Fly, Robin, Fly

"Fly, Robin, Fly"
Single by Silver Convention
from the album Save Me
B-side "Tiger Baby"
Released 17 September 1975
Format 7"
Recorded 1974
Genre
Length 5:35 (LP version)
3:47 (single version)
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Michael Kunze
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Platinum (CRIA)
Silver Convention singles chronology
"Always Another Girl"
(1974)		 "Fly, Robin, Fly"
(1975)		 "Tiger Baby"
(1976)

"Fly, Robin, Fly" is a 1975 record by the German group Silver Convention. The song was released as a single from their 1975 album Save Me. In the United States, it rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975, staying there for three weeks. The single also was No. 1 on the Soul Singles Chart for one week.[3] "Fly, Robin, Fly" also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Dance/Disco Chart.[4] It was the first song by a German group to reach number one on the American music charts. In Canada, the song also reached the pole position in the charts, hitting number one in the RPM Top Singles Chart on 17 January 1976,[5] knocking the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night" from the top slot, managing to keep it for a single week before being replaced by C. W. McCall's "Convoy" a week later.[6]

"Fly, Robin, Fly" carries the distinction of being a Billboard chart-topper with only six words: the chorus simply repeats "Fly, robin, fly" three times, with an ending of "Up, up to the sky!" Just five months earlier, another song with very few words was Van McCoy's number one hit, The Hustle, with only five words used in total: Do, it, the, hustle, and ooh.

During a segment on VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs, it was revealed that the working title was "Run, Rabbit, Run."

"Fly, Robin, Fly" won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1976.

CBS Sports used part of the song as intro music for NFL coverage in the late 1970s. The song was also featured in the 1997 film Boogie Nights.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–1976) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 3
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[9] 3
Canada (CHUM)[10] 3
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[11] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 1
France (IFOP)[12] 28
Germany (Media Control Charts)[13] 3
Italy (FIMI)[14] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 16
Norway (VG-lista)[18] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] 28
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[22] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 1
US Billboard Hot Disco/Dance[22] 1
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[22] 1
US Cash Box[23] 1
US Record World[24] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1975) Position
US Cash Box[25] 44
Chart (1976) Position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 47
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[27] 31
Italy (FIMI)[28] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[29] 14

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Platinum 150,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] Gold 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

Spanish artist Alex Silvanni recorded a cover version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" on USSR label Melodiya in 1975.

Jamaican producer Derrick Harriott and his group, the Chariot Riders, released a cover version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" on the Jamaican WIld Flower label in 1975.

Method Man & Redman's video version of their 1995 song "How High" contains an interpolation of "Fly, Robin, Fly".

American jazz flautist Herbie Mann recorded a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for his 1976 album Bird in a Silver Cage, which was co-produced and arranged by Sylvester Levay.[32]

Australian/British string quartet Bond also recorded a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly" for their 2004 album Classified.

In 2003, German lifestyle company Apartment20 produced a version of "Fly, Robin, Fly", which featured former Silver Convention singer Ramona Wulf on lead vocals and in the video for the song.

The Leighton Acres Orchestra did a cover of the song, replacing the violin melody with sustained electric guitar riffs accompanied by brass horns from the Novelle High School marching and symphonic bands. Recordings on flash drives were presented to the Novelle students as tokens of appreciation by the LAO, and the combined group performed the song live for the inaugural Waterton Knights semi-pro baseball game.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "The Silver Convention – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  2. ↑ George, Nelson (1988). The Death of Rhythm and Blues. Penguin Books. ISBN 0142004081. Silver Convention's “Fly Robin Fly” was the first Eurodisco crossover hit direct from Munich.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 526.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 233.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4071a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 24, No. 17, January 24, 1976". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 24 januari 1976" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  10. ↑ CHART NUMBER 986 – Saturday, December 13, 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 December 2008). CHUM. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4056." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Silver Convention" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Top10 del 15 Maggio 1976" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Silver Convention search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly". VG-lista. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1975-11-29" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 "The Silver Convention – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  23. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending NOVEMBER 22, 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 October 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  24. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 August 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  25. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 20 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  26. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1976" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 1976" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1976". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Silver Convention – Fly Robin Fly". Music Canada.
  31. ↑ "American single certifications – Silver Convention – Fly_ Robin_ Fly". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  32. ↑ Mann, Herbie. Bird in a Silver Cage. iTunes album review. Accessed 26 February 2010.

External links

Preceded by
"Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers		 Canadian RPM number-one single
17 January 1976 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Convoy" by C. W. McCall
Preceded by
"That's the Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band		 US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
29 November 1975 – 13 December 1975 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"That's the Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band
Preceded by
"Island Girl" by Elton John		 US Cash Box number-one single
22 November 1975 (1 week)
Preceded by
"Brazil" by The Ritchie Family		 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
27 September 1975 – 11 October 1975 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Casanova Brown" / "(If You Want It) Do It Yourself" / "How High the Moon" by Gloria Gaynor
Preceded by
"Low Rider" by War		 US Billboard Hot Soul number-one single
15 November 1975 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Let's Do It Again" by The Staple Singers