Saturday, January 30, 2021

Music History Today: January 31, 2021

January 31, 2005: "Here We Go Again," a single by Ray Charles and Norah Jones from the album Genius Loves Company, was released.

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen.

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In 2004, Charles re-recorded "Here We Go Again" as a duet with American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, who grew up listening to his music.  

Read more: Wikipedia

January 31, 1970: The Jackson 5 scored the first of four straight Billboard Number 1 hits with "I Want You Back."

On August 4, 1958, Billboard published its first-ever Hot 100 chart. About three weeks later, Michael Jackson was born. 

The Jackson 5

With “I Want You Back,” the first nationally available single from Jackson’s group the Jackson 5, Michael became the first singer to top the Hot 100 who was younger than the Hot 100 itself. Jackson was 11 when he recorded the lead vocal on “I Want You Back.” 
Read more: Stereogum

 

January 31, 1976: The Ohio Players' hit  Number 1 in America for one week with "Love Rollercoaster."

“Love Rollercoaster” presumably hit #1 mostly because it was both infernally catchy and uniquely suited to its cultural moment. By the early weeks of 1976, disco was well on its way to conquering American pop music. The Ohio Players didn’t make disco, but their wild-eyed, streamlined funk wasn’t all that far removed from the genre.
Read more: Stereogum

 

January 31, 1976:  "Mamma Mia" by ABBA knocked Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the Number 1 position in the U.K. after nine weeks.  

ABBA's Australian record company, RCA, pushed for the single release of Mamma Mia.‘Mamma Mia’ was the very last track to be recorded for the ABBA album, in March 1975. 

ABBA

Today, not much is remembered about the creation of the song, except that Björn recalls that he and Benny wrote it in the library of Björn and Agnetha’s then home in the Stockholm suburb of Lidingö. 
Read more: Abba Site

January 31, 1981: Blondie topped Cashbox's Best Sellers list, and The Billboard Hot 100 with "The Tide Is High" for one week.

Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” was the closest thing to a real reggae song that had ever hit #1 in America. 

Deborah Harry

Nobody would confuse Blondie’s record with an actual Jamaican reggae track, but it’s still a cool attempt to engage with the genre on its own terms. And considering the American pop records that had attempted the sound earlier, “The Tide Is High” counts as some kind of miracle. 
Read more: Stereogum

Here We Go Again
Ray Charles & Norah Jones

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