The Fleetwoods - "Come Softly to Me"
Hit Number 1: April 13, 1959
Stay at Number 1: 4 Weeks
"Come Softly to Me" certainly isn't much of a song. In fact, the song originally didn't have any instruments when it was first recorded. All it had were the voices of the Fleetwoods, using a sort of acapella like approach, before eventually some sparse guitar was added to it. The only thing the Fleetwoods did add to it themselves was one of the members' car keys jingles. (Maybe that's what's supposed to keep the beat of the song? There are no drums of any kind)
The Fleetwoods were a group of 3 friends from Washington state, and consisted of the lone male member Gary Troxel (who is the one with the jingling car keys in "Come Softly to Me"), and the two female members Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis. The three rose to immense fame in the late 1950s with songs like "Come Softly to Me", which were not accompanied by many instruments, mostly because they didn't play any instruments. They were strictly a singing group. But it obviously worked, cause they were very popular for a few years there.
"Come Softly to Me" starts out with Troxel saying "doo-be-doo" over and over, and jingling his car keys. Christopher and Ellis sing along with Troxel's doo-be-doos, and the girls and Troxel take turns singing lead with the other ones oohing or doo-be-doing or whatever. The song isn't much, but I think the thing that I like the most about it, is that it is a fine piece of acapella work, and is generally a very soothing song. The three never try to steal the show from one another. Instead, they blend together perfectly and it creates a good song. I don't know that I would ever call it a great song though.
1959 was a good year for the Fleetwoods, as they would hit the top spot on the charts again later this year. But unfortunately for them, their popularity didn't last, and the three were actually forced to have regular everyday jobs. They continued to have the occasional live performance throughout the 1970s and 80s, before finally calling it quits in 1983. Though, you can find live performances on YouTube of the group that are in pretty recent years, so that leads me to think that they have resumed performing live. But with songs like this, it isn't too hard to see why so many people enjoyed their music at one time.
GRADE: 7/10
THE TWOS:
Elvis Presley's "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" peaked at #2 behind "Come Softly to Me". It's also a 7. (Obviously, Elvis will eventually appear in this blog several times.)
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