"Western Union" | ||||
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Single by the Five Americans | ||||
from the album Western Union/Sound of Love | ||||
B-side | "Now That It's Over" | |||
Released | January 1967 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:20 | |||
Label | Abnak | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Dale Hawkins | |||
The Five Americanssingles chronology | ||||
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"Western Union" is a 1967 song by the American rock band the Five Americans. The single peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1967. It also reached number 7 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart that same month.
In a March 1967 interview that appeared in Michael Oberman's "Top Tunes" column in the Evening Star newspaper (Washington, D.C.), Norman Ezell, guitarist for the group, explained how they came up with "Western Union." "Mike Rabon, our lead guitar player, was just fooling around with his guitar when he came up with a unique sound," Norman said. "It sort of reminded us of a telegraph key. That's when we decided to write 'Western Union.'" [2]
The song tells of a Dear John letter being communicated by telegram, a service of Western Union.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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In 1967, the Strangers' recording reached number 30 in Australia. [3]
In 1967, The Searchers' recording reached number 19 in The Netherlands [19] and number 55 in the UK.