UK Top 40 hits for different acts

[Good Old Days]

I will like start with "Tell Him".

# 10 for Billy Davis in 1963.

# 6 for Hello in 1974.

# 25 for Quentin and Ash in 1996.

[Earl Purple]

Loads of songs. In the 1950s and early 1960s many songs were recorded by multiple artists, sometimes both getting to number one.

I make a rule of only normally charting one of them, unless the arrangements are significantly different, e.g. Joe Cocker's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends" which was totally different to the Beatles original (and Young Idea's earlier cover).

I believe having multiple versions out at the same time must have impacted the performances of what would have been just one version. In March 1958 there were 3 versions of Sugartime in the chart at the same time, two of them at joint 26 and the other at #28. In my chart the McGuire Sisters version reached #1 in February 1958. Alma Cogan doesn't get a look in and she is still without a #1.

In the UK the McGuire Sisters peaked at #14, Alma Cogan #16 and Jim Dale just scraped the top 30. Had there been just one version out it might have reached the top 10.

[Earl Purple]

More cases that were hits across at least 3 decades:

You'll Never Walk Alone, a song from Carousel (1948 I think):
1950 Judy Garland (in the British Hit Singles January 1940-October 1952), #16
1963 Gerry & The Pacemakers #1
1985 The Crowd #1
1996 Robson & Jerome #1

and I think there was a recent one.

Unchained Melody too of course, 50s, 60s, 90s and 00s.

[Good Old Days]

I'm A Believer

# 1 for Monkeys in 1967

# 29 for Robert Wyatt in 1974

# 3 for EMF in 1995

[woz123]

I Believe

#1 Frankie Laine (1953) / #2 The Bachelors (1964) / #1 Robson & Jerome (1995)

Stay

#14 Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (1961) / #8 The Hollies (1963) / #12 Jackson Browne (1978)


Bridge Over Troubled Water

#1 Simon And Garfunkel (1970)
#28 Linda Clifford (1979)
#21 PJB Featuring Hannah And Her Sisters (1991)
#1 Artists For Grenfell (2017)

[Earl Purple]

hits in 3 different decades include


Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now:

1950s for Patience & Prudence
1960s for Trini Lopez
1970s for Viola Wills

and strangely enough Viola Wills was older than both Patience and Prudence. She is also the only one of the 4 who is no longer alive (as or 1 June 2020).

[woz123]

Never On Sunday

15/11/1960 Manuel And The Music Of The Mountains / Don Costa And His Orchestra And Chorus
22/11/1960 Makadopolous And His Greek Serenaders / Lynn Cornell

There was a 5th one by Chaquito And His Orchestra [29/11/1960] except it wasn't a Top 40 hit.

[Good Old Days]

I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing



# 1 for New Seekers in 1972
# 27 for No Way Sis in 1996
# 27 for Demi Holborn in 2002