#78: Perry Como’s “Round and Round”

22 June 1957

#1 for 8 weeks

written by Joe Shapiro and Lou Stallman

Fun fact: Perry Como was a barber before he was a singer. We’ve written on several of his hits by now, yet I had no idea he was such a diligent polymath. From the age of ten, he’d stand on a box to cut customers’ hair; at fourteen, he ran the barbershop area of a regular client’s Greek coffee shop. He and his team were particularly good at wedding preparations, and Como would sing romantic songs while tending to the groom. Our song in question can easily fit into the merry context and make the whole situation come full circle.

My first impression of the song was that it sounded more like a nursery song than a serious pop track. Just the title reminded me of “Wheels on the Bus”, and indeed, the simple duple time and the repetition of “round and round” made me raise my eyebrows—the ever-present question of the project haunted me as usual: why did such a song make it to the top of the Aussie charts? Had people not already converted to rock ‘n’ roll?

An answer I can come up with centres again on the value system of the 50s, particularly in terms of the stability of families. The song tells of the delight of committing to the right person. Even the rhyme scheme revolves mainly around a ring that’s “round”, how “the two hearts are bound”, and “the one you found”, threading through the stages of courtship and marriage. I guess an appeal of the song is that the blithe and innocent vibes disarm the threats surrounding matrimony and instead make such adult processes seem much easier, and even fun.

Even though the song does not fool me into thinking that relationships can be a piece of cake, its additional layers appetized my ears. Surely, Como’s crooning is smooth and steady as usual, but with the repeating, nursery-rhyme-like words, even the most velvety voice may fail to keep blandness at bay. I was starting to feel a little impatient when the music thickens with the addition of the Ray Charles Singers, whose choir parts create counterpoints and even canons, which, to me, are the most interesting components of the track. Thanks to the tasteful arrangement by Joe Reisman and Ray Charles, the choir does more than merely repeat the major notes, but they have their individual lines of melodies. The polyphony immediately increases the momentum, listenability, and sophistication of the song. Wait, for example, for the high notes by the sopranos, which liven things up a great deal.

With the knowledge about Como’s hair-cutting past, I can now imagine him trimming the groom’s manes while crooning this piece, whereas his teammates and other customers and well wishers play the part of the choir and dance around them. And this brings me to the last point about the merits of the song: it reminds us of simpler days with simpler joys. Sometimes that’s all we need for a jolly time.

Liz

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Ratings:

Liz

6

Chamois

6

AVERAGE (ROUNDED DOWN)

6