EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by alphanguy, Jan 29, 2016.

  1. bluejeanbaby

    bluejeanbaby Forum Resident

    Location:
    NW Indiana
    Oh, ok...that's who it was. I was gonna ask if it was Boyz II Men who sang it, because I remember this rendition from the mid-90's. But it's All-4-One, ok.
     
    Grant likes this.
  2. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Next we have "Fingertips, Part 2" by Stevie Wonder, #1 from August 10 - August 30, 1963

     
  3. Thom

    Thom Forum Resident

    Everybody say Yeah! :love:
     
  4. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Is it wrong that I've never really cared for this song, "classic" tho it may be?

    Let's just say it's all up - way up - from here on out when it comes to Stevie Wonder. I guess this is still impressive for a kid, but I don't actually like it all that much.
     
    JonnyKidd, Jrr, SomeCallMeTim and 2 others like this.
  5. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    It's never been a favorite of mine either, although I can't help being impressed when I remember how young he was at the time.
     
    SomeCallMeTim and sunspot42 like this.
  6. SITKOL'76

    SITKOL'76 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colombia, SC
    This, Stevie really got it rolling during the late 60's and into the 70's. It's still nice to hear him at just 13 years old though.
     
    sunspot42 and SomeCallMeTim like this.
  7. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    Yeah!

    Listening made me want to check out if there was a Part 1. And I take it, this was the flip side of a 45?



    I like the wild abandon and hearing the very young kid's voice at the start really triggers my enjoyment. Another song or two from that era that does the same thing for me are Loop de Loop and Nitty Gritty.
     
    JonnyKidd, Grant, sgb and 1 other person like this.
  8. I Love Music

    I Love Music Forum Resident

    “What key? What key?”

    The details of Stevie Wonder’s commercial breakthrough, Fingertips - Pt 2, have been well chronicled. This B-side is the “second” part of a reworked live performance of the song from his debut LP The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie:



    Both halves of Fingertips, Part 1 and Part 2, are excerpts from an even longer performance recorded at a June 1962 Motortown Revue show at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. The live recording features among other things: an energetic, infectious performance by Little Stevie and band, a false ending with exit music ushered in by comedian Bill Murray (aka Winehead Willie; Bill (Winehead Willie) Murray & George (Sweet Lucy) Copeland - The Bigtime Spender - Part 1 »), and an impromptu “goodbye” encore which leaves the replacement bassist (see Motown Junkie links below) scrambling for the correct key.

    The Motown Junkies board has an in depth analysis of Fingertips for those who are interested:

    299. Little Stevie Wonder: “Fingertips (Part 1)” »

    300. Little Stevie Wonder: “Fingertips (Part 2)” »
     
  9. I Love Music

    I Love Music Forum Resident

    Little Stevie Wonder performing Fingertips at a 1963 Motortown Revue show at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem:



    At this show, Bill Murray was still handling the master of ceremony duties, Choker Campbell & His Orchestra provided the backing, Stevie appeared following Marvin Gaye, and by now the “goodbye” encore had become routine.
     
    Grant likes this.
  10. sgb

    sgb Senior Member

    Location:
    Baton Rouge
    It's still there, and for less money than I had to pay for it when it came out years ago.

    [​IMG]
     
    Bruce M. likes this.
  11. sgb

    sgb Senior Member

    Location:
    Baton Rouge
    You could hear "Fingertips? all over the Rehoboth Beach DE and Ocean City MD boardwalks; perfect for a summer hit!
     
    bluejeanbaby likes this.
  12. ronm

    ronm audiofreak

    Location:
    southern colo.
    Never cared for it either.
     
    sunspot42 and SomeCallMeTim like this.
  13. sgb

    sgb Senior Member

    Location:
    Baton Rouge
    You know your stuff, guy. :righton:
     
  14. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    I like Fingertips but not a whole lot. I could come up with a ton of concurrent tracks I like much better. For whatever reason I've never been a fan of Stevie Wonder's work, although it's certainly not bad or anything.
     
