Day 133: Hello

Song: “Hello” by Lionel Richie
Reached #1: May 12, 1984 (his third, 2 weeks)

Is it me you’re looking for?

It was the video, of course, that was really memorable about “Hello”.  While it was a pretty love song, it was the somewhat creepy vibe of Lionel Richie all-but-stalking a young student – yes, we find out she’s almost as creepy at the end of the video – that brought the song to the top of the charts, I think.

Oh, and did I mention that the student is blind?

Richie got his start in music at Tuskegee, where he helped found the Commodores in the late ‘60s.  He stayed with them for about 15 years, before breaking off to the solo career that was already established by the time “Hello” was released (he’d had two previous #1 hits from his first album) off the Can’t Slow Down album.

As to the actress who played the student?  Laura Carrington would go on to play Dr. Simone Hardy on General Hospital in the mid-‘80s… then leave acting to raise her family.

But her name lives on – there’s no way of knowing if the screenwriters of the 2011 romantic comedy flop New Year’s Eve were thinking of her at all, but Katherine Heigl’s character in that flick was named… yes, Laura Carrington.    The things you learn on a Google walk…

Lionel Richie, meanwhile, has gone country – his album of duets with some of today’s hottest country stars, Tuskegee, came out in early 2012.  The album must be doing well, as it allowed him to walk away from a spot on ABC’s new singing-competition show, Duets, that was filled by John Legend.

Tomorrow, a second appearance by a somewhat-controversial R&B star…

Other songs that reached #1 on May 12:
1958 – “All I Have To Do Is Dream/Claudette” by the Everly Brothers (their second, 6 weeks, Best Sellers chart)
2007 – “Makes Me Wonder” by Maroon 5 (their first, 3 weeks)

Day 132: Joyride

Song: “Joyride” by Roxette
Reached #1: May 11, 1991 (their fourth, 1 week)

Hello, you fool…

Inspiration for a song can come from just about anywhere.  For Per Gessle, the male half of Roxette, “Joyride” started with a note his then-girlfriend left him one morning… “Hello, you fool, I love you”.

Gessle wound up marrying that girlfriend (and she’s not Marie Fredriksson, his partner in Roxette), a marriage that’s lasted 19 years, so clearly he was grateful…

Actually, if all you know about Gessle and Fredriksson is Roxette, you’ve missed half the story – or more.

For the last 25 years, Gessle has successfully juggled Roxette, another band (Gyllene Tider), and a productive solo career.  Fredriksson has maintained her solo career throughout the Roxette years – oh, and she also beat brain cancer in 2002 (although it cost her the sight in one eye).

For a while, Gessle even co-owned a computer software enterprise with ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus.

Roxette are still recording, with their most recent album coming earlier this year.  A short North American tour is planned for the end of summer 2012.

But enough talk… go hit play on the embedded video and enjoy a few minutes of fun music.

Tomorrow, we go from “Hello, you fool, I love you” to just “Hello”…

Other songs that reached #1 on May 11:
1959 – “The Happy Organ” by Dave “Baby” Cortez (his first, 1 week)
1985 – “Crazy For You” by Madonna (her second, 1 week)

Day 131: West End Girls

Song: “West End Girls” by Pet Shop Boys
Reached #1: May 10, 1986 (their first, 1 week)

Call the police, there’s a madman around…

Pet Shop Boys vocalist/lyricist Neil Tennant wants you to know that “West End Girls” is not a coded song about rough gay sex.  This is surprising to me, because I never realized anybody thought it was…

I mean, it’s fairly obvious this is about working-class guys chasing upper-class girls they have no chance of catching, right?  Or was I too naïve 25 years ago?

The version we know isn’t the version that the Boys originally produced – in 1984, “West End Girls” was a more traditional pop song with full studio instrumentation.  It was a minor dance hit, but really hadn’t gone anywhere.  When the Boys cut ties with their original producer, the new management let them rework the song with synthesizers and a bit more of an edge… and this version hit the UK charts late in 1985 before crossing the ocean.

The Boys are one of the rare ‘80s acts that have never broken up – since they met in 1981, they’ve worked together continuously, producing 10 albums and touring regularly.  While Tennant has come out, they take great pains to make it clear that Tennant and Chris Lowe are not a couple.  Lowe, to his credit (I think), simply doesn’t talk about his off-stage love life.

They’re still very visible on the UK and German pop charts, while they haven’t charted in the USA since 1991, where “West End Girls” is their only #1 hit. 

Tomorrow, another ‘80s pop duo, from an area slightly east of the UK.

Other songs that reached #1 on May 10:
2003 – “Get Busy” by Sean Paul (his first, 3 weeks)

Day 130: Hello, Dolly!

Song: “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong & The All-Stars
Reached #1: May 9, 1964 (his first, 1 week)

Hello, Louis!

When the Beatles staged their assault on the pop charts in the winter and spring of 1964, I think it’d be safe to say that nobody expected a jazz trumpeter out of New Orleans to be the man to stop it.

Given that this wasn’t even supposed to be a single, it’s even more unlikely.

Louis Armstrong did “Hello, Dolly!” as a favor to his manager, who needed a version of the song in order to help promote Carol Channing’s Broadway musical, which premiered in January 1964.  When the musical became a smash hit, Armstrong’s promotional track was rushed out as a single – hitting the Hot 100 just as the Beatles were settling into the #1 spot – becoming the first non-Beatles #1 in the Beatlemania era.

I guess it’s no surprise that this was Armstrong’s only #1 – simply because he generally didn’t record pop music, and because jazz rarely crosses over into the pop charts. 

Armstrong’s rare pop forays have been notable – not only did “Hello, Dolly” break the Beatles’ strangehold at #1, “What A Wonderful World” is one of those rare songs that first charted 20 years after its release.  Yes, that was also due to another form of entertainment, in this case, the movie Good Morning Vietnam. 

Tomorrow, we segue from a jazz legend to a British duo that used jazz as part of their synthpop mix…

Other songs that reached #1 on May 9:
1970 – “American Woman/No Sugar Tonight” by the Guess Who (their first, 3 weeks)