Peak
9
Weeks
12
Score
2,058
Chart Year
1969
The Cuff Links were not an actual group - the record was performed entirely by Ron Dante, who provided the lead vocal of the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" (another fictional group). His vocals were recorded 15 times over to make it sound like a big group was singing. Dante says that all the vocal tracks were done in about two hours. At one point, Dante had two records in the US Top 10 (both by fictional groups), but was precluded by contract from disclosing that it was he who sang "Sugar Sugar" and "Tracy." This was written by the songwriting team of Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, who wrote the #1 novelty hit "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." The whole Cuff Links project was their brainchild. They also wrote the follow-up singles (also containing girls' names) "When Julie Comes Around" (#41) and "Run Sally Run" (#76), as well as "Leader Of The Laundromat," a parody of "Leader of the Pack" credited to The Detergents, which was another Ron Dante-fronted act. This was featured in the 1998 "Theme of Life" episode of the TV show Ally McBeal as the theme music for Dr. Tracy Clark, who was played by Tracey Ullman. Dr. Clark is Ally's therapist, and recommends that she adopt a theme song of her own - Ally picks "Tell Him" by The Exciters. Paul Vance liked to use girls' names as a starting point for song ideas, and he was the one who came up with "Tracy" for the title. Lee Pockriss did the orchestration on the track, and the pair convinced Ron Dante to sing it. According to Pockriss, they shopped the song to 17 different record companies before Decca finally took it. Their label head, Jack Weidenman, came up with "The Cuff Links" as the name for the group.
Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Tracy, when I'm with you Something you do Bounces me off the ceiling Tracy, day after day When you're this way I get a lovin' feeling Come with me Don't say no (please don't say no) Hold me close (and hold me close) Tracy never let go Tracy, you're gonna be (Tracy, I love you so) Happy with me I'll build a world around you Filled with love everywhere (Tracy, oh please don't go) And when you're there You'll be so glad I found you Come with me Don't say no (please don't say no) Hold me close (and hold me close) Tracy, never, never, ever let me go Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Come with me Don't say no (please don't say no) Hold me close Tracy, never, never, ever let me go Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Tracy, never let me go Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Tracy, never let me go Ba ba, ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba Tracy, never let me go
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 13, 1969 | 89 | 37 |
| 2 | Sep 20, 1969 | 68 | 58 |
| 3 | Sep 27, 1969 | 49 | 77 |
| 4 | Oct 4, 1969 | 29 | 97 |
| 5 | Oct 11, 1969 | 19 | 107 |
| 6 | Oct 18, 1969 | 10 | 116 |
| 7 | Oct 25, 1969 | 9 | 117 |
| 8 | Nov 1, 1969 | 9 | 117 |
| 9 | Nov 8, 1969 | 12 | 114 |
| 10 | Nov 15, 1969 | 13 | 113 |
| 11 | Nov 22, 1969 | 22 | 104 |
| 12 | Nov 29, 1969 | 27 | 99 |