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JUMP TO:
🎵 1995 – THIS IS HOW WE DO IT / Montell Jordan
🎵 1985 – EVERYTHING SHE WANTS / WHAM!
🎵 1975 – SHINING STAR / Earth, Wind & Fire
🎬 1965 – TICKET TO RIDE / The Beatles (Video from “Help!“)
EXTRA:
🎬 1996 – ELAINE’S DANCE / (Video from “Seinfeld“)
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Welcome to another #1 Songs On This Date! – another four-pack of the cream of the crop from the Top 40 Rock ‘n’ Roll music era.
Since it began during the first week of 2016, 218 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!
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[NOTE]
Due to copyright issues, some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets and connected devices. Whenever possible, an alternate working audio source will be provided, but a PC, Mac or laptop may ultimately be required in some cases.
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#1 / May 26th, 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 / May 26th, 1985
EVERYTHING SHE WANTS
WHAM!
[1985]
(Album Version)
Number One: 2 weeks
Replaced: DON’T YOU (Forget About Me) / Simple Minds
Succeeded by: EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD / Tears For Fears
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Everything She Wants was the third #1 single in a row from WHAM!‘s second studio titled Make It Big, following Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Careless Whisper. Collectively, the triad held the top spot for 8 weeks.
Outside the U.S., Careless Whisper was credited as a George Michael solo release, and in reality, the whole album could have been viewed that way.
During the recording of the long player – released in October of 1984 – the other half of the duo, Andrew Ridgeley, had minimal input on the work, instead deferring to Michael’s control of their musical direction.
By the completion of Make It Big, it was clear that WHAM! was really Michael’s show and Ridgeley departed the duo.
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The theme of Everything She Wants, written by Michael, revolves around a man feeling trapped inside a failed marriage, but then finding it impossible to leave after the arrival of the couple’s child.
Of significance – the song also marked WHAM’s/Michael’s departure from previously lightweight pop music to something more sombre-toned – in essence, a prelude to the more serious releases that would be the hallmark of George’s solo career.
[Trivia Bits] The trio of consecutive #1 singles by WHAM! from Make It Big marked the first time the feat had been accomplished since the Bee Gees did it in 1979 with their album Spirits Having Flown, which yielded Too Much Heaven, Tragedy and Love You Inside Out.
Other #1 Singles by GEORGE MICHAEL (10)
• 1984 / WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO (WHAM!)
• 1985 / CARELESS WHISPER (WHAM! Featuring George Michael)
• 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 / May 26th, 1975
SHINING STAR
Earth, Wind & Fire
[1975]
Number One: 1 week
Replaced: HE DON’T LOVE YOU (Like I Love You) / Tony Orlando and Dawn
Succeeded by: BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FALLS / Freddy Fender
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Tennessee-born Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White spent his teen years in Chicago before attending the Chicago Conservatory of Music with aspirations of becoming a music teacher.
By 1967 he became part of the city’s renowned Chess Records roster as a member of the label’s instrumental music stalwarts, the Ramsay Lewis Trio. But by 1970 he’d quit group and moved to Los Angeles, turning his focus toward forming his own brass-laden jazz ensemble.
Upon studying his astrological chart, White, a Sagittarius, discovered his sign was comprised of the elements earth, air and fire. Substituting the “air” portion with “wind,” the group Earth, Wind & Fire was born – at least in name.
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With a nine-member group eventually intact, White and company first recorded – although unsuccessfully – for Warner Brothers, only to sign with the Columbia label in 1973.
With a move toward a more dance-oriented sound and four more commercially nondescript albums later, EWF finally broke through in 1975 with their sixth LP titled That’s The Way Of The World.
Featuring the outstanding vocals of Philip Bailey, Shining Star, followed by the album’s title track (1975 • #12), glowed brightly for EWF on this date in 1975.
Alternate Audio Source
[Trivia Bits] Earth, Wind & Fire scored 8 gold singles, which included Sing A Song (1975 • #5), Getaway (1976 • #12), a cover of the Beatles Got To Get You Into My Life (1978 • #9), September (1978 • #8), Boogie Wonderland – with the Emotions (1979 • #6), After The Love Has Gone (1979 • #2) and Let’s Groove (1981 • #3).
Philip Bailey scored the #2 solo hit Easy Lover in 1985, assisted on vocals by Phil Collins.
While growing up in Memphis, TN, Maurice White jammed on drums with classmate Booker T. Jones, who’d later be at the helm of the Bluff City’s iconic instrumental R&B quartet Booker T. & The MG’s.
Maurice White died on February 4, 2016 at the age of 74 after a decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He won a total of seven Grammys – and was nominated for 21 in total.
