Category Archives: throwback weekends

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Song of the Day #6,580: ‘Hanky Panky’ – Tommy James and the Shondells

The week of July 12, 1966, found Tommy James and the Shondells atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Hanky Panky,’ one of two #1 hits for the band (‘Crimson and Clover’ would top the chart two years later).

This song started as a B-side for a duo called The Raindrops, written by its members Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. A year later, 17-year-old Tommy James and his backing band The Shondells recorded a version of the song from memory, accurately recreating the chorus and melody but rewriting all of the verses.

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Song of the Day #6,579: ‘I Almost Lost My Mind (Live)’ – Pat Boone

Throwing back to the week of July 11, 1956, we find Gogi Grant’s ‘The Wayward Wind’ clinging to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth straight week.

At #2 was Pat Boone’s ‘I Almost Lost My Mind,’ which spent a month as the runner-up before its own two-week stint at #1. This was one of five #1’s and fifteen top ten hits for Boone in the five-year period from 1955-1959. He was the Drake of the Golden Age.

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Song of the Day #6,573: ‘Holding Back the Years’ – Simply Red

The week of July 5, 1986, found Billy Ocean holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘There’ll Be Sad Songs.’ At #2, a week before its own one-week stint at #1, was Simply Red’s ‘Holding Back the Years.’

This was the first of two #1 hits for the English pop/soul band. Their second, a cover of ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now,’ topped the chart in 1989.

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Song of the Day #6,572: ‘Afternoon Delight’ – Starland Vocal Band

Throwing back to the week of July 4, 1976 — the nation’s bicentennial — we find Wings’ ‘Silly Love Songs‘ holding on to the top spot.

Right behind it was a 70s one-hit wonder, Starland Vocal Band with the deceptively promiscuous ‘Afternoon Delight.’ The song reached #1 the following week, its “skyrockets in flight” chorus a perfect match for the summer of America’s 200th birthday.

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Song of the Day #6,566: ‘Red Rubber Ball’ – The Cyrkle

The week of June 28, 1966, found a couple of legends atop the Billboard Hot 100: Frank Sinatra with ‘Strangers in the Night‘ at #1 and The Beatles with ‘Paperback Writer‘ at #2. I wrote about the latter way back in 2009 when these were Beatles Weekends.

At #3 that week was the song ‘Red Rubber Ball’ by the bizarrely named pop band The Cyrkle. The American trio was managed by none other than Brian Epstein, who also managed the little band right above them on the chart, and they actually opened for The Beatles during the Fab Four’s U.S. tour. John Lennon even suggested the spelling of their band name.

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