The 20th of February 1972
Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 20th to Saturday the 26th of February 1972
Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 19th of February
Results counted from Sunday the 20th,
announced on Tuesday the 22nd,
and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 27th of February 1972.
The Congregation
Softly Whispering I Love You
At No.37, on the the U.K. Top 50 Singles Chart the day I am born, is The Congregation with “Softly Whispering I Love You”.
The Congregation were heading towards the exit,..
…and by the end of the week would be out through the door.
14 weeks before,..
…back on the 21st of November 1971, they had first entered the chart, right on the edge, at No.50.
The two people behind the idea for the new ensemble were former ‘Kestrels’ bandmates turned singer /songwriters, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, who had previously released this song themselves in 1967, under the guise of David and Jonathon.
Back then, it hadn’t even grazed the U.K. Singles Chart, although it had reached No.19 in Australia.
Between then and this chart,..
…they’d mostly written for others, from artists such as Andy Williams, The Fortunes and even Deep Purple.
For their new take on their old song,..
….with the assistance of session guitarist Alan Parker (who’s playing you can hear on the old 70’s Top of the Pops “Whole Lotta Love” theme (more of which later), amongst other musical accomplishments), they decided to use a choir, which gave the song an ethereal hymn-like quality. And for the build up of the song, they employed the vocal talents of seasoned session vocalist (and ex-Plastic Penny member) Brian Keith.
This time,..
…the new sound grabbed the listening public’s attention.
Keeping in trend…
…with Brian’s last musical outfit, who had scored a solitary No.6 hit at the end of 1967, so this single would also become a sizable one-hit wonder for this new chorus of voices.
In the weeks that followed,..
…up to, and including through Christmas, they managed to climb all the way up to the Top 5, and settled for a 2 week stay at No.4, from Sunday the 2nd to Saturday the 15th of January, before softly slipping back down the chart for this final week.
The “A” Side
The “B” Side
The Congregation – Softly Whispering I Love You (“Top Of The Pops” TV Appearance)
The Congregation – Softly Whispering I Love You (German TV Appearance)
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