Saturday, January 30, 1982

Foreigner spends 10th week at #2 with “Waiting for a Girl Like You”

Waiting for a Girl Like You

Foreigner

Writer(s): Lou Gramm, Mick Jones (see lyrics here)


First Charted: October 2, 1981


Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 15 GR, 2 HR, 16 RR, 5 AC, 11 AR, 8 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 53.4 video, 173.74 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You” had the misfortune of getting stuck in the runner-up slot behind one of the biggest hits of the 1980s, Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.” True to its title, however, the power ballad patiently waited – for nine weeks. However, when “Physical” finally succumbed on January 30, 1982, the unthinkable happened. Hall & Oates’ “I Cant Go for That (No Can Do)” leapfrogged over “Girl” and Foreigner was still stuck at #2.

The song never ascended to the pole position of the Billboard Hot 100, but set a record for spending 10 weeks just outside the top. The record still stands today, although in 2002-03, Missy Elliott’s “Work It” tied Foreigner by spending 10 weeks behind Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”

“Waiting for a Girl Like You” was part of a trend in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Bands like Foreigner, Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Styx made their names on album rock radio during the ‘70s, but each found themselves with the biggest hits of their careers with hits from 1979 to 1982. REO Speedwagon and Styx reached the top with “Keep on Loving You” and “Babe” respectively, while Foreigner’s “Waiting” and Journey’s “Open Arms” peaked at #2. In 1985, REO returned to the top with “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and Foreigner finally reached the top with “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Lou Gramm said that while the band were recording the song, a mysterious woman showed up in the control room. She inspired him to sing “Girl” better than he ever had, but then disappeared and he never found out who she was. WK Of course, Gramm had already found the girl he was waiting for anyway – his wife. SF Guitarist Mick Jones shared how the song brought a lot of people together and was played at a lot of people’s wedding. SF

Interestingly, the opening synthesizer bit was played by Thomas Dolby, who had a #5 hit in 1983 with “She Blinded Me with Science.” SF


Resources:


Related Links:


First posted 10/21/2020; last updated 12/22/2022.

Friday, January 15, 1982

Henry Burr: His Top 100 Songs

Henry Burr

Top 100 Songs

Traditional pop tenor singer born Harry H. McClaskey on 1/15/1882 in St. Stephen, Brunswick, Canada. He died 4/6/1941. The #1 ballad singer of recorded music’s 1890-1930 pioneer era. He was performing publicly by the age of 5. He was discovered in 1901 by the Metropolitan Opera baritone Giuseppe Campanari and moved to New York in 1902.

The tenor singer used multiple pseudonyms, including Henry Burr and Irving Gillette, to record for various labels. In addition to his work as a soloist (1903-28), he recorded with the Columbia Male Quartet (1904-07), Peerless Quartet (07-28), Columbia Stellar Quartet (15-?), and the Sterling Trio (16-22). He also recorded duets with Albert Campbell. He sang on an estimated 12,000 recordings, far more than any other vocalist in history.

“Till We Meet Again” and “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Pre-Rock Era, 1890-1953.

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:


Top 100 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs with the following artists are noted: AC = Albert Campbell, FS = Frank Stanley. According to Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954, Henry Burr hit the top of the U.S. pop charts 24 times (#1 songs noted in list).

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Till We Meet Again (w/ AC, 1919) #1
2. I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now (1909) #1
3. In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree (as Irving Gillette, 1905) #1
4. Beautiful Ohio (1919) #1
5. Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (1918) #1
6. When I Lost You (1913) #1
7. My Buddy (1922) #1
8. M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me) (1916) #1
9. Love Me and the World Is Mine (1906) #1
10. Oh, What a Pal Was Mary (1919) #1

11. Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland (1910) #1
12. Goodbye, Good Luck, God Bless You (Is All That I Can Say) (1916) #1

DMDB Top 5%:

13. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (w/ AC, 1913) #1
14. Last Night Was the End of the World (1913) #1
15. I’m on My Way to Mandalay (w/ AC, 1914) #1
16. When I Was Twenty-One and You Were Sweet Sixteen (w/ AC, 1912) #1
17. The Song That Stole My Heart Away (1914) #1
18. I’m Sorry I Made You Cry (1918) #1
19. Red Wing (An Indian Fable) (w/ FS, 1907)
20. To the End of the World with You (1909) #1

21. There’s a Quaker Down in Quaker Town (w/ AC, 1916) #1
22. Close to My Heart (w/ AC, 1915) #1
23. I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles (w/ AC, 1919) #1
24. The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River) (1910)
25. In the Garden of My Heart (w/ FS, 1909)
26. When You’re a Long, Long Way from Home (1914)
27. Goodbye My Lady Love (1904)
28. Peg O’ My Heart (1913)
29. My Little Girl (w/ AC, 1915)
30. My Hawaiian Sunshine (w/ AC, 1917)

31. Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay (w/ AC, 1913)
32. Always (1926)
33. Joan of Arc, They Are Calling You (1917)
34. After You’ve Gone (w/ AC, 1918)
35. There’s a Little Lane without a Turning on the Way to Home Sweet Home (1915)
36. Shine on, Harvest Moon (w/ FS, 1909)
37. Hindustan (w/ AC, 1919)
38. Feather Your Nest (w/ AC, 1921)
39. Somewhere in France Is the Lily (1918)
40. Oh, How I Wish I Could Sleep Until My Daddy Comes Home (1919)

