Silver Convention's 'Fly Robin Fly:' First German Billboard Chart-Topper
By | January 1, 2019
Famous for "Fly Robin Fly," Silver Convention was a groovy girl group of the disco era. The hit dance single became the first song by a German act to go to #1 on the American pop chart. Silver Convention was a group from West Germany and was originally named Silver Bird Convention, sometimes called simply Silver Bird. Members included vocalists, Linda Thompson, Ramona Wulf, and Penny McLean.
Euro disco is commonly known as a genre of dance music from the late ‘70s. Euro disco combined the elements of pop, new wave, and rock music into an animal all its own. Many of the music artists that jumped on this bandwagon were of European descent but nevertheless primarily sang their song lyrics in English. Many practitioners of Euro disco have faded from memory, including German acts Boney M and Arabesque, French acts Dalida and Cerrone, and the Italian Baccara. But the most famous Euro disco group will live on forever -- the Swedish quartet ABBA.
"Fly Robin Fly" was one of those songs that just seemed to rattle around in a person’s head after hearing it. Surprisingly, there was nothing that notable about it and was somewhat mindless. The lyrics were simple and repetitive and the vocalists were actually a thrown-together group of background singers. Silver Convention was created by a couple of guys named Silvester Levay and Michael Kunze. They walked into a music studio in 1975 and hand-picked some vocalists to perform another song called "Save Me." "Save Me" turned out to be successful enough to land them a recording contract and Silver Convention, as we knew it, was born.
"Fly Robin Fly" was initially supposed to be called, “Run Rabbit, Run.” That phrase may be familiar to fans of John Updike, who used it as the title of his 1960 novel Rabbit, Run, or Pink Floyd, who used the phrase in "Breathe" on The Dark Side of the Moon. "Run Rabbit Run" was originally the title of a WWII-era British song written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler in 1939.
By late 1975, "Fly Robin Fly" had climbed its way up the music charts. Silver Convention found itself in the spotlight. Up until this point, only a studio album had been released. Live gigs were in big demand and the band needed some stability and regular members. That is when Thompson, McLean, and Wulf officially became the voices and faces of Silver Convention.
Silver Convention also had success with the song "Get Up And Boogie."
Below are some more fun facts about the iconic Euro disco song "Fly Robin Fly:"
- "Fly Robin Fly" won a Grammy Award in 1796 for “Best Rhythm & Blues Instrumental Performance.”
- In 1975, shortly after its release, "Fly Robin Fly" was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for rhythm & blues. That same year, the song as at the top of the Hot Disco/Dance charts.
- "Fly Robin Fly" launched Silver Convention into mainstream success. The group was the first ever German music group to boast a No. 1 hit in the United States.
- This song that brought so much attention and (short-lived) success, only had six words! The entire song consisted of the repetition of the same lyrics all throughout.
Fly, robin flyFly, robin fly
Fly, robin fly
Up, up to the sky
Fly, robin fly
Fly, robin fly
Fly, robin fly
Up, up to the sky
Fly, robin fly
At the end of the ‘70s decade, Silver Convention had fizzled out but not before making their mark in music history.