EVERY Billboard #1 hit discussion thread 1958-Present

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

  1. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I had a similar thought earlier today. There's another thread going on right now about what would have happened if the Beatles hadn't happened. One of my thoughts was that a lot of careers which just stopped in early 1964 (thinking of U.S.) would have continued. I was really thinking of Bobby Vinton but Sedaka also fits.

    It's interesting how these early '60s artists (Vinton too) are getting back on their feet just when the solo Beatles (save McCartney) are starting to not have as many hits.
    I brought this up a while ago when discussing Paul Anka.
    Someone, in response to my posts then, mentioned that right at this time was when the charts were most inclusive. I think there is some truth to that.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
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  2. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I heard "Laughter In the Rain" a lot at the time and in many of the following years. I've liked it all along.

    For me, it is one of those songs that doesn't automatically make me think about how many years have passed since I first heard it. To me, that's one sign of a good song.
     
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  3. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    Groovy factoid: Jim Horn, the sax soloist on LITR also played the iconic flute part on "Going Up The Country" by Canned Heat.
     
  4. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    Fun version. She is quite amazing.
     
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  5. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    This is when I first started to really notice the new music, I was 11 at the time, but I clearly remember this wonderful hit.
     
  6. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    It was fun seeing so many 60s hit-makers re-visit the top of the charts in the mid 70s. I liked a lot of Sedaka's hits when I was a kid so it wasn't hard for me to appreciate his return for the few years he managed to hang around. IIRC, the Sedaka's Back LP was cobbled together from a couple of albums he released in the UK prior to '75. Laughter In The Rain fit in nicely next to other soft rock hits like Mandy and being connected to Elton certainly didn't hurt. I would have liked to see the follow-up The Immigrant get higher than #22, though.



    The sentiments ring truer than ever 40+ years down the road.
     
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  7. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    From what I've read, Mr. Sedaka had written "The Immigrant" about John Lennon . . .
     
  8. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member

    "Laughter In The Rain" is a wonderful single that still holds up quite well today.
     
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  9. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    I was 9 at the time and remember this was the first song I actively searched for playing on radio stations.
     
  10. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Always liked this. It was a hit here, but not a number one. Without checking, it may have been Neil’s only significant UK hit of the seventies. I don’t own any of his records, but was pleased to get Laughter In The Rain on the Guilty Pleasures CD comp a few years ago.:)
     
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  11. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Fine. Let people jump ahead. It will show how much the chart sequence can get confused.:pleased: I'm not going to protest any longer, and i'll let you guys see for yourselves why jumping ahead is a bad thing for this type of thread.
     
  12. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Ah! The big comeback! Neil Sedaka!

    My family didn't buy any of his music, I never heard his prior music on the radio, and I didn't know anything about him until this song came out. For all intents and purposes, he was a new artist. I only knew a snippet of "Calender Girl" from those oldies LP comp TV commercials.

    I live this song, though, and think it's one of the best songs to have been released in 1974. In fact, I didn't much hear it after the turn of the year, so I forever associate it with '74.

    The reason I love the 70s is because the music was so wildly diverse and accepted.

    I'm not jumping ahead, but we will very soon discuss another 60s vet who made a big comeback with a love ballad.
     
  13. Joy-of-radio

    Joy-of-radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central ME
    Lovely record!
     
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  14. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    Very surprised by this.

    David Cassidy had a big hit with a cover of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in 1972.
    With the knowledge you have demonstrated, I'd have thought for sure you would have known (at that time) it was a cover of a Neil Sedaka song.
     
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  15. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry?

    You do learn something new everyday! Wonder how the song writer would feel about where we are at 60 some years later. I think this is probably the first single I ever got, I was 8. Played that thing to death on our huge wooden console stereo.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
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  16. Joy-of-radio

    Joy-of-radio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central ME
    Pop was so excellent back then. Such a beautiful record!
     
