Uptown Top Ranking

Last updated
"Uptown Top Ranking"
Uptown Top Ranking.jpg
Single by Althea & Donna
B-side "Calico Suit"
Released1977
Genre
Length3:53
Label Lightning
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Joe Gibbs
Althea & Donna singles chronology
"Uptown Top Ranking"
(1977)		"Puppy Dog Song"
(1978)
Official audio
"Uptown Top Ranking" on YouTube

"Uptown Top Ranking" is a song by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively. [2] Released in 1977, the song comprises the girls ad-libbing to deejay track "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity. The lyrics were written by the duo and Errol Thompson. [2] [3] It was produced by Joe Gibbs, [2] using a re-recording of the riddim of the 1967 Alton Ellis song "I'm Still in Love", which had already been re-popularised in the 1970s by Marcia Aitken's cover "I'm Still in Love With You Boy", and "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity, to which "Uptown" was an "answer record". [4]

Contents

The record was initially recorded as a joke. It was accidentally played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel resulting in numerous requests for additional plays. [5] With early championing by Peel and a performance on Top of the Pops , it soon became a surprise hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1978. [2] The track spent a total of 11 weeks in the chart. Althea & Donna became the youngest female duo to reach the number-one spot on the UK chart. [3]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–1978)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [6] 23
Ireland (IRMA) [7] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [8] 24
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [9] 25
UK Singles (OCC) [10] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1978)Position
UK Singles (OCC) [11] 44

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [12] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Sampling

The song was sampled in Abs Breen's 2002 UK top 10 [13] hit single, "What You Got". [14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bradley, Larry (November 4, 2014). "The 1970s: Althea & Donna - "Uptown Top Ranking". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-84403-789-6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 188. ISBN   0-85112-250-7.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 47. ISBN   0-85156-156-X.
  4. ↑ Colin Larkin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN   0-7535-0242-9, p.10-11
  5. ↑ "One-Hit Wonders at the BBC". ... at the BBC. 17 April 2015. BBC. BBC Four.
  6. ↑ "Althia & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Up Town Top Ranking". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 9, 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Althia & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN   0-906154-02-2.
  12. ↑ "British single certifications – Althea & Donna – Uptown Top Ranking". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "What You Got - A B's". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "Abs — What You Got". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
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