#5: People Sure Act Funny by Arthur Conley
City: Belleville, ON
Radio Station: CJBQ
Peak Month: August 1968
Peak Position in Belleville ~ #8
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ Hit Bound
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #58
YouTube: “People Sure Act Funny”
Lyrics: “People Sure Act Funny”
Arthur Lee Conley was born in rural McIntosh County, Georgia, on the Atlantic coast in 1946. At the age of 13, in 1959 he recorded as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964—”Poor Girl”, “I Believe”, and “Flossie Mae”. In 1964, Conley released the single “I’m A Lonely Stranger” on a small Baltimore label. It got the attention of Otis Redding, and was re-recorded on Redding’s Jotis Records in 1965. The single climbed to #2 in December 1965 on the R&B station WAWA in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. More single releases followed as Conley switched to the Fame label, including “I Can’t Stop (No, No, No)”, which peaked at #3 on WRBD in Fort Lauderdale. While Fame Records release “Take Me Just As I Am” made the Top Ten on the Miami R&B station WAME, also in December 1966.