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  17. Hoover Factory

    Hoover Factory Old Dude Who Knows Things

    Location:
    Spokane, WA
    Wonderful record. I adore “Laughter in the Rain” - an AC pop classic. Beautiful melody, great hooks, the lyrics and Sedaka’s singing seem to flow effortlessly with the tune. The beginning of a big year or so for Neil Sedaka. Sedaka pulled quite a trick to update his songwriting and sound for an Adult Contemporary audience - his re-make of “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” is another great example of that.

    When I think of this time period in music, one of the first things I think of are the comebacks - Sedaka, Paul Anka, Frankie Valli/Four Seasons...even The Bee Gees.
     
  18. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Never heard it. Are you sure you're not thinking of "Cherish" originally done by The Association"? According to Billboard and Joel Whitburn, Cassidy never had a single called "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", but he sure had a big hit with "Cherish".

    What are you going on about, anyway? The song we are currently discussing is "Laughter In The Rain".
     
  19. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    The Partridge Family had a #3 hit with Breaking Up Is Hard To Do here in 1972. I don’t actually recall it... It was just before my chart watching days began.
     
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  20. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I meant the Partridge Family, not David Cassidy (but I suspect ultimately it was probably the same group of musicians -- which is why I misremembered).
    "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" by The Partridge Family got to #28 (US) in 1972. Not a big hit (my mistake), but it did make the Top 40.

    Yes, I am very sure I am not thinking of "Cherish".

    As far as your second statement, I'm not sure where you're going with that.
    But I was trying to say that "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" was originally done by Neil Sedaka. (the "it" in my earlier sentence was referencing "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" --- the #1 song that Sedaka had in 1962)

    I guess I'm finding it hard to believe that you didn't know that Partridge Family cover, since you seemed to be very knowledgeable about 1972, when we were there. That was intended as a compliment.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
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  21. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    I'm not going to say another word on this score other than (if I think it's what it is) the back story in terms of where they were then and where they were when it hit #1 is not too dissimilar to this comeback hit of Mr. Sedaka's.
     
    Grant likes this.
  22. Black Thumb

    Black Thumb Yah Mo B There

    Location:
    Reno, NV
    LITR was one of the staples of "soft hits" radio for years - the kind that would assure you in their promos that they weren't spinning elevator music but they also weren't going to spring any of that awful 'hard rock' on you.

    And for good reason - it's a delightful record. Who wouldn't want to be Neil, out there in the rain with the one you love?

    Of course, it hit the top in the dead of winter, becoming another entry on the list of songs that don't for the most part really match the season they were hits in.

    Mr. Sedaka really was the comeback kid. He literally hadn't been on the Hot 100 since February 1966, nor even the Top 40 since late December 1963 ... Hey, that'd make a good lyric!

    Love that video with Dara. I wish she'd had a bigger career, as there really weren't many girls my age making records around then. She recorded a cover of "My Guy" on RSO in '78, but it didn't chart.

    Finally, since we're bidding fond adieu to Carpenters, Neil wrote their follow up to "Only Yesterday" ... '75 is gonna be a heck of a year for him!

     
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  23. Victor/Victrola

    Victor/Victrola Makng shure its write

    Laughter In The Rain is a 45 I actually purchased and then got the album much later (used, I believe). The album Sedaka's Back is pretty good, with a nice version of Solitaire on it and of course, Love Will Keep Us Together. As someone mentioned above, it is cobbled together from older material that was released in the UK. Don't the members of 10cc act as Neil's backup group on some of the numbers? I can't check my records at the moment because they're all in storage temporarily (until I get my new stereo room built!!)
     
  24. alphanguy

    alphanguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Missouri
    I never knew it existed... just listened to it, and it's absolutely REVOLTING.
     
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  25. ChrisScooter1

    ChrisScooter1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, GA
    O.K. yes, Dara kills this song, but what is up with either the out of tune piano or the bass?
     

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