The Loco-Motion

Exactly 50 years ago today, Little Eva hit number 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart with her debut single, “The Loco-Motion.”  In addition to being Eva’s first hit, “The Loco-Motion” would also be her biggest.  It spent one week at the top of the chart and would be her only top ten hit, though she did hit the top 40 three more times in the year following her initial success.

“The Loco-Motion” also holds distinction as one of only a few songs to hit number one on the Hot 100 for more than one act.  In May of 1974, Grand Funk topped the chart for two weeks with a cover of the song. 

Fourteen-and-a-half years after that, the song almost hit even more rarified air when Kylie Minogue came close to making it three acts to take the song to the top.  Her version of “The Loco-Motion” ended up peaking at number 3 in November of 1988.  Still, three top 5 peaks by three different artists in three different decades makes “The Loco-Motion” a pop music classic.