Throwing back to the week of July 10, 1954, we find Kitty Kallen still dominating the charts with ‘Little Things Mean a Lot,’ at #1 for the seventh of nine straight weeks.
In the #2 spot that week was Archie Bleyer’s recording of ‘Hernando’s Hideaway,’ a song from the musical The Pajama Game, written by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler. The song was recorded by several artists, but Bleyer’s was the most successful.
Usher held on to the two top spots the week of July 3, 2004, with ‘Burn’ at #1 and ‘Confessions Part II’ at #2. This song eventually replaced its album mate atop the chart.
As the title suggests, ‘Confessions Part II’ is a sequel to another track called ‘Confessions’ which immediately precedes it on the album (also titled Confessions). You can hear the first track at the beginning of this song’s video, embedded below.
Throwing back to the week of July 2, 1994, we find All-4-One’s ‘I Swear’ continuing its stranglehold on the #1 spot.
At #2 is rapper Warren G with ‘Regulate,’ a track from the soundtrack of the basketball drama Above the Rim. Another West Coast rapper, Nate Dogg, is featured on the track.
Nate is the cousin of Snoop Dogg, whom Warren G is credited with discovering. The trio performed together in Long Beach, California, as a group called 213 before all three found success as solo artists.
The week of June 30, 1984, belonged to New Wave band Duran Duran, whose ‘The Reflex’ gave them their first #1 hit in the U.S. I would have guessed that honor belonged to ‘Hungry Like the Wolf,’ but that song peaked at #3 a couple of years earlier.
Fans have speculated about the meaning of ‘The Reflex’ since it was released, with popular theories suggesting it is about gambling, addiction, or ejaculation. Simon Le Bon has never clarified one way or the other.
Throwing back to the week of June 29, 1974, we find Canadian folk rocker Gordon Lightfoot atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Sundown.’ This was Lightfoot’s only #1 hit in the U.S., though he reached #2 with ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ and #5 with ‘If You Could Read My Mind.’
I like Lightfoot’s sound and I’m only familiar with those hits, so maybe I’ll add him to the potential deep dive list. He released 20 studio albums, however, so perhaps a shallow dive is a better idea.
Meet Me In Montauk 