8 March 1963
Nine weeks at number one in 1963 makes Ned Miller’s ‘From A Jack To A King’ Ireland’s first real mega chart-topper. That length of reign—the most weeks of any Irish number one of the ’60s—won’t be matched until 1970 nor beaten until 1977. If you’ve ever crossed paths with the country & Irish scene you can probably vouch for the song’s impact: perhaps you’ve heard it live in some rural pub or function room as dropped by Mossie on accordion and Thady on guitar, or briefly on TV by wee Daniel or Foster & Allen as you dived for the remote.
Ned Miller is a true one-hit wonder; after the huge international success of ‘From A Jack To A King’ he gradually backed away from the limelight. That success wasn’t overnight. The single is originally from 1957, did no business then, but got its eventual chart-topping re-release in 1963. If it strikes you as odd that a ’50s country flop should be such a smash in the ’60s, well, this must be your first visit here. For all the chart pop revolutions and innovations of the decades to come, the actual number one spot will largely remain the preserve of simpering, mawkish cornball. In fact, this song’s theme of wedding-day bliss, plus the dim recollection of a Westlife hit called ‘Queen of My Heart’, has me thinking that ‘From A Jack To A King’ walked so that the Louis Walsh-sponsored Irish boyband ballad could run, or at least get off its stool for the key change.
