"Uptown Top Ranking" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Althea & Donna | ||||
B-side | "Calico Suit" | |||
Released | 1977 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 3:53 | |||
Label | Lightning | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Joe Gibbs | |||
Althea & Donna singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Uptown Top Ranking" on YouTube |
"Uptown Top Ranking" is a song by Jamaican teenage singers Althea Forrest and Donna Reid, recorded when they were 17 and 18 years old respectively.[1] Released in 1977, the song comprises the girls ad-libbing to deejay track "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity. The lyrics were written by the duo and Errol Thompson.[1][2] It was produced by Joe Gibbs,[1] using a re-recording of the riddim of the 1967 Alton Ellis song "I'm Still in Love", which had already been re-popularised in the 1970s by Marcia Aitken's cover "I'm Still in Love With You Boy", and "Three Piece Suit" by Trinity, to which "Uptown" was an "answer record".[3]
The record was initially recorded as a joke. It was accidentally played by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel resulting in numerous requests for additional plays.[4] With early championing by Peel and a performance on Top of the Pops, it soon became a surprise hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1978.[1] The track spent a total of 11 weeks in the charts. Althea & Donna became the youngest female duo to reach the number-one spot on the UK chart.[2]
Chart (1977–1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] | 23 |
Ireland (IRMA)[6] | 2 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] | 24 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] | 25 |
UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 1 |
Chart (1978) | Position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC)[10] | 44 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The song was sampled in Abs Breen's 2002 UK top 10[citation needed] hit single, "What You Got".[12]