On This Day in 1977, One Half of an Iconic TV Cop Duo Was at No. 1 With a Song Later Covered by Actor Owen Wilson

On this day (April 16) in 1977, David Soul was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Don’t Give Up on Us.” The track only spent a week at the top of the chart in the United States, but it solidified Soul’s status as an international hitmaker. Earlier in the year, it topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and was the top song of the year in the country. While “Don’t Give Up on Us” was a major hit, most remember Soul as an actor.

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Soul started his career as a stage actor. Later, he landed a spot as the Covered Man on the Merv Griffin Show in 1966. In that role, he wore a mask and sang. Not long after taking the role, he landed his first unmasked TV role on Flipper. He went on to land multiple roles on the big and small screen over the next decade. However, he still wanted to sing. So, in 1976, he released his self-titled debut album.

[RELATED: 3 Songs You Didn’t Know Were Written by ‘Starsky & Hutch’ Star David Soul]

Soul released the LP while in the middle of his most memorable acting role. He portrayed Detective Sergeant Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson on Starsky & Hutch.

David Soul’s Sole Hit Didn’t Originally Appear on His Album

David Soul released “Don’t Give Up on Us” in late 1976 in the United Kingdom. It was released in the United States in January 1977, when he dropped his debut album. However, early pressings of the LP don’t contain the song.

According to Songfacts, Soul didn’t record the song until after his album was ready to be released. “I made an album in San Francisco for Private Stock, but there was nothing suitable for a single,” he recalled. “The company told me that Tony Macaulay had some good tunes, and he came over and played me ‘Don’t Give Up on Us’ and ‘Going in with My Eyes Open.’ Within 10 days, I had learned the songs and recorded them, and Tony had mixed them and taken them back to England.”

“Going in with My Eyes Open” went to No. 2 in the United Kingdom, but failed to break into the top 40 on the Hot 100 in the United States.

In 2004, Owen Wilson took David Soul’s role in the feature-length remake of Starsky & Hutch. The film’s soundtrack features a cover of “Don’t Give Up on Us” by Wilson and Neal Casal.

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