Airdate – Oct 17, 2021
A missed recording session by an established artist proved to be the opening for an up-and-coming R&B singer/songwriter whose debut release on the Billboard Hot 100 came in the form of a Top 10 single in 1963.
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This soul singer would go on to have 6 more releases on Billboard Hot 100 including “Are You Lonely For Me,” a song that went to #1 on the R&B charts in 1967.
Back in 1962 while working with the legendary Gerry Goffin and Carole King on one of their compositions, he agreed to cut a demo of it for singer Chuck Jackson to hear and assess. When you hear the song, you can see why Goffin and King wanted to approach Jackson as the song was a natural follow up to Jackson’s big hit “Any Day Now.”
As the story goes, Jackson failed to show up at the scheduled recording session. So, our featured artist recorded the song himself. In late July of 1963 his release made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 12 straight weeks, reaching #10 position on the pop charts as well as on the R&B charts.
Talk about making the most of an opportunity … but that’s what Freddie Scott did in the summer of 1963 when he recorded “Hey, Girl,” this week’s Tom Locke moment in time.
YouTube video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQVKDjnonXU
