Australian Hitmakers The Seekers’ ‘A World Of Our Own’ Joins ‘Sullivan’ Channel
The ‘Sullivan’ appearance fueled the song’s steady progress into the Top 20 of the Hot 100.
A vintage appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show by Australian hitmakers the Seekers has arrived on the official YouTube channel of the celebrated and long-running variety series. It features the group’s performance on the June 13, 1965 edition of their worldwide hit “A World Of Our Own.”
The quartet had become international stars at the beginning of 1965 with “I’ll Never Find Another You,” which became the first UK No.1 by an Australian act. It also hit the top in their home country, No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No.2 on the magazine’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“A World Of Our Own,” written and produced like its predecessor by Tom Springfield, was in the middle of a seven-week run in the UK Top 10, with a No.3 peak, when it entered the Hot 100 in late May. The Sullivan appearance fueled the song’s steady progress up the chart, culminating in two weeks at No.19 in July, as the Rolling Stones continued their US conquest by hitting No.1 with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
The Seekers’ hit was recorded in 1967 by country star Sonny James, whose version topped the US country chart for three weeks in March 1968. Among many other covers, it was remade by British producer-arranger Mike Leander with his Orchestra for the 1965 album The Folk Hits, then by Waylon Jennings on his 1969 LP with vocal quartet the Kimberleys.
That June edition of the New York-based series also featured another big new name of the era, Tom Jones, as well as Philadelphia soulstress Dee Dee Sharp and comedian Sid Caesar. The Seekers had another global triumph with “Georgy Girl,” a US No.2 in 1966, but only charted once more on the Hot 100, and that outside the Top 40, with 1967’s “Morningtown Ride.” They fared far better in the UK, with a total of six Top 10 and eight Top 40 appearances.
Watch all the latest archival videos from The Ed Sullivan Show on the program’s official YouTube channel.