Is Anyone Singing About Marvin Gaye? Mailbag
This month we dive into questions about instrumentals, double-sided singles, and the economics of less popular genres
Today’s newsletter is another mailbag edition of Can’t Get Much Higher, or the newsletter where I answer reader questions. Here are shortened versions of today’s questions:
What’s the best-performing instrumental of all-time?
Which artists from the 1970s are more popular now then they were when they were releasing music?
Do adult contemporary and easy listening artists make money on their recordings?
Did the rule change Billboard made last year have any notable chart impact?
Can you give me a history of double-sided hit singles?
Am I imagining hearing odd time signatures on hit songs recently?
How often is Marvin Gaye mentioned in hit song lyrics?
If you enjoy this newsletter, consider ordering a copy of my debut book, Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. It’s a data-driven history of popular music covering 1958 to 2025.
What are some of the best-performing instrumental songs of all-time? I know there are songs from movies that have charted. But what about instrumentals not from film? - Anthony
There have been 12 instrumental number one hits that were not written for or prominently featured in a movie or television show:
The Happy Organ by Dave “Baby” Cortez
Sleep Walk bySanto & Johnny
Telstar by The Tornados
Love is Blue by Paul Mauriat
Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela
Frankenstein The Edgar Winter Group
Love’s Theme by Love Unlimited Orchestra
Pick Up the Pieces by Average White Band
The Hustle by Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
Fly, Robin, Fly by Silver Connection
A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band
Harlem Shake by Baauer
Among those, the two longest running number ones were Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” and Paul Mauriat’s “Love is Blue.” They both led the charts for 5 weeks. If we include those instrumentals written for films, the biggest ever is probably “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith. It was the biggest hit of 1960, topping the charts for 9 weeks.
Last year, you did a post on forgotten stars, meaning people whose streaming numbers did not match their sales and stardom. What’s the corollary for 1970s artists who are still or have become big streamers today? For example I would guess Fleetwood Mac. - Mark
