Music History Today: January 17, 2022

January 17, 1998: Savage Garden went all the way to the top, on their seventh week in Billboard's singles chart, with "Truly Madly Deeply."

After their breakthrough single "I Want You," Savage Garden duo Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones were sent to Sydney for eight months to record songs for a debut album.

Savage Garden

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For Hayes, this was the first time in his life that he was away from his family and his native Brisbane. This longing for his family and his then-wife, inspired him to write a song that would express his feelings. 

Read more: Smooth Radio

January 17, 1970: The Guess Who's "No Time" entered the American Top 40 chart.

Two different versions of “No Time” were actually recorded; the slower, more intimate tempo appears on the band’s Canned Wheat album, as the more well- known, fast- paced “No Time” version appears on the American Woman album in 1970. The more popular version reached #5 in the U.S. and #1 in Canada that same year. 

Read more: Society of Rock

January 17, 1981: The Police reached the top of the US Top singles with "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da."

According to lead singer Sting, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is about the attraction that people have to simple songs. Sting later criticized those who labelled the lyrics of the song as "baby talk," claiming that the song was grossly misunderstood. He evaluated, "The lyrics are about banality, about the abuse of words," saying that "the lyrics have an internal logic." 

Read more: Wikipedia

January 17, 1987: "Stay the Night" became an American Top 40 hit for Benjamin Orr.

In 1986, The Cars co-founder and bassist Benjamin Orr released his first and only solo album, The Lace.

Benjamin Orr

Orr sang lead vocals on a number of The Cars best-known songs, including Drive, Let’s Go, and Just What I Needed. Stay the Night was the first single released from The Lace, and it was a moderate hit on the Hot 100 charts, peaking at number 24. 

Read more: The 80s Ruled

January 17, 2009: "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa, featuring Colby O'Donis, topped the US music chart.

Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” is a pretty-simple dance song. The singer is at a party in a nightclub. 

She's totally smashed, as in drunk. Lady Gaga's elaborated on the meaning of this tune; she's so intoxicated that the only remedy is to dance. 

Read more: Song Meanings & Facts

Truly Madly Deeply
Savage Garden