41. For Me and My Gal (w/ AC, 1917)
42. You Planted a Rose in the Garden of Love (1914)
43. Come Down Ma Evening Star (1903) #1
44. Lookout Mountain (w/ AC, 1917) #1
45. Good Night Little Girl, Good Night (1906)
46. What’ll I Do? (with Marcia Freer, 1924)
47. To Have, to Hold, to Love (1913)
48. That Wonderful Mother of Mine (1919)
49. Are You from Heaven? (1918)
50. She’s the Fairest Little Flower Old Dixie Ever Grew (w/ FS, 1908)

51. In the Valley of the Moon (w/ Helen Clark, 1914)
52. When I Leave the World Behind (1915)
53. That’s How I Needed You (1912)
54. Faded Love Letters of Mine (1923)
55. Missouri Waltz (Hush-A-Bye Ma Baby) (w/ AC, 1917)
56. Smiles (w/ AC, 1918)

DMDB Top 10%:

57. Baby’s Prayer Will Soon Be Answered (1919)
58. Your Lips Are No Man’s Land But Mine (w/ AC, 1918)
59. She Is the Sunshine of Virginia (w/ AC, 1916)
60. Is There Still Room for Me ‘Neath the Old Apple Tree? (w/ AC, 1916)

61. You Were Just Made to Order Me (w/ AC, 1916)
62. When My Ship Comes In (w/ AC, 1915)
63. On Mobile Bay (w/ AC, 1911)
64. In the Heart of the City That Has No Heart (1914)
65. Dardanella (w/ AC, 1920)
66. Rainbow (w/ FS, 1908)
67. Just a Girl That Men Forget (1923)
68. There’s a Girl in the Heart of Maryland with a Heart That Belongs to Me (w/ Edgar Stoddard, 1913)
69. Honey on Our Honeymoon (1909)
70. All That I Ask of You Is Love (1910)

71. Flow Gently, Sweet Afton (1913)
72. You Have Always Been the Same Old Pal (1908)
73. The Rosary (1903)
74. Baby Shoes (1916)
75. I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time (w/ AC, 1920)
76. There’s a Little Spark of Love Still Burning (1915)
77. I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight? (w/ Billy Murray, 1926)
78. Rose of Washington (1920)
79. I Love, and the World Is Mine (1908)
80. Daddy, You’ve Been a Mother to Me (1920)

81. Belgian Rose (w/ AC, 1918)
82. Maybe a Day, Maybe a Year (1915)
83. Old Pal, Why Don’t You Answer Me? (1921)
84. It’s Tulip Time in Holland (1915)
85. Shenandoah (w/ AC, 1917)

DMDB Top 20%:

86. Sleepy Time Gal (w/ Art Landry, 1926)
87. All the World Will Be Jealous of Me (1917)
88. Memories (as Harry McClaskey, 1916)
89. My Little Canoe (1904)
90. Wonderful One (1924)

91. As Long As the World Rolls On (1908)
92. Where the River Shannon Flows (1910)
93. Blue Bell (1904)
94. When My Baby Smiles at Me (1920)
95. Three Wonderful Letters from Home (1918)
96. Oh, Promise Me (as Irving Gillette, 1905)
97. Won’t You Come Over to My House? (1907)
98. I’m Going to Follow the Boys (w/ Elizabeth Spencer, 1918)
99. All Through the Night (1906)
100. Every Little Movement (w/ Elise Stevenson as Margaret Mayhew, 1910)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 4/6/2012; updated 6/5/2022.

Monday, January 4, 1982

Today in Music (1882): “Away in a Manger” first published

Away in a Manger

James Ramsey Murray (music), Charles H. Gabriel (words)

Writer(s): James Ramsey Murray (music), Charles H. Gabriel and John T. MacFarland (words) (see lyrics here)


Published: January 4, 1882


First Charted: January 9, 1999 (Reba McEntire)


Peak: 67 CW, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions – all versions): -- radio, 65.28 video, 74.80 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

This “beloved Christmas carol” CFM was first published in the late 19th century. 1883 marked the 400th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther, a German priest from the 16th century and it is believed that “Away in a Manger” was written for the occasion. HA The original title was “Luther’s Cradle Song” and the two-stanza tune appeared in the Boston newspaper The Congregationalist on January 4, 1882. HA

Because of the history of the song and its original title, it has been mistakenly credited to Luther, but this has been debunked. The only German text found for the song is from 1934 and what appears to be an awkward translation from the English original. In addition, the style of the carol is atypical of Luther. WK

The song’s first appearance in a hymnal was in 1885 when it was published in the Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families. CFM It was set to the tune “St. Kilda” by J.E. Clark, but that version has not endured. HA

Two years later, James Ramsey Murray published the song in Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses. This version was set to the melody of “Mueller” GB which is believe to be composed in 1837 by Jonathan Spilman. CFM In 1892, Charles H. Gabriel published Murray’s version with a third verse in Gabriel’s Vineyard Songs. This third verse has sometimes been mistakenly attributed to John T. MacFarland.

In 1895, the song was adapted by the American composer William Kirkpatrick to the melody of “Cradle Song.” GB This is the version more commonly used in the UK and Ireland. GB


Resources:


First posted 12/22/2023.