Stars on 45 (song)

"Stars on 45"

The US Radio Records release with its famous forty-one word title.
Single by Stars on 45
from the album Long Play Album
Released 1979
Format 7" single, 12" single
Recorded 1979
Genre Disco
Length 7": 4:48 (US: 4:05)
12": 9:45 (West Germany 11:30, US: 10:15)
Label CNR Records (NL)
CBS Records (UK)
Radio Records/Atlantic (US)
Producer(s) Jaap Eggermont
Certification Gold (RIAA)[1]
Stars on 45 singles chronology
"Stars on 45 "
(1979)		 "More Stars"
(1981)
Alternative covers
Original Dutch 7" single sleeve.
UK release credited to "Starsound."

"Stars on 45" is a song issued in January 1981 by the studio group Stars on 45. In some countries including UK, Ireland and New Zealand the band was credited as 'Starsound' and the medley itself was named "Stars on 45". Its official title in the US (as on the record and in Billboard) where it was credited to 'Stars on 45' was "Medley: Intro 'Venus' / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I'll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want to Know a Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You're Going to Lose That Girl / Stars on 45". It is (to date) the longest titled song to ever chart in Billboard, and is conveniently shortened to "Stars on 45 Medley", or "'Medley' by Stars on 45". The reason for the long title was copyright requirements for the use of The Beatles' songs.

It reached number 1 in the Netherlands in February 21, 1981; number 2 in the UK in April 1981; and number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 20, 1981. In the US, the single also peaked at number 18 on the dance chart.[2] In the US, the song's one-week stay at the top of the Hot 100 interrupted the Kim Carnes single "Bette Davis Eyes" run as the number 1 single at five weeks. The next week, Carnes' song regained its number 1 status for an additional four weeks.

The origin of the single was the Netherlands where numerous bootleg disco singles were floating around. Willem van Kooten, the owner of one of the copyrights, decided to make a similar, legitimate record of a 12" single titled "Let's Do It in the 80s Great Hits" credited to a group called Passion (though the snippets of songs were taken from the original recordings).[3] He found singers who sounded similar to John Lennon and Paul McCartney and decided to make the single focus on The Beatles. The original version was a 9-minute, 45-second 12" mix, then a 45 version was also released, and the Beatles medley was later extended to a full 16-minute album side. It appeared on the Stars on 45's first full-length release, Long Play Album (US title: Stars on Long Play; UK title: Stars on 45 - The Album).

The song became also a huge success in the UK where it kicked off a craze for medleys, with a large number of records in the Stars on 45 mold reaching the UK Top 40 in 1981. Likewise, in the US the song started a medley craze that lasted for about a year and introduced not only other medleys by Stars on 45, but medleys by The Beach Boys, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Larry Elgart and His Manhattan Swing Orchestra, as well as others.

Song's 80's revival

The album version of the song moved "Venus" and "Sugar Sugar" to Side Two into a different medley, and added several more Beatles songs as well as a 32-second instrumental extract from George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and even a fleeting reference to new wave band Sparks' "Beat the Clock," for a total length of about 15 minutes. The album version was released as Long Play Album in the Netherlands, and retitled Stars on Long Play in the US and Stars on 45 — The Album in the UK. A detailed listing of the source material can be found there.

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Germany (BVMI)[4] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[5] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[6] Gold 1,000,000^

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

"Stars on 45 Medley 2"

The success of the single in North America even resulted in Radio Records rush-releasing a second single for the US market. The last four minutes of the album version of the Beatles medley ("Good Day Sunshine"/"My Sweet Lord"/"Here Comes the Sun"/"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"/"Taxman"/"A Hard Day's Night"/"Things We Said Today"/"If I Fell"/"You Can't Do That"/"Please Please Me"/"I Want to Hold Your Hand"/"Stars on 45") was released under the title "Stars on 45 Medley 2" but peaked at No. 67 on Billboard's Hot 100. The second Beatles medley single is not released in either the Netherlands, the UK or any other parts of the world.

1989 Remix

The Beatles medley was remixed and re-released in a house music version in Europe in 1989 under the title "Stars on '89 Remix", then featuring an alternate selection of Beatles tracks taken from the album version of the medley, coupled with a new "Stars on 45" theme called "Rock the House". The single was remixed and reproduced by Danny van Passel and Rutti Kroese and released on the Red Bullet label as a 7", 12" and CD single, all formats backed with an extended version of the "Rock the House" theme.

Other versions

In 2006, the Global Deejays released an updated version of "Stars on 45", but the medleys were not included.

In 2011, "Stars on 45" was given the house treatment, with the single released as "45". This version also omitted the medleys.

Track listing 1981 7" single

Side A

"Stars on 45" (Medley - 7" Mix) - 4:48 (US: - 4:05)

Side B

"Stars on 45" (Theme - 7" Mix) (Eggermont, Duiser) - 3:30

Track listing 1981 12" single

Side A

"Stars on 45" (Medley - 12" Mix) - 9:45 (US: - 10:15, West Germany: - 11:30)

Side B

"Stars on 45" (Theme - 12" Mix) (Eggermont, Duiser) - 6:18

Track listings "Stars on '89 Remix"

Radio version - 4:01

Extended version - 6:17

Chart peaks 1981 version

Chart (1979-1981) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 2
Germany (Media Control Charts)[9] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 1
Italy (FIMI)[11] 39
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 1
Spain (AFYVE)[13] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 1
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1

Sources and external links

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc. p. 581. ISBN 0-89820-122-5.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 245.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Stars On 45; 'Stars On 45')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  5. ↑ "British single certifications – Star Sound – Stars On 45". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Stars On 45 in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  6. ↑ "American single certifications – Stars On 45 – Stars On 45". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Stars On 45 – Stars On 45" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Stars On 45 – Stars On 45" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Stars On 45 > Stars On 45 – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  10. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: S". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stars On 45 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  13. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Stars On 45 – Stars On 45". Singles Top 60.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Stars On 45 – Stars On 45". Swiss Singles Chart.
Preceded by
"Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton		 Canadian RPM number-one single
June 6 - August 22, 1981 (12 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Gemini Dream" by Moody Blues
Preceded by
"Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes		 US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
June 20, 1981 		Succeeded by
"Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes
Preceded by
"Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one single
July 20, 1981 - August 10, 1981 		Succeeded by
DEV-O Live EP by Devo