This week marks the 35th anniversary of the debut of one of the oddest singles ever to chart: a medley of classical snippets set to a disco beat titled "Hooked on Classics." The Royal Philharmonic's single came in the middle of a craze for medleys containing snippets of well-known tunes that began in the summer of 1981 when the Dutch act Stars on 45's medley of cover versions of 1960s oldies - mostly by the Beatles - interrupted the chart-topping run of Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" for one week in June. This was followed by a medley of Beach Boys hits performed by the act themselves titled - what else? - "The Beach Boys Medley" that placed in the Top 20. That collection was slipping down the Top 100 when the Royal Philharmonic's "Hooked on Classics" debuted at a lowly #90. However, the single would eventually reach a crescendo peak of #10 in January 1982, while the album of the same name placing in the Top 5, wedged between the Rolling Stones and Foreigner. It would eventually sell 1 million copies, but its pop instincts were probably assured seeing that the orchestra's leader Louis Clark had already crafted string arrangement for t Electric Light Orchestra. The single medley craze would last a little while longer, with Larry Elgart's swing medley and a movie theme medley created by Meco (of the disco Star Wars theme fame) reaching the bottom of the Top 40 in 1982. The last one to make any decent chart showing was by The Beatles themselves, with the hastily edited "The Beatles Movie Medley" reaching #12 despite a sloppy inability to even match the songs' beats. By the end of summer 1982, the medley craze had drifted away to be largely forgotten, although the Royal Philharmonic's single and accompanying album does contain a degree of craftsmanship and fun that still makes it listenable today. Here, then, is the original single version of "Hooked on Classics" with a video made for the UK TV show Top of the Pops. For comparison, here's the dance mix which is closer to the longer, uncut version on the album.
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Walburgh's BlogMostly retro, mainly music, but generally whatever's on my mind. Archives
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