Music History Today: November 12, 2021

November 12, 1988: The Escape Club takes over the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 single's chart with "Wild, Wild West."

“We started off with a drum beat, and we finished it within one day.” 

The Escape Club

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That’s the hilariously named Trevor Steel, front-man of British band the Escape Club, talking about the process of writing his group’s sole #1 hit. “It was a really quick song to write. I went home that night and wrote the lyrics… It wrote itself.”

Read more: Stereogum

November 12, 1966: Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town" became the Number 1 song on the US music chart.

Johnny Rivers’ huge American success of the 1960s and 70s may not have been fully reflected around the world.

Johnny Rivers

But that should take nothing way from the Brooklyn-born artist’s contribution to pop culture. Not only did Johnny place 29 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 over a lengthy 13-year span, he scored nine Top 10 hits and 18 chart albums. 

Read more: U Discover Music

November 12, 1977: Odyssey enters the US Top 100 songs with "Native New Yorker."

The song was originally written for Frankie Valli but when covered by Odyssey it became their first hit. The song is about a girl who is unlucky in love. It’s a song about disillusionment that captures the downside of the self-reliant New York lifestyle. 

Read more: Jukebox Time Machine

November 12, 1983: At Number 48, the Rolling Stones enters the US Top 100 single's with "Undercover of the Night."

While the Rolling Stones definitely showed their edge while they were still the big boys of the day, but a decade or two passing was proof enough that everything had an expiration date, the original bad boy rockers included.

Rolling Stones

Keith Richards was instrumental in the creation of 1983’s “Undercover of The Night;” a responsibility he tasked to himself. Jagger wanted fans to experience a whole new level of decadence, perhaps in the desperation of reclaiming their throne as original bad boys of rock n’ roll. 

Read more: I Love Classic Rock

November 12, 1994: "The Rhythm of the Night" by Corona entered the US charts.

"The Rhythm of the Night" is the debut single by Italian Eurodance group Corona. In Europe the single entered the Eurochart Hot 100 on 12 February at number 63, and made a slow climb up to peak at five on 17 September. In the end of 1994 it was the longest-charting single on the Eurochart Hot 100. 

Read more: Wikipedia

Wild, Wild West
The Escape Club