Throwing back to the week of July 11, 1956, we find Gogi Grant’s ‘The Wayward Wind’ clinging to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth straight week.
At #2 was Pat Boone’s ‘I Almost Lost My Mind,’ which spent a month as the runner-up before its own two-week stint at #1. This was one of five #1’s and fifteen top ten hits for Boone in the five-year period from 1955-1959. He was the Drake of the Golden Age.
The week of July 5, 1986, found Billy Ocean holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘There’ll Be Sad Songs.’ At #2, a week before its own one-week stint at #1, was Simply Red’s ‘Holding Back the Years.’
This was the first of two #1 hits for the English pop/soul band. Their second, a cover of ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now,’ topped the chart in 1989.
Throwing back to the week of July 4, 1976 — the nation’s bicentennial — we find Wings’ ‘Silly Love Songs‘ holding on to the top spot.
Right behind it was a 70s one-hit wonder, Starland Vocal Band with the deceptively promiscuous ‘Afternoon Delight.’ The song reached #1 the following week, its “skyrockets in flight” chorus a perfect match for the summer of America’s 200th birthday.
The week of June 28, 1966, found a couple of legends atop the Billboard Hot 100: Frank Sinatra with ‘Strangers in the Night‘ at #1 and The Beatles with ‘Paperback Writer‘ at #2. I wrote about the latter way back in 2009 when these were Beatles Weekends.
At #3 that week was the song ‘Red Rubber Ball’ by the bizarrely named pop band The Cyrkle. The American trio was managed by none other than Brian Epstein, who also managed the little band right above them on the chart, and they actually opened for The Beatles during the Fab Four’s U.S. tour. John Lennon even suggested the spelling of their band name.
Throwing back to the week of June 27, 1956, we find Gogi Grant hanging on to the top spot with ‘The Wayward Wind,’ the unlikely hit that dethroned Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’
At #2 that week was Pat Boone with ‘I Almost Lost My Mind.’ The song eventually reached #1, becoming Boone’s second chart-topping hit (of six total in his career).
