MUSIC ACROSS THE OLYMPIADS. Today: 1948. Continues tomorrow.

As the world’s elite athletes compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Caffè Lattè will focus on the best music that emerged during each Olympiad. Each period considers songs from the years prior to the new Games.

MUSIC ACROSS THE OLYMPIADS

World War Two finally ended in 1945. London was supposed to host the 1944 Olympics, so it filled this role when the Games resumed in 1948. Helsinki was due to host in 1940 and did so in 1952. Four years later, the Olympics would be held in the Southern Hemisphere and Oceania for the first time when Melbourne, Australia was the host city.

The advent of television helped expose more artists to a wider audience. Crooners like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra were all the rage. In the mid-1950s, rock ‘n’ roll exploded and changed popular music forever thanks to acts such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley & His Comets and Little Richard.

1948

🥇 FIVE MINUTES MORE Frank Sinatra

🥈 CHOO CHOO CH’BOOGIE Louis Jordan

🥉 NATURE BOY Nat King Cole

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🥇 NAT KING COLE

🥈 FRANK SINATRA

🥉 THE INK SPOTS

 

1952

🥇 MONA LISA Nat King Cole

🥈 LA VIE EN ROSE Edith Piaf

🥉 TENNESSEE WALTZ Patti Page

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🥇 NAT KING COLE

🥈 EDITH PIAF

🥉 FRANK SINATRA

 

1956

🥇 DON’T BE CRUEL Elvis Presley

🥈 TUTTI FRUTTI Little Richard

🥉 MAYBELLENE Chuck Berry

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🥇 ELVIS PRESLEY

🥈 BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS

🥉 DORIS DAY

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ELVIS PRESLEY [Album] Elvis Presley

🏊🏾🏋️ LEADERBOARD 🚵‍♀️🏃‍♀️

COUNTRY:	G	S	B
U.S.A.	29	17	21
ITALY	3	1
FRANCE		2
UNITED KINGDOM		1