Music History Today: May 5, 2023

May 5, 1973: Paul Simon released the album There Goes Rhymin' Simon.

Paul Simon's second post-Garfunkel effort, There Goes Rhymin' Simon, is bookmarked by two of his top pop hits with a sandwich of soft-rock songs in between. It was both a commercial and critical success and firmly established Simon as a top-notch solo artist.

 

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"Kodachrome" plays like a commercial thematically but is masterful. The song is named after a Kodak product, causing it to be banned by the BBC because that name is trademarked. However, the song was a significant hit in the United States, peaking at Number 2. 

Read more: Classic Rock Review

Tammy Wynette was born Virginia Wynette Pugh in Iuka, Mississippi. She became known as the First Lady of Country Music.

Tammy Wynette had more than 20 Number 1 hits, though she's still most widely remembered for signature songs of the late 1960s and early '70s, such as "I Don't Wanna Play House" and "Stand By Your Man." 

Tammy Wynette

The latter was widely criticized within the feminist movement; in the mid-'90s, it became the subject of discussion again when soon to becoming first lady Hillary Clinton referenced it in a news interview. McDonough says Wynette remained proud of the song. When asked about it, she'd say, "I just thought it was a pretty little love song," McDonough says. 

Read more: NPR

May 5, 1958: Dion and the Belmonts released the single "I Wonder Why" with the B-Side, "Teen Angel."

"I Wonder Why" is sung from the point of view of a man telling his girlfriend that he loves her but does not know why. Released as Laurie Records' first single, it was Dion and the Belmonts' first national pop chart hit. The track went to Number 22 on the Hot 100. 

Read more: Wikipedia

May 5, 1973: The Sweet's first US hit, "Little Willy," topped out at Number 3 on Billboard's singles chart.

"Little Willy" was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, neither of whom was a member of Sweet. Instead, Chinn and Chapman were a significant force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. 

The Sweet

Just as in the US, Leiber and Stoller became known for "the Brill Building sound," Chinn and Chapman in the UK became known as the "Chinnichap" sound. They produced songs for Suzi Quatro and British bands Smokie, Mud, Racey, and The Arrows. Chapman would later create albums for Blondie and The Knack and, along with Holly Knight, wrote Pat Benatar's hit "Love Is A Battlefield." 

Read more: Songfacts

 

May 5, 1988: Adele was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in Tottenham, London, England.

In 2011, Adele became the first artist to achieve the feat of two top-five hits in both the singles chart and the albums chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964.

Adele

She is the first artist to sell more than 3 million copies of an album in a year in the UK, and Adele is the first female in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three singles in the top 10 at the same time; "Rolling In The Deep," "Someone Like You," and "Set Fire To The Rain." 

Read more: Singers

Kodachrome
Paul Simon