A little while ago, I asked a few questions about a song which will celebrate its 40th year of play, next year; thinking that a little bit of musical trivia might be fun. Seems that the questions were a bit much for people to handle, as nobody zeroed-in on the proper info--so far.
Since I'm not one to leave you writhing in pain, walk with me for a moment...
OK. Let's start with the very generous hint I gave you:
Part 1: Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio program had its debut broadcast via seven radio stations on July 4, 1970. Prior to this time, there was no weekly radio production showcasing the top forty American singles from Billboard magazines record charts; so, any chart-topping single which wasn't featured on Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio program had to be before that date, or after August 13, 1988 when the show was ditched. However, I effectively limited the interval to 1960 - 1980, so the pre-July 4, 1970 time-frame applies.
Part 2: StarTrek (OTS) was in planning for six years, before airing its first episode on September 8, 1966; and was cancelled due to low ratings (if you can believe that)--the final episode airing on June 3, 1969. Thereafter, the series was no longer in production, but enjoyed a long life in syndicated reruns. This eleminates the 1960 to June 3, 1969 interval of time that I originally specified.
So putting both parts together gives us a 13 month interval (June 3, 1969 to July 4, 1970) during which the song received airplay and generated chart statistics. I saved you from searching through 240 months-worth of music data, and gave you a mere 13 months of Billboard charts to look at.
Yeah. Somebody out there just said, "Wow! He's really not that bad a guy, you know?"
You heard him too, huh?
Anyway, the path to enlightenment is found in the Billboard charts; which happen to tell us that...
There were only three songs matching the 4 week, #1 slot criteria, during the June 3, 1969 to July 4, 1970 timeframe, on the US charts:
"Honky Tonk Women" The Rolling Stones August 23 1969 - September 13 1969
"Sugar, Sugar" The Archies September 20 1969 - October 11 1969
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" B. J. Thomas January 3 1970 - January 24 1970
On the UK charts, from June 3, 1969 to July 4, 1970, there was only one #1 song holding for 8 weeks:
"Sugar, Sugar" The Archies September 20 1969 - October 11 1969
Cross-checking the entries for Number 1 single of the year, we have "Sugar, Sugar", The Archies, in 1969; and "Bridge over Troubled Water", Simon and Garfunkel, in 1970; which effectively nails-down the year (1969), the group (The Archies), and the song title (Sugar, Sugar).
That was easy, wasn't it?
The rest of the answers can be obtained via Internet searches:
The folks involved in creating "Sugar, Sugar" were:
1. Ron Dante
2. Toni Wine
3. Andy Kim
4. Ellie Greenwich
5. Ray Stevens
6. Jeff Barry
7. Don Kirshner
The unique aspect of this achievement is that, as session musicians, the performers were a fictional band. No other fictional band produced a song that made number one single of the year; before that time, or since.
Billboard magazine listed the song as #63 on the List of Greatest Songs of All Time.
On the Sept. 20, 1969, Hot 100, the top five comprised Three Dog Night, Johnny Cash, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Rolling Stones and, at No. 1, a group that actually never existed. The Archies comic strip, created in 1942, became a hit Saturday morning TV show created by Don Kirshner-who had guided the Monkees. The bubble-gum bauble remained at the peak for four weeks and sold 3 million copies. Obviously its melody had legs: A year later, Wilson Pickett recorded a cover of "Sugar, Sugar," which reached No. 25 on the Hot 100. The Archies were hardly a one-hit wonder; among their four top 40 hits, follow-up "Jingle Jangle" reached No. 10 later that year. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-70.shtml
...and that's the way it was, when I was 9 years old.
The smoke from all the fires in SoCal has nearly obscured the sun--and it's raining a bit of ash, here.
The "Sayre Fire", in Los Angeles County; the "Freeway Complex Fire", in Riverside/Orange Counties; and the "Tea Fire" in Santa Barbara County have claimed more than 1400 homes.
Between the years of 1960 and 1980, the following people got together to produce the number one selling United States record in the year of production. (No names...just clues, which aren't all that difficult to decipher.)
1. He produced albums as well as broadway hits, and remains active as a singer, producer, and concert performer.
2. She worked at Screen Gems, did a stint in the country music circuit, and is currently touring with an 80's sensation.
3. His greatest hits have been in the US and West Germany. He came out of retirement to receive an "Indie Award" for Favorite Solo Artist, and give Jeep a boost.
4. She was married to one of the group and is credited with discovering Neil Diamond.
5. He brought Streaking to popular recognition in a song, and had a country hit with an urban Al Queda twist.
6. He collaborated with Phil Spector, scored hits on the Country Music charts, and has had good luck in Broadway collaborations.
7. He was the puppetmaster who was "given the boot" by Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.
A single on the record was number one on the US charts for four weeks, spent 8 weeks in the top slot on the UK charts, and went-on to be the number one selling single for the year, earning the group a gold record. The album, for a time, was only available on 8-track tape. The song currently appears on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time listing, and has influenced episodes of the Simpsons, as well as hard rock bands.
The song in question has such unique origins that the feat was the first of its kind and has never since been duplicated. It has, however, been covered by such notables as Tom Jones, Praga Khan, Jon King, Mary Lord, Bob Marley, Blue Orchids, Wilson Pickett, Ike & Tina Turner and Big Youth.
In what year did this take place?
What was the name of their group?
What was the name of the song?
Who are the people, individually?
What made their achievement unique?
HUGE HINT: The song was never featured on Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio program, and the original StarTrek series was out of production.
