The song was rewritten from a French version called 'Plaisir d'amour' by Jean Paul Egide Martini. Elvis premiered his version of this oldies song in his 1961 film ''Blue Hawaii.' Over 25 years later, UK group UB40 brought it back to No. 1, and since then it has been covered by everyone from U2 to Taiwanese boy band, F4.
The protagonist, Sherry, in this Frankie Valli song was actually originally supposed to be named Jackie -- in honor of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Instead of "Jackie Baby," the writers went with "Terri Baby" which was eventually changed to "Sherry Baby," after writer Bob Gaudio's best friend DJ Jack Spector's daughter.
The original version of this oldies hit dates all the way back to 1939, when the song was recorded by writer Solomon Linda and his group, Original Evening Birds -- who originally called it "Mbube," or Zulu for "lion."
Written about a man whose ex-girlfriend had, well, commitment issues, this 1961 oldies hit made it all the way to No. 1. It also ranks No. 342 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Percy Sledge's mega-hit took over the top of the charts when it was released in 1966. Twenty-five years later, Michael Bolton covered the oldies song, which also reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, earning him a Grammy.
Supposedly inspired by Orbison's wife, Claudette, the song caused controversy in 1989 when rap group 2 Live Crew recorded a parody of the song. They sampled the iconic track's bassline, but added lyrics with a bit cruder language, which prompted Orbison's party to sue. The case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, although it ruled in 2 Live Crew's favor -- greatly expanding the doctrine of fair use in music.
Written by The Miracles' Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, 'My Girl' became The Temptations' first No. 1 hit. Rolling Stone ranked the oldies classic as the 88th greatest song of all time. Aside from the popular 1991 film of the same name, the song has been featured in a plethora of sitcoms including, 'Full House,' 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air,' 'Family Matters,' and 'Boy Meets World.'
Willie Nelson originally wrote this song for Billy Walker, but Walker turned it down. The oldies hit then went to country superstar Patsy Cline and immediately became a hit. As a result, the song's success helped start Nelson's career as a performer and songwriter.
Ben E. King originally wrote 'Stand By Me' for The Drifters -- who actually decided not to record the song. King might not have recorded the song himself, if he didn't happen to have extra studio time to fill. Fortunately he did record the song, and this oldies classic went on to become the fourth-most performed song of the 20th century.
Our No. 1 oldies song has over 500 rerecorded versions in hundreds of different languages. Aside from The Righteous Brothers, artists who have covered the much-loved tune include Elvis, Cyndi Lauper, Barry Manilow, and Roy Orbison. 'Unchained Melody' still remains in the pop culture conscious, even becoming a favorite choice in the reality TV singing show 'American Idol.'
1. Can you play some Johnny Tillotson, Dick & Deede, Skeeter Davis and my favorite year of music, 1961.
Thanks
Posted at 2:44PM on Aug 28th 2009 by Glenn