Along with the other members of EWF, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
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“ELAINE’S DANCE”
[1996]
(Video from “Seinfeld“)
I would be remiss for not including this classic scene from Season 8, Episode 4 of TV’s ‘Seinfeld’ (“The Little Kicks”) in which Elaine Benes (Julia Louis Dreyfus) shamelessly struts her stuff to Shining Star at an office party. Horrified on-looker “George Constanza” (Jason Alexander) had been reluctantly allowed to attend by Benes.
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#1 / May 26th, 1965
TICKET TO RIDE
The Beatles
[1965]
(Austrian Alps Ski Scene from “Help!“)
Number One: 1 week
Replaced: MRS. BROWN YOU’VE GOT A LOVELY DAUGHTER / Herman’s Hermits
Succeeded by: HELP ME RHONDA / Beach Boys
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The Beatles eighth U.S. chart-topper – and third consecutive, was Ticket To Ride, laid down during their first recording session of 1965 on February 15th.
Released in America as a single on April 19th (10 days previously in the UK) it features an instantly identifiable chime-sounding opening guitar riff played by George Harrison on a 12-string Rickenbacker 360 – a reprise of his using the same axe on the ending of the A Hard Day’s Night recording the year prior.
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Although it’s John Lennon‘s vocals on the record, Paul McCartney explained the writing arrangement between he and Lennon for Ticket To Ride in his 1994 authorized biography Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles:
“We wrote the melody together; you can hear on the record, John’s taking the melody and I’m singing harmony with it. We’d often work those out as we wrote them. Because John sang it, you might have to give him 60 per cent of it. It was pretty much a work job that turned out quite well.”
McCartney added: “John just didn’t take the time to explain that we sat down together and worked on that song for a full three-hour songwriting session, and at the end of it all we had all the words, we had the harmonies, and we had all the little bits.”
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If you look closely at the record label below (or simply remember it) Ticket To Ride is listed as “From The United Artists Release ‘Eight Arms To Hold You.'” That was the original working title of their forthcoming second motion picture – and first in color – that wasn’t re-titled ‘Help!’ until April of ’65.
[Notes]: As with much of the Beatles music in 2016, copyright issues are prevalent. Hence, I’m unable to present the audio file of Ticket To Ride. In its place is the studio recording of the song heard during the video clip from ‘Help!’
One of the highlights from the movie ‘Help!’ is the Fab Four skiing on the slopes of the Austrian Alps near Obertauern, filmed on March 20th, 1965.
No matter how you label this clip, it was clearly an early-day music “video” which pre-dated the emergence of slickly-produced vids and MTV, which began over 15 years later in 1981.
[Trivia Bits] 1965 was the high-water mark for the onslaught of 45 RPM singles being released by record companies – both by domestic and British Invasion artists.
During that year, an unprecedented 25 different singles held Billboard’s top stop – meaning, on average, a turnover at the top every other week.
And of those 25 chart-toppers, virtually one-half (12) were by UK artists!
Given those facts, it’s easy to understand why a single as strong as Ticket To Ride could only manage one week in the pole position.
Ticket To Ride was considered to be a very musically advanced, ground-breaking record for its time, and, by clocking in at 3:02, was the first Beatles single over 3-minutes long.
Other #1 Singles by THE BEATLES (20)
• 1964 / I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
• 1964 / SHE LOVES YOU
• 1964 / CAN’T BUY ME LOVE
• 1964 / LOVE ME DO
• 1964 / A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
• 1964 / I FEEL FINE
• 1965 / EIGHT DAYS A WEEK
• 1965 / HELP!
• 1965 / YESTERDAY
• 1966 / WE CAN WORK IT OUT
• 1966 / PAPERBACK WRITER
• 1967 / PENNY LANE
• 1967 / ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
• 1967 / HELLO GOODBYE
• 1968 / HEY JUDE
• 1969 / GET BACK (The Beatles with Billy Preston)
• 1969 / COME TOGETHER b/w SOMETHING
• 1970 / LET IT BE
• 1970 / THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD b/w FOR YOU BLUE
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CREDITS
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 Billboard Book Of Number One Hits (5th Edition) by Fred Bronson
• The Billboard Book Of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits by Adam White and Fred Bronson
• The Billboard Book Of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits by Wesley Hyatt
• The Billboard Book Of Number One Albums by Craig Rosen
• The Billboard’s Hottest Hot 100 Hits (4th Edition) by Fred Bronson
• 1000 UK Chart Hits (Kindle Edition) by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh
• All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release (Kindle Edition) by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon
• The Beatles’ Story On Capitol Records / Part One: The Singles (Digital Edition) by Bruce Spizer
• The Beatles’ Story On Capitol Records / Part Two: The Albums (Digital Edition) by Bruce Spizer
• The website BeatlesBible.com
• The Archives of RollingStone.com
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat.com
Special thanks to the patio of Starbucks, Little Road in New Port Richey, FL 😎
Other #1 Songs on This Date Posts are HERE
