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JUMP TO:
• 1995 – TAKE A BOW / Madonna
• 1985 – CARELESS WHISPER / WHAM! Featuring George Michael
• 1975 – PICK UP THE PIECES / Average White Band
• 1965 – THIS DIAMOND RING / Gary Lewis And The Playboys
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.
88 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 25th, 1995
TAKE A BOW
Madonna
[1994]
(Album Version)
Number One: 7 weeks
Replaced: CREEP / TLC
Succeeded by: THIS IS HOW WE DO IT / Montell Jordan
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Madonna‘s fourth and final #1 single of the 90’s – joining seven chart-toppers in the 80’s – was the hip-hop oriented Take A Bow, from her album Bedtimes Stories.
Ostensibly, the tune’s lyrics involve a failed real-life romance with a movie star – possibly Warren Beatty, who was an alleged subject in Carly Simon‘s You’re So Vain (#1 Songs On This Date for January 24th, 1973).
For this one Madonna collaborated on the writing with R&B singer-instrumentalist Babyface, who also produced the record and sings back-up vocals.
[Trivia Bit] Babyface’s impressive resume includes writing and producing scores of hits for the likes of Paula Abdul, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Brandy, Bobby Brown, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson – just to name a few from a long list.
Other #1 Singles by MADONNA (12)
• 1985 / LIKE A VIRGIN
• 1985 / CRAZY FOR YOU
• 1986 / LIVE TO TELL
• 1986 / PAPA DON’T PREACH
• 1987 / OPEN YOUR HEART
• 1987 / WHO’S THAT GIRL
• 1989 / LIKE A PRAYER
• 1990 / VOGUE
• 1991 / JUSTIFY MY LOVE
• 1992 / THIS USED TO BE MY PLAYGROUND
• 2000 / MUSIC
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#1 / February 25th, 1985
CARELESS WHISPER
WHAM! Featuring George Michael
[1984]
(Single Version)
Number One: 3 weeks
Replaced: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS / Foreigner
Succeeded by: CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING / REO Speedwagon
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Careless Whisper was released in the UK as a solo hit by George Michael, while in America the name of his band (with Andrew Ridgeley) was added to the record’s label as WHAM! Featuring George Michael.
The duo had scored their first U.S. #1 only 13 weeks prior in late ’84 with Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Columbia Records wanted to cash in by using that momentum.
Their next release – Everything She Wants – also hit #1 on the Hot 100, followed by the Top Ten 10 hits Freedom (1985 • #3), I’m Your Man (1986 • #3) and The Edge Of Heaven (1986 • #10).
[Trivia] Michael wrote Careless Whisper as a 16-year old teenager in 1979.
[Trivia Bit] Michael’s uber successful solo recording career began in 1987, garnering seven #1’s and 8 million-sellers in the ensuing 9 years.
Other #1 Singles by GEORGE MICHAEL (10)
• 1984 / WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO (WHAM!)
• 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
• 1992 / DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (George Michael with Elton John)
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#1 / February 25th, 1975
PICK UP THE PIECES
Average White Band (AWB)
[1974]
(Single Version)
Number One: 1 week
Replaced: YOU’RE NO GOOD / Linda Ronstadt
Succeeded by: BEST OF MY LOVE / Eagles
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The Glasgow, Scotland-based funk-soul group called Average White Band at least was true to part of their moniker – they were white – but not average in any sense.
Playing hot R&B mixed with a soul sound influenced by Memphis and Motown, the sextet was making a meager living playing European bars and U.S. military bases in Germany when they scored a gig opening for Eric Clapton during a his 1973 comeback concert in London.
An album (Show Your Hand on MCA) and modest American tour followed, but their biggest break came in 1974 when famed Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler signed AWB to the label giant.
The band’s second album was titled AWB and produced by Atlantic’s renowned Arif Mardin.
It included the funky instrumental Pick Up The Pieces which hit the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on this date for its only week at the top.
[Trivia Bits] Another tasty piece of funk/soul titled Cut The Cake rose to the upper echelon of Billboard, peaking at #10 in May of ’75.
AWB guitarist Hamish Stuart – who co-penned Pick Up The Pieces – played on Paul McCartney‘s 1989 comeback album Flowers in the Dirt and on several other PM albums, plus was a member of the band during McCartney’s world tours of 1989 and 1993.
Also, Stuart was the bass player on both the 2006 and 2008 incarnations of Ringo Starr & His ALl-Star Band.
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#1 / February 25th, 1965
THIS DIAMOND RING
Gary Lewis And The Playboys
[1965]
Number One: 2 weeks
Replaced: YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’ / The Righteous Brothers
Succeeded by: MY GIRL / The Temptations
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When you have a famous, well-connected father (comedic giant Jerry Lewis), a heavyweight record producer, renowned arranger and the best musicians in L.A. performing on your recording, it’s a safe (but not certain) bet that chart success will follow. And it did for Gary Lewis And The Playboys with This Diamond Ring.
Producer Snuff Garrett, arranger Leon Russell and several members of the famed Hollywood hired studio guns known as The Wrecking Crew (including Russell on piano, drummer Hal Blaine and guitarist Tommy Alsup) all participated not only on the group’s debut hit but many of their follow-up records.
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This Diamond Ring was co-written by another (future) music industry heavyweight named Al Kooper, who founded Blood, Sweat & Tears, produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, and played on records by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Who.
Kooper, who penned TDR as an R&B song, was horrified when informed that it would be arranged for the teen market, calling the finished recording “a turkey milkshake.”
[Trivia Bits] Although This Diamond Ring was the only #1 million-seller for Gary Lewis And The Playboys, six successive Top 10 hits followed over the next 16 months – Count Me In, Save Your Heart For Me, Everybody Loves A Clown, She’s Just My Style, Sure Gonna Miss Her and Green Grass.
The senior Lewis was involved with the future success of Gary and the group on a number of levels. It included buying his son a drum kit at age 14, helping secure their first gigs at Disneyland, and personally lining up an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which gave huge exposure to This Diamond Ring.
Another one of this song’s co-writers, Irwin Levine, helped compose two chart-toppers for Tony Orlando and Dawn: 1971’s Knock Three Times and Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree in 1973.
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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
