The 20th of February 1974
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 17th,
published on Tuesday the 19th,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 24th of February 1974.
Ringo Starr
You’re Sixteen
At No.15, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, is Ringo Starr with You’re Sixteen.
Here’s the second Beatle…
…to grace the UK Singles Chart on one of my birthdays so far; the first being Paul back on the day of my birth with the first official single from his new group Wings, and then again exactly a year later for my first birthday too.
John and George…
…had also shown a presence, but in the corresponding Album Chart; George with his “Concert for Bangla-Desh box set, and John with “Imagine”.
Now it’s Ringo’s time to shine,..
…and at this point in his career, compared to his fellow ex-bandmates, he is shining brighter than both Lennon and McCartney, to the point where, when this single had landed in the U.S. equivalent Billboard Chart three months ago, and had then hit the top at No.1, just like his previous solo effort had done, John sent Ringo a telegram which read…
“Congratulations.
How Dare You?
And Please Write Me A Hit Song.”
Being the 1970’s;..
…in fact, being the last century (as you could almost get away with it all the way up until the end of the century), this single was absolutely fine with the general public, although it was probably better suited to someone in 1973 such as teenage heartthrob Donny Osmond; but because it was Ringo, and that the song itself was a reminiscent golden oldie from back in the early Sixties, no one batted an eyelid that the guy singing the song was three years into his thirties at the time, singing about snogging a child who was three years into her teenage years.
Having said all that, one way this single can still be played without too much cringe, at least not for the applicator, is for loving embarrassing fathers everywhere to put this song on at their teenage daughter’s 16th birthday and witness the target of their affections desperately try and find a way out of their own hugely mortifying situation. Great to try in front of the rest of the family, even better in front of their daughter’s friends or at their own birthday party.
The song had originally been recorded…
…by rockabilly singer & songwriter, 26 year-old Johnny Burnette, who had scored a No.3 hit in the UK back in 1961.
The song itself…
…had been composed by the writing partnership of brothers Richard & Robert Sherman, who would later go on to write many successful musical scores, mainly for Walt Disney but also many other film scores such as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (am I the only one who could never quite remember if it was “Step In Time” or “The Old Bamboo” which Dick Van Dyke performed in “Mary Poppins“…?), and who would become songwriters for generations of childhood memories thereafter.
Now, after 13 years, this song of theirs was back in the charts once again; firstly in the United States, as I’ve already mentioned, and (I apologise in advance for another Beatle reference, but I just have to say it) with a little help from his friends (groan…), who included Harry Nilsson and Paul McCartney as backing vocalists; with Paul warbling in such a manner that his voice sounds more akin to a Kazoo.
Looking way into the future, Ringo will eventually make a promotional film for the song later on in the decade which features Carrie Fisher, and ties in with a TV Special.
But before all that, it is time to see if the single will gain the same success over here in the UK.
The single…
…is a New Entry this week landing firmly into the Top 20.
From here,..
…it will fly all the way into the Top 10 and then land at No.4 at the beginning of March, where it will then slip back a couple of notches, before another boost sends it back up to land at No.4 once again; sealing its fate as its highest peak position.
Sliding back gradually throughout the rest of March and into April, the single will ultimately fall away altogether after the 27th of that month, with a solid 10 weeks to show for it.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
“Ringo” TV Special – 1978
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