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The UK singles chart is the soundtrack to our lives and a barometer of the nation’s mood and tastes. And ever since 1952, the battle for the number one spot has had us all talking as well as dancing.
In this fascinating spin-off from everyuknumber1.com, as seen in the Daily Mirror, music journalist Rob Barker comprehensively reviews all the best-sellers of the 50s, delving into the wild lives of the artists and the real stories and secrets behind the hits. He also counts down the influential events that shaped them, as we moved from rations to never having it so good.
Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Cliff Richard were among those who transformed the lives of young people throughout Britain, and taught a country battered by war how to have fun again.
Find out which chart topper was written by an illiterate rapist who formed his own prison band. Who was the first woman to top the charts? And which hitmaker lives on as Cockney rhyming slang?
Every UK Number 1: The 50s has all the answers on the decade in which pop took its first steps, before rock’n’roll shouldered in and left the baby boomers all shook up.
Breaking off from the 70s briefly, I noticed over Christmas 2020 that my blog on Every Christmas Number 2 was getting a lot of attention, and in the year that my first book, Every UK Number 1: The 50s was released, I decided to combine the two and give a (very) brief review of every chart runner-up from the first chart of November 1952 through to the end of the decade. Did some of these songs and artists deserve to be in my book, and are some as baffling as the singles that outsold them? As usual, I’ll pick a best and worst for each year, and then an overall pick for each to cover the 50s as a whole. Please note the songs here are singles for which number 2 was their highest position, so future and previous number 1s don’t get a look-in.
1952/53
The first years of the chart were a mix of trad pop, novelty songs and instrumentals. It gets off to a very strange start with Guy Mitchell’s Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po), a typically chipper novelty hit that couldn’t be more different to the original number 1, Here in My Heart. Mitchell is paying tribute to his newborn son, saying he’s going to buy him ‘a horn, a baseball, and drum’… strange mix of gifts. I can’t pinpoint exactly where Mitchell is patting him – what is a Po-Po? I can only assume it’s his head or his arse. Mitchell, an early-50s chart mainstay, replaced himself at number 2 with the similarly upbeat Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie, in which he exclaims he loves his biscuits ‘soaked in gravy’. Truly, a different era. There’s a couple of forgettable instrumentals here – Terry’s Theme from ‘Limelight’, by Frank Chacksfield and His Orchestra, was written by Charlie Chaplin for his 1952 comedy drama, and Mantovani and His Orchestra’s Swedish Rhapsody sounds French more than anything. Frankie Laine was almost permanently in the top spot in 1953, and he’s here too, with quite a spooky-sounding country track, Where the Winds Blow.
The Best
Nat ‘King’ Cole – Pretend
I was familiar with this song due to Alvin Stardust’s 1981 cover, which was in my parents’ vinyl collection as I grew up. A classy orchestral ballad from a great singer, it’s much better than any other 1952/53 number 2, and would have been a better number 1 than Frankie Laine’s I Believe.
The Worst
Diana Decker – Poppa Piccolino
Yuck. Twee, cheesy nonsense. An Italian song, originally a satire on the divide between the rich and poor, rewritten to become cheesy fare about a wandering minstrel. Sung by a popular British/American actress of the era who starred in The Barefoot Contessa a year later.
1954
More of the same really, though a few classics start to crop up. Winifred Atwell kicks things off with one of her trademark ragtime medleys. Let’s Have a Party was so successful, it spawned a sequel, and Let’s Have Another Party became 1954’s Christmas number 1. Laine nudged her from the top spot with more western melodrama. Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold) is grandiose but not as memorable as Where the Winds Blow. More bright and breezy fare from Mitchell followed with Cloud Lucky Seven, which is rather similar to Kay Starr’s 1953 number 1 Comes-A-Long-A-Love. And then we have – of all things, Oberkirchen Children’s Choir’s The Happy Wanderer. This is a live 1953 recording by the BBC of the choir’s winning performance at the Llangollen International Musical. It’s charming to see such a song could be such a success, only nine years after the end of the Second World War. This amateur choir’s original members were war orphans, and the scene in Schindler’s List featuring this song is incorrect – The Happy Wanderer came after the war ended. Cole is back with another pop standard, and it’s the second time Chaplin gets a mention. This version of Smile was the first to feature lyrics and the song’s title, despite the tune being featured in the silent comedy legend’s 1936 film Modern Times. As always, Cole sings beautifully, and it’s perhaps the quintessential version.
The Best
Dean Martin with Dick Stabile and His Orchestra – That’s Amore
Yes, it’s cliched and dated, but it’s also one of Dean Martin’s most enduring signature songs. As always, Martin’s performance is key, and he pulls it off with bucketloads of charm. Originally written for him to perform in the comedy The Caddy from 1953, in which he sang it with comic partner Jerry Lewis. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song of that year, but lost out to Doris Day’s number 1 Secret Love.
The Worst
David Whitfield with Stanley Black and His Orchestra – Santo Natale
The only festive song on the list. David Whitfield’s operatic ballad is as painful as a real-life Christmas number 2 can be. There’s a reason you won’t find it on any Christmas compilations, it’s overwrought and sets my teeth on edge. Nice bells at the end, though. I also picked poor Whitfield as the man behind the worst Christmas number 2 with Answer Me.
1955
By this point, I was more than ready for some rock’n’roll. But although Rock Around the Clock appeared this year, all the number 2s are more of the same. Al Hibbler, a baritone with Duke Ellington’s orchestra, made a good stab at Unchained Melody – it’s certainly better than Jimmy Young’s awful rendition, a number 1 later that year. Laine is back yet again, with another western track. Cool Water is forgettable, despite being considered a standard of the genre. Mitch Miller, one of the most successful producers of the period, occasionally recorded with his orchestra, and his version of 1850s folk classic The Yellow Rose of Texas was his biggest UK hit in his own name. Unlike lots of his productions, this one is played straight. Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts had the most popular version of Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, but Bill Haley and His Comets prevented it from being the 1955 festive chart-topper. It did win the Oscar for Best Original Song though.
The Best
Frank Sinatra with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra – Learnin’ the Blues
This isn’t up there with the best of Ol’ Blue Eyes, but it’s a pretty slick big band number in which Sinatra runs through how you know you’ve got the blues. However, it’s a pretty upbeat tune. In a poor year though, I guess this is the pick of the bunch.
The Worst
TheCyril Stapleton Orchestra with Julie Dawn – Blue Star (The ‘Medic’ Theme)
This appears to be an instrumental theme from a US medical drama called Medic, which was the first to feature actual medical procedures. But then, more than halfway in, Julie Dawn starts singing a very slushy love song. It’s very average 50s trad pop.
