1952 was the year that we in Britain finally got a record sales chart - a mere dozen or so years behind America! Atop that first chart, making a nice, quiet entrance, was this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LB4e9tkR98

...and even though it had been around since the summer of that year, it was still popular enough to be on the top into 1953!

Yet for all of that, Al's best remembered in Britain for 'Spanish Eyes'!

"You Belong to Me" is a romantic pop music ballad from 1952. A version by Jo Stafford became the most popular version, topping the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom (the first song by a female singer to top the UK Singles Chart)

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"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. The song "Singin' In the Rain" sung by Gene Kelly is a centerpiece of the musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952). It is unclear exactly when the song was written; it has been claimed that the song was performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as No. 3 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

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"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. The song "Singin' In the Rain" sung by Gene Kelly is a centerpiece of the musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952). It is unclear exactly when the song was written; it has been claimed that the song was performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as No. 3 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

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"Good Morning" is a song by Nacio Herb Brown (music) and Arthur Freed (lyrics) written for the 1939 film Babes in Arms and performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. Its best known performance was in the 1952 hit musical film Singin' in the Rain, where it was sung by Betty Noyes (who dubbed the singing voice of Debbie Reynolds), Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. In 2004 the version in Singin' in the Rain finished at #72 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.

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“The Ballad of High Noon” (or “Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darlin’”) is a popular song published in 1952, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin and lyrics by Ned Washington. It was introduced in the movie High Noon, sung over the opening credits by Tex Ritter. It was awarded the 1952 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was performed that night for the Academy by Ritter.

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"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerous cover versions and has since achieved popularity in several different music genres.

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"Eternally" is a song with music by Charles Chaplin, and words by the English lyricists Geoff Parsons and John Turner. The music was initially composed for Charles Chaplin's film Limelight (1952) titled "Terry's Theme"; the film won an Oscar for "Best Original Dramatic Score" at the 45th Academy Awards in 1973. The song was covered by many artists at that time.

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"The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, solidified Thompson's status as a country music superstar and inspired the answer song, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells. A version by the British rock band Status Quo reached the UK top 10 in 1976.

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"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is a 1952 country song written by J. D. "Jay" Miller, and originally recorded by Kitty Wells. It was an answer song to the Hank Thompson hit "The Wild Side of Life." The song — which blamed unfaithful men for creating unfaithful women — became the first No. 1 Billboard country hit for a solo female artist. In addition to helping establish Wells as country music's first major female star, "It Wasn't God..." paved the way for other female artists, particularly Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette, and songs where women defied the typical stereotype of being submissive to men and putting up with their often unfaithful ways.

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"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film One Minute to Zero. Jeri Southern sang on the first recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it, though the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952. Probably, the most famous version of this song was recorded by Nat King Cole on December 28, 1956, and released in 1957.

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"Inchworm", also known as "The Inch Worm", is a song originally performed by Danny Kaye in the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. It was written by Frank Loesser.

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"My Love and Devotion" is a song written by Howard Barnes, Harold Fields and Joe Roncoroni  under the collective pseudonym Milton Carson, that was recorded by Doris Day in 1952. It charted at a peak position of number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Other recordings of the song include versions by Perry Como, and Matt Monro.

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"My Love and Devotion" is a song written by Howard Barnes, Harold Fields and Joe Roncoroni  under the collective pseudonym Milton Carson, that was recorded by Doris Day in 1952.  Other recordings of the song include versions by Perry Como, and Matt Monro.

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"Because You're Mine" is a song written by Nicholas Brodszky with lyrics by Sammy Cahn taken from the 1952 musical film of the same title. It was recorded by Mario Lanza (who starred in the film) and Nat King Cole in two different versions, which were both released as singles in 1952. In the USA. Lanza's record reached no. 7 in the Billboard charts and Nat King Cole's version achieved the No. 16 position. The Mario Lanza recording also reached Number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, spending 24 weeks within the top 12, and was Lanza's only UK Top 12 hit. The Nat King Cole recording was included on his album Top Pops, placed three spots lower and spent only 3 weeks on the chart. The Mario Lanza recording was one of his three million selling singles. The song (sung by Billy Daniels at the Awards show) had received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1952 but lost out to “The Ballad of High Noon”.

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"Make 'Em Laugh" is a song first featured in the 1952 film "Singin' in the Rain", frenetically performed by Donald O'Connor. Written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, the song is closely based on Cole Porter's "Be a Clown". It finished at #49 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. O'Connor's song-and-dance routine in Singin' in the Rain is noted for its extreme physical difficulty, featuring dozens of jumps, pratfalls, and two backflips. Hollywood legend states that O'Connor, though only 27 years old at the time and a chain-smoker, was bedridden for several days after filming the sequence. This high degree of difficulty has made the original routine a tour de force in physical comedy.

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"I See the Moon", is a popular song written by Meredith Willson. The Mariners, in the United States, hit a hit with this song in 1952 and it reached #14.

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