Music History Today: October 31, 2020

October 31, 2000: Lifehouse released their debut album, No Name Face. 

While there were plenty of alt-rock anthems on the airwaves to choose from in 2000, American audiences fell hard for the band's inaugural single "Hanging by a Moment" and the mélange of Wade's impassioned delivery and the song's irresistible hook. 

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The single was a bit of a slow burner at first, as it took almost five months after its initial release to crack the Billboard Hot 100. But the impressive airplay and sales it amassed leading up to and long after its number two peak in June 2001 ensured its spot as the magazine's top single of the entire year. 

Read more: Albumism

October 31, 1960: Elvis Presley recorded "Crying In The Chapel."

Presley recorded a gospel album, His Hand in Mine, soon after his discharge from the Army in 1960. His Hand in Mine peaked at #13 on the pop LPs chart: somewhat lower than Elvis’ contemporaneous pop-rock albums, but astoundingly high for a gospel record. 

Elvis Presley

However, a lack of publishing rights (which Parker demanded for every song his client recorded) held back one of the tracks recorded during that album’s sessions for nearly five years. “Crying in the Chapel,” was originally recorded in 1953 by Darrell Glenn. Elvis’ version of “Crying in the Chapel” finally appeared as a special “Easter single” in April 1965. 

Read more: Rebeat Magazine

October 31, 1964: Atop the Cashbox Magazine Best Sellers Chart was New Zealand-born Canadian vocalist Gale Garnett with "We'll Sing In The Sunshine." 

Garnett wrote the hit song at age 14 for folksinger Hoyt Axton, who recorded it in January 1963. The following year, RCA Victor asked Garnett to record her own 45-rpm single. Listeners loved the way the song’s moderate tempo and bluesy swing paralleled the casualness of the woman’s affections.

Gale Garnett

In the US, We’ll Sing in the Sunshine dominated Billboard, holding the No. 1 Adult Contemporary chart spot through September 26 to October 31, and taking number 1 on Cashbox’s Top 100. It crossed over to Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart for 17 weeks, finding number 4 there.

Read more: Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

October 31, 1964: Peaked at Number 9 was a new song from The Hondells; "Little Honda." 

The Hondells were a 60s music-era American surf rock/pop group known for their 1964 Top 10 hit "Little Honda." The Hondells weren't a genuine "band" per se, but rather a manufactured group that was a brainchild of producer Gary Usher. 

The Hondells

Usher himself had worked with the Beach Boys, who originally recorded “Little Honda.” Brian Wilson and Mike Love composed “Little Honda” as a paean to the Honda motorbikes which spread in popularity in Southern California during the early sixties

Read more: Mental Itch

October 31, 1967: The Classics IV released the single "Spooky."

The Classics IV, one of the most popular and influential pop groups of the 60s and 70s originated in Florida. 

The Classics IV

 

 They achieved phenomenal success with hits “Spooky,” “Stormy,” “Traces,” and Everyday With You Girl, all which sold well over a million copies and were awarded gold discs by the Recording Industry of America. 

Read more: Flower Power Cruise

Hanging By a Moment
Lifehouse