1956
An interesting, bumper year, with the sea change in pop becoming apparent. But not straight away. As we’ve seen, westerns were all the rage in the US and therefore the UK. The Ballad of Davy Crockett was a very successful attempt to promote the Walt Disney film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. There were several versions, and actor Bill Hayes did the best out of the folky theme tune. Frank Sinatra returns with (Love Is) The Tender Trap, taken from the film The Tender Trap. It was nominated for an Oscar but it’s pretty average, really. Then Zambezi by Lou Busch and His Orchestra livens things up somewhat. It’s a nice jazzy instrumental, that I’m sure I’ve heard before as background music on a comedy series. A Tear Fell by US singer Teresa Brewer slows things down massively. And then, Elvis Presley, at last! Heartbreak Hotel, his first single for RCA injects some much-needed cool to proceedings. It’s a landmark release, but there was better to come. And then, skiffle! A double A-side of traditional folk tunes, Lost John/Stewball, get The Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group treatment. They’re much more gentle than the number 1 singles from Donegan in this decade, but still decent. Across the nation, future rock greats were taking note. Next up is a weird one. The All Star Hit Parade was a charity EP for The National Playing Fields Association, in which Dickie Valentine, Joan Regan, Winifred Atwell, Dave King, Lita Roza and David Whitfield contributed very short tracks, I’m assuming to make them all fit on one piece of vinyl. It’s mainly trad pop, and dull, but thankfully over pretty quick. Rounding things up nicely is one of number 1 crooner Frankie Vaughan’s most famous tunes. Green Door, later a number 1 for Shakin’ Stevens was, according to one urban legend, about the UK’s first lesbian club, Gateways, which had a green door.
The Best
Elvis Presley – Hound Dog
A classic that’s aged better than Heartbreak Hotel and many of his future number 1s, where the rot had already set in. Rocky and raunchy, with great drum breaks. Shame The Jordanaires spoil it with their old-fashioned backing vocals.
The Worst
Tony Martin With Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra and Chorus – Walk Hand in Hand
The second this dull trad pop from a veteran US actor and singer ended, I’d completely forgotten what it sounded like.
1957
Rock’n’roll is now established, and there’s plenty in the upper reaches of the charts among the ballads. It’s no coincidence that this is the best selection of tracks so far. One of the best ballads of the 50s is Nat ‘King’ Cole’s When I Fall in Love. It’s another masterful performance from Cole, and it’s a shame he never made it to number 1. Elvis wannabe Pat Boone beat ‘The King’ to the top spot, but why not just listen to the real thing? Love Letters in the Sand is better than his number 1, I’ll Be Home, at least. Last Train to San Fernando, by Johnny Duncan and the Blue Grass Boys, is a very interesting mix of bluegrass, calypso and skiffle, featuring Donegan’s former guitarist Denny Wright. Elvis Presley’s Party, which I’ve never heard before, is a nice blast of the early Presley rock’n’roll sound. Another Oscar nomination, Tammy, is typical cheesy 50s teen fare, used in Debbie Reynolds’ romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor. I know it from the sample found in The Avalanches’ A Different Feeling and Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998). It’s always made me feel queasy. Did you know Jim Dale from the Carry On films was a pop star before becoming an actor? Me neither, and he makes a decent fist of copying Presley on Be My Girl, produced by George Martin. Wake Up Little Susie is perhaps the most famous song by The Everly Brothers, yet it isn’t among their number 1s. It’s aged very well thanks to those sublime harmonies from Don and Phil and quite risque lyrics. Last up is a live recording of Ma He’s Making Eyes at Me by Johnny Otis and His Orchestra with Marie Adams. Otis is considered a seminal influence on rock’roll and it’s a great performance, particularly that raucous vocal from Adams.
The Best
Harry Belafonte, Tony Scott’s Orchestra and Chorus with Millard Thomas, Guitar – The Banana Boat Song
The pick of a great bunch (sorry) of singles is that calypso classic, originally a Jamaican folk tune, sung to perfection by the future civil rights activist and 1957 Christmas number 1 artist. I will have first heard this on Beetlejuice (1988) and have loved it ever since.
The Worst
Russ Hamilton – We Will Make Love
Easy listening dross sung by one of the first Scouse stars to make a name for themselves. That’s literally the only noteworthy thing to say about this.
1958
A smaller selection, and not much rock’n’roll. It’s a strange batch, but in a good way. Tom Hark by South Africans Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes is an instrumental kwela, that’s very familiar, probably via TV. The Mudlarks version of novelty bestseller Lollipop is catchy in an irritating sort of way – nice use of echo at the start though. US popsters The Four Preps contribute Big Man, a decent track with a memorable chorus and great harmonies. Interesting premise too, as the singer has dumped his girlfriend in a moment of madness and is now full of regret.
The Best
Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Hard-Headed Woman
Lifted from The King’s film King Creole. This was the first rock’n’roll record to go Gold. There’s some great guitar work on this 12-bar blues, and a reliably strong vocal from Elvis.
The Worst
Dean Martin with Orchestra and Chorus Conducted by Gus Levine – Return to Me
A surprisingly dull track from the normally reliable Dean Martin, who sings the last verse in Italian. It’s not bad, but in a year of weird number 2s that at least stand out, it gets lost in the mix.
1959
By now the raw danger of rock’n’roll had been mostly dampened by the teen pop sound. But there are a couple of good examples of that genre to be found. I love Little Richard. What fantastic energy, and what a voice! He can even make the 1920s song Baby Face sound hip. But there are much better tracks out there by the flamboyant personality that should have been more popular in the charts. Kim Wilde’s dad Marty was a star in the 50s, and A Teenager in Love, originally a hit for Dion, is rightly well-remembered. If Battle of New Orleans is anything to go by, Lonnie Donegan’s output had already began to deteriorate. It’s considered a country classic but it’s nothing special to my ears, and the cheesy opening is a sign of things to come from the skiffle trailblazer.
The Best
The Teddy Bears – To Know Him, is to Love Him
Before the late Phil Spector became a mad production genius, and ultimately a murderer, he was a member of this pop trio. To Know Him, is to Love Him, inspired by the words on Spector’s father’s tombstone, was a sign of the songwriting excellence to come. I particularly like the performance of the ‘Why can’t he see’ section by lead singer Annette Kleinbard. She later changed her name to Carol Connors, and co-wrote Gonna Fly Now the brilliantly uplifting theme from Rocky (1976).
The Worst
The Everly Brothers – (‘Til) I Kissed You Somewhat disappointing, plodding pop from Don and Phil. Written by the former.
The Best 50s Number 2 Ever is…
Elvis Presley – Hound Dog
Had to be, really. Elvis Presley’s 50s number 1s, bar Jailhouse Rock, don’t really do the King justice. This however, is rightly considered by many the point at which rock’n’roll truly became a revolution. This Lieber and Stoller 12-bar blues was originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1952. Thornton’s version is better, but Presley also knocks it out of the park.
The Worst 50s Number 2 Ever is…
Tony Martin With Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra and Chorus – Walk Hand in Hand
So I listened to this again, and it made as much impression as last time. None. All I can say about it is that it’s very, very dull and we should never forget what rock’n’roll did for us to largely sweep this sort of thing away.
