After a little blip from The Elegants' "little Star", Domenico Modugno returned to the number one spot for another 4 weeks. The month of September almost rolls by without change, South Africa gets a new prime minister, and the National Defense Education Act is signed. After "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" staying on top for so long, the american public was ready for something new.
That something new to over take the top spot was "It's All In The Game" By Tommy Edwards
Tommy Edwards produced many songs during the last two years of the 50's and even into 1960, but he would never top the critical acclaim of his first song to surface on billboard, "Its all in the Game". Tommy began writing music early in life and by 17 he had his very own 15 minute radio program, that he would use to sing and play songs on piano. By 1943 he moved to New York and pursued a career as a lounge and nightclub performer. Tommy got his first taste of fame when some well noted acts decided to cover one of his original songs "That Chick's Too Young to Fry". Of the three covers a version performed by Louis Jordan gained the most popularity, hitting music charts at number 3. Later in the same year "My Bicycle Tillie" was performed by Bill Samuels and the Cats "N" Jammer Three, gaining Tommy enough star power to create his very own trio. The next few years for Tommy had little to no success, writing a slew of songs that never charted and even getting his contract and trio revoked. Despite the seemingly imminent failure for the rest of his career, Tommy preserved as a solo artist. In 1951 Tommy recorded his first version of "It's All In The Game", but it did not chart as well as the record execs wanted. After a few more failed follow-ups, MGM was on the cusp of dropping Tommy similar to the way National Records had done years earlier. As a final huzzah, a new version of "It's All In The Game" was recorded in 1958, featuring a more Rock-n-Roll arrangement. This time the song got national attention and brought Tommy Edwards into billboards number one spot. On a side note, in the song "My Bicycle Tillie", Tillie was actually a woman and the riding was more of a sexual act. That song is dirtier that many of today's modern rap songs.
"It's All In The Game" is a song about general themes in explaining relationships. Stating that all events common to a relationship are merely part of some sort of game. The actual lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, who already had a few songs under his belt, most notably the Christmas Song "A Marshmallow World". The lyrics were written to a tune that had previously been wordless from 1911 titled "Melody in A Major". Here's the fun fact, "Melody in A Major" was written by Charles G. Dawes, who as any history buffs may know, became Vice President from 1925-1929 under the rule of Calvin Coolidge.