Friday, December 3, 2021

Music History Today: December 4, 2021

December 4, 1982: Peter Gabriel entered Billboard's Top 40 singles with "Shock the Monkey."
Peter Gabriel has never elaborated much on the meaning of “Shock The Monkey,” other than to say in a 1993 interview, “This song is about jealousy and a sort of animal nature.” 

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However, another Gabriel song, “We Do What We’re Told,” was inspired by the infamous 1961 Milgram experiments in which subjects believed they were administering shocks to other test subjects and continued to administer higher and higher “shocks” when instructed to do so. 
Read more: Musical Brick
December 4, 1954: "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes finished the year and started the next with a seven-week run at the top of the charts.
 “Mr. Sandman” features some beautiful singing from the famous girl group The Chordettes — and some funny lyrics as well. 
The Chordettes
The Chordettes
The Chordettes were a female vocal group originally organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They were known for their barbershop-type close harmony. Well, it’s barbershop with a doo wop and pop twist. 
Read more: Daily Doo Wop

 

December 4, 1971: The record entering highest of Top 100 songs in the US, at Number 61, was a Coca-Cola commercial by The New Seekers.

Back in the early '70s, a man named Bill Backer was an executive working for Cola Cola's advertising agency, McCann Erickson.

Coca-Cola commercial by The New Seekers 1971 

He found himself delayed at an airport in Ireland with songwriters Roger Cook and Billy Davis. While looking around the airport during his layover, he noticed people were drinking Cokes together while and laughing and joking around. He picked up a napkin and wrote "I'd like to buy the world a Coke."  
Read more: Wide Open Country

December 4, 1976: Smokie debuted on the American music charts with "Living Next Door to Alice."

Co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, “Living Next Door to Alice” was originally released by the Australian vocal harmony trio New World in 1972. The song charted at no. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for the British band Smokie. 
Read more: Country Thang Daily

December 4, 1999: Blink 182 began their run up the Billboard singles chart with "All the Small Things."

"All The Small Things" was one of the top-selling singles in America in 2000. It charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100-- the highest Blink-182 has appeared on the Billboard charts ever. Later that year, Rolling Stone magazine declared "All The Small Things" one of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs."  
Read more: ET Online

Shock the Monkey
Peter Gabriel

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