The Outro
I have to confess, this has proved a rather disappointing exercise on the whole! I was hoping for more rock’n’roll classics that I’d also expected to have been number 1s when i began covering them, but the runners-up largely mirror the chart-toppers – trad pop and novelties, a surge of rockn’roll and skiffle, and then teen pop. There’s no soul in there at all. Little Richard is there, but he had to cover a 1920s showtune to get a look-in. But it did at least remind me what a force of nature early Elvis was, and that Nat ‘King’ Cole was one of the greatest crooners. I know that when it comes to covering the 60s number 2s, there will be a larger volume of gems.
Christmas 1974, and anyone refuting the claim glam had become too in thrall of the past would have been hard pushed to defend Mud’s second number 1 of the year. Rushing together an Elvis Presley spoof for the festive market, they took Slade’s Christmas crown with Lonely This Christmas.
Before
To say the preceding 12 months had been good for Mud would be an understatement. They started the year with 1974’s biggest seller, and one of my favourite chart-toppers, Tiger Feet, then a number two with the inferior soundalike The Cat Crept In, and a respectable number six with Rocket. They also released a cover of In the Mood under the name ‘Dum’, which failed to chart.
The well was perhaps starting to run dry for Chinnichap’s songwriting, but they’d had a very impressive run over the last few years, and seeing the excitement the chart battle between Slade and Wizzard caused in 1973, they no doubt thought one of their acts could be in with a shout. If they could pull it off, it would be their third number 1 of the year.
There was some strong competition though. Mike Batt’s Wombles had enjoyed a good year and Wombling Merry Christmas was bound to do well, plus there was Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet close to the top spot. Elvis too.
Speaking of which, how can you talk about Lonely This Christmas without comparing it to the work of ‘the King’? Although you could point out it’s more akin to his early-60s work than 50s material – Are You Lonesome Tonight?is the obvious song to note – there’s also his cover of Blue Christmas to consider, which he recorded in 1957. And of course, singer Les Gray’s voice was similar to Presley’s in general and it gave him an excuse to be the country’s best-selling Elvis impersonator over the holidays.
Review
Now Lonely This Christmas is no Tiger Feet, nor is it of the same class as Merry Xmaƨ Everybody, but I’ve always been fond of it, and the sheer nerve of releasing it amuses me. The clip below, from Top of the Pops, of Gray miming sincerely to a sinister-looking (aren’t they all?) ventriloquist puppet is a classic, bizarre TV moment. Mud have always struck me as charming chancers who somehow lucked into being in the right place and the right time, and the sight of them struggling to keep a straight face when performing this proves it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAZjiLeDWlc
It’s not for everyone. It certainly doesn’t have the universal appeal of Slade or Wizzard’s festive classics, and the only way you could get emotionally attached to it would be if you really were unlucky enough to be going through a break-up with someone, and even then, you can’t, because the whole song is a joke, and you’d feel like you were being laughed at. But come on, it’s Christmas, a time for taste to go out the window. Embrace the tackiness, like a nation exhausted from elections and terrorism did at the time. It’s also quite a funny way for Chinnichap’s chart dominance and number 1s together to come to an end, although there was Mud’s final number 1, produced by them, to come.
The Outro
So that’s 1974. An eclectic mix of pop, late glam, with a welcome return of some reggae and soul into the mix. Things were about to steadily slide downhill as the 70s progressed further. It seems the more the country slid into the economic doldrums, the worse the singles chart became.
The Info
Written & produced by
Nicky Chinn & Mike Chapman
Weeks at number 1
4 (21 December 1974-17 January 1975)
Trivia
Births
6 January 1975:Radio DJ Jason King
Deaths
21 December 1974:Artist James Henry Govier
Meanwhile…
22 December 1974: A rotten year for Conservative Party leader Edward Heath ends with his London home bombed by the Provisional IRA. Fortunately he wasn’t in but only cheated death by 10 minutes.
24 December: Former Labour government minister John Stonehouse is discovered living in Australia after having faked his own death. He is quickly arrested by Australian police, who initially believe that he is Lord Lucan.
6 January 1975: Brian Clough, the recently sacked former manager of Leeds United, is appointed manager of Second Division strugglers Nottingham Forest.
14 January: 17-year-old heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped from her home near Bridgnorth in Shropshire.
Literally one of the biggest soul stars of the 70s, US singer-songwriter-producer-arranger Barry White was a disco pioneer, and You’re the First, My Last, My Everything is a prime example of his smooth, sexy résumé. Jokes about his weight aside, the ‘Walrus of Love’ sold millions in his lifetime, making him a chart heavyweight. Sorry.
Before
Barry Eugene Carter was born on 12 September 1944 in Galveston, Texas to Melvin A White and Sadie Marie Carter. They moved to South Central Los Angeles, California when he was young, and he fell in love with his mother’s classical records and began learning the piano, while his mother also taught him how to harmonise. Perhaps this explains the lush orchestration that would become one of his trademarks. One of the most obvious things to spring to mind is White’s baritone, with him since the day his voice dropped suddenly, aged 14. He later recalled his mother crying that his previously squeaky voice had gone forever.
At 16 White was sent to prison for stealing tyres, and while there his life changed when he heard Elvis Presley singingIt’s Now or Never (O Sole Mio). He vowed to go straight and focus on music. This was nearly taken away from him when he was arrested again shortly after his release for attempted murder. Luckily for him, the victim came out of a coma and was able to give a proper description of the attacker, thus proving White was innocent.
He joined The Upfronts and sang bass over six singles, beginning with Too Far to Turn Around in 1960. His debut solo single, as Lee Barry, was Man Ain’t Nothin’ in 1966 on Downey. For much of the 60s he worked as a songwriter and arranger for small labels in California, and he relied on welfare cheques to feed his family. Among the acts he worked with were The Bobby Fuller Four, and he also wrote music for The Banana Splits children’s TV series in 1968.
After years of plugging away, White got his big break in 1972 when Love Unlimited recorded debut album From a Girl’s Point of View We Give to You… Love Unlimited. They were an all-female soul trio in the mould of The Supremes that White had spent two years honing. The ballad Walkin’ in the Rain with the One I Love became a hit in the UK and US.
Then came The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973. The 40-piece were assembled by White to back Love Unlimited, but he also decided to release material by them in their own right, and Love’s Theme became a smash-hit and was one of the few instrumentals to top the Billboard Hot 100. It also climbed to 10 in the UK. Also in 1973, White was searching for a male singer to work with, and recorded some demos, but when his business partner Larry Nunes heard them, he loved White’s croon and said he should record them and take the spotlight. White didn’t agree and took some persuading, but he subsequently recorded enough to release an album, and from I’ve Got So Much to Give came his first solo hit, I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby, featuring a riff as heavy as the man himself, and his deep purring, it’s a soul classic.
