[Fixed all links January 11, 2012.] In honor of April Fools' Day, I am presenting to you every Top-100 song -- from January 1950, through December 1989 -- that includes some variation of the word "fool" in the title. On a last-second whim, I also decided that you might have a lot more fun reading the list if you could also listen to the songs. So I created links to as many of the audio tracks for these songs as I could find on the internet. If you click on the links (and open them in a new tab or window), you may listen to each song in its entirety (I hope I didn't accidentally link to any truncated songs). Many are in stereo, and only a few are YouTube videos.
I don't know if I should admit this or not, but I did all this research myself. It wasn't too terribly hard because I used the Cash Box Top Singles web site to compile the information (I actually made it even easier by sorting them in a database; but I won't bother you with the details of how I did that).
To make this entry as official as possible, I actually posted it a few minutes before midnight on April 1; however, I wasn't finished with it yet (only the 1980s were listed). So I "unposted" it shortly after midnight and compiled the remainder of the songs (which took a lot less time than you might think). The main delay since midnight was caused by my adding all the links to the audio tracks. But, I must admit that it was a fun delay. I had not heard of a lot of the more obscure songs before. Three or five of them are actually not too unpleasant to the ears. Some of these songs are classics, and some of them I have always liked.
P.S. For the past couple of weeks, I have actually had another type of song list in mind, but I decided to change course and post this list for April Fools' Day. I shall post the other one soon. I may even post a few similar lists in the future.
Note: The date listed with each song is the week that it first reached its peak position on the charts. A few of these songs remained at their peak positions for two or more weeks, but I am only including the first peak date since the list is already long enough. The numbers in parentheses are the positions at which they peaked. Two tilde marks (~~) after a song indicates that it is only a short sample.
Sure, this is totally meaningless fluff, but so what? ;-) Enjoy.
01/07/50 - Foolish Tears - Johnnie Johnston - (33)
06/10/50 - My Foolish Heart - Gordon Jenkins & Orchestra - (2)~~
07/21/51 - I'm A Fool To Want You - Frank Sinatra - (27)
08/23/52 - Fool, Fool, Fool - Kay Starr - (22)
02/21/53 - (Now And Then, There's) A Fool Such As I - Jo Stafford - (13)~~
03/07/53 - You Fooled Me - Four Aces - (32)
08/22/53 - You're Fooling Someone - Joni James - (21)~~
08/22/53 - A Fool Was I - Nat "King" Cole - (26)~~
08/07/54 - I'm A Fool To Care - Les Paul & Mary Ford - (13)~~
03/19/55 - Young And Foolish - Dean Martin - (34)**
03/26/55 - Foolishly - Three Chuckles - (45)~~
04/30/55 - Foolishly Yours - Doris Day - (25)~~
05/21/55 - Young And Foolish - Jo Stafford - (40)~~
07/23/55 - Forgive This Fool - Roy Hamilton - (40)
08/13/55 - Fooled - Perry Como - (31)
04/07/56 - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers - (2)
09/01/56 - The Fool - Sanford Clark - (8)
12/22/56 - Wisdom Of A Fool - Five Keys - (31)~~
07/05/58 - Fool's Paradise - Buddy Holly & The Crickets - (73)
08/02/58 - Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson - (2)
04/25/59 - (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I - Elvis Presley - (2)
05/23/59 - There's No Fool Like A Young Fool - Tab Hunter - (76)~~
07/11/59 - Oh, What A Fool - Impalas - (89)~~
09/12/59 - Two Fools - Frankie Avalon - (51)
10/17/59 - Fools Hall Of Fame - Pat Boone - (25)~~
03/19/60 - I Was Such A Fool (To Fall In Love With You) - Flamingos - (67)~~
06/25/60 - Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Connie Francis - (1)
10/15/60 - A Fool In Love - Ike & Tina Turner - (19)
12/24/60 - Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread) - Brook Benton - (15)
03/25/61 - I Pity The Fool - Bobby Bland - (45)
05/20/61 - Foolin' Around - Kay Starr - (57)
06/17/61 - I'm A Fool To Care - Joe Barry - (19)
07/15/61 - Fool That I Am - Etta James - (51)
08/05/61 - Take A Fool's Advice - Nat King Cole - (67)
09/02/61 - Hello, Fool - Ralph Emery - (100)
11/25/61 - Fool #1 - Brenda Lee - (6)
01/20/62 - If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody - James Ray - (18)
02/03/62 - Poor Fool - Ike & Tina Turner - (23)
05/26/62 - Thanks To The Fool - Brook Benton - (86)
10/27/62 - What Kind Of Fool Am I - Sammy Davis, Jr. - (14)
11/17/62 - I Was Such A Fool (To Fall In Love With You) - Connie Francis - (18)
03/23/63 - My Foolish Heart - Demensions - (87)
05/18/63 - Foolish Little Girl - Shirelles - (6)
08/24/63 - These Foolish Things - James Brown & Famous Flames - (67)
10/26/63 - Fools Rush In - Rick Nelson - (12)
11/16/63 - She's A Fool - Lesley Gore - (6)
12/07/63 - Stop Foolin' - Brook Benton & Damita Jo - (87)
02/08/64 - A Fool Never Learns - Andy Williams - (13)
02/15/64 - What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am) - Tams - (9)
02/22/64 - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Beach Boys - (94)
