Hi Kent,
Love Forgotten Hits!
Don't want to diminish the accomplishments of the great Jerry Fuller but want to set the historical record (no pun intended) straight.
According to Whitburn, Fuller DID NOT write either "Woman, Woman" for the Union Gap or "Little Green Apples" by O.C. Smith.
Another song he DID write was "I Got The Best Of You" by Jimmy Walker. No, not the "Dyno Mite" Jimmy Walker, but the Jimmy Walker from the Knickerbockers and Bill Medley's replacement for a while in the Righteous Brothers.
If you can find that record, you will hear that Jimmy Walker sounds more like Gary Puckett than Gary Puckett ever did. A great record that never charted at all on Billboard, although I remember it being played on Baltimore radio.
Thanks,
Ian Berger
Apologies to our readers … in the rush to get the announcement up about Jerry Fuller’s passing, I took the obituary I was sent without doing my usual double and triple checks.
I definitely should have known better on “Little Green Apples” … that was written by the great Bobby Russell, who also penned the #1 Hit “Honey” that same year for Bobby Goldsboro. (In fack, we just featured Bobby’s lone solo hit, “1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero” the other day in our Sweet 16 Hero Feature.)
Perhaps most famously Russell also wrote the #1 Hit “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” … and gave it to Cher to record. Cher simply didn’t like the record (something to the effect of not wanting to do another story song), having recently so she took a pass. Russell was about to give up hope for the song when his WIFE … comedienne Vicki Lawrence of “The Carol Burnett Show” … basically hit him over the head with a newspaper demanding to let HER sing the song.
A hit is a hit is a hit … and Vicki soon had the #1 Record in the Country ... a classic one hit wonder if there ever was one. (By the way, Cher's next two records ... "Half Breed" and “Dark Lady” ... were both story songs ... and BOTh went all the way to #1.)
Digging a bit depper, I see that Bobby Russell also wrote the
hits “The Joker Went Wild” for Brian Hyland and “Sure Gonna Miss Her” for Gary
Lewis and the Playboys ... so quite the hit maker, to say the least!
As for “Woman, Woman,” I actually had to look that one up as
it sounds SO much like Gary Puckett’s other hits “Young Girl, “Lady Willpower”
and “Over You” … I figured that THAT one had to be a Bobby Russell song, too.
But you are correct …
Fuller wrote those last three Top Five Hits (virtual clones of the sound that made Gary Puckett famous), but “Woman, Woman,” the one that started it all, was actually written by Jim Glaser and Jim Payne. That was their only successful composition together … but it was a biggie! (kk)
Hopefully, you’ve received your brand new 2024 edition of
Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual by now.
Books began shipping out last Tuesday in the order your orders were received.
The presale price discount is over … but this is a GREAT recap of the Billboard Charts, 1950 – 2023 … and a welcome add to any music library collection. (kk)
The Record Research team ... packin' and shippin'!!
Left to Right: Brent, Kim, Nate, Jeanne & Paul (Jeff not pictured)
And, speaking of past chart action, Billboard Magazine this week took a nostalgic look back at The Top Ten Hits for this week in the 2000’s, 1990’s, 1980’s, 1970’s and 1960’s. (The poll’s a bit misleading … it takes into account ALL of the songs that were charting in each of the years of the decade and then ranks them as on lump decade recap … but it’s still cool to see Billboard looking back once in a while!)
Big surprises? The
only Beatles record listed for the 1960’s wasn’t actually available to buy as a
single! And Creedence Clearwater Revival is the act with two entries on the list that year.
Fleetwood Mac dominate the ‘70’s (although The Eagles also have a couple of songs listed)
And ‘80’s icons “Billie Jean,” “Africa” and “Uptown Girl” all take a back seat to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’. (Obviously this list is based on the way these songs are CURRENTLY performing in the world of streaming … and NOT as they originally performed on the charts when you had to go out and purchase a physical copy.)
Oh well … another inaccurate report … but still interesting
that Billboard remembers these decades at all these days! (kk)
So it was Lady Gaga and Celine Dion who bookended the opening ceremonies at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both clips are widely available on YouTube if you happened to miss it (like I did!!!) kk
Timmy sent in this great shot of a young John Mayall in action …
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