With that and songs like Never, Never Gonna Give You Up from follow-up Stone Gon’, White became known as the go-to man to soundtrack sex. I wonder how many children came about to the music of White? We Brits had certainly never heard such steamy stuff in the singles chart.
Love Unlimited’s lead singer Glodean James became White’s second wife in 1974, and this was the peak of the Walrus of Love’s chart placings. His music became less raunchy and more celebratory of love in general with the singles from Can’t Get Enough. The almost-title track Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, climbed to number eight on these shores before he hit the top spot.
You’re the First, the Last, My Everything was originally a country song written by White’s friend Peter Radcliffe back in 1953 but the singer couldn’t get You’re My First, You’re My Last, My In-Between recorded. When White was down on his luck, Radcliffe bought his children toys for Christmas, and White never forgot that. Songwriter Tony Sepe was shocked when Radcliffe played it to them both in the studio, finding it dated, but White told Radcliffe to stay away for three weeks and he’d turn it into a smash. When he heard the results, he cried.
Review
With a shortened intro from the album version, White purrs ‘We got it together, didn’t we?’ You can imagine him saying it with an after-sex cigarette in his hand. Try not to picture it too hard though… Rather than seducing his lover, this is a tribute to their love, and so there’s no wonder this became his safest hit, used at wedding discos and anniversary parties decades later. Like all White’s prime cuts, it’s made with the dancefloor in mind, with stabbing strings that make you want to punch the air or even slide along it on your knees depending on how much you’ve drunk.
And yet, it doesn’t click with me like it perhaps should. As a big soul, funk and disco fan it should be right up my alley, but there’s something about White’s work that stops me loving it. It’s perhaps the sad fact he’s considered a cliché now, and a bit of a joke due to his sweaty appearance and frilly shirts, a throwback to cheesier times. I prefer his filth from the year previous, and consider that more groundbreaking, but I certainly don’t deny as disco goes, this is superior to some of the tat that followed in its wake. And as a huge Pulp fan, I do enjoy White’s spoken word, lengthy, hypnotic intros. As did Jarvis Cocker, clearly.
After
The hits kept coming for White, for a few years, with plenty of top 10 action in the UK with singles like What Am I Gonna Do (number five), Let the Music Play (nine) in 1975 and You See the Trouble with Me (two) in 1976. Two years later his cover of Billy Joel’s Just the Way You Are was his last hit for nine years.
After six years of fame with 20th Century Records, White left in 1979 to set up his own label, Unlimited Gold, with CBS/Columbia Records. Unfortunately this coincided with a downturn in sales. Tastes were changing and disco was on its way out. The 80s were lean times and the label folded in 1983. Four years later the single Sho’ You Right briefly returned him to the charts.
In the 90s, disco came back in vogue, as the children of the 70s looked back on their youth, just as rock’n’roll had a revival in the 70s. White became a living legend and his 1992 album Put Me In Your Mix returned him to the US charts. In 1994 Practice What You Preach (from The Icon Is Love) reached 20 in the UK singles chart. He leant his voice to The Simpsons and appeared on Ally McBeal, and seemed happy to poke fun at himself. He wasn’t always as cool as his reputation suggested though, enjoy these outtakes of him losing his rag while recording a voiceover for Paul Quinn College. BBC comedies such as The Mary Whitehouse Experience and The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer liked to spoof the Walrus, the latter being particularly funny to the teenage me.
Ironically, White’s last album was called Staying Power, released in 1999. His health problems were catching up with him, and that year he was forced to cancel tour dates due to exhaustion and high blood pressure. In 2002 he was hospitalised due to kidney failure, and while undergoing dialysis and awaiting a transplant in May 2003 he suffered a severe stroke. White died on 4 July 2003, aged 58.
The Outro
Look past all the layers of irony, and White was very talented, and his songs of love were a positive force in disco. As the Fun Lovin’ Criminals sang on 1998 single Love Unlimited:
‘Barry White, saved my life and if Barry White, saved your life Or got you back with your ex-wife Sing Barry White, Barry White, it’s alright.’
The Info
Written by
Peter Radcliffe, Tony Sepe & Barry White
Producer
Barry White
Weeks at number 1
2 (7-20 December)
Trivia
Births
13 December:Radio DJ Sara Cox/Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy
Meanwhile…
15 December: In an attempt to save fuel at a time of Arab embargoes following the Yom Kippur War, new speed limits are introduced on Britain’s roads
18 December: The government pays £42,000 to families of victims of the Bloody Sunday riots in Northern Ireland.
With bucketloads of charisma and good looks to melt the heart of his fans, singer-songwriter and actor David Essex was a star in the making in the early 70s and finally hit the big time playing… a star in the making. And his first number 1 was about, yep, a star in the making.
Before
Born David Albert Cook on 23 July 1947 in Plaistow, Essex, his father Albert was an East End docker and his mother Olive was an Irish traveller and a pianist. Albert contracted TB and underwent hospital treatment, so Olive and David lived with Olive’s sister in the early years. When Albert was finally better and David was two, the Cooks moved to Canning Town.
As a schoolboy, Cook was obsessed with football and played for West Ham Juniors, but that all that changed when he visited an R’n’B club called The Flamingo in Soho at the age of 13, and he learnt to play the drums, driving his neighbour mad to the point where he had a fight with Albert and was knocked out.
By the time he was living in Romford, Cook had played with a handful of blues bands, but manager Derek Bowman encouraged him to become a singer. He changed his name to ‘David Essex’ and recorded a single for Fontana in 1965, And the Tears Came Tumbling Down. For the next two years he toured nightclubs with a band as David Essex and the Mood Indigo, while also cutting his teeth as an actor in repertory theatre.
As the 70s began he built up momentum, at least in his acting, with small roles in the thriller Assault (1971) and drama All Coppers Are… in 1972. But it was getting the lead role in the stage musical Godspell in 1971 that really took things up a notch. Also among the cast was Jeremy Irons.
In 1973 Essex really struck gold when he was cast as the lead in the coming-of-age drama That’ll Be the Day. Set in the late-50s and early-60s, the film told the story of hedonistic teenager Jim MacLaine, and Essex was picked due to his inherent charm in an attempt to make the character more likable. Set to a nostalgic rock’n’roll soundtrack, it also starred musicians including Ringo Starr, Billy Fury and Keith Moon.
As the film was in production, Essex was also working on his debut album with Jeff Wayne. The son of actor and theatre producer Jerry, Wayne had composed the music for his father’s musical Two Cities in the late-60s. Inspired by his role in That’ll Be the Day, Essex wrote eventual title track Rock On, which name-checked James Dean, Summertime Blues and Blue Suede Shoes. Entering the studio for a vocal demo, Essex banged on a bin for the rhythm, and with echo applied, they liked the groove that formed. When it came to recording the song proper, they stuck to the sparse approach, with only three session musicians, and the bass played by Herbie Flowers brought to the forefront. Rock On was a slinky, sexy, edgy tune, and it deservedly became a big hit.
