UK Music Chart: June 6, 1970

Number 13 : Mungo Jerry : In the Summertime

In its sixth week on the UK charts, Christie's Yellow River wins the battle to become the nation's new Number 1. However, it would not last for long, as a classic pop song was about to get a grip on the top spot over the the summer period.

• 01 (03) Christie - Yellow River 
• 02 (01) The England World Cup Squad - Back Home 
• 03 (02) The Moody Blues - Question 
• 04 (05) Glen Campbell - Honey Come Back 
• 05 (09) Tom Jones - Daughter Of Darkness 
• 06 (12) Ray Stevens - Everything Is Beautiful 
• 07 (13) Mr Bloe - Groovin' With Mr Bloe 
• 08 (11) The Jackson Five - ABC 
• 09 (04) Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky 
• 10 (06) The Supremes - Up The Ladder To The Roof 
• 11 (08) Roger Whittaker - I Don't Believe In 'If' Anymore 
• 12 (14) The Beach Boys - Cottonfields 
• 13 (**) Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime 
• 14 (20) Marvin Gaye - Abraham, Martin And John 
• 15 (10) The Move - Brontosaurus 
• 16 (07) Frijid Pink - House Of The Rising Sun 
• 17 (18) Fleetwood Mac - Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown) 
• 18 (19) Butterscotch - Don't You Know (She Said Hello) 
• 19 (17) White Plains - I've Got You On My Mind 
• 20 (23) Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Chicken

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red
Image: Mungo Jerry - The Dawn Singles Collection

As Rufus Thomas danced his way back into the Top 20, Mungo Jerry motored their way to the Number 13 spot in their first week on the chart. A spectacular debut for what has now become one of the classic, feelgood summer songs of all time.

As with many songs that capture the public imagination, In the Summertime was written very quickly by its composer, Ray Dorset. At the time, he was working in a watch factory and created the melody within a few minutes. Adding the lyrics the next day, it was not long before the BBC was contacting him to appear on its music show, Top of the Pops.

These TV appearances and regular radio airplay catapulted the track to Number 1, where it would remain for a total of seven weeks. It repeated this feat across Europe, Australia, South Africa and Canada, while it peaked at Number 3 in the United States.

In the intervening years, it has gone on to sell in the region of 30 million units, making it one of the biggest selling singles of all time. Playing at 33⅓ rpms, it was also one of the earliest available maxi singles, including Mighty Man on its A-Side and Dust Pneumonia Blues on the flip side.

Until next time...