"Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

was released in November 1967 and was No. 1 on the ''Go-Set'' National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 NOTE: ''Go-Set'' published its National Singles Charts from October 1966 until August 1974, they were compiled by

Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist ...

. (six weeks on the Australian charts in 1968 based on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent (historian), David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music ...

). NOTE: In 2005, David Kent back calculated all chart positions for 1940–1969 based on existing local charts: there were no nationally recognised charts until ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' published their first charts in October 1966. Kent published his first

charts in mid-1974. It was the largest-selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in the 1960s. "Sadie" sold approximately 183,000 copies in Australia and was the highest-selling Australian single until " Up There Cazaly" was released in 1979. It was also released in New Zealand, Denmark and Germany. The B-side, "In My Room", was written by Farnham. The A-side's label includes the acknowledgement "Vacuum cleaner solo: Mr. Jolly".

Background

Farnham's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

Darryl Sambell Darryl Lloyd Sambell (26 November 194519 September 2001) was an Australian accountant, talent manager and music promoter from the mid-1960s. In 1967 Samball established the "Australian Musicians Booking Organisation" (AMBO), with fellow talent ...

, had disliked "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" because the lyrics were so persistent. However, EMI's in-house producer David Mackay insisted, so the single was released in November 1967. The song was written by United States writers Ray Gilmore, Johnny Madara and Dave White. Sambell approached the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

(ABC) TV program '' This Day Tonight'' to do a " day in the life of" segment where they followed Farnham around to radio studios to promote the single. Sambell also arranged for the electrical appliance store

Godfreys Godfreys is an Australian retailer in the domestic and commercial floorcare and cleaning industry, headquartered in Melbourne. The company was founded by Godfrey Cohen in 1931, and it has since grown to approximately 200 company- and franchise- ...

to supply a vacuum cleaner salesman, a Mr Jolly, to be on hand. By arrangement with Sambell, Melbourne radio DJ Stan Rofe pretended that he disliked "Sadie" before playing it. Rofe continued the ploy on TV's ''

Upright Body relative directions (also known as egocentric coordinates) are geometrical orientations relative to a body such as a human person's. The most common ones are: left and right; forward(s) and backward(s); up and down. They form three pair ...

'' and viewers responded with calls to play the song. Rofe was also a writer for ''

'', a teen-oriented pop magazine. Another writer for the magazine, Molly Meldrum, praised Farnham's efforts. "Sadie" hit No. 1 on the ''Go-Set'' National Singles Charts in January 1968 and remained there for five weeks. Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. The B-side, "In My Room", was written by Farnham. The album, ''Sadie'', also produced by Mackay, was released in April. According to author Jeff Jenkins, another local pop performer,

Mike Furber Michael Alexander Furber (28 September 1947 – 10 May 1973) was an English-born Australian entertainer popular in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of Mike Furber and the Bowery Boys. Furber's group had hits with "Just a Poor Boy", "You Stole M ...

, had the first option on recording "Sadie", but declined. Furber later told Sambell that due to this mistake he was not destined for success.

Track listing

# "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady) (Ray Gilmore, Johnny Madara, Dave White) – 3:13 # "In My Room" ( Johnny Farnham) – 2:17

Cover versions

*An artist going by the name of Fred Splinge (almost certainly a pseudonym) recorded the song for the South African market in 1968. This version was the South African hit, peaking in the top 20 on the national charts. "Splinge" never issued another recording. *

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

band Finders Keepers recorded "Sadie, The Cleaning Lady" in mid-1968. * Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist recorded "Sadie" in English, Swedish (as "Mamma är lik sin mamma" with lyrics translated by Stig Anderson), Danish ("Mor er som hendes mor var") and German ("Frauen sind doch nur Frauen")—all in 1968. The Swedish-language version charted at Svensktoppen for six weeks between 6 October–10 November 1968, topping the chart. *Finnish singer

Katri Helena Katri Helena Kalaoja (née Koistinen, born 17 August 1945) is a Finnish singer. Career Katri Helena released her first songs in 1963 and has since sold over 630,000 certified records, which makes her the second-best-selling female soloi ...

recorded it in Finnish as "Äiti kuin äidinäiti" in 1968. *Fellow Australian

Frankie Davidson Francis Joseph Davidson (12 January 1934 − 22 July 2022) was an Australian entertainer who had several hit records in the 1960s, appeared on many TV variety shows, and acted in several Australian television police dramas, including ''Matlock ...

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

it with "Hector the Trash Collector" in 1968.

Chart positions

Notes and references

{{John Farnham 1967 songs 1967 debut singles Australian pop songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by David White (musician) Columbia Records singles EMI Records singles Songs written by John Medora Siw Malmkvist songs John Farnham songs