On this day in 1983: Billy Joel went to #1 on the U.K. singles chart with ‘Uptown Girl’, which stayed at the top of the chart for five weeks. It would be Billy Joel’s only #1 hit in the U.K. The song was initially written about his relationship with his then-girlfriend Elle Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon-to-be wife Christie Brinkley (both women being two of the most famous supermodels of the 1980s). In the U.S., “Uptown Girl” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks from November 12 to December 10, 1983.
On this day in 1988: The Beach Boys went to #1 on the U.S. singles chart with ‘Kokomo’. The track had been featured in the film ‘Cocktail’ starring Tom Cruise. it would spend one week in the top spot.
“Kokomo” was recorded on March 2 and April 5–6, 1988 with production by Terry Melcher, who had previously produced the band’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll to the Rescue” (1986) and “California Dreamin'” (1986). It was created through overdubbing parts onto the band’s demo for the song.
The recording featured every member of the group except Brian Wilson, who did not attend the sessions. In his (since-discredited) 1991 memoir ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story”, it was stated that Wilson was unable to contribute to the song because he was committed to recording his first solo album, and his bandmates deliberately did not inform him of the session date until it was too late. According to biographer Mark Dillon, “Available session-date information does not substantiate this claim, however.”
Mike Love stated that Wilson was not on “Kokomo” because Eugene Landy, Wilson’s therapist-turned-collaborator, refused to “let Brian sing on it unless Landy was a producer and co-writer, and Terry Melcher didn’t really feel he needed Landy since he had produced some number-one records. It was pathetic of Landy to do that, but he controlled Brian completely at that time.” The group later recorded a Spanish-language version of “Kokomo” with participation from Wilson.
Also on this day back in 1988: ‘The Locomotion’, became the first song to reach the U.S. Top 5 in three different versions, when Kylie Minogue’s version reached #4 on the U.S. singles chart. Written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song is notable for charting in the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 three times – each time in a different decade: for Little Eva in 1962, for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 and For Minogue in 1988.
Here’s a look at the complete Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1988:
1 2 KOKOMO –•– The Beach Boys – 10 (1)
2 3 WILD, WILD WEST –•– The Escape Club – 12 (2)
3 1 GROOVY KIND OF LOVE –•– Phil Collins – 10 (1)
4 7 THE LOCO-MOTION –•– Kylie Minoque – 11 (4)
5 10 BAD MEDICINE –•– Bon Jovi – 7 (5)
6 9 ONE MOMENT IN TIME –•– Whitney Houston – 9 (6)
7 8 NEVER TEAR US APART –•– INXS – 13 (7)
8 14 DESIRE –•– U2 – 6 (8)
9 4 RED RED WINE –•– UB40 – 28 (1)
10 5 WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND (PURE ENERGY) –•Information Society – 17 (3)
11 6 DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT THE NIGHT CAN DO? Steve Winwood – 12 (6)
12 17 HOW CAN I FALL? –•– Breathe – 9 (12)
13 21 BABY, I LOVE YOUR WAY/FREEBIRD –•– Will To Power – 9 (13)
14 12 CHAINS OF LOVE –•– Erasure – 15 (12)
15 22 KISSING A FOOL –•– George Michael – 5 (15)
16 16 ANOTHER LOVER –•– Giant Steps – 12 (16)
17 23 LOOK AWAY –•– Chicago – 7 (17)
18 20 DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU GOT (TILL IT’S GONE) – Cinderella – 10 (18)
19 11 DON’T BE CRUEL –•– Bobby Brown – 16 (8)
20 27 I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE –•– Duran Duran – 4 (20)
