I Did It My Way

 

'O Sole Mio  ("my sun" or "my sunshine") is a globally-known Neapolitan song written in 1898 by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi with lyrics by Giovanni Capurro. In 1921, William E. Booth-Clibborn wrote lyrics for a hymn using the music, entitled "Down from His Glory," becoming a popular gospel standard. In 1949 singer Tony Martin used the melody for his recording,  "There's No Tomorrow" with lyrics by Al Hoffman, Leo Corday, and Leon Carr. About ten years later, while stationed in Germany, Elvis Presley heard the recording and wanted new lyrics customized for him. It became his worldwide hit, "It's Now or Never." Legend has it when performing the song in concerts a few years prior to his death, Elvis would explain the origin of the song and have singer Sherrill Nielsen perform a few lines of the original Neapolitan version before commencing with his version.

Edd Brynes Coming In At Number Four

 

On this day in 1959 "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" hit #4 on the US pop chart on the Warner Bros. label. The song is written by Irving Taylor and performed by Edward Byrnes and Connie Stevens. Stevens starred in another Warner Bros. series, Hawaiian Eye. It was featured on Byrnes' 1959 album, "Kookie, star of the popular show 77 Sunset Strip." The song is mostly spoken in Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III''s notable hipster phrasing, common during the beatnik era.

Byrnes initially served as the parking attendant for a detective agency at 77 Sunset Boulevard, colloquially known as Sunset Strip. The American television private detective drama series was created by Roy Huggins and ran from 1958 to 1964. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. starred as detective Stuart Bailey, first used by Huggins in his 1948 film, I Love Trouble. Roger Smith was his partner with an extended cast that changed over the series' run. The Kookie character became a cultural phenomenon and the hit song was nearly as big as Byrnes' ego. Not granted his demand for more money, he left the show for sixteen episodes before returning as a full-fledged detective.