09/05/64 - If I'm A Fool For Loving You - Bobby Wood - (57)
11/28/64 - Runnin' Out Of Fools - Aretha Franklin - (61)
06/12/65 - You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love) - Vic Damone - (28)
07/24/65 - I'm A Fool To Care - Ray Charles - (81)
08/14/65 - I'm A Fool - Dino, Desi & Billy - (19)
01/08/66 - If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody - Maxine Brown - (63)
01/15/66 - Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things) - Martha & Vandellas - (80)
05/21/66 - Love's Made A Fool Of You - Bobby Fuller Four - (51)
11/26/66 - A Day In The Life Of A Fool - Jack Jones - (55) (beautiful)
11/26/66 - Please Say You're Fooling - Ray Charles - (77)
01/07/67 - I Fooled You This Time - Gene Chandler - (45)
09/30/67 - I Make A Fool Of Myself - Frankie Valli - (21)
10/28/67 - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Happenings - (43)
01/20/68 - Chain Of Fools - Aretha Franklin - (1)
03/16/68 - A Fool Of Fools - Tony Bennett - (95)
07/27/68 - Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy - Tams - (63)
09/28/68 - The Fool On The Hill - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - (7) (beautiful)
11/16/68 - Fool For You - Impressions - (18)
02/22/69 - Foolish Fool - Dee Dee Warwick - (77)
06/14/69 - The April Fools - Dionne Warwick - (37)
07/26/69 - I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart (Than A Young Man's Fool) - Candi Staton - (43)~~
09/27/69 - What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am - Bill Deal & Rhondels - (22)
03/14/70 - Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby) - Lulu - (18)
03/21/70 - Silly, Silly, Fool - Dusty Springfield - (60)
07/11/70 - Trying To Make A Fool Of Me - Delfonics (41)
03/06/71 - Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You - Wilson Pickett - (10)
03/13/71 - Go On Fool - Marion Black - (93)
04/03/71 - I Pity The Fool - Ann Peebles - (84)
05/08/71 - Love's Made A Fool Of You - Cochise - (90)
09/18/71 - Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who - (9)
12/11/71 - Fool Me - Joe South - (93)
01/29/72 - Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby) - Aretha Franklin - (70)
05/06/72 - Love's Street And Fool's Road - Solomon Burke - (82)
07/15/72 - Victim Of A Foolish Heart - Bettye Swann - (65)
10/07/72 - Toast To The Fool - Dramatics - (52)~~
10/14/72 - Everybody Plays The Fool - Main Ingredient - (1)
110/4/72 - Don't Ever Be Lonely (A Poor Little Fool Like Me) - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - (23)
02/24/73 - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Summer Wine - (100)
04/21/73 - Fool Like You - Tim Moore - (94)
05/19/73 - Fool - Elvis Presley - (79)
05/19/73 - Instigating (Trouble Making) Fool - Whatnauts - (96)
01/26/74 - A Fool Such As I - Bob Dylan - (47)
02/23/74 - You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me - New Seekers - (75)
12/28/74 - Dancin' Fool - Guess Who - (27)
04/05/75 - I'm Her Fool - Billy Swan - (63)
08/16/75 - (Shu-Doo-Pa-Poo-Poop) Love Being Your Fool - Travis Wammack - (50)
04/17/76 - Once A Fool - Kiki Dee - (85)
05/22/76 - Fooled Around And Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop - (3)
06/12/76 - Fool To Cry - Rolling Stones - (9)
06/26/76 - Fool For The City - Foghat - (57)
10/16/76 - I'll Play The Fool - Dr. Buzzard's Original "Savannah" Band - (83)
04/22/78 - Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) - Styx - (23)
09/09/78 - Fool (If You Think It's Over) - Chris Rea - (10)
12/09/78 - Can You Fool - Glen Campbell - (39)
03/31/79 - Maybe I'm A Fool - Eddie Money - (25)
04/07/79 - What A Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers - (1)
05/26/79 - Dancin' Fool - Frank Zappa - (45) [kind of funny]
01/26/80 - Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was A Fool) - Foghat - (19)
02/23/80 - Fool In The Rain - Led Zeppelin - (31)
05/24/80 - Fool For A Pretty Face (Hurt By Love) - Humble Pie - (67)
09/06/80 - Fool For Your Loving - Whitesnake - (62)
10/18/80 - Who'll Be The Fool Tonight - Larsen-Feiten Band - (25)
02/07/81 - Fool That I Am - Rita Coolidge - (55)
04/04/81 - Who Do You Think You're Foolin' - Donna Summer - (38)~~
07/04/81 - Fool In Love With You - Jim Photoglo - (23)
08/04/81 - What Kind Of Fool - Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb - (10)
12/19/81 - Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Diana Ross - (7)
04/17/82 - Find Another Fool - Quarterflash - (16)
04/24/82 - You Sure Fooled Me - John Hall Band - (78)
05/15/82 - Fool For Your Love - Jimmy Hall - (74)
07/17/82 - What Kind Of Fool Am I - Rick Springfield - (19)
08/07/82 - Foolin' Yourself - Aldo Nova - (69)
05/28/83 - Fool Moon Fire - Walter Egan - (38)
11/05/83 - Foolin' - Def Leppard - (27)
02/16/85 - Foolish Heart - Steve Perry - (23)
12/06/86 - Foolish Pride - Daryl Hall - (29)
02/14/87 - Nobody's Fool - Cinderella - (23)
04/25/87 - Ship Of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow) - World Party - (34)
03/19/88 - Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself - Stacey Q - (75)
06/25/88 - Foolish Beat - Debbie Gibson - (1)
09/17/88 - Nobody's Fool - Kenny Loggins - (9)
11/26/88 - Kissing A Fool - George Michael - (4)
12/23/89 - Foolish Heart - Sharon Bryant - (90)
