April 19, 1980: Blondie began a six-week run at Number 1 with "Call Me" from the film An American Gigolo.
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European disco producer Giorgio Moroder wrote "Call Me" with Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry, who became the first woman in British chart history to write three Number 1 hits. The Italian disco king had originally wanted Stevie Nicks to provide vocals on the track, but the Fleetwood Mac vocalist declined the offer.
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April 19, 1956: Chuck Berry recorded "Roll Over Beethoven" for Chicago's Chess Records.
"Roll Over Beethoven" is about the rock 'n' roll craze taking over America. Beethoven and Tchaikovsky were classical composers who were being bumped aside by rock. At the time, many critics dismissed rock music as a fad. Berry was careful to write lyrics that told a coherent story, which in this case, follows a young many as he pursues his favorite music. Berry also delivered the lines clearly so a wider audience could understand them.
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April 19, 1965: Otis Redding released "I've Been Loving You Too Long."
Otis Redding wrote "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with Jerry Butler in a Buffalo hotel room. The song finds Otis in a predicament: his love affair is going cold, but he's been loving her for so long he can't stop now. It was Redding's best-selling single and biggest hit while he was alive. Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
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April 19, 1978: Patti Smith released the single "Because the Night."
Bruce Springsteen wrote "Because the Night" for his 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, but he wanted all the songs to follow the theme of how people react when they don't have "freedom from dread." The track didn't fit this narrative. The song lay dormant until Springsteen's producer, Jimmy Iovine, convinced him to give a copy to Patti Smith.
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April 19, 1997: The Verve Pipe entered the top 40 section of Billboard, on the way to Number 5, with "The Freshmen."
The Verve Pipe lead singer Brian Vander Ark wrote "The Freshmen" based on a real-life event. His ex-girlfriend getting an abortion. He did take some liberties. In the second verse, she overdosed on Valium to commit suicide, but this part never happened.
Read more: Songfacts
Call Me
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