BARRY LEVINE: Bobby Lewis tossed and turned his way to No. 1

It’s been 55 years since Bobby Lewis was “Tossin’ and Turnin’” with the No. 1 song in the country that would become the No. 1 song of the year.

No. 1 for seven weeks and on the charts for 23 weeks, “Tossin’ and Turnin’” was one of the biggest songs by a solo soul singer in the modern rock era. It sold more than 3 million records.

The only singers who had longer runs at No. 1 before “Tossin’ and Turnin’” were Elvis Presley, Guy Mitchell and Bobby Darin. Presley’s two-sided hit “Don’t Be Cruel/”Hound Dog” was No. 1 for 11 weeks in 1956. Mitchell topped the charts for nine weeks with “Singing the Blues” spanning 1956 and 1957. Darin’s “Mack the Knife” was No. 1 for nine weeks in 1959.

Although many place Lewis on the one-hit-wonder list, he does not belong there. Later in 1961, he had his second Top 10 hit, “One Track Mind.” which climbed to No. 9.

Written by Ritchie Adams and Malou Rene, the song was featured on the soundtrack of the iconic 1978 film “Animal House.”

As with Lloyd Price’s 1959 No. 1 hit “Stagger Lee,” the original lyrics were altered.

On the original hit single version, the track begins with Lewis singing “I couldn’t sleep at all last night” and it appears that way on most oldies versions.

However, on some releases, the song has a prelude during which Lewis sings, “Baby … baby … You did something to me,” followed by a musical lead into the first verse.

The 83-year-old Indiana native usually includes this prelude when he performs the song live.

Raised in an orphanage, Lewis had his musical talent recognized at age 5 when he was given his first piano lessons.

He got his big break when he was befriended by the great Jackie Wilson.

Wilson urged Lewis to go to New York, but Lewis declined. However, his wife convinced him to go, saying he never would be more successful if he remained in Detroit.

When Wilson sent Lewis money for a train ticket to New York, Lewis agreed to go.

Despite assistance from Wilson and his manager, Nat Tarnopol, Lewis was rejected by many record companies in The Big Apple. He got more exposure, though, when he performed at the world-famous Apollo Theatre in New York. Appearing on the same bill with Lewis was Adams.

In the interim, Lewis kept going to different record labels and finally connected with Beltone Records, which signed him after hearing some of his demos.

Adams was at Beltone’s headquarters and heard Lewis’ demos. Wanting to get somebody to record “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” Adams eventually convinced Beltone officials to let Lewis record it.

As they say, the rest is history.

Top 10 hits From 1961:

1 – “Tossin’ and Turnin’,” Bobby Lewis

2 – “Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean

3 – “Runaway,” Del Shannon

4 – “Wonderland by Night,” Bert Kaempfert

5 – “Pony Time,” Chubby Checker

6 – “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” The Tokens

7 – “Blue Moon,” The Marcels

8 – “Take Good Care of My Baby,” Bobby Vee

9 – “Calcutta,” Lawrence Welk

10 – “Runaround Sue,” Dion

This week in rock history – Keen Records released Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” on Oct. 16, 1957. The single was his biggest hit, topping the chart and selling 2½ million copies. … Ben E. King led The Drifters to the top of the charts with “Save The Last Dance For Me” on Oct 17, 1960. … The Temptations continued their long string of hit singles with the release of the second of their four No. 1 hits, “I Can’t Get Next To You,” on Oct. 18, 1969.

Georgia’s Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” on Oct. 19, 1958. The song was released as a single but failed to chart in either 1958 or 1959. When it was re-released in 1960 it rose to No. 14 and has since become a Christmas standard, ranked at No. 4 among the Top 10 All-Time Christmas Songs. … Harry Belafonte recorded “The Banana Boat Song,” a traditional Jamaican folk song, on Oct. 20, 1955. It reached No. 5 in early 1956 and became Belafonte’s signature song. … “Jailhouse Rock” became Elvis Presley’s ninth chart-topper during the previous 18 months on Oct. 21, 1957.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].