Eddie Hodges: "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door"

July 24, 1961 (3 weeks)

Well, we had a good run. The last nine number one hits on Canada's CHUM charts had all at least been fair. The worst of the lot (the somewhat misunderstood "Moody River" by Pat Boone) scored a 5. That's not great compared to a 10 (Jorgen Ingmann's "Apache"), a pair of 9's (The Marcels' "Blue Moon" and Del Shannon's "Runaway" respectively) and an 8 (Gary U.S. Bonds' "Quarter to Three") but not bad all the same.

And what a way to drag things down than with Eddie Hodges and "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door"! It really has it all: dreadful singing, cheap effects, a piddly tune and problematic lyrics. In this kind of situation, there's no point in simply being mediocre: have some dignity and go down in a blaze of awfulness! If this was what he and his production team had set out to do then they triumphed!

The most obvious flaw is child star Eddie Hodges. I'm sure he was a fine actor and no doubt his Huck Finn was the toast of Hollywood for a week or two but the boy couldn't sing. Ah but this was a different time when children on recordings tended to sound like snotty youths squealing away which is true but it doesn't make having to listen to him any more bearable. He may well have been doing his best to be charming but I'm not buying it. True, he did well alongside Frank Sinatra as they sang "High Hopes" together in the 1959 film A Hold in the Head even if it's clear he was being carried. 

We can dump on Hodges all we want but he's hardly the only thing wrong with "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door". I had been expecting The Isley Brothers' original to be a good deal better but it only barely tops this. The fact that the Isleys can sing doesn't help a great deal and in fact the only thing their version has of note is a really good guitar solo which brings to mind what George Harrison would soon craft as rhythmic lead guitarist on those brilliant early hits for The Beatles. Otherwise, even those normally wonderful Isley harmonies can't save a dismal song.

So, let's get to those lyrics, huh? You might say they've aged badly but I'm not so sure they were acceptable to begin with. But rather than having a grown up man who might be a stalker sing it, they were probably right to hand it off to a fourteen-year-old kid who only might grow up to be a stalker. Harassment is traded in for what amounts to a very annoying youth who can't take a hint. One can only speculate as to how this girl's father would have reacted to all the persistent door knocking, bell ringing and window tapping. 

Eddie Hodges' recording career would continue for a couple years. He'll even be back in this space before long. Perhaps in the year or so between Canadian number ones he managed to get his hands on better material and found the time for some singing lessons. My hopes of even a score of 5 aren't especially high.

Score: 2