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The #1 Song on the Day You Were Born


duaneiac

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Bilboard delivers the whole chart for the day

http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

 

 

Thanks for that link.  Here's the Top 10 for my birthday:

64 - African Waltz - Cannonball Adderley Orchestra (jazz made the charts!!!!!)

 

Not only that - but John Dankworth Orchestra had a UK hit with their version of that gem !

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Bilboard delivers the whole chart for the day

http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

 

 

Thanks for that link.  Here's the Top 10 for my birthday:

64 - African Waltz - Cannonball Adderley Orchestra (jazz made the charts!!!!!)

 

Not only that - but John Dankworth Orchestra had a UK hit with their version of that gem !

IIRC written by Montreal's own Galt McDermott (sp?) who went on to write the music for Hair. 

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'Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)' by Christopher Cross. I'm not sure if I've heard it.

That's actually not a bad tune - a little syrupy, but not bad.  Makes me miss both Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud.

Co-written by Burt Bacharach. Misheard lyrics file: i could've sworn it was 'Livin' it up between the moon and New York City' rather than what it actually is. Don't mind the song in that weird nostalgia/vertigo kind of way, but the combo of the music and images of Arthur gives me the creeps.

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Never looked at the US pop charts on my birth date before. Pleased to see it was something half decent - 'Sunday, Monday or always' by Bing Crosby.

#1 on the R&B charts was 'Sentimental lady' by Duke Ellington. He was #1 the week before with patriotic song 'A slip of the lip'. Who says jazz don't get on the charts?

MG

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Don't blame the Beatles...Wes Montgomery was on the charts and radio, not Top 10, but still, there. "Windy" and "A Day In The Life" had heavy life as bumper music, at least in my part of the world. Sales were good, and htere was a Wes Montgomery Greatest Hits album on A&M.

Instrumental hits, the mid-late 60s were full of them, not really jazz, though. Into the 70s.. "Chameleon", "Mister Magic" "Feels So Good", that SpyroGyra thing, "Just The Two Of Us (that's 80s, right?)...questionably "jazz" in many quarters, but non-jazz musicians could not have made those records, at least not those records like that...

 

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"Who says jazz don't get on the charts?"  Well, maybe a few years back...

But it does make me wonder, what was the last instrumental track to make it to the Top Ten?  Always used to be, 'til about the mid-60s.  (I blame the Beatles!)

 

You're not going to like this one, Ted. The last instrumental in the US top 10 was in 1999 - 'Auld lang syne (the millennium mix)' by Kenny G. That was the also last instrumental in the US top 30.

The last instrumental at #1 on the US chart was in 1985 - 'Miami vice theme' by Jan Hammer.

The last instrumental at #1 on the UK charts was in 2013 - 'Animals' by Martin Garrix. (Previous one was in 1999.)

There are technical/technological reasons for the wipe out of instrumentals. These are explored in 'Sound recording: the life story of a technology' by David L Morton and 'America on record: a history of recorded sound'. They're not overly technical books and do illuminate stuff like this (without, it seemed to me, making a particular point about it). Though at bottom, people generally like vocals better, because they can sing along with them, or sing 'em in the bath (if they own one) and generally get a grip on the tune through the words.

MG

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I find this entertaining, especially doing the first 18 years. So here are mine are the way to through high school.

96 Tears - ? & The Mysterians (*****)

To Sir With Love - Lulu (***)

Hey Jude - The Beatles (*****) By far not my favorite Beatles tune, but still worthy of five stars.

I Can't Get Next To You - The Temptations (*****)

I'll Be There - Jackson 5 (***)

Maggie May - Rod Stewart (****)

My Ding-a-Ling - Chuck Berry (**) Hard to believe this one made it to number 1 but I guess novelty songs were popular at the time.

Midnight Train - Gladys Knight & The Pips (*****)

Then Came You - Dionne Warwick and The Spinners (****)

Bad Blood - Neil Sedaka (****) A roller rink standard! Not a great song but Elton helped it and I have fond memories of the time.

If You Leave Me Now - Chicago (***)

You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone (_) Damn, I still hate this song. One of my sisters used to play this over and over again as did her friends.

Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder (**) Things seem to fall apart right about now.

Rise - Herb Alpert (**)

Woman in Love - Barbara Streisand (*) The lady can sing, so it gets 1 star, but the song sucks.

Arthur's Theme - Christopher Cross (**) It's sappy but as already pointed out, it's not totally bad.

Jack & Diane - John Cougar (_) MTV annoying!

Islands in the Stream - Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (_) Was popular with the Freshman girls, so maybe I should have liked it?

I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder (*) Bad Stevie, bad Stevie.

Saving All My Love - Whitney Houston (*) 1 star for the voice but this was not her best song.
 


 

Edited by catesta
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