ON THIS DAY IN BLACK MUSIC HISTORY: MAY 23

#1 Song 1964   “My Guy,” Mary Wells

 

Born:   Robert “Bumps” Blackwell, 1918; Arthur Gunter, 1926; General Norman Johnson (Chairmen of the Board), 1943

 

1960   Ella Fitzgerald charted R&B with “Mack the Knife,” reaching #6. The song was recorded in West Berlin, Germany, with the Paul Smith Quartet doing backing vocals. Despite the huge success of the Bobby Darin pop version, which hit the Top 100 nine months ahaead of Ellaa’s pop chart debut, her version still impressively reached #27.

 

 

1960   First recorded by the Spaniels in 1958, “A Rockin’ Good Way” bounced onto the Hot 100 for Dinah Washington in a duet with Brook Benton while rockin’ its way to #7.

 

 

1964   Millie Small charted with her soon-to-be hit, “My Boy Lollipop” (#2 U.S. & U.K.). The harmonica part was played by a nineteen-year-old then-folk singer named Rod Stewart.

 

 

 

1981   After Smokey Robinson’s song “Being With You” was turned down for Kim Carnes, he recorded it himself and it reached #2 pop today. He was kept from the top spot by (you guessed it) Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.”

 

 

 

1995   Donna Summer performed in Sao Paolo, Brazil.