A year later, Essex was working on his eponymous second album and also filming Stardust, the sequel to That’ll Be the Day, marking MacLaine’s rise to fame later in the 60s. Once again inspired by his second job, he wrote Gonna Make You a Star, which became the opening track on David Essex.
Review
Had Essex carried on down the path Rock On set out, he may be considered a more credible artist than he is. Instead, his two number 1s widened his fanbase by taking him down the family-friendly, lovable entertainer route, and to be fair, it certainly worked for him.
Although Gonna Make You a Star is inferior to Rock On, it’s an enjoyable commercial pop tune, which is partly down to Wayne’s colourful synthesiser work, which adds a nice bounce and sprightliness to proceedings. That line ‘Oh is he more, too much more than a pretty face’ shows a witty touch of irony from Essex, as does the retort ‘I don’t think so’. Pretty decent 70s pop-rock with a wink and a cheeky smile. Shaun Ryder, mentioned in my previous blog, was clearly a fan, as he quotes the chorus in the Happy Mondays track Lazyitis (One Armed Boxer), melding Essex’s song with The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride.
The Info
Written by
David Essex
Producer
Jeff Wayne
Weeks at number 1
3 (16 November-6 December)
Trivia
Births
24 November:Comedy writer Stephen Merchant 27 November:Welsh racing cyclist Wendy Houvenaghel
Deaths
25 November:Folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake
Meanwhile…
21 November: The Birmingham pub bombings became one of the worst atrocities in the Troubles, when 21 people were killed and 182 injured by Provisional IRA explosions at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town. It was the worst terrorist act on English soil between the Second World War and the 2005 London bombings.
24 November: The Birmingham Six were charged with the pub bombings. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975, they protested their innocence and claimed they were coerced into signing confessions through severe psychological and physical abuse. They weren’t released until 1991 after their convictions were declared unsafe. It’s one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history
25 November: Home Secretary Roy Jenkins announced the government’s intention to outlaw the IRA in the UK.
27 November: The Prevention of Terrorism Act was passed.
5 December: The final episode of Monty Python was broadcast on BBC Two. The last series of the classic surreal sketch comedy had shortened its title and lost a member, when John Cleese declined to take part other than the penning of a few sketches.
A tune that started out as a soft rock tribute to Bread singer David Gates’s dead father was repurposed as a reggae love song by Jamaican rocksteady singer Ken Boothe and became his sole number 1 in the autumn of 1974.
Before
Gates’s father had died in 1963, long before his son’s group became successful, but he considered him his greatest influence. The title was also inspired by him, as when Gates was a struggling musician he had bought his mother an orchid, and his father wrote to him saying he could have ‘anything she owned’ in return. It’s a lovely song, and will mean a lot to anyone who has lost a parent, but despite reaching number three in the US in 1972, it stalled at 32 in the UK.
Boothe was born in Denham Town, Kingston on 22 March 1948. He developed an interest in music while at Denham Primary Elementary School, with the help of his eldest sister Hyacinth Clover, who was part of a comedy double act. One of his biggest influences was Owen Gray, considered Jamaica’s first homegrown singing star.
As a teenager, Boothe formed a singing duo with his friend Winston ‘Stranger’ Cole. They released singles together as Stranger & Ken between 1963 and 1965. He also recorded as Roy & Ken with Roy Shirley in 1966, the same year he went solo and began recording at the famed Studio One, scoring his first hit with The Train Is Coming, on which he was backed by The Wailers. Boothe toured the UK the following year, promoted as ‘Mr Rocksteady’. To the unitiated, ‘rocksteady’ came after ska and before reggae, and is basically a slowed-down version of the two. It has nothing to do with rock.
Boothe enjoyed a number of hit singles over the next few years, including Moving Away and covers of American and British soul tunes. He switched to producer Leslie Kong’s Beverley’s Records in 1970, but following his untimely death he moved around and eventually settled with UK-based Trojan Records and Lloyd Charmers in 1971.
Two albums, 1973’s Black Gold and Green and 1974’s What’s Going On followed, and then when they began another album, Charmers suggested they work on a cover of Everything I Own, which eventually became the name of the LP too. It featured the Federal Soul Givers, Lloyd Parks on bass, Paul Williams from Toots and the Maytals on drums, Willie Lindo on guitar and Charmers on organ, piano and percussion. Unlike most covers, not only was the arrangement updated, but the lyrics were changed enough to alter the meaning of the song, altering it from a son mourning his father, to a spurned lover hoping to change her mind by whatever means necessary.
Review
Although a minor number 1 (strong enough to top the charts once more when Boy George released it in 1987, though), Boothe’s cover is a pleasant slice of light reggae-pop – the type of reggae I’d normally avoid (don’t get me started on UB40, plenty of time for that when I reach the 80s). Most of that is simply down to Boothe’s voice. Some find his delivery too exact and too tight to the music but his trademark deep timbre is unusual and makes the performance feel real to me, suggesting Boothe is wounded and broken but hopeful. However, it sounds like it was his fault, as Boothe mentions taking someone for granted.
Musically, Boothe’s version is better, but I prefer the lyrics to the original. They stand out more and after all, there are a million songs in which the singer is broken-hearted and trying to persuade their lover back. Not bad at all though.
After
Boothe had one more UK hit from the same album when Crying Over You reached 11. Unfortunately Trojan’s financial difficulties resulted in the label suspending operations, and Boothe’s career struggled to regain momentum when it returned in 1978. That year, he was name-checked in The Clash’s (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais.
Boothe and Trojan parted ways again, and his recording output dropped considerably from then on, with only two albums released in the 80s – Imagine (1986) and Don’t You Know (1987), but often he was reworking old Studio One material. UB40 (there they are again) covered Boothe on their Labour of Love album in 1983, and its sequel in 1992. In 1995 Boothe collaborated with Shaggy on a remake of The Train Is Coming on the soundtrack to the action film Money Train.
The Outro
In 2003, Boothe was awarded the Order of Distinction from his homeland for his contribution to Jamaican music.
The Info
Written by
David Gates
Producer
Lloyd Charmers
Weeks at number 1
3 (26 October-15 November)
Trivia
Births
29 October:Cricketer Michael Vaughan 2 November: Hammer thrower David Smith 4 November:Singer Louise Redknapp
Deaths
28 October:Poet David Jones
Meanwhile…
28 October: The wife and son of Sports Minister Denis Howell survived a Provisional IRA bomb attack on their car.
4 November: Judith Ward was sentenced to life imprisonment for the M62 coach bombing on 4 February. It took 18 years for her to be released due to a wrongful judgement.
7 November: Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, better known as Lord Lucan, went missing after his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death in the Lucan family home. He was never found and his death certificate was granted in 2016. Also that day, an IRA bomb explodes at the Kings Arms, Woolwich, killing two.
11 November: The New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms opened.
13 November: The Americanisation of the UK took a giant leap forward when the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Woolwich, South London.
