# Number One with their first single **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847 "2020-03-19T22:36:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/81 "2020-04-02T11:23:22Z")
And, in the same vein: Jermaine Dupri was still a teen when the song he wrote became a #1 debut for younger teens in the ‘90s, with Kris Kross and “Jump”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/82 "2020-04-02T14:05:54Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Hey, even decades later, teens could still write a catchy #1 debut with [MMMBop](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMMBop). Lorde was a teenager when she wrote “Royals.” Billie Eilish hit #1 with “Bad Guy,” though in fairness I think her brother writes the songs a lot more than she does. So it can still happen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/83 "2020-04-02T14:16:10Z")
As far as I can tell, Ciara wrote [“Goodies”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodies_(song)) — and promptly had it hit #1, in the US and the UK, as her debut single — when she was just eighteen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/84 "2020-04-03T12:50:35Z")
Pretty recently, Desiigner was a teen who hit #1 with his debut single [Panda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_(song)). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/85 "2020-04-04T13:22:10Z")
A Taste Of Honey had a #1 debut single with ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/86 "2020-04-05T13:10:05Z")
Strawberry Alarm Clock, with ‘Incense and Peppermints’. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/87 "2020-04-06T21:05:53Z")
Rose Royce managed it with the ‘70s-tastic “Car Wash”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/88 "2020-04-07T21:45:36Z")
Barry Sadler, with the Ballad of the Green Berets. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/89 "2020-04-08T21:17:34Z")
Anita Ward, with “Ring My Bell”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/90 "2020-04-09T21:30:03Z")
The Singing Nun, with “Dominique”. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/91 "2020-04-09T21:42:10Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The Singing Nun, with “Dominique”. If there ever was a one hit wonder, then this! It was one of my favorite songs when I was four years old. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/92 "2020-04-11T00:07:54Z")
Heh. For me, I guess it would’ve been the #1 debut that was [96 Tears](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/96_Tears). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/93 "2020-04-11T00:22:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Rick Astley’s overplayed debut single, [_Never Gonna Give You Up_](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up), apparently hit #1 in both the US and the UK, and also in Australia and Belgium and Canada and Denmark and Finland and Germany and the Netherlands and New Zealand and Norway and South Africa and Spain and Sweden and I may have missed some. But a number of those sales were obstensively 45 rpm singles for Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”. Gullible pre-teens put the 7" disk on their turntables and were surprised to hear Rick Astley’s hit blasting out of their speakers. As a result, the total sales for _Never Gonna Give You Up_ are often published with a footnote… or a shrug emoji. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/94 "2020-04-11T21:17:56Z")
Possibly that calls for the strains of Daniel Powter’s #1 debut, _Bad Day_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/95 "2020-04-11T22:31:04Z")
Quite a few novelty songs from the 50s and 60s met the criteria - most were one-hit wonders. Examples from “Billboard”: David Seville: “Witch Doctor”. He later re-christened his voice as “The Chipmunks”, which reached number 1 with their debut song “The Chipmunk Song”. Sheb Woolley: “The Purple People Eater”. Hollywood Argyles: “Alley-Oop”. Brian Hyland: “Itsy-Bitsy … Bikini”. He had several later hits. Larry Verne: “Mr. Custer”. From “Cashbox”: Napoleon XIV: “They’re Coming to Take me Away…” (#3 on Billboard). ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/96 "2020-04-11T22:52:07Z")
To clear up the “Love Me Do” thread: It was released in North America on February 18, 1963 - but only on Capitol of Canada. It may have been hard to get in the US. It wasn’t released on a US label until April 27, 1964. “Please Please Me” was released in the US (their first US single) on February 25, 1963 (Vee-Jay), and in Canada on April 1, 1963 (Capitol). > **[The Beatles' North American releases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles%27_North_American_releases)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Beatles experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, but record companies in the United States did not immediately follow up with releases of their own, and the Beatles' commercial success in the US continued to be hampered by other obstacles, including issues with royalties and public derision toward the "Beatle haircut". > It was nearly a year before the Beatles became widely popular in the US. CBS Evening News aired ... [http://www.45cat.com/45\_search.php?sq="love+me+do"&sm=se](http://www.45cat.com/45_search.php?sq=%22love+me+do%22&sm=se) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/97 "2020-04-12T19:29:46Z")
Another one folks can maybe bicker over: “West End Girls” was the first single from the Pet Shop Boys, who hit #1 with — well, “West End Girls”. But, putting that aside: “Hooked On A Feeling”. No, not the single from BJ Thomas; the ‘ooga chaka’ version that was Blue Swede’s #1 debut. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/98 "2020-04-13T01:11:55Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And, later: the Dixie Cups, singing about goin’ to the [Chapel of Love](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_Love). Also interesting that it was the very first release on that record label, Red Bird Records. That feat was accomplished again with Apple Records first release, the Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” in 1968. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/99 "2020-04-13T21:22:42Z")
For the flip side of another coin: _How Do You Talk To An Angel_ [‘was the theme for the TV series The Heights. The single was released with Jamie Walters as lead singer, and it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 14, 1992, but the series was canceled exactly one week after the song fell from its number one position.’](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Do_You_Talk_to_an_Angel) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/100 "2020-04-14T19:18:05Z")
The Bellamy Brothers had a #1 debut single with _Let Your Love Flow_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=6)