"Puppet Man" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was originally recorded by Sedaka on his 1969 Workin' on a Groovy Thing LP. The first hit version was by The Fifth Dimension in 1970. The following year it was also a hit for Tom Jones.
| "Puppet Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The 5th Dimension | ||||
| from the album Portrait | ||||
| B-side | "A Love Like Ours" | |||
| Released | March 1970 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Bell Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sedaka-Greenfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Bones Howe | |||
| The 5th Dimension singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Fifth Dimension's original of "Puppet Man" reached #24 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1970.
Charts
edit| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 19 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[1] | 31 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] | 24 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 31 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[3] | 22 |
Tom Jones version
edit| "Puppet Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tom Jones | ||||
| from the album Tom Jones Sings She's a Lady | ||||
| B-side | "Every Mile" "Resurrection Shuffle" | |||
| Released | May 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Decca (UK), Parrot (US and Canada) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sedaka-Greenfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Gordon Mills | |||
| Tom Jones UK singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Tom Jones' version was released the following spring. It reached No. 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, spending 10 weeks on the chart. For the first six weeks the single was backed with "Every Mile," then was changed to "Resurrection Shuffle", which also became a U.S. top 40 hit, reaching No. 38 and keeping the record on the charts an additional five weeks.
Charts
edit| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] | 22 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] | 27 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[6] | 9 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[7] | 49 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 26 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[8] | 14 |
| West Germany (GfK)[9] | 36 |
References
edit- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1970-05-31. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ^ a b Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 31, 1970
- ^ "Tom Jones – Puppet Man" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Tom Jones – Puppet Man" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1971-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ^ "Tom Jones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 3, 1971
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Jones – Puppet Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
