Episode 039 - Seven Inches Of History 001 - Emile Ford and the Checkmates - What Do Want to Make Those Eyes At Me For?

The record that started a decade, and made history doing it.

The 1960s didn't begin with a fanfare. They began with a carry-over. Emile Ford and the Checkmates had reached number one back in November 1959 with "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For" and when January 1st 1960 arrived, they were still sitting comfortably at the top of the British chart. The new decade started mid-song. There are worse ways to begin.

But here's the thing about that chart position that goes well beyond the novelty of a decade boundary. Emile Ford was the first Black British artist ever to reach number one on the UK singles chart. That's not a footnote. That's a headline.

Ford had come to Britain from the Bahamas in the mid-1950s, part of the wave of Caribbean immigration that was reshaping the country whether the country was ready for it or not. He studied in London, formed a group with his brothers, and built a sound that was warm, bright, and completely irresistible. The record itself was a cover of a 1917 music hall song, updated for the skiffle age and produced with a lightness that made it feel effortless. Six weeks at number one. A place in history that the British pop world was slow to acknowledge but cannot now take back.

This is the story that opens Seven Inches of History, one of Rainbow Valley's shorter bite-size episodes that drop into the main podcast feed alongside the full-length documentaries. The series is taking on every UK number one of the 1960s, one record at a time, and this is where it all begins. One man, one song, one extraordinary first.

Find this episode and the full Rainbow Valley back catalogue at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley and follow us on Twitter at @rv_podcast.

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