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As most Carpenters fans know, the last gold single of the Cs was "Please Mr. Postman".
But "Only Yesterday" did reach #4 on the Billboard charts. So it must have come very close to being certified as gold.
Does anyone know just how short it was from getting the gold designation?
I love OY and its long remained one of my favorite study songs.
Platinum was a little less than a year later----the first Platinum single was Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady".Didn't Only Yesterday come out right around the time they introduced platinum records, and changed the rule on what got gold certified ($1,000,000 vs 500,000 copies)?
Oh wow, disregard what I said, then - the more you know! Wonder what made them decide to do that.In 1975, Gold was one million singles sold. The RIAA didn't scale that back to 500,000 until the 80s.
Which explains why every single has different sales, even those that reach the same position. For example, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" also reached #4 on Billboard, but reached a Diamond certification (10,000,000+ copies).Chart peaks and total sales don't necessarily correlate.
A couple of things. Singles sales peaked in 1974 and dropped sharply after that. It got to be embarrassing that each year, fewer and fewer singles, even by big artists, went Gold. So RIAA recalibrated---and by the time they adjusted Gold to mean 500,000 singles, the list price of singles had essentially doubled, meaning that 500,000 singles still equalled a million dollars at retail.Oh wow, disregard what I said, then - the more you know! Wonder what made them decide to do that.
Two different things here. The Diamond certification for "Thriller" was for digital downloads, decades after its original release. The physical vinyl single of "Thriller" was Platinum, period. One million copies sold.Which explains why every single has different sales, even those that reach the same position. For example, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" also reached #4 on Billboard, but reached a Diamond certification (10,000,000+ copies).
I stand corrected! I didn't know the rules were different for singles and albums. The $1,000,000 in sales rule was for albums.In 1975, Gold was one million singles sold. The RIAA didn't scale that back to 500,000 until the 80s.
Yes, you must - we all must...actually it's the 1st 2 verses (roughly the 1st minute) - Karen at her peak with minimal accompaniment - one for her highlights reel - I, for one, would love to hear just her, exactly like this, for the entire song, without background vocals. Without ramped up instrumentation...just her, just once...To this day, the opening bars of Only Yesterday grab me, and I must stop and listen.
I stand corrected! I didn't know the rules were different for singles and albums. The $1,000,000 in sales rule was for albums.
Thanks, Michael.Chart peaks and total sales don't necessarily correlate.
A chart peak is a snapshot of how a given record did on its best week compared to the other records on the charts, not a cumulative tally of sales up to that point. There are big sales weeks and not-so-big sales weeks. "Only Yesterday" was up against some weaker records.
If you look at the three records above "Only Yesterday" in its first week at number four, only one of them, Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star" is what you'd call a monster record. It peaked at #1 and went gold.
At #2, Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" went gold, but it was driven by Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Country airplay...and after 1974, when rock/pop singles peaked, Country singles had an advantage, as those fans were still buying 45s in significant numbers.
And number 3 was The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' "Jackie Blue", which also didn't go gold.
"Only Yesterday" also faded fast---two weeks at number four, and then #16-#44-#55-gone from the Hot 100 entirely.
Finally, if you look at Carpenters singles that did go gold----none of them peaked below #3.
Gold or not, "Jackie Blue" is one of those still-commonly-played records on stations that play oldies and those that play classic rock. Far more common than "Only Yesterday".And number 3 was The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' "Jackie Blue", which also didn't go gold.
I was/am a 70's disco baby and don't recall Taylor's Disco Lady. It shows up on a lot of disco comps. I must have been snorting coke or something. Need to check Wiki and see who this guy is.Platinum was a little less than a year later----the first Platinum single was Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady".
Four weeks at #1, eight weeks in the top 10, 13 weeks in the Top 40 where Casey Kasem could play it. I'm betting you'll hear the first three seconds and go "Oh, yeah---that!"I was/am a 70's disco baby and don't recall Taylor's Disco Lady. It shows up on a lot of disco comps. I must have been snorting coke or something. Need to check Wiki and see who this guy is.
"Jackie Blue" is one of those songs that shows up ina lot of formats. Rock, pop, soft rock, country rock, bluegrass, and maybe a few others. Whereas "Only Yesterday" would probably show up on one category only: "Pop." Plus most people, if they were asked to make a list of Carpenters hits, would stop short of "OY" since it came at the tail end of their hit streak and wasn't all over the place like "Close to You" or "Top of the World" or "Goodbye to Love" and others were. Hence its relative rarity on the radio and internet "station" airwaves.
OY is a great record! A year or two earlier, it would have been a smash.