On August 7th, 1965, ‘Herman’s Hermits’ went to number 1 on the U.S. Singles Chart with ‘I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am.’ The novelty single was only released in the United States. Can you hum the catchy melody?
They performed their number 1 hit on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ The band starts their performance by introducing each individual boy in the band. The crowd squeals for each performer.
The drums kick in, and ‘Herman’s Hermits’ performs their hit while the crowd screams the whole time. The lead singer, Peter Noone, bounces around, and the guitarist takes a rocking solo.
The song was initially released by Joe Brown in 1962. But in 1965, the rendition by ‘Herman’s Hermits’ became the fastest-selling song in history to that point.
It was the group’s second number 1 single, their other hit ‘Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter.’ It was the shortest length number 1 song in history, clocking in at a whopping one minute and 50 seconds.
The recorded version features only the song’s chorus. The verses are not on the record. Peter sings, ‘I’m ‘Enery the Eighth, I am, ‘Enery the Eighth I am, I am! I got married to the widow next door. She’s been married seven times before, and every one was an ‘Enery. She wouldn’t have a Willie nor a Sam. I’m her eighth old man named ‘Enery. ‘Enery the Eighth, I am!
The guitar and bass parts are considered to be punk influences because of their direct influence on ‘The Ramones.’ The quick guitar solo and fast dance beat were a unique sound combination for that era. ‘Herman’s Hermits’ sold over 80 million records and charted with 22 singles.
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