We’ve had several acts on the blog now that started out on ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks, including Middle of the Road and Paper Lace, but here was the first and only number 1 by a band who rose to fame via New Faces. This series, produced by ATV for ITV, began in 1973 with presenter Derek Hobson introducing acts who would perform for four judges. Among those, and most notorious, was the sardonic Tony Hatch, the 70s version of Simon Cowell. But one act he did take a shine to were Mancunian group Sweet Sensation.
Before
This eight-piece were formed in 1971, consisting of lead vocalist Marcel King, Junior Daye, Vincent James and St Clair Palmer on backing vocals, plus Barry Johnson on bass, Roy Flowers on drums, Gary Shaugnessy on guitar and Leroy Smith on keyboards. Sweet Sensation were Manchester’s answer to the ‘Philly sound’, and by the time of their appearance on New Faces in 1974, this lush soul was growing ever more popular in the UK.
It’s worth noting that glam rock had been a totally white phenomenon, and now it was on the wane, soul and eventually disco were filling the gap. There were many more black acts at number 1 in 1974 then there had been for some time. And there hadn’t been a black British group at number 1 since The Equals in 1968. King was only 14 when they formed, making Sweet Sensation comparable to The Jackson Five due to his youthful falsetto. However, only King and Shaugnessy hailed from Manchester, the rest were from Kingston, Jamiaca, apart from Palmer, who was from St Kitts.
Hatch had prior number 1 success numerous times, with his wife Jackie Trent, among others, so Sweet Sensation landed on their feet when the well-connected producer took them under his wing and getting them a record deal with Pye in 1974. However, despite his patronage, debut single Snowfire tanked. They went back to the drawing board and enlisted David Parton to write Sad Sweet Dreamer, which featured Hatch and Trent on vocals too.
Review
It’s a fair approximation of Gamble & Huff’s masterful work, and tracks by The Stylistics, but it feels a bit stiff, low budget and ‘British’ by comparison. King’s falsetto is appealing and it’s ironic to hear a teen singing about putting things down to experience, but it feels more like a song to fill a gap for a week than a deserved number 1, which was exactly what it was really. One of the least memorable chart-toppers of the year, but by no means a bad song.
After
Sweet Sensation had found a winning formula but it proved short-lived. However, the follow-up Purely By Coincidence reached number 11 in 1975. Sad Sweet Dreamer was a good enough impersonation of Philly soul for the US too – it reached number 14 there. But that was pretty much it for the band. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Recardo “Rikki” Patrick. Their debut album, named after their number 1, did badly, and no more singles charted. In 1977 they took part in A Song for Europe but came eighth with You’re My Sweet Sensation. Pye dropped them and they split soon after.
In 1984, King tried to begin a solo career, and released Reach for Love on Factory Records. It was produced by New Order’s Bernard Sumner, and is considered a lost electro-soul classic now. It’s a great production from Sumner, and King’s voice is beautiful. Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays apparently reckons it’s Factory’s best single, and ripped it off on Black Grape’s Get Higher in 1997.
The Outro
Sadly, King didn’t become a solo star and died of a brain haemorrhage in 1995, aged only 38. His former bandmate Johnson was also on Factory via the early underground dance outfit Quando Quango. Smith died in 2009 and James in 2019.
The Info
Written by
David Parton
Producers
Tony Hatch & David Parton
Weeks at number 1
1 (19-25 October)
Trivia
Births
20 October:Islamic terrorist Mohammad Sidique Khan
Meanwhile…
19 October: Conservative MP Keith Joseph makes a controversial speech in Edgbaston on the cycle of deprivation that effectively rules him out of high office. He left the leadership contest to replace Edward Heath and instead became one of Margaret Thatcher’s biggest supporters.
22 October: The IRA threw a bomb into an empty dining room in London’s Brook’s club.
The unassuming US singer-songwriter and activist John Denver wrote some of folk and country’s biggest hits, but was a one-hit wonder in the UK, where he scored the number 1 spot with this tender tribute to his first wife.
Before
Born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. on New Year’s Eve 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico, his father was a stern US Army Air Forces pilot who had difficulty showing his children emotion, and it made his eldest son introverted, as did the constant moving around due to his father’s job. Deutschendorf Jr. was shy to mix with others, but loved music and became a member of Tuscon Arizona Boys Chorus. However, that was cut short when forced to move once more and he disliked ending up in a segregated school in Montgomery, Alabama.
At college he began playing the guitar at local clubs, having been bought one by his grandmother when he was 11. When it was pointed out to him that his surname was rather unwieldy for showbiz purposes, he became John Denver, paying tribute the capital of Colorado, his favourite state. Denver joined a folk group called The Alpine Trio but dropped out of the Texas Tech School of Engineering in 1963 and moved to Los Angeles. In 1965 he joined The Mitchell Trio when founder Chad Mitchell left. A year later he recorded a demo tape of his own material for friends as a Christmas present called John Denver Sings. Among the songs was Babe, I Hate to Go. Producer Milt Okun was impressed and took it to Peter, Paul and Mary, who recorded it for an album but changed the name to Leaving on a Jet Plane.
In 1969 Denver signed with RCA Records and recorded his debut solo LP, Rhymes & Reasons. Peter, Paul and Mary’s cover of Leaving on a Jet Plane was released as a single and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number two in the UK in 1970. That year he released two albums, Take Me to Tomorrow and Whose Garden Was This.
1971 brought Denver’s breakthrough when his album Poems, Prayers & Promises contained the track Take Me Home, Country Roads. This country classic narrowly missed out on the US top spot, but Denver was on the road to fame, and the hits increased in America. Rocky Mountain High reached the top 10 in 1973, and between 1974-75 Denver had four number 1s there – Sunshine on My Shoulders, Annie’s Song, Thank God I’m a Country Boy and I’m Sorry. Despite his shyness, the image of his embroidered shirts, long hair and granny glasses stood out, making him resemble a more polite, American version of John Lennon.
Annie’s Song was written, according to Denver himself, in 10-and-a-half minutes one day on a ski lift to the top of Ajax Mountain in Aspen, Colorado in July 1973. Exhilarated after skiing a difficult run, Denver’s senses came alive with the immersion of the colours and sounds around him, and they inspired him to think of his then-wife, Annie. He got home and wrote it all down, then later presented it to Okun, who pointed out the tune was similar to Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. An hour later all that remained the same were the first five notes.
Review
Sure, Annie’s Song is a very pretty melody, and Denver’s voice has a charm, but it’s never done much for me. Rather like Don McLean’s Vincent, the intro is very strong, but it’s downhill from there. ‘You fill up my senses’ is a great lyric, but the subsequent outpouring of comparisons doesn’t hold the attention. Denver would have been better off spending more time on the words – they’re cliched and ultimately lack a personal touch, but such Hallmark-style writing was popular among the more conservative, old-fashioned singles buyers of the mid-70s, so it was perhaps inevitable this would reach number 1 in the same year as She.
