"Wooly Bully" is a song based on the 12 bar blues progression, made famous by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965. As the Pharaohs prepared to write their debut album, lead singer Sam the Sham wanted to write a tribute to the Hully Gully dance. His record label's legal department feared using that title due to the existence of another song with a similar title. The song was given the green light after Sam rewrote the lyrics and replaced "Hully Gully" with "Wooly Bully".[1] It was the first American record to sell a million copies during the British Invasion, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
After paying to record and press their own records to sell at their gigs, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs wound up with the Pen label in Memphis. There, they recorded what would prove to be their first and biggest hit ever, "Wooly Bully". It was a worldwide sensation, selling 3 million copies, and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard charts on June 5, 1965.
Although the "Wooly Bully" single never reached No. 1 on the national charts, it lingered in the Hot 100 for a then-impressive 18 weeks. It was the only recording not topping the Hot 100 chart to be named Billboard's "Number One Record of the Year", and remained so for 35 years, until Faith Hill's "Breathe" and Lifehouse's "Hanging by a Moment" repeated the feat in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
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