Poppa Joe Single: 1972

Released as a 7-inch vinyl single in the UK on RCA Victor (catalogue: RCA 2164) 28 January 28,1972 .The Sweet’s “Poppa Joe” — backed with “Jeanie” — was another catchy, phonetic-titled bubblegum-glam hit produced by Phil Wainman for Chinnichap. The track entered the UK Singles Chart on February 5, 1972, peaked at No. 11, and charted for 12 weeks. It continued Sweet’s run of quirky, handclap-driven singles after “Co-Co” and before “Alexander Graham Bell.”

The single is a bubblegum pop song with elements of Caribbean music due to the use of a steelpan throughout the song. It was featured as a bonus track on a 2005 re-release of the bands first album, Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be.

Covers

The song has been covered by Graham Bonney, M-Kids, James Last, Waterloo and Robinson, Klaus and Servants, Kai Warner, Joachim Hübner & ABC Company, Party Animals, and Werner Twardy Orchestra, all mostly German artists.[2]

Reception

The song charted in seven counties: number 11 in the UK, number seventy in Australia, number 16 in Ireland, number three in Germany, number two in Norway, Switzerland and Sweden, and number one in the Netherlands and Belgium

Track Listing

A: Poppa Joe

B: Jeanie

Producer – Phil Wainman

Published By – Chinnichap / RAK Publishing Ltd.

UK Variants

7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor RCA 2164 – UK – 1972

7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo, Solid Centre – RCA Victor RCA 2164 – UK – 1972

7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo, 4-Prong Knockout Centre – RCA Victor RCA 2164 – UK – 1972

7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo – RCA Victor RCA 2164 – UK – 1972

UK Chart Performance

Peak position: 11

12 weeks – February 5, 1972 to April 22, 1972

46 → 30 → 26 → 14 → 11 → 12 → 12 → 17 → 22 → 28 → 38 → 41

Worldwide Variants (Alphabetical by Country)

Argentina – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 31A-2070

Australia – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 102055

German single "Poppa Joe" and "Jeanie," which was released by RCA Victor Catalogue Number RCA 74-0441.

Germany – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 74-16136

Germany – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Lindström Pressing – RCA Victor 74-16 136

Germany – 1975 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Repress, Stereo – RCA Victor 74-16 136

Germany – 1977 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Reissue – RCA 26.11018, RCA 74-16 136

Greece – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM – RCA Victor LC-16277

India – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor IRCA. 2164

Israel – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 2164

Italy – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo – RCA Victor RCA 2164

Italy – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Promo, Stereo – RCA Victor RCA 2164

Italy – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor RCA 2164

Japan – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA SS-2167

Japan – 1972 – 7", Promo – RCA SS-2167

Madagascar – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 42-300, RCA Victor RCA 2164

Mexico – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Promo, White Label – RCA 76-3566

Netherlands – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo – RCA Victor 74-16136

New Zealand – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single, Mono – RCA Victor 60576

Peru – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 85-1364

Venezuela – 1972 – 7", 45 RPM, Single – RCA Victor 3-10689

Cover of The Sweet's single "Poppa Joe" and "Jeanie," released by RCA Victor in Yugoslavia, catalogue number SRCA-88537.

Do you have Poppa Joe in your vinyl collection? Ready for the bubblegum stomp? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia and BBC Official Charts Company