After
Denver’s manager Jerry Weintraub insisted the singer appear on as many TV shows as possible, despite his reticence, particularly in the UK, where he was much less well-known. Back home though, he won an Emmy for a live concert special in 1975. That December, Rocky Mountain Christmas became ABC’s highest-rated programme up to that point, with an astounding 60 million viewers. He is also remembered fondly for his appearance on The MuppetShow, even here in the UK. He also acted, starring in the film Oh, Boy! (1977) alongside comedian George Burns, hosted the Grammy Awards five times and appeared on The Tonight Show numerous times.
Denver’s music may not have been to everyone’s tastes, but his political leanings were sound. In the mid-70s he supported Jimmy Carter and they became close friends when he became president, even appointing Denver to serve on the President’s Commission on World Hunger. He founded the Windstar Foundation in 1976 to promote sustainable living, and did work for the poor, the homeless and African AIDS charities over the years.
As the hits dried up towards the end of the 70s, Denver spent much of the next decade becoming more heavily involved in politics. Despite being a critic of Ronald Reagan’s administration, Reagan awarded him the Presidential World Without Hunger Award in 1987. Five years earlier, he had finally had enough of Weintrauub’s interference and sacked him. His ex-manager accused him of being a Nazi. Little bit over-the-top and very wrong by all accounts. Despite all his charity work, he was turned down when he asked to appear on 1985 chart-topper on both sides of the Atlantic, We Are the World. According to its producer Ken Kragen, this was because many involved, but not he, believed Denver’s image would harm the song’s credibility.
In the mid-70s Dever reconciled with his father, and he helped him learn to fly, beginning his obsession that would ultimately be the death of him. Spookily, he would have potentially died even sooner had he got his wish of being the first citizen to go into space courtesy of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Despite the tragic explosion, Denver continued to support NASA and obsessed about space, even reportedly entering discussions with the Soviet Union (where he had been the first US musician to perform in more than 10 years) with the hope of buying a place on one of their flights. Once the talks reached a possible $20 million price tag, Denver backed down.
Denver released his autobiography, Take Me Home, in 1994, in which he revealed some facts that went totally against his nice guy image, including drug use, drunk driving and domestic violence. After divorcing Annie in 1982, the woman who had filled up his senses, he found out she’d cut down some trees he liked. As revenge, he showed up at her place, shredded her furniture with a power saw, then proceeded to choke her. Pretty terrible stuff. His second marriage only lasted five years, ending in 1993.
The Outro
On 12 October 1997 Denver died from multiple blunt force trauma when his experimental Rutan Long-EZ plane crashed into Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California. He wasn’t legally allowed to fly due to his drunk driving arrests, but his autopsy found no drugs or drink in his body. Denver was 53.
In 1978, four years after Denver had his only UK number 1, the Belfast-born flute player James Galway scored his only chart hit with his cover of Annie’s Song.
The Info
Written by
John Denver
Producer
Milt Okun
Weeks at number 1
1 (12-18 October)
Trivia
Births
17 October:Actor Matthew Macfadyen
Meanwhile…
16 October: Rioting prisoners set fire to Belfast’s Maze Prison.
‘Woah-ho-ho-ho!’ Knocked off in 10 minutes as a B-side, this huge-selling number 1 is one of the most famous novelty hits of all time. It took advantage of the 70s kung fu craze and briefly made Carl Douglas a star.
Yes, the mid-70s wasn’t just about streaking. The films of martial artist Bruce Lee had become popular in the US and subsequently the UK, but he died after the making of his 1973 blockbuster Enter the Dragon, which only added to his legend. He had allegedly also been in the running to star in US action drama Kung Fu, before David Carradine took the role in 1972. The mid-70s was the high watermark of the nation’s fascination with kung fu. There were adverts for Hai Karate aftershave, cartoon canine Hong Kong Phooey and an episode of The Goodies, ‘Kung Fu Kapers’ that concentrated on the ancient art of ‘Ecky Thump’. Famously, this was the episode in which a man literally died laughing at home while watching. What a way to go.
Before
But anyway, Carl Douglas. Carlton George Douglas was born 10 May 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica but also spent his childhood in California before relocating to London as a teenager to study sound engineering, and enjoyed playing football. He also underwent vocal training and developed a strong tenor voice that he would use to sing in church. Douglas loved soul and jazz music, and his heroes were Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
In 1964 Douglas formed Carl Douglas & the Big Stampede, and they released three singles in the UK but failed to get anywhere. His debut solo single was Serving a Sentence of Life in 1968, but again, no joy. With another group, Carl Douglas & the Explosion, he released the single Eeny Meeny in Spain. No reaction. Douglas returned to the UK and started working with Indian producer Biddu for the first time in 1971.
Biddu Appaiah, better known as just Biddu, would become one of the pioneers of disco. Born in Bangalore, India in 1944, he moved to England in the 60s and became a producer, working on Japanese band The Tigers’ Smile for Me in 1969, before moving on to a number of tracks that became popular on the Northern Soul scene.
Douglas recorded the single Marble and Iron with Biddu, who used the singer again in 1972 on the soundtrack to the spy thriller Embassy, starring Richard Roundtree (Shaft). Biddu hired Douglas again in 1974 to record I Want to Give You My Everything. He asked the singer if he had any ideas on what they could use as a B-side, and Douglas had several, one of which was a bunch of lyrics about watching a kung fu film. Not taking it too seriously, Biddu came up with a tune, and when it came to recording, allegedly I Want to Give You My Everything took two hours, wheras Kung Fu Fighting took 10 minutes as they were running out of studio time.
When the single was taken to Pye Records, an executive couldn’t understand why Kung Fu Fighting wasn’t the A-side, and insisted they swap the two around, for which Douglas and Biddu must be eternally grateful.
Review
You may have heard it a million times, and not consider it something you’d ever need to listen to again by choice, but I’d defy anyone to not have a soft spot for Kung Fu Fighting. Sure, it’s cheesy, but it’s also bloody funky, and I’m a sucker for some wah-wah guitar and a nice bassline. Funk is one of my favourite genres and there’s sadly very few that reached number 1. And for all this is considered a disco classic, and Biddu went on to be one of the genre’s foremost producers, this to me is more funk than disco. Although credit is due to Biddu for the oriental strings. Over-the-top, sure, as are the ‘ha!’ noises at the end of each line, but they only add to the fun. I’d imagine this song must have been incredible for your average child into kung fu at the time, and is still able to make anyone feel young again, no matter their age.
After
Kung Fu Fighting looked like another failure upon its release, but picked up momentum from airplay in clubs. After reaching number 1 here, it topped charts around the world, including Billboard‘s, making Douglas the first Jamaican to top the US chart. An album was quickly cobbled together, the wonderfully named Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs. Douglas is remembered as a one-hit wonder, but he had two more UK hits – the inferior follow-up cash-in Dance the Kung Fu later that year (number 35) and Run Back in 1977 (number 25).
