Having decided to conclude the series of numerical songs at 21, I realised that there would need to be at least onepost of ‘honourable mentions’ for songs where they are the only one to refer to a particular number, especially when that number was higher than 21. So here we go.
“Land of a Thousand Dances” (or “Land of 1000 Dances“) is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kener in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal and the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. The song references a number of dance styles/moves including the Boogaloo, the Twist, the alligator, the mashed potato, the Watusi and the pony. The song’s best-known version was by Wilson Pickett. The single became his third R&B No. 1 hit and his biggest ever pop hit, peaking at No. 6.
When I’m Sixty-Four” is a song The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon-McCartney) and released on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was one of the first songs written by McCartney, who wrote it when he was 14. The song was recorded in a different key to the final recording; it was sped up at the request of McCartney to make his voice sound younger. It prominently features a trio of clarinets (two regular clarinets and one bass clarinet) throughout.
“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975). The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd. One of his most popular singles, “50 Ways” was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success within the new year. It became Simon’s sole number one hit as a solo artist on the Billboard in the United States, The single was certified gold by the RIAA, denoting sales of over one million copies.
“99 Luftballons” (German: Neunundneunzig Luftballons, “99 balloons”) is a song by the German band Nena from their 1983 self titled album. An English-language version titled “99 Red Balloons“, with lyrics by Kevin McAlea, was also released on the album 99 Luftballons in 1984 after widespread success of the original in Europe and Japan. The English version is not a direct translation of the German original and contains lyrics with a somewhat different meaning. In the US, the English-language version did not chart, while the German-language recording became Nena’s only US hit.
“867-5309/Jenny” is a 1981 song written by Alex Call and Jim Keller and performed by Tommy Tutone that was released on the album Tommt Tutone 2, on the Columbia Records label. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard chart in May 1982, The song led to a fad of people dialing 867-5309 and asking for “Jenny”.
“634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” is a song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett in December 1965. The single reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 13 on the singles chart. The phone number 634-5789 is a reference to the Marvelettes’ 1962 hit “Beechwood 4-5789”. Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, and Jonny Lang appeared in the 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000 and performed “634-5789”. Floyd and Pickett played the proprietors of “Ed’s Love Exchange” which, according to the storyline in the movie, could be reached at 1-900-634-5789.
“1234” is a song from Feist’s third studio album, The Reminder (2007). The song was co-written by Feist and Sally Seltmann, an Australian singer-songwriter who also recorded under the stage name New Buffalo. It remains Feist’s biggest hit single in the US to date, and her only song to chart on the Billboard and in the UK.
“A Thousand Years” is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Christina Perri, and written by Perri and David Hodges, for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. The song was released as a digital download in October 2011, worldwide, and serves as the second single for the movie. Perri re-recorded the song with vocals from Steve Kazee for Part 2 of the movie. n the United Kingdom, the song reached number 32 on its original release in 2011. The following year, after the release of the second movie, it peaked at number 13.
