Beech Tree News Network

This week, I’ve got a few random music facts that you might not know.  There were several of these of which I wasn’t aware.  I was watching an episode of AXS TV’s Top Ten Revealed when I picked up this first fact.  I always wondered who the most sampled artist of all time was.  That honor goes to the late James Brown, who has been sampled 5200 times.  It’s very likely that number will continue to grow. 

Here’s another unbelievable fact.  Back in 1984, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) declared that Darryl Hall and John Oates were the most successful duo in rock history.  Statistically, they had surpassed such dynamic duos as the Everly Brothers (who held the top spot) and The Righteous Brothers.  They’ve held onto this title for 40 years. 

Here’s a stumper: Who is the only artist to have a number one in each of the last 7 decades? Cher joins the Rolling Stones with at least one new #1 on a Billboard songs chart in each of the seven decades from the 1960’s through the 2020’s.  Cher scored her first #1 as half of Sonny & Cher when “I Got You Babe topped the Billboard Hot 100 dated August 14, 1965.  In the ‘70’s, she logged a trio of solo #1,s with Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves(1971), “Half-Breed”(1973) and “Dark Lady”(1974).  She claimed another #1 with Sonny with 1971’s “All I Ever Need Is You”. In the ‘80’s, she hit the top with “After All” with Peter Cetera and “If I could Turn Back Time (both in ’89).  In the next decade, Cher returned to #1 with 1999’s “Believe”.  In the 2000’s, Cher achieved three #1’s on the Dance charts with “Song For The Lonely”, “Different Kind of Love Song(‘02) and “When The Money’s Gone”(’03).  “You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” (2011) and “Woman’s World” (2013).  Rolling Stones began their string of #1’s just before Cher when “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit #1 on the Hot 100 dated July 10, 1965.  They most recently led a songs survey with “Living In A Ghost Town”.  That song hit #1 May 9, 2020. 

My final tidbit of the week comes from the disco world-yes, disco.  On February 27, 1980, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” became the first and only disco song to win a Grammy for best disco recording.  After watching disco music utterly dominate the musical landscape of the late 1970’s, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences had finally decided to give it their stamp of approval, with the category Best Disco Recording-just as the musical style was preparing to die.  Great timing, right?

On a fundamental business level, there was growing disillusion within the record industry by early 1980 regarding disco’s profit potential.  As popular as it was on the radio and in clubs, disco failed to produce many of the kinds of dependable, multi-platinum acts that the industry depended on for its biggest profits.  It was hard to ignore the signs of backlash in popular culture at the time.  One of 1979’s biggest acts, The Knack (“My Sharona”), was being marketed as the group that had come to destroy disco.  At a Chicago White Sox game the previous July, tens of thousands of disco haters forced the cancellation and forfeit of a game at Comiskey Park on “Disco Sucks” promotion night.  The Best Disco Recording category, recognized for the first time by the Grammy’s in 1980, was eliminated the following year.  (www.history.com)

Below are the links to my podcast, Blendertainment.

https://open.spotify.com/show/61yTPt9wXdz37DZTbPUs16?si=lw4gR-7xQ22E-zhyGDyHyg

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blendertainment/id1541097172