Every Entry Into The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart- 1969- Part 42. All three of today’s singles entered the Hot 100 on March 8, 1969- ‘Sing A Simple Song”- Sly and The Family Stone, “The Wedding Cake”- Connie Francis and “Hallways Of My Mind”- The Dells.
125. “Sing A Simple Song”- Sly and The Family Stone. Epic. Rock- Soul. Written by Sylvester Stewart. A-side “Everyday People.”- “Sing A Simple Song” was the b-side to Sly and the Family’s first #1 hit “Everyday People.” I thought “Sing A Simple Song” was a good sized hit- because to me it has always sounded like a hit but the harsh reality is- it peaked at #89 and spent 4 weeks on the chart. Sly and The Family Stone from 1968-75 had 19 Hot 100 singles with 10 making the Top 40- again I would have guessed they had a lot more Top 40 hits because so many of their songs just sound like they had to have been hits. In their career this trend setting band had 3 #1 hits. Grade: A.
126. ” The Wedding Cake”- Connie Francis. MGM.Pop. Written by Margaret Lewis and Myra Smith. B-side: Over Hill Underground. I have never listened to a Connie Francis album anything I have heard by her was by pure accident. In looking over her career-by the age of 30 she had 56 Hot 100 hits with 35 hitting the Top 40- most of her big success was before The Beatles- her last Top 40 hit was in the spring of 1964. She had 3 #1 hits in her career. She was 30 years old when “The Wedding Cake” hit the charts- it peaked at #91 and spent 4 weeks on the chart. At 30 years of age it would be her last appearance on the chart. Times and musical tastes change. Grade: C-.
127. “Hallways Of My Mind”- The Dells. Cadet. Soul. Written by Bobby Miller. B-side: ” I Can’t Do Enough.” The Dells from 1956-92 were a big act on the R&B singles chart with 47 singles making that chart- on the pop chart they still had some success with 24 Hot 100 hits and 8 making the Top 40 from 1962-74. They were an R&B group from a high school in Harvey, Illinois. This biggest hit was 1968’s'”Stay In My Corner.” “Hallways Of My Mind” peaked at #92 and spent 4 weeks on the chart. Grade: B.
slicethelife 
None of these songs ever made it to Winnipeg, which generally means they never made it to Canada. I’m listening now with 69 year-old ears, but I can’t say we missed much. It was nice to hear Sly’s music again, but it sounds like a lot of others, formulaic if you will pardon the expression. Like they needed a B side and threw something together. Maybe I’m missing something…
The intro to Sing a Simple Song is enough to make it a hit. I love her voice weaving throughout.
It puzzles me why this wasn’t a hit- maybe just too many good songs by the group–