"Homely Girl" | ||||
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Single by the Chi-Lites | ||||
from the album Chi-Lites | ||||
Released | 1973 | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | Brunswick | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Eugene Record | |||
The Chi-Lites singles chronology | ||||
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"Homely Girl" is a song by American vocal group the Chi-Lites. Release in 1973, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, number three on the US Hot Soul Singles chart, and number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A cover by UB40 also became a hit between 1989 and 1991 in several countries.
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (RPM) [1] | 98 |
UK Singles (OCC) [2] | 5 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 54 |
US Best Selling Soul Singles ( Billboard ) [4] | 3 |
"Homely Girl" | ||||
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Single by UB40 | ||||
from the album Labour of Love II | ||||
B-side | "Gator" (instrumental) | |||
Released | November 6, 1989 [5] | |||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | UB40 | |||
UB40 singles chronology | ||||
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A cover version by UB40, from their ninth studio album, Labour of Love II (1989), was released as a single on November 6, 1989, in the United Kingdom. This cover reached the top 10 in the UK, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In France, the song was used in a television advertisement for the Lee Cooper jeans. [6] David Giles of Music Week deemed "Homely Girl" as "UB40's best for a while", adding: "It's a mark of a truly great band to be able to perform a cover version so convincingly that you end up thinking they've written it themselves". [7]
7-inch single
12-inch single
CD single
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
France (SNEP) [23] | Silver | 125,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
In 1974, Jackie Robinson, lead singer of The Pioneers, released a cover version in the UK on Trojan Records' subsidiary label Harry J (catalogue number HJ6674). [25] It was this reggae version that inspired UB40, whose "Labour of Love" albums are cover versions of reggae tracks of the 1960s and 1970s.
"Popcorn" is an instrumental composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 for the album Music to Moog By on the Audio Fidelity label. The name is a combination of pop for pop music and corn for kitsch. The Moog synthesizer instrumental became a worldwide hit in 1972, when a version by Hot Butter was released. Since then, multiple versions of the piece have been produced and released, including those by Vyacheslav Mescherin, Anarchic System, Popcorn Makers, the Boomtang Boys, M & H Band, Crazy Frog, and the Muppets.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song recorded by American singer and actor Elvis Presley for his fourth soundtrack album, Blue Hawaii (1961). It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him", which explains the first and third line ending on "in" and "sin" rather than words rhyming with "you".
"Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes.
"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel from his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), released in September 1983 as the album's second single. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl". The 12" EP has the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side.
"Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album Slowhand. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd. The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by Marcella Detroit and Yvonne Elliman.
"The Way You Do the Things You Do" is a 1964 hit single by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers, the single was the Temptations' first charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in the Top 20 at number eleven; it also went to number one on the Cash Box R&B chart. The song has been an American Top 40 hit in four successive decades, from the 1960s to the 1990s. A version by Hall & Oates featuring Temptation members Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1986. A cover version by British reggae band UB40 hit number six in the U.S. in 1990.
"I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released in September 1978 by Warner Bros. as her debut solo single from her first album, Chaka (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm Every Woman" was produced by Arif Mardin and written by the successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The single established Chaka's career outside the group Rufus, whom she would leave after their eighth studio album, Masterjam, was released in late 1979.
"I Got You Babe" is a song performed by American pop and entertainment duo Sonny & Cher and written by Sonny Bono. It was the first single taken from their debut studio album, Look at Us (1965). In August 1965, the single spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States where it sold more than one million copies and was certified Gold. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom and Canada.
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
"Summer Breeze" is a 1972 song by American soft rock duo Seals and Crofts. It is the title track of their fourth studio album, and was released as the album's lead single in August 1972. The song reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. In 2013, it was ranked No. 13 in Rolling Stone′s "Best Summer Songs of All Time". The song also became a hit for the Isley Brothers in 1974.
"Kingston Town" is a 1970 song by Lord Creator about Kingston, Jamaica, released as a single on producer Clancy Eccles' Clandisc label. It was also recorded in 1989 by reggae group UB40 and was released as the second single from their album Labour of Love II, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart and number one in France and the Netherlands.
"Blame It on the Boogie" is a song released in 1978 by English singer-songwriter Mick Jackson. It has been covered by the Jacksons, Clock and Luis Miguel.
"Baby, Come Back" is a song by English band the Equals from their 1967 album Unequalled Equals. Written by Eddy Grant, the song was originally released as a B-side in 1966 and was later released as a single in continental Europe before being released as a single in the UK in 1968. "Baby, Come Back" charted in multiple countries, including number one on the Belgian, Rhodesian and UK charts in 1967 and 1968.
"Cherchez La Femme" is a song that was written and performed by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band with lead vocals by Cory Daye in 1976. The music was written by band-leader and pianist Stony Browder Jr. and John Schonberger, Richard Coburn, and Vincent Rose; with lyrics by Browder Jr.'s brother and bassist August Darnell. The song's full title is "Whispering"/"Cherchez La Femme"/"Se Si Bon" [sic]. "Cherchez La Femme" became the group's biggest hit.
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan first released on John Wesley Harding. It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both of whom had appeared on Dylan's previous album, Blonde on Blonde.
"Higher Ground" is a song written and performed by English reggae band UB40. It was released in August 1993 by Virgin Records as the second single from their 10th album, Promises and Lies (1993). The song, which was also produced by the band, reached the top 10 in Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
"I Need You" is a song written by Eric Carmen. Versions by Euclid Beach Band (1979) and then 3T (1996) were released as singles.
"How 'Bout Us" is the most successful single released by R&B music group Champaign. Composed by band keyboardist Dana Walden and originally released on the band's debut album How 'Bout Us, the title track peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. A romantic ballad, the song was released on Valentine's Day, 1981.
"Love of the Common People" is a song written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, eventually released in 1970 on John Hurley's album John Hurley Sings about People, but first sung in January 1967 by the Four Preps. The Four Preps' recording was not a hit, but, later in 1967, the Everly Brothers and Wayne Newton would each issue their versions of the song, both of which "bubbled under" in the US charts; Newton's version peaked at No. 106, the Everlys' at No. 114. However, the Everly Brothers' recording was a major hit in Canada, peaking at No. 4. In 1968, Irish artist Joe Dolan and backing grouping the Drifters recorded a version which hit the top 10 on the Irish Singles Chart, but did not chart elsewhere.
"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a 1974 hit song written by Sylvia Robinson, performed by American disco band Shirley & Company and released on the Vibration label. The lead singer is Shirley Goodman, who was one half of Shirley & Lee, who had enjoyed a major hit 18 years earlier, in 1956, with the song "Let The Good Times Roll" for Aladdin Records. The male vocalist is Jesus Alvarez. The saxophone solo is by Seldon Powell, whose instrumental version, "More Shame", is the B-side.