asked Hank if he wanted to eat. He said he didn't. That would be the last anyone would hear from him.

Carr got food for himself, and got back in the car. He didn't check on Hank, so Hank may already have been dead. Carr started off again, and got to Oak Hill, West Virginia, to get gas. Only then did he realize that Hank was dead, and had been for long enough for rigor mortis to have set in. An autopsy at Oak Hill showed hemorrhages in his heart and neck. He was only 29 years old.

He was buried at the Oakwood Annex Cemetery in Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. Following his death, he had 3 straight Number 1 hits on the country chart: "Kaw-Liga," "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Take These Chains from My Heart."

Hank's legacy is huge. Before Johnny Cash, Hank was the country singer, the personification of the music. Many is the singer who has asked, "Are you sure Ol' Hank done it this way?" His songs have been covered by innumerable singers. For example, B.J. Thomas' 1st hit was a 1965 cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Singers as disparate as Bronx doo-wopper Dion DiMucci and the blues-influenced Londoner Mick Jagger have cited Hank as an influence on their rock and roll songs.

And in The Doors' song "Five to One," Jim Morrison invoked the song that was topping the charts when Hank died: "Five to one, baby, one in five, no one here gets out alive."

And as long as we're talking legacy: On May 26, 1949, Hank's son was born in Shreveport, Louisiana: Randall Hank Williams, known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. My father, a big country music fan despite having lived his entire life in New Jersey, told me that Hank Williams' greatest contribution to country music was Hank Williams Jr.

On January 6, 1953, 5 days after Hank Sr. died, his daughter was born in Montgomery, with the name Antha Belle Jett. She became a country singer under the name Jett Williams. On December 12, 1972, in Nashville, Hank Jr. became the father of Shelton Hank Williams, who performs "psychobilly" or "cowpunk" music under the name Hank Williams III. On March 12, 1981, in Cullman, Alabama, Hank Jr. became the father of Holly Williams, also a country hitmaker. And in 1991, Hank III became the father of Coleman Williams, who calls himself simply "IV," the Roman numeral for 4, pronounced like "four."

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January 1, 1953 was a Thursday. This was the birthdate of Gary Johnson, a former Governor of New Mexico, who left the Republican Party to run as the Libertarian Party's nominee for President in 2016, getting 3.3 percent of the popular vote.

Baseball was out of season. The NFL season had just wrapped up. But there were college football bowl games played that day:

* In the Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Number 2 Georgia Tech beat Number 7 Mississippi. Ever since, Tech have claimed the National Championship, because Number 1 Michigan State, also undefeated and untied, did not play in a bowl game.

It wasn't their fault: As part of their agreement to join the Big Ten Conference, MSU were ineligible to play in a bowl game that season. So the Associated Press (AP) named Michigan State the National Champions in their final poll of major college football writers. So did United Press (UP), who ran a poll of college football coaches. The International News Service (INS), run by the Hearst media chain, chose Georgia Tech. In 1958, UP merged with INS to form United Press International (UPI), and they continued to run the coaches' poll.

* In the Rose Bowl, in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California, Number 5 USC beat Number 11 Wisconsin.

* In the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Number 8 Tennessee was upset by Number 10 Texas, 16-0.

* In the Orange Bowl in Miami, Number 9 Alabama walloped Number 14 Syracuse, 61-6. No, this was not a masterstroke by head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant: He was still coaching at the University of Kentucky at the time. Harold Drew was then coaching the Crimson Tide.

* And in the Gator Bowl, Number 12 Tulsa was upset by Number 15 Florida, 14-13.

So what happened to the teams ranked Numbers 3, 4 and 6? Number 3 was Notre Dame, and they didn't accept bowl bids in those days. Number 4 was Oklahoma, and I can find no reason why they weren't in a bowl game. There were times in the 1970s and '80s when they couldn't accept a bid because they were on probation, but that doesn't seem to have been the case this time. And Number 6 was UCLA, who lost their last game to USC, costing them the title of the league now known as the Pac-12, and its automatic bid to the Rose Bowl.

There were 4 games played in the NBA that day:

* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 108-82 at the Philadelphia Arena.

* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 92-78 at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Rochester Royals, 83-81 in overtime at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester.

* And the Baltimore Bullets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 83-81 in overtime at the Milwaukee Arena. In 1974, it was renamed the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

And there were 2 games played in the NHL. The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a 2-2 tie at the Chicago Stadium. The New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings did not play.