Johnny Wakelin
Johnny Wakelin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1939 (age 84–85) Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Genres | Rock and roll, reggae, R&B, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Pye Records |
Johnny Wakelin (born 1939) is an English recording artist best known for songs like "Black Superman" and "In Zaire", both celebrating boxer Muhammad Ali.
Career
Wakelin had his first outings in clubs in his hometown but without big success.
"Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)"
Wakelin wrote a tribute to the boxing champion Muhammad Ali who fought on 30 October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, against George Foreman in a matchup known as The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali gained victory in the eighth round. Wakelin used a reggae style at a time when West Indian music was growing in popularity. The new song was Wakelin's "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" released in late 1974.
In January 1975 the song reached number seven on the singles charts of both the
. By October of the same year, it had reached number one in Canada on the RPM Singles Chart.[3] It also spent six months in the US Billboard Hot 100 in more than one chart run in 1975, eventually peaking at No. 21 in September of that year.[1][4]Later songs
1975 brought a further single, "Cream Puff," backed by "Gotta Keep on Going"; it flopped, but both songs would be incorporated into Wakelin's March 1976 album, Reggae, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll.[1]
A bigger success was "In Zaire", also about the 1974 fight, which reached the charts in many parts of Europe in 1976.
After few further releases ("Africa Man", "You Turn Me On", "Dr. Frankenstein's Disco Party") his success cooled down.[1] He re-recorded his hit "In Zaire" in different versions which had a little success. He stayed active as a songwriter, and continued to release albums.[1]
Wakelin sang "Where Seagulls Fly", the
Discography
Albums
- Black Superman (1975)
- Reggae, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll (1976)
- In Zaire (1976)
- African Man (1976)
- Double Trouble (1978)
- Gems from the Pen (1984)
- Rock 'n' Country Blues (1996)
- From Ali to the Naz (1997)
- Sway with Me (2005)
- In Africa (2005)
- Right Before My Eyes (2006)
- No Smoking (2007)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK
[5] |
AUS [6] |
AUT [7] |
BE (FLA) [8] |
CAN [3] |
GER [9] |
IRE [10] |
NL [11] |
NZ [12] |
US [13] | ||
| 1974 | "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" (as Johnny Wakelin & the Kinshasa Band) | 7 | 7 | — | — | 1 | — | 9 | — | 21 | 21 |
| 1975 | "Tennessee Hero (Elvis)" | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Cream Puff" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1976 | "Reggae – Soul – And Rock 'n' Roll" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "In Zaire" | 4 | 25 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 10 | 2 | — | — | |
| "Africa Man" | — | — | 8 | 24 | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | "Doctor Frankenstein's Disco Party" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | "Afro Afrique" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1979 | "Lay Down and Rock Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Grand Theft" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1983 | "Where Seagulls Fly" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986 | "Bruno" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988 | "Get Off the Street" (Germany-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | "One Million to One" (Germany-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
See also
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- List of people from Brighton and Hove
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Biography by Amy Hanson". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b Library and Archives Canada: RPM Top Singles Chart, October 25, 1975
- ^ Billboard – Google Books. 13 September 1975. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ "JOHNNY WAKELIN | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
