"1900 Yesterday" is a song written by John Cameron and Lee Simmons. The song was originally released by

Betty Everett Betty Jean Everett (November 23, 1939 – August 19, 2001) was an American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling " Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", and her duet " Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler ...

in 1969 on the album ''There'll Come a Time''.

Liz Damon's Orient Express version

"1900 Yesterday" was a hit single in 1970 and 1971 for the

Liz Damon's Orient Express Liz Damon's Orient Express was a 1970s soft rock band from Hawaii, USA, featuring lead singer Liz Damon, two female backup singers and a rotating backup band. The name apparently derived from the original backup band being entirely Asian. Their on ...

. Liz Damon's version was originally released as a single on the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

based Makaha label, before

White Whale The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the wh ...

acquired the worldwide distribution rights in December 1970. In 1971, the song was released on the album ''Liz Damon's Orient Express''. The song spent 12 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 33, while reaching No. 4 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart, No. 29 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100, No. 15 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' 100, and No. 16 on ''RPM''s "MOR Playlist". The song was ranked No. 21 on ''Billboard''s year-end ranking of 1971's "Top Easy Listening Singles".Top Easy Listening Singles
, ''

'', December 25, 1971. TA-38. Retrieved March 21, 2018.

Chart performance

Trivia

The lines that precede the song's title -- "Like smoke from a cigarette/Dreams that you soon forget"—appear in the 1966 song "Fading Away," written by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Warren "Pete" Moore Warren Thomas "Pete" Moore (November 19, 1938 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer, notable as the bass singer for Motown group the Miracles from 1955 onwards, and was one of the group's original members. H ...

, and

Bobby Rogers Robert Edward Rogers (February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013) was an American musician and tenor singer, best known as a member of Motown vocal group the Miracles from 1956 until his death. He was inducted, in 2012, as a member of the Miracles to t ...

of the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

act

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

, and first recorded by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

for their 1966 album ''

Gettin' Ready ''Gettin' Ready'' is the fourth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy ( Motown) label released in 1966. It marks the transition of the group from having Smokey Robinson as its main producer, with new producer Norman Whitfield taking over ...

''. The single and the album were the last records released by White Whale Records.

References

{{authority control 1969 songs 1970 singles Songs written by John Cameron (musician)