We All Like a Quickie, Plus The Weird History Of “Hang On Sloopy”

Today you gotta take a peek at classic Number One singles from different decades -- Because they're all really cool songs, that's why! Take another sip and dive into your Friday Coffee Break Calendar...

10/2/1960 (60 years ago today) - "Stay" by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs enters the U.S. singles chart where it will soon occupy the No. 1 spot -- Coming in at only 1:37, it achieves a special level of notoriety as the shortest-in-length chart topper in U.S. history! Jackson Browne gets to work it in (rather nicely) a couple of decades later on his classic "Running On Empty" album, though his version ("The Load-Out/Stay") clocks in at 8:50...

10/2/1965 (55 years ago today) - The McCoys hit No. 1 with the pretty-darn-infectious-sing-along "Hang On Sloopy" featuring a then-unknown Rick Derringer on guitar and vocals -- The song was originally recorded in 1964 by The Vibrations, an R&B band on Atlantic records, and The Strangeloves (famous for "I Want Candy") wanted to put their stamp on it too; at that time, they were on tour with The Dave Clark Five who also had plans to do the song -- Figuring The DC5's version would outsell anything they could come up with, The Strangeloves bailed on it. But then Dave Clark did too, leaving it for The McCoys to turn it into a classic and the one and only time the band saw any action on the charts...

10/2/1971 (49 years ago today) - Rod Stewart starts a five week run at No. 1 in America with the originally-double-A-sided single "Maggie May"/"Reason To Believe" -- It didn't take long for radio stations to pick up on "Maggie" as the featured side, though "Reason" managed some significant airplay as well. Coincidentally on this same date, the album both songs were on, "Every Picture Tells A Story", began a month long stint at the top of the charts over in England -- It's still Rod's best work, and the first 8-track tape I actually played so much it had to be replaced...

Share your click-clack's with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"You wore me out...", xoxo!