"(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful" is a song written by Canadian-American musician John Ellison[2] and first recorded by his R&B group, Soul Brothers Six, in 1967, peaking at number 91 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[3]
| "Some Kind of Wonderful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Soul Brothers Six | ||||
| B-side | "I'll Be Loving You" | |||
| Released | May 1967 | |||
| Recorded | March 30, 1967 | |||
| Studio | Atlantic Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:38 | |||
| Label | Atlantic 2406 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Ellison | |||
| Soul Brothers Six singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The best known version is by American rock band Grand Funk Railroad from 1974 which reached number 3 on the same chart.
Grand Funk Railroad version
edit| "Some Kind of Wonderful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Grand Funk | ||||
| from the album All the Girls in the World Beware!!! | ||||
| B-side | "Wild" | |||
| Released | December 9, 1974[4] | |||
| Recorded | 1974 at the Swamp[5] | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | Capitol 4002 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Ellison | |||
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Ienner[5] | |||
| Grand Funk singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1974, American rock band Grand Funk recorded the song for their album All the Girls in the World Beware!!!; it reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 22, 1975.[6] It also ranked number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 year-end chart for 1975 as shown on the December 27, 1975, print edition of Billboard, which contained the Hot 100 for 1975.[7] This is the official list still shown on Billboard magazine website.[8]
Their version of the song appeared in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the fictitious radio station K-DST.
Other notable versions
edit- The Fantastic Johnny C covered the song in 1968, reaching number 87 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[9]
- Joss Stone covered the song in 2003, for her debut album, The Soul Sessions.
Charts
edit| Year | Artist | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Soul Brothers Six | U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] | 91 |
| 1968 | The Fantastic Johnny C | U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] | 87 |
| 1975 | Grand Funk Railroad | U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] | 3 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 6 | ||
| 1994 | Huey Lewis and the News | U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] | 44 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[12] | 7 | ||
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[13] | 37 | ||
| 2002 | Toploader | UK Singles Chart[14] | 76 |
Certifications
editGrand Funk Railroad version
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[15] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ "Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "Some Kind of Wonderful (song by Soul Brothers Six) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. June 24, 1967. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ Tedds, David K. (2006). Greatest Hits (CD liner). Grand Funk Railroad. Hollywood, California, United States: Capitol Records. 509992-34915-26.
- ^ a b All the Girls in the World Beware!!! (Vinyl sleeve). Grand Funk. Capitol Records. 1974. SO-11356.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b "Some Kind of Wonderful (song by Grand Funk Railroad) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. December 14, 1974. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ Top Records of 1975, Billboard, Section II, December 27, 1975. p. 38. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Records of 1975, Billboard, Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful (song by The Fantastic Johnny C) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. November 16, 1968. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "Soul Brothers Six | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "Huey Lewis | Awards". AllMusic. July 5, 1950. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "Country Singles : Billboard". Nl.newsweek.com. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. June 7, 1994. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ "Some Kind of Wonderful (song by Toploader) • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "American single certifications – Grand Funk Railroad – Some Kind of Wonderful". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
