"History Repeats Itself"
Single by Buddy Starcher
from the album History Repeats Itself
B-side"Sniper's Hill"
ReleasedMarch 1966
GenreFolk/Country
LabelBoone Records
Songwriter(s)Buddy Starcher, Minnie Pearl
Producer(s)Chuck Glaser[1]
Orange vinyl issue
Special disc jockey record
"History Repeats Itself"
Single by Cab Calloway
B-side"After Taxes"
ReleasedMarch 1966
GenrePop
LabelBoom Records
Songwriter(s)Buddy Starcher, Minnie Pearl
Producer(s)Bob Thiele
Cab Calloway singles chronology
"Little Child"
(1956)		 "History Repeats Itself"
(1966)

"History Repeats Itself" is a 1966 narrated song written and recorded by Buddy Starcher. It became his greatest hit, reaching number 39 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] and number two on the Country singles chart.

The lyrics recount the Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences urban legend, set to the tune of The Battle-Hymn of the Republic.

Lyrical content

The song begins with the conclusion of the chorus of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The lyrics recount curious coincidences and parallels (several of them false) between the careers and deaths of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. These had begun attracting attention in the US mainstream press in 1964 (the year after Kennedy's assassination).[3]

Starcher also recorded a "Part 2," as there are too many similarities to be recounted in just one song.

Just a few of the noted similarities shared by both presidents include: Being elected in years ending in '60, both concerned with civil rights issues. Both first ladies lost a child while in the White House. Both presidents were shot in the back of the head on a Friday, in the presence of their wives. Their assassins were born in years ending '39, and both espousing radical ideologies. Their successors were both southern senators named Johnson, both born in years ending in '08.

Several of these similarities are false, for example Booth was born in 1838, while Lee Oswald was born in 1939.

Cover version

"History Repeats Itself" was covered by Cab Calloway, charting concurrently with Starcher's version and debuting on the charts one week later. In 1967 it was also covered in Dutch by Gerard de Vries as De Geschiedenis Herhaalt Zich.[4]

Chart history

Buddy Starcher original
Chart (1966) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] 39
U.S. Hot Country Singles[6] 2
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[7] 40
Cab Calloway cover
Chart (1966) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 89
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[9] 82

Parody

A parody of this recording, "Great Men Repeat Themselves", described purported coincidental similarities between President Lyndon Johnson and the superhero Batman. Both Homer and Jethro[10] and Ben Colder[11] recorded versions of the parody.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Buddy Starcher – History Repeats Itself (1966, Orange Vinyl, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1966.
  2. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  3. ↑ "Historical Notes: A Compendium of Curious Coincidences". Time. 1964-08-21. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  4. ↑ "Gerard de Vries - de geschiedenis herhaalt zich - ultratop.be". Ultratop.
  5. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 329.
  7. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 14, 1966". Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  9. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 30, 1966
  10. ↑ "History Repeats Itself (mp3s)". WFMU's Beware of the Blog. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  11. ↑ "Spotlight Singles". Billboard. 1967-02-11. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-06-24.


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