Whodunit (song)

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"Whodunit"
Whodunit by tavares US single side-A (pressing A).png
Side A of the US single
Single by Tavares
from the album Love Storm
B-side "Fool of the Year"
ReleasedMarch 1977
Recorded1977
Genre Pop, Soul
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Freddie Perren
Keni St. Lewis
Producer(s) Freddie Perren
Tavares singles chronology
"Don't Take Away the Music"
(1976)
"Whodunit"
(1977)
"More Than a Woman"
(1978)

"Whodunit", written by Keni St. Lewis and Freddie Perren, was a hit song for American R&B/disco group Tavares in 1977. Released from their album Love Storm .

Contents

Background

The lyrical hook to the song was the repeated query "Whodunit? / Who stole my baby?" The singer then appealed to a series of famous fictional detectives to help "solve" the case, including Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Ellery Queen, McCloud, Kojak, Baretta and Dirty Harry. The gimmick was reminiscent of "Searchin'", a 1957 single by The Coasters which also invoked a series of lawmen to track down a missing love interest.

Chart performance

The song spent one week at number one on the R&B singles chart in May 1977 and peaked at number twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart [1] and in the UK peaked at number 5 the week ending 7 May 1977, where it stayed for 2 weeks. [2]

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 567.
  2. UK release Capitol CL 15914 Whodunit (St. Lewis / Perren) / Fool Of The Year (F Tavares / St. Lewis)
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 305. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  4. 1 2 "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  5. 1 2 "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl.
  6. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 236.
  8. "Top 100 1977 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  9. "1977 Year End". Bullfrogspond.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.