Uptown Top Ranking

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"Uptown Top Ranking"
Uptown Top Ranking.jpg
Single by Althea & Donna
B-side"Calico Suit"
Released1977
GenreReggae
Length3:53
LabelLightning
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Joe Gibbs
Althea & Donna singles chronology
"Uptown Top Ranking"
(1977)
"Puppy Dog Song"
(1978)
Official audio
"Uptown Top Ranking" on YouTube

"Uptown Top Ranking" is a song by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively.[1] Released in 1977, the song comprises the girls ad-libbing to deejay track "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity. The lyrics were written by the duo and Errol Thompson.[1][2] It was produced by Joe Gibbs,[1] using a re-recording of the riddim of the 1967 Alton Ellis song "I'm Still in Love", which had already been re-popularised in the 1970s by Marcia Aitken's cover "I'm Still in Love With You Boy", and "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity, to which "Uptown" was an "answer record".[3]

The record was initially recorded as a joke, but it was played by accident by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, resulting in numerous requests for additional plays.[4] With early championing by Peel and a performance on Top of the Pops, it soon became a surprise hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1978.[1] The track spent a total of 11 weeks in the charts. Althea & Donna became the youngest female duo to reach the number-one spot on the UK chart.[2]

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1977–1978) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 23
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 24
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 1

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1978) Position
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 44

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Sampling[]

The song was sampled in Abs Breen's 2002 UK top 10[citation needed] hit single, "What You Got".[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 188. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Roberts, David (2001). British Hit Singles (14th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 47. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
  3. ^ Colin Larkin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p.10-11
  4. ^ "One-Hit Wonders at the BBC". ... at the BBC. 17 April 2015. BBC. BBC Four.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Althia & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Up Town Top Ranking". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 9, 1978" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Althia & Donna – Up Town Top Ranking" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ^ Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
  11. ^ "British single certifications – Althea & Donna – Uptown Top Ranking". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Abs — What You Got". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
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