Shelley Fabares: "Johnny Angel"

March 12, 1962 (3 weeks)

I have no doubt that compiling singles and albums charts over sixty years ago was a tremendous challenge. (Not like now when any old doufus can just stream a pop video and this gets automatically counted) Calculating record sales would have been difficult enough but then factoring in radio requests must have made the task damn-near impossible.

Therefore, I don't blame the CHUM compilers for cutting a few corners. I have no way to prove this but there are some coincidences which seem just a bit too convenient. At the start of 1962, the re-release of Chubby Checker's "The Twist" gave him the Canadian number one smash that he had been denied fifteen months earlier. Whatsmore, follow-up "Let's Twist Again" put him at number two while Joey Dee and the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist" came in third. (It's a pity an enterprising Canadian star of the age like Paul Anka didn't put out "Maple Leaf Twist" to further take command of the top of the charts)

Which brings us to Shelley Fabares, teen star of The Donna Reed Show. (American TV execs have never had to strain any brain cells in coming up with names for their sitcoms, have they?) A guest of the show, James Darren, had already achieved pop stardom at the end of 1961 and here was your classic girl next door with her own attempt. Not only that but her TV brother, Paul Petersen, also had a record out at the same time. While the limp "She Can't Find Her Keys" could only dent the Hot 100's Top 20, it managed to climb as high as number two north of the border, held off only by big sister Mary Shelley. Meanwhile, US number one and vastly superior number "Hey Baby" by Bruce Channel got no further than number four before gradually dropping off. I suppose enough Canadian kids were charmed by Petersen to give him a legit smash but rigging the charts so that a TV brother and sister could have the top two spots

Of the two, "Johnny Angel" is the much stronger effort. There isn't a great deal to it but her vocal isn't bad considering she didn't even think much of her singing. Plus, like Frankie Avalon's even more feeble "Venus", there is touch of murkiness involved, a ghostly quality to it which suggests a potential Siouxsie Sioux cover (which, sadly, never happened). Marianne Faithfull could have made convincing recordings over her own from both her sixties' angelic waif period and her late seventies coming down off of hard drugs years. I guess there's a reason why goths like Nick Cave saw so much potential in pre-Beatles' pop.

Otherwise, there's not much more to say. I mean, it could have been a good deal worse — especially had co-star Petersen beat her to the number one spot — but it's just a dreamy yet insubstantial record at the end of the day. Fabares does the best she can with it so there's no point in blaming the teen idol here. Singers Laurie Loman and Georgia Lee both released versions of "Johnny Angel" prior to this one and their's are no better. Again, just decent enough.

Shelley Fabares would enjoy a number one smash in both Canada and the United States but her recording prospects rapidly began to dwindle. A soundalike follow-up, "Johnny Loves Me", gave her a piggy backed hit but then the law of diminishing returns really began to set in. (Even duets with Paul Petersen failed to convince record buyers) But acting would always be her day job so it's hard to feel too sorry for her. And that's all there is to say about a single that I will no doubt forget all about in about within a week or so.

Score: 5