Ladies and gentlemen, in this corner, the one, the only, Louis Weertz.

That was the real name of Roger Williams. He was a former boxer who won a welterweight championship. He even used a punching bag to warm up for concerts. It must've worked. He sold over 27 million albums and his rendition of "Autumn Leaves" is the #4 instrumental of the rock and roll era (1955-present).

"Autumn Leaves" was a #1 hit for two weeks for Roger Williams, who had 23 chart hits. One of them was a remake of his #1 hit. "Autumn Leaves - 1965" barely cracked the chart in 1965, peaking at #92.

The song, by the way, was written by Joseph Kosma (music), Jacques Prevert (French Words), and Johnny Mercer (English words) and dates as far back as 1947. The original title was in French: "Les Feuilles Montes." About a year after the song's #1 reighn, Nat King Cole sang it in a Joan Crawford movie also called "Autumn Leaves."

Williams' appearances on the "Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts" TV led to his recording career. He had two other Top 10 hits. "Near You" made #10 in late 1958 and in the fall of 1966, he took "Born Free" to #7.

NEXT TOMORROW AT #3: THE BIGGEST HIT EVER BY A FRENCH ACT.

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ROCK ERA INSTRUMENTAL #5: WIPE OUT--THE SURFARIS, 1963-66

It's a rarity...an instrumental to make the Top 40 twice. About three years apart.

"Wipe Out" by the Surfaris is the #5 instrumental of the rock era. It peaked at #2 in the summer of 1963 as it was kept out of #1 by "Fingertips Part 2" by Little Stevie Wonder. Then, in the summer of 1966, it reentered the chart and peaked at #16. In all, "Wipe Out" spent a total of 30 weeks on the chart, 20 of them in the Top 40. It reentered the chart one more time in 1970 although it Bubbed Under with a #110 peak.

All the members of the Surfaris are credited with writing "Wipe Out"--Ron Wilson, James Fuller, Robert Berryhill, Patrick Connolly. None of them yelled the title at the beginning. That honor goes to the group's manager, Dale Smallins.

The Surfais were based in Glendora, one of the many bergs in the Los Angeles area. They also had a minor chart hit with "Point Panic." The flip side of "Wipe Out" was a vocal song, "Surfer Joe," and it charted independently, reaching #63.

The Surfaris are among acts to have their first chart single as an instrumental and later on have a vocal chart hit. Others in this category include Herb Alpert, Jimmy Castor, Paul Revere And The Raiders, Billy Preston and the Commodores.