1967 No. 1, Featuring Arrangement From Led Zeppelin's Future Bassist, Topped The Charts 59 Years Ago Today
On October 29, 1967, the No. 1 single for the second week in a row was "To Sir With Love," the theme song from an inspirational drama of the same name delivered by one of the film's co-stars, Scottish singer Lulu. A big part of why "To Sir With Love" is so emotionally effective is the sweet but assertive string section, which was arranged by John Paul Jones, a prolific session musician who specialized in string arrangements for pop songs. "To Sir with Love" predates his stint as the bassist in Led Zeppelin (where he was the least popular member) by just a couple of years.
"To Sir With Love" starred Sidney Poitier as a strict but caring teacher who gets through to a bunch of aimless and rowdy British teenage students who he insists address him as "Sir." The main song on the soundtrack, which also features the movie's co-stars, the Mindbenders, a forgotten British Invasion band that once rivaled the Beatles in popularity, explains the emotional crux, with Lulu voicing the collective thanks and admiration of the classroom. Grammy nominated for best original score written for a motion picture or television show, "To Sir with Love" was denied a best song nomination at the Academy Awards. Nevertheless, the track spent five weeks atop the U.S. pop chart and was the biggest hit single of 1967.
To Sir With Love was buried in America
When presented by producers with several choices all intended to serve as the main song for "To Sir With Love," Lulu was left underwhelmed and unimpressed. She lamented all that to Mark London, her manager's spouse and a songwriter, and he asked if he could have a shot. Granted the opportunity, London had about a day to turn in something, but he only needed around 30 minutes on a piano to compose the music. The next day, Don Black, whose only major film credit to that point was writing the words for the James Bond movie song "Thunderball," added the lyrics to what became the official "To Sir With Love."
"To Sir With Love" launched Lulu's career in the United States, although accidentally. Already a major pop star with many hits to her name in the U.K., Lulu's first American single was "The Boat That I Row," a Neil Diamond cover. Etched on the reverse of the 45: "To Sir With Love." It became a legendary B-side that made music history when scores of U.S. radio programmers and disc jockeys played the movie ballad instead of the A-side, sending it to No. 1 in the fall of 1967.