The Loco-Motion (1974) 7/7/20

Today's song is so “Great,” it was a #1 hit 3 different decades: the 60s, the '70s, and the '80s!

That''s a testament to the songwriting genius of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, who wrote dozens of hit songs for dozens of artists while they were married—and after their divorce. Today's song was originally recorded by their babysitter, Eva Boyd. That's right, their babysitter.

Gerry and Carole thought she had a great voice and decided to have her record it. Eva Boyd became “Little Eva,” and in late 1962/early 1963, “The Locomotion” was the #1 song on Billboard's Hot 100. It also hit #1 in Canada, New Zealand, and Norway.

(Trivia: The Locomotion was a dance tune, but Gerry and Carole left it up to Eva to create the dance herself, based on the lyrics they wrote!)

In late 1974 and early 1975, The song returned to #1 in the US and Canada, when Grand Funk Railroad put a hard rock spin on it, produced by Todd Rundgren.

Then in 1987, Australian Kylie Minogue took it to #1 in her home country, as well as Canada, Ireland, Finland and South Africa. In the US, it went to #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #12 on the Dance chart.

So come one, come on, and do “Locomotion” with me! It's a “Great Song” of the '60s, 70s, and '80s!

Today's highlighted '70s version (Grand Funk Railroad):

The original '60s version (Little Eva):

The '80s version (Kylie Minogue: