THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

364-Tiffany-I Think We’re Alone Now.

1987-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 2.09. Some Pop stars are so well known, that they are recognisable by just one name. There’s Elvis, and Madonna, and Kylie, and…er…Tiffany.

Tiffany Renee Darwish was born on October 2nd, 1971, in Norwalk, California, United States. At the age of 16 she became the youngest solo artist ever to have a debut Billboard Number 1 Album, and she also has the distinction of being the first person who was born in the 1970’s to top the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, with this song in 1987. Tiffany was singing Country & Western music at the age of 10, when coming to the attention of the American Country singer Hoyt Axton, (1938-1999) leading to her singing in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1984 she signed a recording contract with the music producer George Tobin who as well as producing her first two Albums, would also become her manager. After the failure of her first single ‘Danny,’ Tobin sent Tiffany out on a nationwide tour of American shopping malls. At first she was playing to small gatherings, but as word spread the crowds grew. This songs iconic video was recorded during the tour, with much of the footage used being from the end of the tour, when the audience was larger. By the end of 1988 her career had peaked, and she has never had a major hit single or Album since. She has attempted to resurrect her career in the years since, in 2002 she posed nude for ‘Playboy’ magazine, and in 2005 she became a regular on ‘reality’ television shows, including ‘Hit Me, Baby, One More Time,’ ‘Celebrity Fit Club,’ and ‘Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling.’ Tiffany has continued to record and tour, and at the time of writing she remains active as a performer.

The discography of Tiffany includes 11 studio Albums released between 1987-2022, and 44 singles within the same time period, there is also one extended play, (EP) and eight official compilation Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, five of her singles have reached the top 40, with ‘I Think We’re Alone Now,’ (1987) and the follow up single ‘Could’ve Been,’ (1987) both making the Number 1 position. In 1991 she was part of the ‘supergroup’ ‘Voices That Care,’ that reached Number 11 on the ‘Hot 100’ with the charity single also called ‘Voices That Care.’ In the UK, Tiffany has had four top 40 hits, with ‘I Think We’re Alone Now,’ charting the highest at Number 1.

‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ was the second of five singles released from Tiffany’s self titled debut studio Album from June 1987, the song was written by Ritchie Cordell, (1943-2004) with the production being by George Tobin. ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ was a cover version of the song which was originally recorded in 1967 by the American ‘Rock/Pop’ group ‘Tommy James and the Shondells,’ who took their version to Number 4 on Billboard, but it has never charted in the UK. At first Tiffany wasn’t keen to record ‘I Think We’re Alone Now,’ thinking it would be two old fashioned for her potential fan base, but after it was explained to her that the song is about teenagers wanting to spend ‘quality time’ together, which their parents wouldn’t allow, she realised the songs appeal to a young audience. Tiffany has recalled, ‘When I heard that my hit song had went Number one, I was washing dishes. I was doing my chores because I was a teenager, of course. My manager called me and said ‘Congratulations, you have the number one single in the country.’ I said, ‘You know what? I have to get off the phone because I have to finish my chores otherwise I’m going to be busted and I won’t be able to do anything.’ And, he’s like, ‘You don’t get it’… but I had to finish those chores.’ Tiffany has also said, Usually, I have that song at the end of the show and I’m looking forward to that moment and that excitement, I don’t look at it as a bad thing. It opens the doors to allows me to continue to do music and tell my story now. There still are some hurdles sometimes because I’m painted as the ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ mall tour girl,’ but I just keep pounding the pavement doing what I love.’

‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ was produced by George Edward Tobin, who is an American music producer, and is best remembered for discovering, managing, and producing the teenage singer Tiffany, and showcasing her in malls across the country. As well as producing three studio Albums for Tiffany, he is also notably the producer of ‘Sad Eyes,’ for Robert John, (1979-Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 31) and ‘Being With You,’ for Smokey Robinson, (1981-Billboard Number 2 & UK Number 1.)

‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ was written by Ritchie Cordell, who was born Richard Joel Rosenblatt, on March 10th, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, United States, he died on April 13th, 2004, of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 61. Ritchie Cordell also wrote other hits for Tommy James and the Shondells, including their 1968 Billboard Number 3 & UK Number 1 single ‘Mony Mony.’ Cordell was also the co-producer of ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll,’ the 1982 Billboard Number 1 & UK Number 4 single for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, he was also the co-producer of the Ramones seventh studio Album ‘Subterranean Jungle,’ in 1983. In 1987 Cordell hit the jackpot when the song that knocked Tiffany’s version of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ off the top spot on Billboard, was Billy Idol’s live cover of ‘Mony Mony.’

‘Children behave, that’s what they say when we’re together, and watch how you play, they don’t understand, and so we’re running just as fast as we can, holding on to one another other hands.’