1957
GET A JOB * THE SILHOUETTES * EMBER 1029 * USA
The Silhouettes, were a hard up Philadelphian Gospel group called The Gospel Tornadoes, who originally cut Get A Job for the Junior label (#391) owned by Kae Williams. The song was released as the B side to the ballad I Am Lonely, that on release became a hit in the Philadelphia are, but it was Get A Job that eventually caught on and was picked up by Ember. From the moment it broke it had sold a million copies in three weeks. The record was a phenomenal success and though it was only released in December by February it had reached the number one spot on both Pop and R&B charts. It was so popular that it gave rise to at least four 'answer' records: I found A Job by The Heartbeats; Got A Job The Miracles; I Lost My Job The Supreme Four; and I Got Fired The Mistakes, as well as the inevitable cover versions, most notably by The Mills Brothers, which got top the number twenty one slot nationally.