'60s Film Tune was a Hit For Five Artists at Once

About four weeks ago, this column posed the following three-parttrivia question, courtesy of an Illinois reader:

There is a song from a '60s film - and it's not the film'stitle song - that was a hit on the Cash Box Top 100 charts for fivedifferent artists simultaneously. All five of these singles made theTop 30, but none reached the Top 10.

As for the Billboard Hot 100, four of the five recordscharted.Again, all entered the Top 30 but not one cracked the Top 10.Identify the film and the hit song title. Name all the artistswho charted with this tune. Indicate which is the original version -the one heard in the movie.Here's the answer:The film in question, a 1960 British-made release, is "Circusof Horrors." Its melodious theme - somewhat disjointed from thefilm's plot - is the beautiful "Look for a Star."The recording heard in "Circus of Horrors" is by Garry Mills(Imperial 5674). That single made its debut on Billboard's Hot 100the week of June 20, 1960. Three cover versions also charted thatweek, one of which was by an artist with a name so incredibly similarto Mills that it caused confusion: Garry Miles (Liberty 55261).Another fine hit vocal of "Look for a Star" came out by DeaneHawley (Dore 554), and Billy Vaughn scored with an instrumentalrendition (Dot 16106).Billboard and Cash Box magazines had strikingly different waysof listing the hits. Billboard assigned different chart spots toeach individual release, whereas Cash Box lumped all the hit versionsat the same chart number.Besides the four recordings already mentioned, Cash Box alsocharted a vocal version by Nicky Como (Laurie 3061).Other artists to release single versions of "Look for a Star"that summer were Jericho Brown (Warner Bros. 5161), Buddy Chase (20thCentury-Fox 205) and yet another Gary, Gary Marlene (Maverick 591).None of these reached either chart.Having eight different singles competing for sales surely workedagainst any of them landing in the Top 10. That many recordings,though, is proof of how highly industry people regarded this tune.Jerry Osborne is a syndicated columnist. Write to him at theChicago Sun-Times, 401 N. Wabash, Chicago 60611.