1962: It Even Makes You Happy When You're Feeling Blue

 7 — Chubby Checker: "The Twist"

 2 — Charlie Drake: "My Boomerang Won't Come Back"

 8 — Gene Chandler: "Duke of Earl"

 5 — Shelley Fabares: "Johnny Angel"

 5 — Elvis Presley: "Good Luck Charm" / "Anything That's Part of You"

 7 — Ernie Maresca: "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)"

 8 — The Shirelles: "Soldier Boy"

 6 — Claude King: "Wolverton Mountain"

 7 — Ray Charles: "I Can't Stop Loving You" / "Born to Lose"

 4 — Bobby Vinton: "Roses Are Red"

 6 — Brian Hyland: "Sealed with a Kiss"

 5 — Eddie Hodges: "(Girls Girls Girls) Made to Love"

 8 — Neil Sedaka: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"

 8 — Little Eva: "The Loco-Motion"

 4 — Tommy Roe: "Sheila"

 8 — The Four Seasons: "Sherry"

 5 — Bobby "Boris" Pickett: "Monster Mash"

 8 — The Crystals: "He's a Rebel"

 6 — Elvis Presley: "Return to Sender"

 5 — The Four Seasons: "Big Girls Don't Cry"

10 — The Tornados: "Telstar"

 3 — Ned Miller: "From a Jack to a King"

1957: 6.07

1958: 5.58

1959: 5.42

1960: 5.00

1961: 6.04

1962: 6.14

I've been running some of the numbers on the average scores for each year covered so far. I'm actually kind of surprised '62 didn't have a bigger gap separating itself from runner-up '57. Still, that was only a partial year. The tenth of a point gap over '61, however, seems huge, especially when you consider the former year had a 10 and three 9's. On the other hand, the quality was all-over-the-place while the same cannot be said for '62.

Six singles earned an 8 from me this year (and there could've easily been a seventh, had Ray Charles' entry not been a needless double A side), a testament to how the CHUM number ones had been improving since the depths of 1960's awfulness. Then again, none of them manages to come close to "Telstar", which is as easy a perfect 10 as they come. Back when I was in the planning stages of this blog, I figured it was going to be the first Canadian chart topper to get full marks from me, only for it to be beaten to the punch by both "Mack the Knife" and "Apache". It's an elite group at the top.

(As an aside, "Telstar" was one that I had been really looking forward to writing about. I'm pretty happy with the end result but I didn't quite do it justice. But I'm not alone in that regard: with all due respect and admiration, fellow number ones bloggers Tom Ewing, Tom Breihan and Aidan Curran don't quite get it either. Speaking of which, a special shout out to my social media pal Aidan for having the stones to shit all over one of my all time favourite singles. I obviously don't agree but I do see his point)

There weren't many duds this time, with only "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" (at the start of the year) and "From a Jack to a King" (right at the end) being the only two I'd be perfectly happy to never hear again. I'm indifferent to a handful of others but that's to be expected.

So, 1963 is coming up next. Many of the big hits of the day are present and correct but there are a couple of noteworthy individuals who I ought to mention as a teaser. One is Cliff Richard, who never quite made it down in the US but he did somehow manage to cultivate a sizable enough following in Canada to have a pair of number ones this year. Few have suggested it before but perhaps he helped usher in the British Invasion. Also, a Canadian group is on deck! Yes, that's right! Only two have popped up so far but plenty will be coming in the months and years ahead. Perhaps, not unlike Sir Cliff, Richie Knight and the Mid-Nights were instrumental in the Canadian pop-rock revolution. I'll be looking into it.