She begged them not to make her do it. She insisted she had no talent. Then the record sold over a million copies.
\nSixty-four years ago this week, an 18-year-old actress named Shelley Fabares \u2014 who genuinely believed she could not carry a tune \u2014 watched her debut single climb to the very top of the American charts.
\nShe Almost Said No
\nIn 1962, Fabares was already a familiar face across America. She was best known for her role as Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show, one of the most popular sitcoms of the era. AOL The show\u2019s producer, Tony Owen, hatched a plan: work a music storyline into the plot and release a real single from it.
\nFabares wanted nothing to do with it.
\n\u201cBoth Paul and I said it was a great idea, but we couldn\u2019t sing,\u201d she later recalled in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. \u201cI was adamant. I\u2019m not a singer. I was a very good, very sweet little girl who was not raised to say no, so it took a lot for me to say I can\u2019t do that.\u201d AOL
\nOwen pushed forward anyway. Demo recordings were arranged. Fabares was eventually convinced.
\nA Song Nobody Expected to Matter
\n\u201cJohnny Angel\u201d had already been recorded by two other artists \u2014 Laurie Loman and Georgia Lee \u2014 but both versions went nowhere. Wikipedia What changed everything wasn\u2019t Fabares\u2019 voice. It was television.
\nThe song premiered on The Donna Reed Show during the Season 4 episode \u201cDonna\u2019s Prima Donna,\u201d and its chart ascent followed almost immediately. slicethelife
\nOn February 25, 1962, \u201cJohnny Angel\u201d entered Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 at position #81. Five weeks later, it peaked at #1 \u2014 where it stayed for two weeks. SongFacts
\nBehind Fabares in the studio stood some serious talent. The backing vocalists included a young Darlene Love, who could \u201csing rings around her,\u201d as Fabares herself acknowledged. Glen Campbell \u2014 later a superstar in his own right \u2014 played guitar on the track. Stereogum
\nWhat Made It Stick
\nThe premise was almost painfully simple: a girl quietly adores a boy who doesn\u2019t know she exists. No drama. No heartbreak. Just longing.
\nThat was enough.
\nThe song sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Wikipedia It reached #1 in Canada, topped charts in New Zealand, and peaked at #41 in the UK. Wikipedia
\nHere\u2019s What We Know<\/p>\n