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North Carolina native Don Gibson enjoyed great success as a songwriter and
recording artist from 1956 to 1980--a 24-year span in which he racked up
over 80 hits. Although he composed quite a few, one he did not write was his
1961 smash SEA OF HEARTBREAK [performance by Don Gibson]  , which was penned by Hal David (who later
became one of America's premier songwriters and the president of ASCAP) and
Paul Hampton. Sea Of Heartbreak soared to No. 2 on the country hit parade
and No. 21 on the pop charts. In 1979 the song was revived by Lynn Anderson.
LET THERE BE LOVE [performance by Nat "King" Cole] was written in 1940 as a beguine. Later that year it became a hit for both Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra (No. 4) and Kay Kyser and his big band (No. 15). Other outstanding recordings have been made by Nat 'King' Cole, Tony Bennett, The Andrews Sisters and Pearl Bailey.
Also in 1961, RING OF FIRE [performance by Duane Eddy] was released in June and reached peak chart position #84.
Patti Page released YOU'LL ANSWER TO ME in July and it reached peak chart position #46.
Later that year, in December, Duane Eddy released PEPE from the film "Pepe" with Shirley Jones and Dan Dailey. This song reached peak chart position #18 in February the following year.
Frank Sinatra recorded ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET .
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