On This Day in 1962, a Babysitter Became a One-Hit Wonder When “The Loco-Motion” Hit No. 1

On this day (August 25) in 1962, “The Loco-Motion” by an unknown singer named Little Eva topped the Billboard Hot 100. Penned by her employers, the song changed the young woman’s life forever, allowing her to quit her job and pursue a career as a performer.

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Little Eva’s real name was Eva Boyd, the nanny for Carole King and Gerry Goffin, who penned the track. Boyd would sometimes sing with a group called the Cookies, which is where she met King and Goffin, according to Creed Taylor Produced.

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King and Goffin originally penned the song with R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp in mind. Sharp had recently found success with “Mashed Potato Time,” and the couple hoped to capitalize on her popularity. After hearing Boyd sing while working around the house, the couple enlisted her to sing the demo to take to Sharp, who turned down the song after hearing it. Fortunately, producer Don Kirshner liked Little Eva’s vocals. As a result, they decided to have her cut the song.

In June 1962, “The Loco-Motion” became the first release on the newly formed Dimension Records. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 25 of that year and stayed atop the chart for a week.

Little Eva Had a Long Career

Little Eva didn’t stop recording after landing an international hit with “The Loco-Motion.” Instead, she continued to record pop singles with varying degrees of success. However, she would never again see the top of the chart. In fact, the closest she came to repeating the success of her debut single was the follow-up release “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby,” which peaked at No. 12.

Boyd continued to record and tour internationally until she retired in 1971. A little more than a decade later, in 1988, Kylie Minogue released a cover of “The Loco-Motion.” While Little Eva didn’t like the new version of the song, its popularity allowed her to make a comeback. She performed with other “oldies” artists until her death from cancer in 2003, at the age of 59.

Featured Image by Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images