Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
"Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was No. 1 on the "Go-Set" National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 (six weeks on the Australian charts in 1968 based on the Kent Music Report). It was the largest selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in the 1960s. The single, "Sadie" sold approximately 183,000 copies in Australia and was the highest selling Australian single until "Up There Cazaly" was released in 1979. and was also released  in New Zealand, Denmark and Germany. The B-side, "In My Room" was written by Farnham. The A-side's label includes the acknowledgement "Vacuum cleaner solo: Mr. Jolly". Background. Farnham's manager, Darryl Sambell, had disliked "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" because the lyrics were so persistent. However, EMI's inhouse producer, David Mackay, insisted so the single was released in November 1967. The song had been written by United States writers Ray Gilmore, Johnny Madara and Dave White. Sambell approached the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV program "This Day Tonight" to do a "day in the life of" segment  where they followed Farnham around to radio studios to promote the single. Sambell also arranged for `the electrical appliance store, Godfrey's, to supply a vacuum cleaner salesman, a Mr Jolly, to be on hand. By arrangement with Sambell, Melbourne radio DJ Stan Rofe pretended that he disliked "Sadie" before playing it. Rofe continued the ploy on TV's "Upright" and viewers responded with calls to play the song. Rofe was also a writer for "Go-Set", a teen-oriented pop magazine. Another writer for the magazine, Molly Meldrum, praised Farnham's efforts. "Sadie" hit No. 1 on the  Go-Set National Singles Charts in January 1968 and remained there for five weeks. Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. The B-side, "In My Room", was written by Farnham. The album, "Sadie", also produced by Mackay, was released in April. According to author Jeff Jenkins, another local pop performer, Mike Furber, had the first option on recording "Sadie" but declined; Furber later told Sambell that due to this mistake he was not destined for success. (Furber died in 1973, aged 25, allegedly by hanging himself—this is  disputed by his family and friends, who believe he was murdered.)