Great 7″ singles from the past
20 January 2023
Band: JOHN FRED AND HIS PLAYBOY BAND
Their first name was Johnny and The Playboys
Who: Swamp pop/rock band from Baton Rouge,
Louisiana led by John Fred Gourrier
Single: JUDY IN DISGUISE (WITH GLASSES)
Written: by Fred and bandmate Andrew Bernard
Score: It reached No.1 on the US singles Chart
55 years ago today
JOHN FRED: Bio
24 December 2022
‘The Cutter’ by ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
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‘Blue Monday’ by NEW ORDER
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‘Sonny’s Burning’ by THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
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‘Gimme All Your Lovin’ by ZZ TOP
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‘This Charming Man’ by THE SMITHS
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‘1999’ by PRINCE
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‘Let’s Dance’ by DAVID BOWIE
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‘Billy Jean’ by MICHAEL JACKSON
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‘Every Breath You Take’ by THE POLICE
‘I Love You’ by YELLO
Great 7″ singles from the past
22 December 2022
Band: THE CRICKETS (Texas, US)
Who: Legendary rock ‘n’ roll quartet formed by guitar hero
Buddy Holly in 1957, who died in a plane crash, aged 22.
Single: OH BOY
Written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman
and Norman Petty.
When it came out for the first time it was credited to The Crickets as a
band, on later re-releases, as sung/played by Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Release: On 22 December 1957, 65 years ago today.
STUDIO version
LIVE version
BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS: Bio
Great 7″ singles from the past
21 December 2022
Flamboyant rockers MUD were one of those hit bands during the 70s glam and
glitter years. They scored a series of number ones. One of them was a cheesy,
sugary Christmas carol named LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS, written by the hottest
songwriters at the time – Nicky Chin and Mike Chapman (The Sweet, Suzi Quatro,
Smokie). The single went to the top of the UK Charts this day in 1974.
For all the lonely people at Xmas…
MUD: Bio – Discography
Great 7″ singles from the past
18 December 2022
Artist: JUNIOR MURVIN
Who: Jamaican reggae musician (1946-2013)
Song: POLICE THIEVES
Written by Murvin and recorded/produced
with icon Lee “Scratch” Perry
Here’s a TV performance from 1980.
The Clash covered the song for their 1977 debut LP.
JUNIOR MURVIN: Bio – Discography
Great 7″ singles from the past
16 December 2022
Artist: BILLY PAUL
Who: Grammy Award-winning
soul artist from Philadelphia.
He passed away in 2016, aged 81
Single: MR AN D MRS. JONES
Written: by composers Kenny Gamble,
Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert
The song is anout an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, called Mrs. Jones. The two meet in secret “every day at the same cafe”, at 6:30, where they hold hands and talk. The two are caught in a quandary: “We got a thing going on/we both know that it’s wrong/but it’s much too strong/to let it go now”.
This day 50 years ago, on 16 December 1972 Paul and Mrs. Jones
started a 3-week run on the top spot of the American Singles Chart.
Voice!
BILLY PAUL: Bio – Discography
Great 7″ singles from the past
13 December 2022
ELVIS PRESLEY is probably the ROCK ICON
of all time. Hands up if you agree.
This day 60 years ago, on 13 December 1962 THE KING scotred his
13th number one hit single in the UK with RETURN TO SENDER.
Watch your mailbox…
ELVIS PRESLEY: Bio – Discography – Instagram
Great 7″ singles from the past
12 December 2022
Glam pop act THE HUMAN LEAGUE scored their only No 1 hit in the UK
with ‘Don’t You Want Me’ when it topped the chart on 12 December 1981,
40 years ago today.
It was the biggest-selling single of that year with over more than 1.560.000 copies.
But frontman Phil Oakey wasn’t really fond of the hit. After the release, he said
that he disliked the song so much that it became the last track on their masterpiece album Dare.
Here’s the original video clip…
THE HUMAN LEAGUE: Facebook
Great 7″ singles from the past
9 December 2022
The song was written by band members Bernard Edwards and main man
Nile Rodgers who’s still active as producer, songwriter and live performer.
Score: The funky disco hit started a seven-week run at No.1 on the US Singles
Chart this day 44 years ago, on 9 December 1978. It peaked at #7 in the UK
and sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.
Watch the original video clip right here…
NILE RODGERS: Facebook
Great 7″ singles/sleeves/vinyl
7 December 2022
Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers was born in Brussels in 1933. She joined
the Belgian wing of the Dominican Order in 1959 and was named
Soeur Sourire (‘Smiling Nun’).
She played the guitar and wrote songs since she was 15. Her religious superiors encouraged her to spread the Catholic message through her music. An LP was recorded/released, containing the song DOMINQUE.
An ode to Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order
which became a worldwide hit. She was the first and (so far) only Belgian artist who
topped the US Charts.
It happened this day 59 years ago, on 7 December 1963. She occupied the top
seat for 4 weeks. The single sold over 1.5 million copies in America alone, winning
a Grammy Award for the year’s best Gospel song. The Signing Nun topped also the
charts in 11 other countries. She also sang Dominisue in English, Dutch, German,
Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.
Secretly, she had a lesbian relationship. But when the news came out she strongly
denied it. After several mental problem periods, she and her lover Annie Pécher took
both their own lives in 1985 by taking overdoses of barbiturates and alcohol.
Sad, really sad story.
Domi-nique -nique -nique
s’en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant.
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu.
THE SINGING NUN: History
