(Blame It) On the Pony Express

"(Blame It) On the Pony Express"
Single by Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon
from the album Soul Survivor
B-side"Never Let Her Go"
Released30 October 1970 (1970-10-30)[1]
GenreSoul
Length3:04
LabelBell
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tony Macaulay
Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon singles chronology
"Sweet Inspiration"
(1970) 		"(Blame It) On the Pony Express"
(1970) 		"Mr. Tambourine Man"
(1971)

"(Blame It) On the Pony Express" is a song by American soul group Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon released as a single in October 1970. It peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their third and final top-ten hit there.[2]

Background

"(Blame It) On the Pony Express" was written by Tony Macaulay, Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, and was originally intended to be released by Edison Lighthouse as their second single following their worldwide hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)". The band recorded the backing track and a rough vocal track; however, Macauley, who was their manager and producer, was apparently not that impressed with the vocals, later saying the song "required a more gutsy voice than any of them had".[3][4] Macaulay decided to pass the song over to Edison Lighthouse's labelmates Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon for whom he had produced their previous single "Sweet Inspiration".

John Abbey reviewing in Blues & Soul wrote that compared to "Sweet Inspiration", "(Blame It) On the Pony Express" "permits Johnny far more scope as a vocalist" and that "it's far more leaning towards R&B than its predecessor and less of the old singalong sound".[5]

Charts

Chart (1971) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[6] 13
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 17
Germany (GfK)[8] 18
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 5
New Zealand (Listener)[10] 10
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[11] 8
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 7

References

  1. ^ "Johnson release". Record Mirror. 17 October 1970. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b "Bandwagon: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  3. ^ "This name shows you the game". Record Mirror. 6 February 1971. p. 12.
  4. ^ Simmons, Rick (2022-11-08). 40 Hits, 40 Stories: Behind Top Songs of the 1960s and 1970s. McFarland. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4766-4690-9.
  5. ^ "Singles". Blues & Soul. No. 46. 6 November 1970.
  6. ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 10 April 1971". gosetcharts.com. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  7. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  8. ^ "Johnny Johnson & the Bandwagon – (Blame It) On the Pony Express" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Blame It on the Pony Express". Irish Singles Chart.
  10. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  11. ^ "Johny Jonson And The Bandwagon – Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-08-30.