Category Archives: throwback weekends

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Song of the Day #6,104: ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’ – Bill Hayes

Throwing back to the week of March 22, 1955, we find Bill Hayes atop the Billboard chart with ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett.’ This novelty folk song was written by George Bruns (not Burns) and Thomas W. Blackburn for the show Disneyland (which was later retitled The Wonderful World of Disney).

Three versions of the song hit the charts around the same time, including one by Fess Parker that was #6 this week and one by Tennessee Ernie Ford that reached the top ten the following week. But it was this version by actor/singer Hayes that did the best, reaching #1 and holding the top spot for a month.

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Song of the Day #6,098: ‘The Heat is On’ – Glenn Frey

The week of March 16, 1985, saw REO Speedwagon hanging on to the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling.‘

In the #2 spot that week was Glenn Frey’s ‘The Heat is On,’ the lead single from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.

Frey was a gun for hire on this track, paid $15,000 to play guitar and provide all vocals for the song, which was written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey. Faltermeyer also penned the iconic ‘Axel F’ theme.

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Song of the Day #6,097: ‘My Eyes Adored You’ – Frankie Valli

Throwing back to the week of March 15, 1975, we find The Doobie Brothers’ ‘Black Water’ moving into the #1 spot. Hot on its heels, a week before its own stint at #1, was Frankie Valli’s ‘My Eyes Adored You.’

This song was initially recorded by The Four Seasons but their Motown label declined to release it. Instead, Four Seasons lead singer Valli bought the rights for $4,000 and ended up with his first solo #1.

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Song of the Day #6,091: ‘The Birds and the Bees’ – Jewel Akens

The week of March 9, 1965, was stacked with hits. This is one of those weeks when the top three songs are repeats not because they’ve been featured on previous Throwback Weekends, but because they are classic songs I’ve written about for other reasons.

At #1 was a little group called The Beatles, whose ‘Eight Days a Week‘ topped the chart for the first time that week. Right behind it was ‘My Girl‘ by the Temptations. And rounding out the top three was another Motown classic, The Supremes’ ‘Stop! In the Name of Love.’

Imagine living your daily life while those three songs were all new releases.

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Song of the Day #6,090: ‘The Crazy Otto Medley’ – Johnny Maddox

Throwing back to the week of March 8, 1955, we find The McGuire Sisters atop the Billboard singles chart with ‘Sincerely,’ its sixth straight (and last) week at #1.

In the #2 spot was an instrumental ragtime recording called ‘The Crazy Otto Medley,’ performed by pianist Johnny Maddox. What a different world it was 70 years ago, when a song like this could be a major hit, spending seven weeks at #2.

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