Winchester Cathedral (song)

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“Winchester Cathedral”
American issue of "Winchester Cathedral"
Single by The New Vaudeville Band
Released	1966
Genre	Pop
Length	2:20
Label	Fontana Records
Writer(s)	Geoff Stephens
Producer	Geoff Stephens

"Winchester Cathedral" is a song released in late 1966 by Fontana Records, whereupon it shot to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was released by The New Vaudeville Band, a novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens. Stephens was a big fan of tunes from the British music hall era (or what Americans would call "Vaudeville"), so he wrote "Winchester Cathedral" in that vein, complete with a Rudy Vallée sound-a-like (John Carter) singing through a megaphone. Although recorded entirely by session musicians, when the song became an international hit, an actual band had to be assembled, which toured extensively under the tutelage of Peter Grant, who later went on to manage The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Ironically, while very British in sound and style, the tune only went to number four in the UK Singles Chart. It went all the way to the top in the U.S., however, displacing "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes on Dec. 3, 1966. After a three-week run at Number One, "Winchester Cathedral" was knocked off the summit by the Beach Boy's "Good Vibrations."

"Winchester Cathedral" is one of a small number of hit songs to name a geographical location in Britain; No. 1 hits "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Penny Lane" both by The Beatles, and Gerry Raferty's number two smash, "Baker Street".

Not surprisingly, "Winchester Cathedral" topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart.

Preceded by "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes	Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 3, 1966	Succeeded by "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
Preceded by "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys	United World Chart number one single January 7, 1967 - January 14, 1967	Succeeded by "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees