Peak
8
Weeks
14
Score
2,178
Chart Year
1961
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position8
Peak DateApr 17, 1961
Weeks at Peak1
Weeks Charted14
Weeks in Top 4011
Weeks in Top 101
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #10
Scoring
Summary Calc843
Weekly Calc1,335
Total Score2,178
Rankings
Year Ranking#83
Decade Ranking#775
Billboard Year#86
Top 5000#6,514
Details
- Album
- Asia Minor
- Label
- Felsted Records
- Genre
- Classical Crossover
- Media Type
- 45
- Duration
- 1:58
- Composer(s)
- Jimmy Wisner
- Entered Chart
- Feb 20, 1961
- Peak Date
- Apr 17, 1961
- Released
- Jan 1961
- Recorded
- Unknown
- Catalog #
- Felsted 45-8612
- B-Side
- Roy's Tune
Music Video
Notes
"Asia Minor" is a 1961 instrumental recording by Jimmy Wisner (operating under the name Kokomo so as to not alienate his jazz fans). It is a rock and roll adaptation of Edvard Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor", using shellac on the hammers of a cheap piano so as to induce a honky-tonk sound. He was turned down by 10 labels and had to release the track on his own label Future Records. The song became a hit, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart, despite having been banned by the BBC, which at the time refused airplay for music found to violate various standards, including pieces deemed to "[distort] melody, harmony and rhythm"
instrumental
Chart History (14 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 20, 1961 | 75 | 51 |
| 2 | Feb 27, 1961 | 46 | 80 |
| 3 | Mar 6, 1961 | 39 | 87 |
| 4 | Mar 13, 1961 | 36 | 90 |
| 5 | Mar 20, 1961 | 33 | 93 |
| 6 | Mar 27, 1961 | 15 | 111 |
| 7 | Apr 3, 1961 | 13 | 113 |
| 8 | Apr 10, 1961 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Apr 17, 1961 | 8 | 118 |
| 10 | Apr 24, 1961 | 15 | 111 |
| 11 | May 1, 1961 | 21 | 105 |
| 12 | May 8, 1961 | 28 | 98 |
| 13 | May 15, 1961 | 37 | 89 |
| 14 | May 22, 1961 | 51 | 75 |