# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/141 "2020-05-15T21:33:01Z")
[Have I the Right?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuUpOerfT2I) by the Honeycombs was #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 16, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/142 "2020-05-16T21:30:45Z")
Yeah, the UK route opens this up all over the place. Like, over there, Lou Bega’s debut single — you know, _Mambo No. 5_ — hit #1, while only hitting #3 in the US; but it was the other way around for C+C Music Factory, with _Everybody Dance Now_ as the debut single that shot to #1 here despite topping out at #3 there. Looking back, the ‘90s were kind of a weird time. ---
**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 17, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/143 "2020-05-17T21:24:41Z")
And, for an even closer miss: Guy Mitchell’s debut single, _My Heart Cries For You_, hit #1 in the UK but stalled out at #2 in the US — the reverse of how Soulja Boy’s debut single, _Crank That_, hit #1 in the US and #2 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 18, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/144 "2020-05-18T21:22:58Z")
B.o.B.’s debut single, _Nothin’ on You_, reached #1 in the US and the UK (and various other places, from South Korea to the Netherlands). ---
**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 19, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/145 "2020-05-19T22:03:12Z")
David Soul had _Don’t Give Up On Us_ hit #1 in the US and the UK and so on. ---
**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 20, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/146 "2020-05-20T20:58:19Z")
“Wooden Heart” wasn’t just Joe Dowell’s #1 debut: [_“In 1961 “Wooden Heart” became the first single released on Smash Records to shoot to #1 on the Hot 100. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. In the wake of his success, Dowell wanted to become a songwriter in his own right, but, due to contractual obligations, he was required to sing music owned by Smash’s parent company, Mercury Records. He had two further hits, “The Bridge of Love” (US #50) and “Little Red Rented Rowboat” (US #23), but, after struggles with his management, he was dropped from the label.”_](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Dowell) Man, you give them _their_ first #1; and you follow it up with the Top 40 hit _they_ insist on, after they shoot down _your_ idea; and then they drop you _anyway?_ ---
**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 21, 2020, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/147 "2020-05-21T21:30:09Z")
Billy Swan’s debut single, ‘I Can Help,’ hit #1 in the US (and topped the country chart, too; and topped the charts in more than half-a-dozen other countries). ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/148 "2020-05-21T22:33:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Billy Swan’s debut single, ‘I Can Help,’ hit #1 in the US (and topped the country chart, too; and topped the charts in more than half-a-dozen other countries). Why was that song listed on the country charts? It was a perfect pastiche of rock’n’roll/rockabilly from ca. 1956, and had no special country feel whatsoever, other than the fact though that the genres are related, but that’s true for countless other rock’n’roll songs. If Billy Swan had been a country act before, I would understand. ---
**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 23, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/149 "2020-05-23T03:16:28Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Why was that song listed on the country charts? It was a perfect pastiche of rock’n’roll/rockabilly from ca. 1956, and had no special country feel whatsoever, other than the fact though that the genres are related, but that’s true for countless other rock’n’roll songs. If Billy Swan had been a country act before, I would understand. The country chart is kind of all over the place, I guess; the stuff that hit #1 there is, what, Taylor Swift explaining that we are never ever getting back together, along with Johnny Cash explaining that his name is Sue, and how do you do? And in between them was, uh, _Convoy_? And so the part that makes all the sense is how, at some point, the theme song for the Dukes of Hazzard wound up on top? (Bringing me, in turn, to how Rhythm Heritage apparently got a #1 debut single of the non-country type with, uh, _“Theme from S.W.A.T.”_) ---
**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 23, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/150 "2020-05-23T04:04:14Z")
And, at that: Jan Hammer had a #1 debut single with _“Miami Vice Theme”_. ---
**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 25, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/151 "2020-05-25T03:02:37Z")
“Gonna Fly Now” apparently counts. ---
**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 25, 2020, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/152 "2020-05-25T11:21:42Z")
…and, speaking of ‘70s movies (and since it’s May 25th): [Meco](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meco) went on to rack up a succession of Top 40 hits, but only after the #1 debut single that went platinum as the disco version of the [Star Wars Theme](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Theme/Cantina_Band). ---
**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 26, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/153 "2020-05-26T22:39:02Z")
Divine’s debut single, “Lately”, hit #1. ---
**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 27, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/154 "2020-05-27T16:06:02Z")
The McCoys reached #1 with their debut single, “Hang On Sloopy”. ---
**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 28, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/155 "2020-05-28T23:14:40Z")
Santo & Johnny, with “Sleep Walk”. ---
**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 29, 2020, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/156 "2020-05-29T10:00:02Z")
America, with “A Horse With No Name”. ---
**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 30, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/157 "2020-05-30T22:56:39Z")
The Kingston Trio, with “Tom Dooley”. ---
**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 31, 2020, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/158 "2020-05-31T10:14:22Z")
Barry McGuire, with “Eve of Destruction”. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/159 "2020-06-01T22:36:22Z")
Percy Sledge, with “When A Man Loves A Woman”. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847/160 "2020-06-03T00:49:51Z")
This week marks a #1 from Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, which seems to have made it [“the first female collaboration to debut atop the chart, and made Grande the first artist to have four songs debut at the number one spot.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_on_Me_(Lady_Gaga_and_Ariana_Grande_song)) Which makes me think it’s maybe a good time to mention that Lady Gaga’s first single, “Just Dance”, managed to hit #1 during the Bush administration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-one-with-their-first-single/849847.md?page=9)