The week of September 22, 1984, found John Waite atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Missing You.’ A few weeks ago I wrote about that song and mentioned that it was the only 1984 chart-topper to spent just one week at #1. This was that week.
Right on its heels was Prince’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy,’ a week away from its own berth at #1, where it would spend two weeks. This was Prince’s second #1 hit, following ‘When Doves Cry’ a few weeks earlier.
Throwing back to the week of September 21, 1974, we find Barry White atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,’ a soul classic that I wrote about when covering the albums of 1974.
In the #2 spot was ‘Rock Me Gently’ by Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Kim. The song eventually hit #1 and was Kim’s only chart-topper in the U.S., though his ‘Baby, I Love You’ had reached #9 five years earlier.
The week of September 12, 1964, was smack in the middle of a three-week run at #1 for one of the greatest folk rock songs of all time: The Animals’ ‘The House of the Rising Sun.’
This was just the second single for the young English band, and it would be their only #1 hit in both the U.S. and their native UK.
The song’s origin dates back so far nobody is really sure when it was written, though it bears similarities to folk songs from the 1600s. But The Animals’ version owes the most to Bob Dylan’s recording.
Throwing back to the week of September 11, 1954, we find two repeats atop the Billboard chart: The Crew Cuts’ ‘Sh-Boom‘ and Rosemary Clooney’s ‘Hey There.’
At #3 was vocal trio The Gaylords with ‘The Little Shoemaker,’ a song based on the French tune ‘Le petit cordonnier’ by Rudi Revil.
The song certainly has a European flair, with two of the choruses sung in Italian (maybe they had too much trouble singing in French?).
The week of September 4, 2004, saw Terror Squad holding on to the top spot with ‘Lean Back.’ At #2 was Houston rapper Lil’ Flip with ‘Sunshine,’ a romantic track featuring singer Lea. I like this song’s laid-back 90s hip-hop feel.
Lil’ Flip never had a hit after this one, but has steadily put out albums independently for the last 20 years. Lea is also unsigned, according to her (quite entertaining) Twitter feed, which finds her opining on politics and misogyny as well as sharing photos of her daughter’s homework.
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