The Outro
Two more albums were released, Love, Peace and Happiness in 1979 and Keep Pleasing Me in 1983, and then Douglas disappeared into obscurity, moving to Hamburg, Germany, occasionally surfacing to remember his time as the man behind Kung Fu Fighting. And then in 1998 his song was back in the top 10 again thanks to the dance act Bus Stop, reaching number eight. It was pretty pointless, just the original with some rapping added into the mix, but it captured the 90s obsession with the 70s and Douglas was wheeled out once more for TV shows. He seems a genial character, and who wouldn’t be, really, when you can have an income for life thanks to one song made in a hurry?
The Info
Written by
Carl Douglas
Producer
Biddu
Weeks at number 1
3 (21 September-11 October)
Meanwhile…
23 September: The first Teletext information service Ceefax began on the BBC. This precursor to the internet was fascinating to people of a certain age, ie, me.
30 September: With the year’s second general election 10 days away, opinion polls showed Labour were in the lead, with Harold Wilson well-placed to gain the overall majority that no party achieved in the election held in February.
5 October: The Provisional IRA killed five people in the Guildford pub bombings.
10 October: The second general election of 1974 resulted in Labour gaining a majority, but only by three seats. Speculation began immediately that Edward Heath’s leadership of the Conservatives would soon be over. The Scottish National Party secured its highest Westminster party representation to date with 11 seats, and former Conservative MP Enoch Powell was returned to parliament standing for the Ulster Unionist Party in Northern Ireland.
With three number 1s from Donny Osmond and a Christmas chart-topper from Little Jimmy Osmond, this blog has been no stranger to the 70s musical Mormon family phenomenon. But The Osmonds, the group that started it all, only scored one number 1. It is the best of (a poor) bunch, though.
Before
The story of their beginnings in showbiz was covered in my blog on Puppy Love. Alan, Wayne, Merril and Jay started out as a barbershop quartet before finding fame on The Andy Williams Show. Donny soon joined them, and occasionally sister Marie and their little brother Jimmy would make appearances too. Producer Mike Curb got the quintet a contract with MGM Records and they had a US number 1, One Bad Apple, in 1971.
A formula was soon established where Merril would sing lead and Donny would perform the hook or chorus of their singles, which included Double Lovin’ and Yo-Yo. Oldest brother Virl taught the group how to dance, as he could only hear 15% of what most people can hear – just enough to follow a rhythm.
Donny’s solo career took off, but the other four would perform on his material too. 1972 was a big year for The Osmonds, with an animated TV series and group and solo hits. They began to tire of the clean pop sound, and the album Phase III moved them closer to rock. But not as much as the follow-up, Crazy Horses, featuring as its title track a surprisingly heavy rocker about the environment that remains brilliant. The Osmonds wrote all the songs here and even played all the instruments, with Alan on rhythm guitar, Wayne on lead guitar, Merril on bass, Jay on drums and Donny on keyboards. It took Crazy Horses for The Osmonds to score a hit in the UK (number two), despite Donny’s popularity.
In 1973 The Osmonds took the bold move of releasing a concept album about their Mormon faith. Despite the unusual subject matter, the hits continued, with Goin’ Home and Let Me In reaching two and four respectively. By this time, Little Jimmy had scored a Christmas number 1 and their sister Marie was also releasing material along with duets with Donny. The Osmonds were getting older, spreading themselves thin and beginning to get on people’s nerves, but their biggest hit was right around the corner.
The ballad Love Me for a Reason was originally released by its co-writer, former Motown songwriter Johnny Bristol, without much fanfare. However, he was on the same label as The Osmonds, and their management thought it would be a good fit. It became the title track of their sixth LP.
Review
This is normally the kind of sentimental ballad I’d run a mile from, and yet, I quite like Love Me for a Reason, and have done since my first exposure to it when Boyzone took their version to number two in 1994. Sure it’s soppy and slushy, and a bit righteous. No doubt the message of ‘only have sex if its true love’ worked nicely with The Osmonds, and with a boyband as wet as Boyzone (I’ve never been able to stand any song they released from then on), but the tune is pretty nice, and Mike Curbs’ production makes it superior to the 90s version, with some guitar touches here and there making it almost a country song. The highlight of both versions is when a bit of passion breaks through on ‘My initial reaction is honey give me love/Not a facsimile of’. Ok, it’s not Robert Plant screaming ‘I’m gonna give you every inch of my love’ but there’s a time and place for everything and if you ever need a squeaky-clean love song, this does the job.
After
Only one more big hit followed for The Osmonds over here – the title track to their next album, The Proud One in 1975 (the album was called I’m Still Gonna Need You on these shores), reaching number five. By then, the Bay City Rollers were the UK’s biggest teen idols, and The Osmonds seemed stale. There never seemed to be any tensions or inner jealousy in the family, and the older brothers became happy to go behind the scenes and produce The Donny & Marie Show from 1976 to 1979. When the show ended, the brothers were in debt and needed a new direction. They switched record labels to Mercury and made an album with Maurice Gibb. Although The Bee Gees were still huge, the LP bombed.
Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay returned to performing as The Osmond Brothers, as they had when starting out, and had a few country chart hits in the US in the early-80s, but their refusal to tour didn’t help their careers. The eldest singing Osmond, Alan, was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis in 1987, and his performances understandably became even more sporadic. 10 years later, Wayne found out he had a brain tumour, and it caused him to retire in the early-10s.
In 2007 the whole family embarked on a tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary in showbusiness. A televised concert from Las Vegas saw them all perform, and even Tom and Virl joined in with signed lyrics on a couple of songs, plus Andy Williams made a guest appearance.
Merrill, Jay and Jimmy began working together performing and in business ventures. They released an album, I Can’t Get There Without You, in 2012, but these days, it’s just Merrill and Jay mainly, sometimes with Marie and Alan’s son, solo star David. Alan and Wayne rejoined for one final performance in 2019, but were back again on TV for Marie’s birthday in 2019.
The Outro
Often derided for their teen pop and squeaky-clean image, The Osmonds at least tried to explore new avenues in the 70s, following The Monkees in learning to write and play themselves. And come on, Crazy Horses is a real banger.
The Info
Written by
Johnny Bristol, Wayne Brown, Jr & David Jones, Jr
Producer
Mike Curb
Weeks at number 1
3 (31 August-21 September)
Trivia
Births
2 September:Presenter Lisa Snowdon 5 September: Transgender fell runner Lauren Jeska 6 September: Tennis player Tim Henman 13 September: Backstroke swimmer Adam Ruckwood 18 September: Footballer Sol Campbell
Meanwhile…
12 September: After only 44 days in the job, Brian Clough is dismissed as manager of defending league champions Leeds United following a disappointing start to the Football League season.
18 September: Harold Wilson confirms a second general election within a year for 10 October. Following the hung parliament result in February, Labour ruled with a minority government. Wilson aimed to secure more seats and hold a bigger balance of power.
