#1 R&B Song 1959: “There Goes My Baby,” the Drifters
Born: Harvey Fuqua (the Moonglows), 1929
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1946 Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan entered the R&B hit list with “Petootie Pie,” reaching #3—pretty good for a B-side. The A-side was the huge #1 hit “Stone Cold Dead in the Market.”
1974 Dionne Warwick teamed with the Spinners on “Then Came You,” which charted today. It became her first #1 after forty hits in twelve years.
1984 Prince’s film Purple Rain premiered across America. The motion picture was loosely based on the artist’s life, with emphasis on his romantic involvements.
1985 Whitney Houston’s solo single debut, “You Give Good Love” peaked at #3. A year earlier, the then-unknown singer recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass, “Hold Me,” which only reached #46.
1991 When Natalie Cole brought the idea of singing a duet album with her late father Nat King Cole’s old recordings to her label, EMI refused. She signed with Electra Records, recorded the album, titled Unforgettable. . .With Love, and today topped the album charts.
1995 Eddie Floyd’s “Knock On Wood” was finally certified gold twenty-eight years after its release. More than sixty versions of the song had been recorded through 1995, and Floyd, an avid collector of his own hit, has a copy of every one of them.
1996 “Elevators (Me & You)” by OutKast jumped on the R&B Top 100, reaching #5 and #12 pop. The Atlanta rap duo would continue to have hits into the 21ST Century, including the mega-hit “Hey, Ya!,” which spent nine weeks at #1 pop in 2003.
Ann
