Category Archives: throwback weekends

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Song of the Day #5,999: ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ – Carl Douglas

Throwing back to the week of December 7, 1974, we find Jamaican/British singer Carl Douglas atop the Billboard Hot 100 with a classic one-hit wonder, ‘Kung Fu Fighting.’

This disco ditty topped the charts in multiple countries and sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, tapping into growing fandom for both disco music and karate movies.

I guess it’s appropriate that today’s post follows one that mentioned offensive Asian caricatures in Disney movies, because, as The Big Lebowski‘s Walter Sobchak will tell you, “Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.”

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Song of the Day #5,993: ‘Ringo’ – Lorne Greene

The 60s were a strange time, when Bonanza‘s Ben Cartwright could score a #1 hit with a spoken-word country and western song. That’s exactly what Lorne Greene did the week of December 1, 1964, when his ‘Ringo’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week.

Accompanied by a promotional recording explaining that the song was not about The Beatles’ drummer, this tale of the bond between a gunslinger and a lawman became an unexpected hit for a man whose other musical attempts were largely met with crickets.

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Song of the Day #5,992: ‘Teach Me Tonight’ – The DeCastro Sisters

Throwing back to the week of November 30, 1954, we find The Chordettes atop the Billboard chart with ‘Mister Sandman,’ followed by two more repeats: Eddie Fisher’s ‘I Need You Now‘ and Rosemary Clooney’s ‘This Ole House.’

In the fourth spot, on the way to a peak at #2, was ‘Teach Me Tonight’ by The DeCastro Sisters, a trio of Cuban-born siblings. This was the fifth version of the song to land on a Billboard chart between 1954 and 1955, and the one that made it the farthest.

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Song of the Day #5,986: ‘Out of Touch’ – Daryl Hall & John Oates

The week of November 24, 1984, saw a number of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100. In order, they were Wham!’s ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,’ Prince’s ‘Purple Rain,’ and Chaka Khan’s ‘I Feel For You.’

In the fourth spot, on its way to a two-week stint at #1 in December, was Daryl Hall & John Oates’ ‘Out of Touch.’ This was the duo’s sixth number one hit, and their last. ‘Method of Modern Love,’ from the same album, peaked at #5.

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Song of the Day #5,985: ‘I Can Help’ – Billy Swan

Throwing back to the week of November 23, 1974, we find country singer-songwriter Billy Swan atop the Billboard Hot 100 with his only hit single, ‘I Can Help.’

This was Swan’s first-ever single, which had me wondering how many artist’s had reached #1 with their debut. Turns out it’s quite a lot — more than 200. If you’re interested in learning the rest, somebody was diligent enough to create a Spotify playlist compiling them all.

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