BARRY LEVINE: Rockin’ thoughts while waiting on The Boss’s book

This ‘n’ that from here ‘n’ there while waiting for my copy of Bruce Springsteen’s new book.

IT’S TOUGH ENOUGH to have a No. 1 single and it’s even tougher to have the No. 1 song of the year. And it’s virtually impossible to have the No. 1 song of the year twice.

The feat has only been accomplished by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Roberta Flack during the first 30 years of the modern rock ‘n’ roll era.

Presley had the song of the year in 1956 with “Don’t Be Cruel” and in 1957 with “All Shook Up.” The Beatles did it in 1964 with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and in 1968 with “Hey Jude.” Flack had to No. 1 hits with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1972 and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” in 1973.

ONLY FIVE SONGS during the first 50 years of the modern rock ‘n’ roll era sold a least 12 million copies.

Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” holds the record. The Tribute to Princess Diana sold 37 million copies. “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby sold 30 million copies. “Rock Around the Clock “ by Bill Haley & The Comets sold 17 million. “Louis, Louie” by the Kingsmen and ”Hey Jude” by The Beatles each sold 12 million copies.

RAY STEVENS, OF ALBANY, made one decision in his highly successful career that he would regret.

The master of the novelty hit, Stevens had the opportunity to record “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” for the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” which starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

B.J. Thomas recorded the song that sold more than 1 million copies and was No. 1 for four weeks. It also captured the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Stevens had 10 Top 40 hits including two No. 1 smashes “Everything is Beautiful” in 1970 and ”The Streak” in 1974.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, The Eagles hold the record for the biggest selling album of all-time. The group’s “Their Greatest Hit (vol. 1)” sold 29 million copies, 1 million more than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Three other groups had albums that sold at least 22 million copies. Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and Led Zeppelin’s “Led Zeppelin IV” each sold 23 million albums, one million more than AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL’s 1968 No. 1 hit “Mrs. Robinson” originally was called “Mrs. Roosevelt.” It was switched to the final title after it was pitched to producer Mike Nichols, who was in the process of filming “The Graduate,” which starred Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross and William Daniels.

The film was nominated for seven Oscars with Nichols winning for Best Director.

“Mrs. Robinson” was ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as a nominee must have been written exclusively for the film in which it appeared.

The song’s opening lines, “dee de dee dee de dee dee dee,” remained because Nichols liked it that way and because Simon and Garfunkel had not developed suitable replacements.

JOHN FOGERTY of Creedence Clearwater Revival had never been to Mississippi when he wrote “Proud Mary” or to Louisiana when he penned “Born On The Bayou.”

“Proud Mary” climbed to No. 2 in 1969 while “Born On The Bayou” failed to chart.

The group holds the record for having five songs which reached No. 2 without ever having a No. 1 hit. Besides “Proud Mary,” the group’s other No. 2 hits were “Bad Moon Rising” and “Green River” in 1969 and “Travelin’ Band” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain” in 1970.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was together for only four years.

SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Bob Dylan for being named the recipient for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The reaction among rockers was positive.

Elvis Presley sent word from Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven that he was “All Shook Up” when learning of Dylan’s honor.

Jerry Lee Lewis was stunned and said, I’m just “Breathless.”

Little Anthony of Little Anthony and the Imperials was so shocked he said he’s “Goin’ Out of My Head.”

From Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven, Buddy Holly, when asked about a rock composer winning the Nobel Prize, the Texas native said, “That’ll Be the Day!”

This week in rock history: Dion continued his hit streak after leaving The Belmonts when “Runaround Sue” climbed to No. 1 on Oct. 23. 1961. … . Georgia’s Brenda Lee reached the top spot for the second time with “I Want To Be Wanted” on Oct. 24, 1960. It was her fourth Top 10 hit of the year. … Peter, Paul & Mary had the two best-selling albums ov Oct. 25, 1963, with “In the Wind” and “Peter, Paul and Mary.” Since then, they have put nine more albums on the Top 25 list.

Ben E. King was at Atlantic Records on Oct. 27, 1960, laying down his first solo efforts since leaving The Drifters. During the session, King recorded “Spanish Harlem” which reached No. 10 and “Stand By Me” which would go to No. 4. … Buddy Holly appeared on Dick Clark’s ”American Bandstand” on Oct. 28, 1959, where he lip-synched “It’s So Easy” and “Heartbeat.” It would be Holly’s last major TV appearance. … Bobby Helms recorded his version of “Jingle Bell Rock” on Oct. 29, 1957. By December, it will be in the Top 10, eventually selling more than 1 million copies and becoming a Christmas standard. Throughout the years, approximately 100 other artists would also record the song.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at dot0001@yahoo.