(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post.)
The Chiffons - "He's So Fine"
Hit Number 1: March 30, 1963
Stay at Number 1: 4 Weeks
Yet another one of the girl groups that were still so insanely popular in 1963, the Chiffons got their start by a classmate of theirs' hearing them harmonize in the lunch room of their school. The classmate's name was Ronald Mack, who would go on to become their manager. In one of their first recording sessions, they had been in the process of recording a potential hit called "Oh, My Lover". But it was thought that another track that they recorded, "He's So Fine", would be an obvious smash hit, so everyone involved started to put more emphasis on that track instead.
Of course, it could never be easy though. Most of these #1 hits had to have something that tried to get in the way of them becoming successful. Some songs were almost never even released. Capitol Records rejected the song right off the bat, labeling it as "too trite, and too simple". The Tokens, who were responsible for the previous #1 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and were involved in the recording of "He's So Fine", heavily shopped the song around, and were desperate to find someone who would take it. Laurie Records gave the song a shot, and as it turns out, they were super interested in the track. Jay Siegal of the Tokens recalled them saying "You're not getting out of here, we want that record", after locking the doors. Siegal said "Of course, we'd already been turned down by ten companies. Give us eighty cents and we'd have given you the record."
Laurie Records ending up being the big winners here, cause "He's So Fine" soared to the top spot on the charts, and stayed there for 4 weeks. I honestly can not understand why "He's So Fine" kept getting rejected. Sure, it is a very simple song, lyrically. But with the help of the fast-paced fun that it is, and the easily identifiable "doo-langs", "He's So Fine" is an oldies gem. The "simplicity" of the song makes it enormously catchy and addicting, and it will invade your brain cells, staying there for the rest of the day. What makes this even more astounding, is that it barely has any time to leave an impact on you. It only runs for a minute and 53 seconds. Despite that, it makes the most of the lack of time, and when the song is done, you don't feel like there's something missing. That's mostly thanks to the "doo-langs".
The Chiffons would stick around a little longer, but unfortunately, Ronald Mack didn't. He had died not long after "He's So Fine" was produced. They got another pretty big hit in the flawless "One Fine Day" which was written by the King/Goffin team, and made it to #5 with it. ("One Fine Day" is a 10) But that was the last thing the Chiffons did that is worth noting here. "He's So Fine" did inspire another future #1 song, but it led to a big case of plagiarism. That's another story for another time, so stay tuned for that.
GRADE: 9/10
JUST MISSED:
Andy Williams, who never had a #1 hit surprisingly enough, was kept away form the top spot by "He's So Fine" with the average and vanilla "Can't Get Used to Losing You". So, it's a 5. But here it is if you want to check it out.
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