Throwing back to the week of July 26, 1955, we find Bill Haley and the Comets holding on to the top spot with ‘Rock Around the Clock.’ And really, that’s how it should be… imagine when a song that iconic and genre-defining was just a new release.
Nat King Cole held the #2 spot, with both sides of his ‘A Blossom Fell‘ single designated as the runner-up that week. This was during a time when Billboard would combine the performance of a double-sided hit and assign the results to both songs.
Duran Duran held on to the top spot of the Hot 100 the week of July 20, 1985, with ‘A View to a Kill,’ but hot on their heels was Prince with ‘Raspberry Beret.’ The song peaked there, one of three Prince songs to stall out one slot short of #1 (‘Purple Rain‘ and ‘U Got the Look’ are the other two).
This is one of 18 top ten songs for Prince, and one of 13 in his signature decade. The 80s also accounted for four of his five #1 hits.
The week of July 19, 1975, found Wings atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Listen to What the Man Said,’ the leadoff single from the album Venus and Mars. This was the third of five #1 hits by Wings during the 70s.
This is the song I know least of those five, which include ‘My Love,’ ‘Silly Love Songs,’ ‘Band on the Run,’ and ‘With a Little Luck.’ I’m sure I’ve heard this before but it doesn’t exactly ring a bell.
The week of July 13, 1965, saw a couple of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100 in The Rolling Stones’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction‘ and Four Tops’ ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).’
At #3 that week, on its way to #1, was ‘I’m Henry VIII, I Am’ by Herman’s Hermits. At 1:50, this is one of the shortest songs to ever top the Hot 100.
Throwing back to the week of July 12, 1955, we find Bill Haley & His Comets holding on to the top spot of the pop chart with ‘Rock Around the Clock.’
That brings us to #2, and the first appearance of Mr. Frank Sinatra on Throwback Weekends. The song is the Dolores “Vicki” Silvers-penned ‘Learnin’ the Blues.’ I’m excited to hear frequent commenter Peggy chime in on this one.
