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JUMP TO:
• 1992 – DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME / George Michael with Elton John
• 1982 – CENTERFOLD / The J. Geils Band
• 1972 – AMERICAN PIE / Don McLean
• 1962 – PEPPERMINT TWIST – Part 1 / Joey Dee and The Starliters
Welcome to another #1 Songs On This Date! – another four-pack of the cream of the cream from the Top 40 Rock ‘n’ Roll music era.
59 distinct number one singles between the years 1956 and 1995 have already been presented since January – with literally hundreds more to come.
They’re all part of a permanent archive that’s being built at HouseoftheHits.com which will ultimately feature ALL 837 different number one singles as listed in 2,080 weekly national music charts published by Billboard® within that 40-year timeframe.
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Fortunately, HouseoftheHits has every one of those charts – plus secondary data – as published in the essential Joel Whitburn’s Record Research series (CD-ROM and eBook edition formats).
Everything is stored digitally on a HouseoftheHits computer – as are all 837 number one singles (in high-quality audio) from the music vault.
With the availability of precise data and the HOTH song files – together with some amazing technology – approximately 600 – 700 of those Billboard® chart-toppers will be presented this year – with the remainder to follow in early 2017.
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As the archive grows you will have continual free access to the accumulating repository, indexed by Decade, Month and Year. Plus, EVERY Title and Artist will be (blue) hyper-linked for smooth, easy navigation from song to song – with more great features to be added along the way.
Again, it will contain every #1 single in America, plus interesting commentary about each song (written by yours truly) and presented with a crystal clear High-Definition audio version of the complete original hit to instantly play as often as you wish.
The ever-expanding library is found HERE and you can bookmark this link for future instant access.
Enjoy!
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[NOTE]
Due to copyright issues, some audio song files may not play on tablets,
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#1 / February 7th, 1992
DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME
George Michael with Elton John
[1991]
Number One: 1 week
Replaced: ALL 4 LOVE / Color Me Badd
Succeeded by: I’M TOO SEXY / Right Said Fred
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After leaving the UK duo Wham! (he and Andrew Ridgeley) to begin performing as a solo artist, vocalist George Michael claimed he became preferential to doing other artists’ material as much – or even more – than his own songs.
Tunes by David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Terence Trent Darby and boyhood idol Elton John were a regular part of his stage repertoire.
So it was almost inevitable, with both being mega stars and good friends, that Michael and John would hook up musically.
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That occurred when John surprised Michael by appearing backstage during a March, 1991 concert by George at London’s Wembley Stadium, during which the two decided to spontaneously perform a duet of a song already familiar to both – John’s 1974 hit Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Michael was already including the song in his live sets).
As was the norm, “tape was rolling” and the performance was released as a single in late 1991, hitting the apex of the national music charts for one week on this date in 1992.
Other #1 Singles by GEORGE MICHAEL (10)
• 1984 / WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO (WHAM!)
• 1985 / CARELESS WHISPER (WHAM! Featuring George Michael)
• 1985 / EVERYTHING SHE WANTS (WHAM!)
• 1987 / I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (For Me) (Aretha Franklin and George Michael)
• 1988 / FAITH
• 1988 / FATHER FIGURE
• 1988 / ONE MORE TRY
• 1988 / MONKEY
• 1990 / PRAYING FOR TIME
Other #1 Singles by ELTON JOHN (9)
• 1973 / CROCODILE ROCK
• 1974 / BENNIE AND THE JETS
• 1975 / LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS (Elton John with John Lennon)
• 1975 / PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM
• 1975 / ISLAND GIRL
• 1976 / DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART (Elton John and Kiki Dee)
• 1986 / THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (Dionne and Friends)
• 1997 / CANDLE IN THE WIND 1997
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#1 / February 7th, 1982
CENTERFOLD
The J. Geils Band
[1981]
Number One: 6 weeks
Replaced: I CAN’T GO FOR THAT (No Can Do) / Daryl Hall and John Oates
Succeeded by: I LOVE ROCK ‘N ROLL / Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
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Boston-based rock group the J. Geils Band took it’s name from guitarist Jerome Geils and featured the vocals of former Beantown FM rock radio DJ Peter Wolf.
First known as the J. Geils Blues Band, they experienced relative chart failure throughout the 70s’ despite shortening their name and placing six singles on the Hot 100.
The highest achiever among them was Must Have Got Lost, which flirted with the Top 10, but finally stalled at #12 in 1975.
The second half of the decade saw them sign with a new record label and produce five more recordings, but none managed to climb above #30.
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Perhaps the 70’s was just not meant to be for the JGB, because, with a mere flip of the calendar into the 80’s, their fortunes seemingly began to reverse.
But it was an adjustment to their musical style – less blues oriented to more commercial pop-rock leaning – that factored heavily in turning the corner for them.
Written, arranged and produced by group keyboardist Seth Justman, and from their album titled Freeze Frame, Centerfold was released in late 1981 and opened a 6-week spread in the pole position on this date.
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#1 / February 7th, 1972
AMERICAN PIE
Don McLean
[1971]
(Album Version)
Number One: 4 weeks
Replaced: BRAND NEW KEY / Melanie
Succeeded by: LET’S STAY TOGETHER / Al Green
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The epic recording American Pie, the eight minutes and 27-seconds song by Don McLean, is the singer’s lamentable ode to his love for the music of American rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, the late Buddy Holly.
His tragic death on February 3rd, 1959 indeed was, for McLean, “the day the music died.”
Holly, along with Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson – The Big Bopper – were killed when their small plane crashed while traveling between concert venues.
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McLean’s record company, United Artists, tried to fit the entire song onto one side of a 45. But a problem arose when juke boxes were unable to correctly track the disc’s narrowly spaced grooves.
That forced UA to instead divide the song into two equal-length parts as A and B sides of the single.
Regardless, most radio stations elected to play the full-length LP version.
American Pie was the third biggest single for 1972 on Billboard, behind Gilbert O’Sullivan‘s Alone Again (Naturally) and the leader, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack.
Further Reading:
• A Long, Long Time Ago: The Meaning of American Pie
Source: Christies.com
• Gloomy Don McLean Reveals Meaning of American Pie – Sells Lyrics for $1.2 million
Source: WashingtonPost.com
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#1 / February 7th, 1962
PEPPERMINT TWIST – Part 1
Joey Dee and The Starliters
[1961]
Number One: 3 weeks
Replaced: THE TWIST / Chubby Checker
Succeeded by: DUKE OF EARL / The Dukays (with Gene Chandler)
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‘Twistmania’ was at an all-time high in early 1962 as New Jersey’s Joey Dee and The Starliters held down the #1 spot on Billboard for the second of three consecutive weeks.
At the time, Dee and the band were the featured house act at the ‘Studio 54’ back in the day, the famed Peppermint Lounge on West 45th St. in New York City. So the club, the group and their record, Peppermint Twist, all mutually benefitted from the cross-exposure.
Peppermint Twist spent 14 weeks inside the Top 10, and combined with Checker’s own 13-week run, racked up 27 hip-gyrating weeks amongst the other elite chart hits.
Undoubtedly, chiropractors saw a marked spike in business during that period.
[Trivia Bit] After a single week at the top – his second one-week sojourn there with the dance craze’s anthem, The Twist – Chubby Checker had passed the torch to Dee for a combined four consecutive weeks at #1 with the two records.
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Written By: Rick Murray Hunter
Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
References: The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits (5th Edition) by Fred Bronson
The Archives of RollingStone.com
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
Other #1 Songs on This Date Posts are HERE
