The third song to reach #1 by two different artists was ‘Please Mr. Postman,’ though arguably the best-known version of the track belongs to a band that didn’t send it up the charts.
‘Please Mr. Postman’ was the 1961 debut single of The Marvelettes, and the first song on the Motown label to reach #1. The all-female quartet was one of Motown’s biggest successes before they were eclipsed by The Supremes a few years later.
It took three years for the second song by two different artists to reach #1. And, wouldn’t you know it, the same co-writers were responsible.
Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote ‘The Loco-Motion’ for Little Eva, who released her version in 1962. Twelve years later, Grand Funk Railroad saw their take on the song hit #1, giving them their second chart-topper in as many years (‘We’re an American Band’ was the first).
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that only nine songs have made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by two different artists. Over the next nine weekdays I’ll reveal those titles, rolling them out chronologically based on the release date of the second single.
The first song to achieve this impressive feat is one I’d never heard before today. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, ‘Go Away Little Girl’ is a rather creepy song about a guy in a relationship telling the titular little girl to leave him alone lest he be tempted to cheat.
The Random iTunes Fairy must have felt bad for last week’s post calling Ron Sexsmith a “no-hit wonder.” She has brought him back for an encore performance just eight days later.
Today’s track is from the 2008 album Exit Strategy of the Soul. It’s one of Sexsmith’s more sonically interesting albums, adding horns to most tracks and getting a little more experimental in its production. That doesn’t apply to today’s selection, though, which is a pretty straightforward ballad.
Today’s random selection is a cut from the 11th volume of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series, this one dedicated to the Basement Tapes album he recorded with The Band in 1967. Those recordings didn’t see an official release until 1975, a span that saw Dylan release eight other albums.
While the final album featured 16 songs from those 1967 recordings, along with eight more recorded by The Band in the ensuing years, there was a wealth of other material committed to tape during those sessions. Bootlegs of those songs have been passed around by fans ever since.
Meet Me In Montauk 