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.
Throwing back to the week of September 3, 1994, we find Boyz II Men atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I’ll Make Love to You.’
Written and produced by Babyface, this track was the biggest hit of 1994, spending a record-tying 14 weeks at #1. It would go on to be the third-highest charting song of the decade, behind only Los Del Rio’s ‘Macarena’ and (quite the flex) Boyz II Men’s collaboration with Mariah Carey, ‘One Sweet Day.’
Meet Me In Montauk 