    SuprChickn77 likes this.
  15. sgb

    sgb Senior Member

    Location:
    Baton Rouge
    I think he came up with some great lyrics; my favorite from his early period are, "You know my papa disapproved it / My mama boohooed it." There's a sense of humor in this that's put a smile on my face every time I hear "I Was Made To Love Her" yet it conveys a sense of real dedication to the young girl in his song. Then, later on, I felt as if "I Believe When I Fall In Love" might be one of the most beautiful songs of the period. But that's just me.

     
    SuprChickn77 and sunspot42 like this.
  16. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member

    "Fingertips" might not measure up to "Living For The City" or "Superstition" but I love the energy. You almost feel like you're there.
     
  17. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I always found it more annoying than entertaining, and thought it only sounded half-finished, like it had some potentially good hooks, but they weren't quite right and had been slapped together haphazardly. More energy than coherence. And I say this as someone who adored Stevie for as long as I can remember (born in '68) and who has essentially always counted "Superstition" as one of my favorite songs, period.

    But you know he was 13, so...
     
    SuprChickn77 and sgb like this.
  18. sgb

    sgb Senior Member

    Location:
    Baton Rouge
    Although not a singer, Shirley Temple was much younger than that... yeah, I know, it's a non sequitur. I'll grant you that I always thought of the Osmonds as a cheap trick on the American public, and maybe we ought to look at the Jackson Five in its early years too, but I, personally, thought that Stevie's creation at 13 had more going for it than the things that were provided to these other child groups.
     
  19. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Next we have "My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels, #1 from August 31 - September 20, 1963

     
  20. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    Here it is performed live:

     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  21. Damiano54

    Damiano54 Senior Member

    I know this is a well-known documentary.

    Brief clip at the beginning of the story behind the song

     
    John B Good and I Love Music like this.
  22. ronm

    ronm audiofreak

    Location:
    southern colo.
    Wonder if the female songs were more popular with girls back then.I can't imagine a male teen singing or even humming this.
     
  23. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    I always thought this song really sucked. I think because the background harmonies are slightly out of tune, and it's just such a simplistic kind of song. However, another of their hits, which did not go to number one, I feel is FAR superior to "My Boyfriend's Back".
     
    SomeCallMeTim, sgb and Hey Vinyl Man like this.
  24. I Love Music

    I Love Music Forum Resident

    As has been discussed several times previously on this forum, the shorter monaural hit version of The Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back, as heard on the original 45, differs significantly from the longer stereo version released later on LP.

    My Boyfriend’s Back was written by the songwriting trio of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer. Leroy Glover arranged the song and conducted the orchestra that recorded the backing tracks. Later, The Angels were brought into the studio to record the vocals. When the recording was mixed to mono for single release, an instrumental break was edited out and a spoken word intro with handclaps was added. This shorter monaural version was released on 45 by the Mercury Records subsidiary label, Smash Records (S-1934), in mid-July 1963.

    After My Boyfriend’s Back topped the charts, Smash released the monaural (MGS 27039) and stereo (SRS 67039) LPs of the same name during the first week of September 1963. Although the stereo LP version of My Boyfriend’s Back listed the song’s running time as 2:13 (the same as the mono 45), the version included was actually the longer, unedited version of the song with the instrumental break intact. However, to create the “stereo” version of My Boyfriend’s Back, the spoken word intro with handclaps from the monaural mix had to be used since this intro was not present on the original multitrack tapes and hence could not be mixed to stereo. This is why the “stereo” version of My Boyfriend’s Back begins in mono and then switches to stereo at the drum roll:



    Neither the mono 45 nor the “stereo” LP mixes of My Boyfriend’s Back are sonic marvels. As I’ve mentioned previously, I prefer the squashed mono mix of the song to the brighter, anemic stereo remix. This is one of those recordings you just have to accept and appreciate for what it is.
     
  25. I Love Music

    I Love Music Forum Resident

    Bobby Comstock, who played guitar on the original recording of The Angels’ My Boyfriend’s Back, recorded an “answer” record, Your Boyfriend’s Back, with his group The Counts. This recording was released as a single (Lawn 219) in September 1963:

     
    JoeRockhead, Grant and Damiano54 like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine