"Paper Lace" Flunks History, But Scores A #1 Hit

Back from vacation (it was great, thank you)—and digging out from a mountain of e-mail, voicemail and..uh…..mail. As such, we’re keeping it “light” today.

Today in history marks the conclusion of Woodstock in 1969, the birth of actor Robert DeNiro in 1943, a deadly earthquake in Turkey in 1999 and death of Hitler’s last henchman (Rudolph Hess) in 1987.

Also on this date, the band “Paper Lace” reached the top of the U.S. charts with a song that, while factually incorrect, was popular nevertheless. “The Night Chicago Died” peaked at #1 on this date in 1974.

Ugh.

They should have been a one-hit wonder, but the English group Paper Lace actually scored TWO “hits”, songs that are at once both catchy and totally forgettable. If you have either or both on your iPod, you are not likely to admit it. The other song was “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero”, which was a huge hit in the UK. Before it could be released in the states, it was recorded and released by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods (another supergroup, no?)

Back to “Chicago”. Most people know that gangster Al Capone was brought to justice not by gun-toting law enforcement officers, but rather by pencil-pushing accountants who finally snagged him on tax evasion charges.

However, a song about bean counters was not about to capture the imagination of American audiences. So, what to do?

“The Night Chicago Died” was a song chronicling a fierce battle between the cops and Capone’s men on the East side of Chicago---a battle that never happened on a side of Chicago which, if it existed, would be submerged below Lake Michigan.

In case you don’t remember the tune (or are merely blocking it out), here it is:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-L0NpaErkk


Watching the frames of the last “video”, perhaps the most amusing is the LP cover of an album that was Paper Lace’s “Greatest Hits”!Now, that’s funny.

Pop music in the early seventies was not remarkably strong. Graphic evidence comes from just knowing which song knocked “The Night Chicago Died” out of the #1 slot.
It was “(You’re) Havin’ My Baby” by Paul Anka.

This blog needs to end before I need a stomach distress bag.

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