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Song of the Day #6,208: ‘The Hustle’ – Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony

Throwing back to the week of July 5, 1975, we find Van McCoy and The Soul City Symphony atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Hustle,’ an instrumental disco track by Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony. McCoy was a prolific songwriter and producer, with more than 700 credits to his name (most recorded by other people), but this is his best-known release.

‘The Hustle’ is one of only 25 instrumental tracks to top the Hot 100. Despite the repeated chants of “Do it!” and “Do the hustle!,” this is considered an instrumental because the main melody comes courtesy of something other than the vocals.

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Song of the Day #6,207: ‘Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)’ – The 5th Dimension

The final act on my list of “forgotten” artists (and thanks again to Chris Dalla Riva for compiling the stats on his Can’t Get Much Higher substack) is The 5th Dimension. And this might be the most celebrated of them all.

In addition to 20 Top 40 hits on the Hot 100 (seven of which reached the Top 10 and two of which reached #1), The 5th Dimension littered the Easy Listening and R&B charts and won two Record of the Year Grammys. Their “sunshine pop” sound was quite popular from the mid-60s to the early 70s.

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Song of the Day #6,206: ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’ – Bobby Vee

Many of the “forgotten” artists I’ve featured over the past three weeks have been teen idols. I suppose that speaks to the fleeting nature of that sort of fame. And while the teens who idolized these young men probably remember them into their old age, the broader culture does not.

Does that spell doom for the boy bands of the 90s? Will The Backstreet Boys be a faded footnote to music fans in the 2050s?

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Song of the Day #6,205: ‘People Get Ready’ – The Impressions

I mentioned The Impressions a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about Jerry Butler, the third most forgotten artist on the list I’m consulting.

Butler earned that spot based on his solo career. Now he has the dubious honor of appearing on the “forgotten” list twice, as his vocal group The Impressions also made the cut. Butler shared lead vocals with Curtis Mayfield for two years before leaving the band.

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Song of the Day #6,204: ‘Shotgun’ – Jr. Walker & the All Stars

Junior Walker was a saxophonist and singer who released a number of hits on the Motown label with his band, Jr. Walker & the All Stars.

The band’s first charting single, ‘Shotgun,’ made it to #4 on the Hot 100 in 1965. Walker wasn’t supposed to sing on the track, but sat in on vocals when the original singer didn’t show up for the session. He assumed the vocal would be re-recorded later, but producer Berry Gordy Jr. decided to go with his performance.

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