Radioinfo is taking you back 50 years to the songs of 1974. It was a mighty fine year for music.
Depending which you reference, 1974 was the year of Paper Lace, who spent 12 weeks at No 1 according to The Book, and 16 if you go by the Kent Music Report (which is incidentally also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year). The Night Chicago Died and Billy Don’t Be a Hero both were No 1 hits for this English pop group, with one other contribution, Black-Eyed Boys, their only other chart hit, and all from ’74.
They are considered a one hit wonder in the US, where The Night Chicago Died also reached No 1, but the song was deeply disliked by the then mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, for the many creative liberties it took with the St Valentine’s Day Massacre involving Al Capone, which is the theme of the song.
Paper Lace formed in the late 60s. Despite plenty of gigging they achieved no commercial success and so they auditioned for the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1970. It took them three years to get a call back from the show, so long that the band very nearly turned it down.
When they finally did appear the audience response was significant enough for song writers Mitch Murray and Peter Callander to offer them their composition Billy Don’t Be a Hero, and perhaps more songs if Billy turned out to be a success.
It was. No 1 in the UK, and an even bigger hit here, but this is where it got frustrating for Paper Lace. They felt certain that Billy would also resonate in the US, as it was assumed to be about the Vietnam War (although actually about the American Civil War). Somehow they were beaten to the punch by US band Bo Donaldson and the Haywoods who managed to release it first and took it to No 1 on the Billboard Charts instead.
Neither song though is particularly beloved in the US though, The Night Chicago Died because everything about it is factually wrong, and Billy was voted No 8 in a Rolling Stone reader poll of the 10 worst songs of the 70s (there are three 1974 songs in that 10!).
The Night Chicago Died was also written by Murray/Callander and has become Paper Lace’s signature song, No 1 in the US, Australia and NZ but only a UK No 3. It has been translated into many different languages for other artists to have hits with, like Spanish, Finnish and even Korean, which must have made the Chicago mayor even more irate at this worldwide spreading of a story where Al Capone killed 100 policemen (he didn’t kill any).
But if ABBA can turn the Battle of Waterloo into a metaphor for a romantic relationship, then perhaps we all should have less realistic expectations about historical accuracy in a 3-minute pop hit.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and music trivia buff for Radioinfo