Most-Recorded Tunes of the 1950s

Of related interest:
  • Top Ten Tunes of the
  • Top 100 Tunes of the Century.
  • Top Ten
    of the Century.
  • Recordings by Decade: A graph of the historical distribution of my recorded tune sources.

This list ranks the top 10 most-recorded tunes during the 1950s. By carefully comparing the 374 individual tune recordings dated as from the 1950s which appear on the indexed recordings, I identified a total of 297 musically distinct tunes. The top ten of those tunes are listed below, in order of how many albums they appear on. When tunes have the same number of recordings, tunes having the oldest recordings appear first. Note that reuses of a particular cut in other anthologies are counted, which is fair, since the popularity of a recording is a good indicator both of the popularity of the tune and of the likelihood that musicians will learn the tune from that recording.

Click Tune Info below to see tune details and sources.

RankNumber of
Recordings		Explanation
Rhythm		Explanation
Titles used for this tune (and other notes)
14 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Mason's ApronMason's Apron, The / Naprún an tSaoir / Práiscín an Mhásúin / Práiscín an tSaoir Chloiche / (as Micho Russell's Mason's Apron on FG 6) / The Mason's Cap / The Mason Laddie / Lady Carbury / Gallagher's / Wake-Up, Susan / Wake up, Susan / Wake Susan / Carton's Reel / Carton's / (also in G or E, also with up to 7 parts, the extra parts being composed by Sean Maguire) (compare American tune Jack of Diamonds included here)
24 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Miss McLeodMiss McLeod / Miss Mc Leod / Miss McLeod's / Miss MacLeod's / Miss McLeod's Reel / Miss McCleod's Reel / Miss McCloud's Reel / Miss McCloud's / Mrs. McLeod / Mrs. MacLeod's Reel / Mrs. McCloud's Reel / Mrs McLeod's Reel / Mrs McLeod's / Misses McLoud's Reel / Miss Macleod of Raasay / Mrs McLeod of Rasay / Ríl Iníon Mhic Leod / Iníon Mhic Leóid / Ríl Mhic Leoid / McLeod's Reel / Macleod's Reel / The Other McCleods / Hop High Ladies / Hop Light Ladies / Hop Up Ladies / The Enterprising Boxer / Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe? / May Day (2nd in set Jig Selection on MR 2; 1st in set Miss McClouds Reels on ESL 1, which in turn is mislabeled there as The Belburry Hills) (also in A or D or F, also with parts reversed in American music) (compare #2693)
34 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of CopperplateCopperplate, The / The Copper Plate / The New Copperplate / New Copperplate / The Copperplate No. 1 (1st in set The Copperplates on CMcN) (compare the Scottish reel Cabar Feidh)
44 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Woman of the HouseWoman of the House, The / Bean an Tí ar lár / Bean á Tí / The Lady of the House (2nd in set Reels from the 1920's on FG 3) (also in A) (compare Old Woman of the House #1471)
53 – Tune
Info		JigDTranscription of first 2 bars of Lark in the MorningLark in the Morning, The / The Little Yellow Boy / The Yellow Little Boy / An Buachaillín Buí / Bouchaleen Buie / Galway Tom / Galway Town / A Western Lilt / The Goat's Horn / The Goats' Horns / Come in the Evening / The Kelso Races / The Welcome / The Thrush's Nest / The Spotted Cow (for The Siege of Ennis in book MM) (wide range of settings included here) (compare Peacock's Feather #2485 and Spotted Cow #4887)
63 – Tune
Info		HpipeTranscription of first 2 bars of Chief O'Neill's FavoriteChief O'Neill's Favorite / Chief O'Neill's Favourite / Chief O Neill's Favorite / O'Neill's Favorite / Chief O'Neil's Favourite / Chief O'Neill's Fancy / Chief O'Neill's No. 1 / ONiell's / Flowers of Ardigne / The Flowers of Adrigole (2nd in set Rights of Man Selection on CrssCl)
73 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Morning DewMorning Dew, The / The Hare in the Heather / Hare among the Heather / The Hare among the Heather / Giorria sa bhFraoch (also in D Major; 3rd part is switched with 1st part on AIC1 and AIC2) (compare Morning Dew #2512)
83 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Boys of BallisodareBoys of Ballisodare, The / The Boys of Ballysodare / The Boys of Ballysadare / The Boys of Ballisadare / The Boys of Balisodare / The Boys of Ballisdare / The Dublin Lasses / Miss Roddy's / Miss Roden's Reel / Douse the Monkey / Last Night's Work / A Galway Reel (also 1st part doubled or all parts doubled, also in F; also without 3rd part) (compare Dublin Lasses #4069 and compare 1st part with 1st part of Francie Byrne's #5019)
93 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Fermoy LassesFermoy Lasses, The / The Fermoy Lassies / Girrseachaí Fhearmuí / The Wexford Reel / The Humours of Mackin / The Connacht Ranger / Connacht Ranger (also singled)
103 – Tune
Info		ReelTranscription of first 2 bars of Sally GardensSally Gardens, The / Sally Gardens / Na Garranta Sailí (also in D)
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This page was updated on 11 May 2008.
© 2006–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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