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JUMP TO:
• 1995 – THIS IS HOW WE DO IT / Montell Jordan
• 1985 – WE ARE THE WORLD / USA For Africa
• 1975 – PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM / Elton John
• 1965 – I’M TELLING YOU NOW / Freddie and The Dreamers
• VIDEO – DO THE FREDDIE / Freddie and The Dreamers
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Welcome to another #1 Songs On This Date! – another four-pack of the best of the best from the Top 40 Rock ‘n’ Roll music era.
Since it began in early January, 154 distinct number one singles from the years 1956 through 1995 have been featured – with hundreds more to follow.
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! 😎
[NOTE]
Due to copyright issues, some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets and connected devices. A PC, Mac or laptop may be required.
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#1 / April 16th, 1995
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Montell Jordan
[1995]
(Single Version)
Number One: 7 weeks
Replaced: TAKE A BOW / Madonna
Succeeded by: HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOVED A WOMAN? / Bryan Adams
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Southern California-born R&B singer-songwriter Montell Jordan grew up in household that was filled with the sounds of Motown – the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the Temptations and even the Spinners during there brief tenure on one of Berry Gordy‘s umbrella of labels.
But Marvin Gaye became his favorite – both during his latter days with Hitsville U.S.A.’s Tamla label and into his early 1980’s stint with Columbia Records (before his tragic death at the hands of his father in April of 1984).
In fact, Jordan ‘borrowed’ a Gaye initiative from Marvin’s 1977 #1 Motown smash Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1).
A la Gaye, Jordan admittedly invited a small group of people into the recording studio (30 mostly complete strangers in this instance) to create a ‘live’ party atmosphere; encouraging them to “Have good time. Talk and do whatever you’d normally do at a party.”
So the good-time ambiance on this record is genuine – maybe contrived, but genuine.
[Trivia Bits] This Is How We Do It became a popular song in film soundtracks, appearing in ‘The Nutty Professor’, ‘To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday’, ‘Multiplicity’, ‘How High’, ‘8 Mile’ and ‘Ali G Indahouse.’
But it received its highest exposure as comedian Howie Mandel’s theme song for his short-lived candid-camera-style TV show ‘Howie Do It.’
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#1 / April 16th, 1985
WE ARE THE WORLD
USA For Africa
[1985]
(Single Version)
Number One: 4 weeks
Replaced: ONE MORE NIGHT / Phil Collins
Succeeded by: CRAZY FOR YOU / Madonna
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The idea for the hugely lucrative benefit recording We Are The World was prompted by the great success of the previous year’s UK fundraiser, Do They Know It’s Christmas?, the holiday season effort organized by Boomtown Rats band member/leader Bob Geldof in 1984. With a choir of heavyweight British artists collectively known as Band Aid lending their talents to the cause, the recording, co-written by Geldof and Midge Ure, sold over 3 million copies to assist with the mid-1980’s famine crisis in Ethiopia.
Iconic American singer Harry Belafonte was the spearhead in getting the ball rolling with this new effort, first of all, by recruiting Motown Records superstars Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson to co-pen a tune intended to launch a massive poverty relief project for Africa and the United States.
Just prior to the live airing of the American Music Awards in Los Angeles (for maximum convenience of participation) 36 mega performers amassed for the historic recording session, conducted and produced by Quincy Jones, on the afternoon of January 28, 1985: Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Kim Carnes, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Daryl Hall and John Oates, James Ingram, Jackie Jackson, LaToya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Al Jarreau, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and The News, Kenny Loggins, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson, Jeffrey Osborne, Steve Perry, the Pointer Sisters, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.
[Trivia Bits] The single version of We Are The World was released on a Thursday (March 7th) and all 800,000 copies were completely gone by that weekend.
In total, 7.3 million singles and 4.4 million albums were sold.
The estimated worldwide sales of related items (caps, tees, videos, posters, etc.) approximated $44 million.
By co-composing the song, Lionel Richie notched his eighth consecutive year of writing at least one #1 record.
[More Reading] A comprehensive minute-by-minute breakdown of ‘who sang what and when’ can be found HERE (Source: RollingStone.com)
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#1 / April 16th, 1975
PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM
Elton John
[1975]
(Album Version)
Number One: 2 weeks
Replaced: LOVIN’ YOU / Minnie Riperton
Succeeded by: (Hey Won’t You Play) ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG /
B.J. Thomas
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Philadelphia Freedom became Elton John‘s fourth #1 single overall and the second of three chart-toppers in 1975.
