Walk on By

Walk on By

Country singer Leroy Van Dyke first captured the imagination of American record buyers with his own composition The Auctioneer, a song about the life of his cousin, a farm auctioneer. It was an unlikely theme for a song but still managed to make an impact, selling some 2.5 million copies following its release in 1956. Leroy disappeared from sight after that single, to all intents and purposes the ultimate one hit wonder, but he returned in 1961 with another major hit, Walk On By, which would go on to top the country chart for nineteen weeks (this tally remained the longest run at number one for more than fifty years, until it was finally toppled in July 2013 by Florida Georgia Line). The single was also a major pop hit, hitting #5 in both the US and UK, and prompted the release of Leroys debut album. Also to be found on the album is the follow up single Big Man In A Big House, a #34 hit in the UK.