# 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:** 7
**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:** [May 3, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/121 "2020-05-03T14:41:26Z")
Shelley Fabares, with “Johnny 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:** [May 4, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/122 "2020-05-04T20:26:47Z")
Montell Jordan did it, with “This Is How We Do It”. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2020, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/123 "2020-05-05T11:12:33Z")
The Box Tops, with “The Letter”. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2020, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/124 "2020-05-06T11:15:13Z")
The Fleetwoods, with “Come Softly To Me”. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/125 "2020-05-07T21:29:58Z")
Cutting Crew, with “(I Just) Died In Your Arms”. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/126 "2020-05-07T21:43:52Z")
Judging by the number of examples given in this thread, I think the answer to the OP is “many.” ---
**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:** [May 8, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/127 "2020-05-08T22:10:28Z")
I believe you’re correct; but I believe there’s more to add. For example, “I Believe”, from Fantasia Barrino, seems worth a mention. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/128 "2020-05-09T21:02:32Z")
The Tymes, with “So Much In Love”. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/129 "2020-05-10T19:33:29Z")
Mims, with “This Is Why I’m Hot”. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/130 "2020-05-10T21:41:19Z")
Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s first three singles all made it to no 1 in the UK ---
**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:** [May 11, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/131 "2020-05-11T20:26:44Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s first three singles all made it to no 1 in the UK Yeah, I guess there are all kinds of examples if we go that way; for instance, it looks like Leona Lewis hit #1 in the UK with her first single, which apparently didn’t even get released in the US; but then her _second_ single hit #1 in the US as well as the UK (along with at least half-a-dozen other countries). But just in case that won’t meet the OP’s requirements, figure I’ll instead bump the thread today with quick mention of how George McCrae debuted at #1 in the US and the UK (and at least half-a-dozen other countries) with “Rock Your Baby”. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/132 "2020-05-11T21:00:07Z")
I believe Andy Gibb’s first three singles all went to #1 in the US. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/133 "2020-05-12T19:28:05Z")
Plenty of Sam Cooke’s Top 40 hits made it to #1 on the R&B charts — starting with his first (“You Send Me”) and his second (“I’ll Come Running Back To You”), and following those up with “Twistin’ The Night Away” and “Another Saturday Night”. But it’s that first single that reached #1 both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/134 "2020-05-12T19:59:30Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > [A-ha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-ha_discography)’s Take on Me was their debut song and reached #1 on the US charts. Might be a bit of a cheat though, they released a second version of the song after the first failed to chart; but it was still the same song. My immediate thought was a-ha as well. Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/135 "2020-05-12T20:00:58Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Snow, with “Informer”. [stabs self in ear with icepick] ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/136 "2020-05-13T11:23:45Z")
…a-licky-boom-boom. As for debut singles where even the singer [“hated her own chart-topper,”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MacGregor) Mary MacGregor managed to hit #1 with “Torn Between Two Lovers”. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/137 "2020-05-13T13:37:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Maureen McGovern, with “The Morning After”. I’m not sure this is legit here. [The Morning After](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morning_After_(Maureen_McGovern_song)) was written by 20th Century Fox staff composers for “The Poseidon Adventure”. It was well-known and won the 1972 Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1973 Oscar ceremony. McGovern did a nice cover of it but it doesn’t seem to me to qualify here. She didn’t hit big with a song, she covered a well-known piece. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/138 "2020-05-13T14:22:37Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > McGovern did a nice cover of it but it doesn’t seem to me to qualify here. She didn’t hit big with a song, she covered a well-known piece. Hmm. What about what Erik Darling did for the Rooftop Singers? > [@](#): > > [Darling put the group together in June 1962, specifically to record an updated and uptempo version of a 1929 Gus Cannon folk blues song, “Walk Right In”.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rooftop_Singers) That single wound up hitting #1, just like the first single that McGovern released; should neither qualify? Or both? Or one but not the other? ---
**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:** [May 14, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/139 "2020-05-14T22:03:16Z")
And, just to stretch this even further: the original version of ‘Young Love’ [was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Love_(1956_song)), which didn’t hit #1 and so doesn’t count; and Sonny James did a cover version, which _did_ hit #1 but wasn’t his first single and so doesn’t count; but then Tab Hunter’s version, which was _his_ first single, [stayed No. 1 for a full six weeks and became a gold record. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 4 song for 1957. The success of this record led Warner Bros., where Hunter was a contract player, to form Warner Bros. Records](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Love_(1956_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:** [May 15, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/140 "2020-05-15T21:27:39Z")
And, in that vein but one step removed: Nelson, with “Love and Affection”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=8)