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.
On June 22, 1964, the #1 song in the U.S. was ‘A World Without Love,’ the first single by British duo Peter and Gordon. The song also reached #1 in their native UK.
This song was written by a 16-year-old Paul McCartney, and given to Peter Asher because Paul was dating his sister Jane. Paul apparently didn’t think the track was good enough for The Beatles, but its success for this previously unknown duo suggests it would have likely been another chart-topper for the Fab Four had they opted to record it.
Throwing back to the week of June 19, 1954, we find Kitty Kallen still topping the charts with ‘Little Things Mean a Lot,’ in the middle of its nine-week run at #1.
In the second spot was pop quartet The Four Aces with ‘Three Coins in the Fountain.’ This was the group’s first #1 hit. Their second would come a year later with ‘Love is a Many Splendored Thing.’ Interestingly, both tunes won the Best Song Academy Award for movies that share their titles.
The week The week of June 12, 2004, finds a lot of repeats atop the Billboard Hot 100 — songs I’ve either covered during Throwback Weekends or at some other point on the blog.
At #1 is Usher’s ‘Burn,’ followed by ‘I Don’t Wanna Know‘ by Mario Winans. Then comes Beyoncé with ‘Naughty Girl‘ and Usher again with ‘Yeah!‘
That brings us to #5, where alternative rock band Hoobastank sits with their biggest hit, ‘The Reason.’
Meet Me In Montauk 