Elton requested a song from his writing partner Bernie Taupin with the title Philadelphia Freedom in honor of his friend, female tennis star Billie Jean King. In 1974 there was a professional league in America called ‘World Team Tennis’ and King coached one of its members called the ‘Philadelphia Freedoms’ to become one of the first women athletes to oversee male tennis players.
EJ had also been a long-time fan of music groups from ‘The City of Brotherly Love’ like the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, the Three Degrees and MFSB and their ‘Philly Soul’ sound. He wanted to re-create a song in their honor.
[Trivia Note] Also, with the U.S. bicentennial just ahead in 1976, Elton sought to mark the 200 years of America’s independence with ‘Freedom’ in one of his song’s titles.
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 / ISLAND GIRL
• 1976 / DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART (Elton John and Kiki Dee)
• 1986 / THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR (Dionne and Friends)
• 1992 / DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (George Michael with Elton John)
• 1997 / CANDLE IN THE WIND 1997
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#1 / April 16th, 1965
I’M TELLING YOU NOW
Freddie and The Dreamers
[1965]
Number One: 2 weeks
Replaced: STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE / The Supremes
Succeeded by: GAME OF LOVE / Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders
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Even a former door-to-door milkman could become a rock ‘n roll star – and Manchester, England’s Frederick “Freddie” Garrity was living proof.
And he became the clown prince of pop music’s British Invasion in the mid-1960’s, primarily due to antics which included an actual dance Garrity created called “The Freddie” (see below).
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A single was initially released in America by Capitol on its primary label (as 5053) back on October 7, 1963 (below left). That was 18 months prior to its re-release on their new secondary Tower label in early ’65. Capitol Records/Canada also released ITYN – again as 5053 – in late 1963 (below right).
Remember, the fall of 1963 was the time during which the U.S. subsidiary of parent company EMI/UK was steadfastly refusing to release records on Capitol by The Beatles.
With all due respect, electing to issue records by Freddie and The Dreamers but not the Fab Four indicated the label’s maligned and confused assessment of the degree of appeal of the new British Invasion bands.
Capitol’s misjudgments and Garrity’s theatrics aside, I’m Telling You Now is a very good pop record. It’s too bad that Capitol Records didn’t recognize that sooner.
[Trivia Bits] I’m Telling You Now was co-penned by Garrity and noted British pop songwriter Mitch Murray (Real name: Lionel Michael Stitcher).
Most significantly, Murray wrote the song How Do You Do It?, which was record producer George Martin‘s choice to be the debut single by the Beatles. But their version became a rather listless-sounding take (because they didn’t like the tune) so the Fabs’ preferred song, Love Me Do, was chosen.
Fellow Liverpudlians Gerry & The Pacemakers were offered How Do You Do It? to record and it became at #9 hit for them on the Hot 100 during the summer of 1964.
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Mitch Murray also composed or co-wrote a second hit for Freddie and The Dreamers titled You Were Made for Me (1965 • #21) and additionally Even The Bad Times are Good by the Tremeloes (1967 • #36), Georgie Fame‘s The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde (1968 • #7), Hitchin’ A Ride by Vanity Fare (1970 • #5) and I Knew It All The Time from The Dave Clark Five (1964 • #53).
Murray’s 1964 book ‘How to Write A Hit Song’ inspired Sting, then a 12-year-old schoolboy, to start writing songs. Sting now refers to Murray as his mentor and wrote the foreword to the latter’s ‘Handbook For The ‘Terrified Speaker (Valium In A Volume).’
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BONUS VIDEO
DO THE FREDDIE
Freddie and The Dreamers
[1965]
While Capitol was finally releasing their ‘back product’ (I’m Telling You Now and You Were Made For Me), Freddie and The Dreamers had already signed a new record deal in America with Mercury Records who were concurrently issuing I Understand (Just How You Feel) and Do The Freddie.
Here’s a video of a live – not lip-synced – Freddie Garrity and his band doing “The Freddie.” Clearly, drummer Bernie Dwyer was the luckiest one on stage …
Looking back on it, he was simply the forerunner of future attention-grabbing acts such as Tiny Tim, Boy George, Toni Basil and Cyndi Lauper.
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Produced & Written By: Rick Murray Hunter / HouseoftheHits.com
Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
References: The Archives of RollingStone.com
The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits (5th Edition) by Fred Bronson
1000 UK Chart Hits (Kindle Edition) by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
Other #1 Songs on This Date Posts are HERE
